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On just the third day of the 2025-26 NBA season, the association received disturbing news when three of its figures were arrested for alleged roles in alleged illegal betting schemes.
Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones were indicted on charges related to illegal poker games, while Jones and Terry Rozier were arrested for their alleged involvement in sports betting.
Rozier was a member of the Miami Heat when he was first investigated by both the NBA and the FBI. He missed most of the second half of last season and was scheduled to play for Miami this year, but he was arrested the morning after the team’s first game, in which he did not play.
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Miami Heat forward Kevin Love reacts after guard Terry Rozier scores during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. (Scott Wachter/Image Images)
Kevin Love was in the Heat locker room when they received news of the Rozier investigation. He has since been traded to the Utah Jazz, but controversy still persists throughout the league.
“It’s very complex. I mean, there are so many things that are unanswered, and you take the NBA at their word. They did their due diligence, they investigated Terry’s situation and they came back, and it was just left where it was. Terry was able to come back and play, and then he went through training camp and now this is all coming to light. It’s an interesting space that we’re in because, obviously, sports betting is a very big part of sports culture now,” Love said in a recent interview with Pak Gazette Digital.
“And betting, I think, is a big stain on our game. And I think you find yourself betting, tipping, fixing, and you fall into a really dark space in a dark area. So to be able to overcome that, I can’t imagine what it’s like for the Blazers, right? And I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to respond to that as the Miami Heat. It just creates a huge distraction. And yet, we don’t know what’s real, right? This has to continue to play out and we’re seeing it in different sports now, but I think for the good of the NBA and the sports fraternity in general, it is resolved in a way that we can move forward and we can have, I guess, a healthier relationship with all this sports betting.
“I don’t know what the answer to all this is, but at the league office, Adam [Silver] It’s really smart. There will be a way to resolve this in a way that is positive. I’m a believer in that.”
Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) handles the ball against Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. (Jim Dedmon/Image Images)
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Love has been in the league long before player accessories existed. But as gambling has become more prevalent, he’s heard a lot more outrage from fans in stadiums and seen more outrage online.
“You see it all the time now, if someone is betting on you and you don’t score or you get out of a game or you don’t get as many bounces in the over, it becomes something that can be really ugly. You see it in your messages or DMs. When there’s money involved, things get complicated…” Love said. “It’s so lucrative and there’s so much money to be made that I understand it from a business standpoint, but I think there’s a dark side and a negative side to this that I think people need to know about, and it needs to be a little more transparent and open so that maybe we can start to foster a healthier relationship with it.
“But again, gambling and sports betting and all that stuff has been around forever. But now it’s just a click away, right? I have friends who do it and have a healthy relationship with it and then others who don’t. I think it’s a space that I’m not very well versed in.”
Hindsight is 20/20, but it probably should have been obvious that more fan tension would follow. Even Love admitted that she “didn’t consider” how much it could change fans’ behavior.
Kevin Love of the Utah Jazz watches during the first half of a basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on November 2, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (David Jensen/Getty Images)
“I said, ‘Okay, this is new,’ he admitted. “I think at its core, gambling is people going to Las Vegas and building huge casinos and resorts where people lose their money. It is a very complicated space, with many layers and very complex. I’m sure it was considered, but when the business is so lucrative and there’s so much money to be made, it has to be done. I hope there is a better path forward, and I hope it is mostly healthy and that only the negative outweighs the positive and generates more attractive headlines. But I do think the negative definitely leaves a big stain.”
