Derek:
It’s no wonder why gambling has become a problem in the NBA.
Americans bet nearly $150 billion on sports in 2024, according to the American Gaming Association.
Sports betting is especially addictive. The dopamine rush of tracking a bet while being entertained by the game, as well as the convenience of online sportsbooks that process your bet before you can second guess it, makes this form of gambling a dangerous game.
ESPN has its own sportsbook and will advertise it on any television program or pre-game show they can. The Athletic has a partnership with BetMGM. The NBA has partnered with FanDuel and DraftKings since 2021.
Watch a full broadcast of an NBA game, and you will be shown betting odds or an advertisement for a sportsbook at some point.
In 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wrote an op-ed to The New York Times titled “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting.”
Silver was the first major sports commissioner to back legal sports betting. Now, over a decade later, he must deal with the consequences of his advocacy.
The legacy of former Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups, a 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, is on the line, as he was arrested Oct. 23 for his alleged participation in rigged poker games backed by Mafia families. Billups was placed on indefinite leave by the Blazers.
Though not explicitly named, Billups also matches the description of an individual who provided insider information — that four out of five of Portland’s regular starters would be resting — to a bettor for a March 2023 game.
It feels like a crossroads moment for Silver and the NBA. This is the first serious case of needing to regulate gambling among NBA personnel since former player Jontay Porter was banned from the league in 2024 for betting on NBA games and disclosing confidential information to bettors.
If Silver does not begin to act now, this can get out of hand quickly.
Christian:
The recent gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA in its opening weeks was, unfortunately, always around the corner.
The NBA has fully endorsed sports betting up as of late, and these investments suggest that it’s okay for fans to do the same.
Fans arrive at arenas openly begging and pleading players from their seats to help them hit the parlay they placed before the game. Live odds and player over-unders flash on the screen during broadcasts — even a portion of NBA teams have their games broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.
It seemed inevitable that some NBA players would try to get their piece of the billion-dollar sports betting industry. But the breaking of the sports’ integrity for a quick payday has now sent the NBA into a scandal that could change the league forever.
The NBA now faces the worst thing that can happen to a sports league: Its legitimacy is being questioned.
After just signing a new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal, Silver now has to convince NBA owners, investors and fans that the basketball being played is authentic and not disturbed by its own players, coaches or outside forces.
Any time an NBA player has a horrible shooting night, fans will openly speculate that the player may be on the take. If a star player takes a game off for “load management” or walks back to the locker room with a minor injury, questions will be asked. Fans will wonder if the coach or the player is benefiting from their own mishaps off the court.
This new scandal and the ensuing investigations concerning Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones have just begun. But after an awesome start to the NBA season filled with double-overtime games and superstar performances, an off-the-court story is dominating the headlines and will hang over the NBA for the entirety of the season.
Derek and Christian:
Why should you care? Well, it’s the product we should all be focused on right now.
The Oklahoma City Thunder played two consecutive double-overtime games to begin the season.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is in the league’s top 10 for categories points, rebounds, blocks and efficiency rating so far this season.
LeBron James’ throne is being beamed up into Wembanyama’s alien spaceship in real time — and it is only Wemby’s third season in the league.
Instead, it is off-the-court antics — like gambling — that are garnering the public eye.
Recent reports that the NBA approved the Los Angeles Clippers’ $300 million partnership with the company Aspiration — which has spurred accusations of salary-cap circumvention between team owner Steve Ballmer and star player Kawhi Leonard — signals there is more than one need for damage control from Silver.
With the league investigating its injury-reporting rules, we feel like the right steps are being taken to draw the public back to what matters: the game.
However, it will take time.
Gambling is a serious addiction: Players who are already involved may not be able to stop, even with stricter regulations.
Also, the Tim Donaghy case from 2008 in which the former NBA referee provided inside information to gamblers proves the implications of these instances never truly rest with the fans.
We hope the sport can be enjoyed this season with as few distractions as possible.
Basketball is a beautiful game, and it has never been filled with such talent and excitement.
Look past the social media posts, turn on a game and enjoy the beauty of basketball.