Colorado legend Chauncey Billups charged in sports betting and poker scheme

Chauncey Billups, part of the Colorado Buffaloes basketball pantheon, was arrested in connection with an illegal gambling scheme on Thursday. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

A beacon of state pride's legacy may never be the same.

Former Colorado Buffaloes basketball star and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was charged Thursday for his role in a sports betting and gambling scheme with ties to the Mafia. Billups is alleged to have rigged poker games across the United States that stole millions of dollars from victims.

Billups was one of 34 individuals arrested after a years-long investigation across 11 states. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former player/assistant coach Damon Jones were also charged. According to an indictment from the U.S. Justice Department, Rozier and Jones provided non-public NBA information to aid betters in placing fraudulent bets. 

Billups isn’t named in the sports betting charge. But it's believed that he is mentioned in the indictment as an unnamed “face card” co-conspirator who shared information on Trail Blazers player availability before games.

"This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a press conference following the arrests.

Chauncey Billups is one of Colorado's prodigal sons of sport, but after an FBI arrest for illegal gambling, has a complicated reputation. (The Denver Post)

Both the sports betting and poker schemes were backed by four different mafia families and organized crime networks. Billups’s charges include wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

“There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview Friday. “And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.”

According to the indictment, Billups and Jones were used to reel victims into high-stakes poker games. The games were then rigged using sophisticated cheating technology. Since April 2019, federal prosecutors claim victims lost $7 million in the games. Billups has coached the Trail Blazers since 2021.

Born in Denver, Billups played at Colorado from 1995-97 and became one of the program’s most prolific players. He was the Buffs’ highest-ever NBA draft pick at No. 3 overall, playing 17 seasons and leading the Detroit Pistons to a championship in 2004. “Mr. Big Shot” also spent several seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

Billups was inducted into the CU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Basketball Hall of Fame last year. He is reportedly one of the five spots to be unveiled on CU’s Men’s Basketball Wall of Honor.

On Thursday afternoon, Billups appeared in a Portland courtroom and was released from custody on certain conditions. The NBA said both Billups and Rozier have been placed on immediate leave from the league.