The NBA cleared Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier of wrongdoing in an illegal sports betting investigation – but the federal government has not.
As the Eastern District of New York continues its probe into the 31-year-old, ESPN’s David Purdum reported that a professional bettor placed 30 bets in 46 minutes before a 2023 game in which Rozier participated. The bets all won and paid out $13,017.70.
At least six sportsbooks in multiple states reported suspicious betting activity pertaining to Rozier’s player prop lines.
Just a coincidence?
On the morning of March 23, 2023, before Rozier’s Charlotte Hornets took on the New Orleans Pelicans, a professional bettor slapped down 30 bets, all involving unders on Rozier’s prop lines.
The largest wager, submitted at Caesars Sportsbook at Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino in Biloxi, MS, was a $2,700 straight bet on the guard to record less than 5.5 rebounds.
U.S. Integrity, a gaming watchdog that alerts regulators of potentially nefarious interference, sent a nationwide “Suspicious Wagering Terry Rozier NBA Player Props” alert after other sportsbooks also reported unusual wagers involving Rozier. Several of those sportsbooks were based in New Orleans, where the game was played.
Rozier, then a star for the Hornets, exited 10 minutes after the opening tip with a foot injury. He had not been listed on the pre-game injury report. He finished the game with five points, four rebounds, and two assists, all unders on his prop lines.
Rozier did not play in the remaining eight games of the season. He was traded to the Heat in January of the following season.
The NBA conducted and closed an investigation into Rozier, finding that he did not violate their rules regarding sports betting.
Connecting the dots
The topic of illegal betting is taken extremely seriously by professional sports leagues. Athletes in nearly every sport are not allowed to wager on their own sport at any level, are not allowed to communicate privileged information with known sports bettors, may not gamble from team facilities, and must abide by other restrictions.
The NBA is just over one year removed from the Jontay Porter scandal, which saw the ex-Toronto Raptors big man banned for life after he conspired with gamblers. Porter agreed to exit games early to allow the bettors to win by betting the under on his prop lines.
Notably, several of the betting accounts that bet on Porter’s unders also bet on Rozier’s unders on March 23. Those same accounts also bet on college basketball games that were flagged for suspicious betting patterns.
Despite the optics, Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, told ESPN his client is not guilty of any wrongdoing.
“It's unfortunate that he's a big name in sports and is having to endure all this. My hope and expectation is that at some point that they'll be done with their investigation and will be professional enough to let us know that it's 100% over and that they reached the same conclusion that was reached in 2023.”
Yahoo Sports contributor Tom Haberstroh and Meadowlark Media's Pablo Torre and Amin Elhassan found that a person using the alias “Moose” linked Rozier, Porter, and Malik Beasley, who is also facing a betting investigation. Moose reported that Beasley would face an investigation five months before the news broke.