Silver Says NBA Is Taking Gambling Scandal Seriously, May Check Out

LAS VEGAS (AP) - It is vital for the NBA to be perceived as having integrity, Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday, adding that the betting scandals that caused the arrests of Miami guard Terry Rozier, Portland coach Chauncey Billups and others are being taken with the utmost severity.


Silver's remarks in a news conference quickly before the start of the last were his very first since Rozier, Billups and others were jailed in October. He spoke in Las Vegas, a gaming mecca that the league has actually utilized for significant events like the Cup final and Summer League for a long time.


"I think the fans care a lot," Silver said. "It ´ s tough to make judgments, either anecdotally over what some fans are stating or what ´ s even on social media. Fans certainly care. And I suggest it when I state, if this video game isn ´ t viewed as being honest and the competitors being on the level and at the highest stability, over time we will lose our fan base. I have no doubt about that. And so, I take it extremely seriously."


The NBA is unsure for how long the investigations and legal procedures surrounding gaming charges faced by Rozier, Billups - a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee - and others will take to be finished, Silver said.


But the league will check out the possibility of providing Miami some sort of "satisfying relief" since Rozier presently can ´ t play, Silver added, though he stopped short of saying such a relocation would be possible.


"This is an unprecedented scenario," Silver stated.


Miami Heat's Terry Rozier, right, leaves Brooklyn federal court, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in New york city. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)


It ´ s a multi-layered problem for the league and the Heat, considered that Rozier ´ s$26.6 million wage takes up about 17 % of the group ´ s cap area - and that the group still owes Charlotte a first-round choice in either 2027 or 2028 to satisfy the terms of the trade that brought Rozier to Miami. It ´ s uncertain who understood that Rozier was under federal examination when the Heat made the trade with the Hornets.


Rozier pleaded not guilty earlier this month to wire scams and cash laundering conspiracy charges originating from allegations that he assisted some pals win bets that revolved around his statistical efficiency in a video game played in March 2023, when he was with Charlotte. Rozier is free on $3 million bond and isn ´ t expected back in court till March, and he stays on unsettled leave from the Heat.


Prosecutors state Rozier informed the bettors that he intended to leave the video game versus the New Orleans Pelicans early with an expected injury, allowing bettors to put wagers earning them tens of countless dollars. Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds of the game before leaving, citing a foot concern. He did not play again that season and was consequently traded to the Heat.


Rozier isn ´ t getting his pay, however his salary is still on the Heat ´ s books and is being sent to an interest-bearing account pending resolution of his case or some other contract.


"We ´ re going to try to work something through, work this out with them," Silver said. "But there ´ s no apparent service here. I would simply state that there ´ s no doubt at the moment they have a gamer that can ´ t carry out services for them. ... Obviously, he hasn ´ t been founded guilty of anything yet either - but this is an unfortunate situation. Sometimes there ´ s these unique occasions and maybe in some cases they need a special solution."


Billups likewise pleaded not guilty last month to charges connected to a different scheme to fix high-stakes, Mafia-backed poker games. Rozier, Billups and former NBA guard Damon Jones were amongst more than 30 people - consisting of a number of Mafia figures - apprehended in October as part of a sprawling federal takedown of prohibited gaming operations linked to pro sports.


The league needs annual training for gamers, coaches and personnel about what's allowed and what isn't enabled regarding gaming, which is now legal in many states. Silver famously championed legalization of sports wagering in an op-ed he wrote for The New York Times in 2014.


The circumstances with Rozier and Billups have caused a mission for even increased awareness, Silver stated. The league is also taking a look at how finest to ensure prop bets based exclusively on a player's analytical efficiency - like the ones made on Rozier ´ s March 2023 video game - can be performed relatively.


"We ´ ve been redoubling our efforts at the league workplace, working with our teams, looking at every aspect of our guidelines around sports betting," Silver said. "Exist much better ways to inform the participants? Exist changes we should make in how injuries are reported? ... We're in the procedure as I said right now and working with our teams thinking of anything else we can be doing, if there ´ s any element of our system that needs to be fortified."