How it Worked: Bets flowed after NBA player told pal he’d skip much of game, indictment says

NBA guard Terry Rozier was averaging nearly 21 points per game for the Charlotte Hornets as the 2022-23 season neared an end. But during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans, he scored only 5 and played less than 10 minutes before claiming he was hurt.

The injury? It was fake and the fix was in as part of a scheme to help sports bettors, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday in New York.

That episode is at the heart of a stunning scandal that is rocking the NBA. Rozier, a pal and others were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

It also reveals how wildly popular “prop bets” can be exploited with inside information from locker rooms. Such bettors don’t wager on the outcome of a game. Rather, they put money on individual player statistics.

Before the Hornets-Pelicans game, Rozier told a longtime friend that he was “going to prematurely remove himself from the game in the first quarter due to a supposed injury and not return,” the indictment states.

That meant bettors who knew Rozier was staying on the bench could easily wager that his point total would be under his typical average. On the flip side, gamblers who took the “over” with no inside information were out of the money when they bet that he would score more than 21 points.

Rozier’s friend, Deniro “Niro” Laster, shared the information with others, who placed more than $250,000 in prop bets — and it paid off, according to the indictment.

Laster collected tens of thousands of dollars from people who cashed in on the inside information and then drove to Rozier’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they “counted the money” a week later, the indictment says.

The indictment has descriptions of several unnamed NBA players whose availability for certain games was the source of betting activity. Those players are not accused of wrongdoing, and there is no indication that they would have even known what was being said about their game status.

Those players include LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard. Their identities are clear based on a review of injury reports for games mentioned in the indictment. The indictments show that certain defendants shared information about the players’ availability on March 24, 2023, involving the Portland Trail Blazers, and two games in 2023 and 2024 involving the Los Angeles Lakers.

Damon Jones, who was an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23, was also charged. He’s accused of sharing non-public information about the status of players in the two Lakers games.

In the 2023 game, Jones is accused of texting others that a certain player who was not on the injury report still would miss the game with a lower body injury. LeBron James, who had earlier been listed as questionable, did not play because of ankle issues.

“Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!” Jones said in a text, according to the indictment.

Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said Rozier is “not a gambler” and “looks forward to winning this fight.”

It wasn’t immediately known if Laster or Jones had lawyers who could comment on the allegations.

The National Basketball Players Association said it would do all it can to protect its members, including Rozier.

“The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention,” the union said.

Rozier now plays for the Miami Heat. Separately, Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, was charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons that were backed by La Cosa Nostra organized crime families. A message seeking comment was left with Billups.

FanDuel, one of the largest sportsbooks, released a statement expressing its concern about the indictment.

“Today’s events are deeply disturbing, and should concern fans, athletes, and everyone who loves sports and values integrity and fair play,” FanDuel said.