A federal probe into what is now known as a far-reaching basketball gambling scandal has turned up a new name.
NBA guard Terry Rozier is being investigated by U.S. authorities for potential playing time manipulation during his time with the Charlotte Hornets in 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday. This is reportedly part of the same probe that involves Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA and pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in July.
Rozier has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing, the report says.
The federal investigation into Rozier centers around a March 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, and the government probe involves a ring of gamblers and poker players.
Watchdog firm U.S. Integrity notified the NBA and sportsbooks that a large number of wagers were coming in on the under for Rozier’s player props, which prompted the alert and led several sportsbooks to remove the offerings. Rozier exited the March 23, 2023 game with a foot injury after 10 minutes played with five points, four rebounds, and two assists. He missed the final eight games that season.
“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans. The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
The WSJ reports that some of the same people involved in Porter fixing two games in 2024 also placed wagers on Rozier before the game in question. The outlet also reports investigators are looking into a connection between the Porter gambling scandal and a potential incident in college basketball.
Prominent player
Porter’s game manipulation and NBA gambling violations while playing for the Toronto Raptors rocked the basketball world and led sports betting operators to offer fewer wagering options on two-way and 10-day contract players.
Rozier, however, is a much more prominent NBA player. He’s played in more than 640 games for three different teams since being drafted No. 16 overall by the Boston Celtics in 2015.
Rozier is in the middle of a four-year deal that will pay him $96 million by 2026, and he’s made more than $100 million in his playing career. He’s averaged 14.1 points per game, hitting 42% of his shots from the field, and 3.6 assists while playing nearly 28 minutes per contest in 10-plus seasons.
Porter’s case
Porter was part of a group of individuals who conspired to defraud sportsbooks in 2024. The former Raptors center exited two games so that the under on his player props would hit and pay off gambling debts to a known bettor.
“Hit unders for the big numbers,” Porter wrote in the text obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. “I told (a co-conspirator) no blocks no steals. I’m going to play first 2-3 minute stint off the bench then when I get subbed out tell them my eye killing me again.”
Long Phi Pham (known as Bruce), Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Shane Hennen have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud after they placed numerous large wagers on Porter’s player props.
Pham pleaded guilty in October and faces up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing in April. Porter is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
