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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made his first public comments since the federal indictments of Portland coach Chauncey Billups and Miami guard Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones in a sweeping gambling scheme.
“My initial reaction was that I was deeply disturbed,” Silver said in an interview during the Amazon Prime Video broadcast of the New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics on Friday. “There is nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. I had a knot in my stomach. It was very disturbing.
“I apologize to our fans because we are all dealing with this situation.”
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver holds a press conference at the Chase Center on the weekend of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco, California, United States, on February 15, 2025. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Early Friday, Congress intervened.
The House Commerce Committee on Friday sent a letter to Silver requesting information and a report for information related to the scandal.
The committee seeks five key points of information from Silver:
“1. Details regarding alleged fraudulent, illegal and betting practices involving NBA players, coaches and officials, including the actions of NBA players and coaches identified in the recent indictment; as well as prior cases, some of which are identified above,” the letter states.
“2. Actions the NBA intends to take to limit the disclosure of non-public information for illegal purposes. 3. Whether the NBA Code of Conduct for Players and Coaches effectively prohibits illegal activities, including the disclosure of non-public information for the purposes of illegal betting schemes. 4. An explanation of the gaps, if any, in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur. 5. Whether the NBA is acting and how it is doing it. “reevaluate the terms of their partnerships with sports betting companies.”
NBA LEGEND CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, HEAT’S TERRY ROZIER ARRESTED AS PART OF FBI GAMBLING INVESTIGATION
The bipartisan letter was signed by six members of Congress from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rozier was arrested because federal officials allege he conspired with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance. The charges are similar to those former Toronto player Jontay Porter faced before Silver banned him from the league in 2024.
Billups faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for participating in what federal officials called rigged, mob-backed poker games. It also matches the credentials of someone described only as Co-Conspirator 8 in an indictment that details how some people gave bettors inside information about the health status of players.
The arrests have overshadowed the first week in the league.
(Left) Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups talks to a referee during a timeout in the first half against the Sacramento Kings at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 10, 2025. (Right) Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) leaves the court after the game against the Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan on November 12. 2024. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images; Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images)
Rozier’s case continues as of March 23, 2023. He was with the Charlotte Hornets at the time, and (legal) sportsbooks alerted the NBA to irregular patterns related to Rozier’s “prop bets” that day. Rozier played about 9 1/2 minutes, and those who bet that he would underperform the listed stats won those bets. Federal officials said more than $200,000 was bet on those lines alone.
