Former NBA players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis were indicted Monday after prosecutors determined they were involved in “bribery and insider betting schemes” related to the government’s ongoing investigation into gambling in the NBA.
Beasley and Davis are the latest NBA stalwarts charged in a probe of illegal betting operations. Federal authorities arrested NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier as part of the investigation in October.
“Bribery and insider betting schemes like this one involving former NBA players and a current NBA player agent who exploited inside NBA information for profit erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.
Prosecutors say Beasley adjusted his play while he was with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024 based on gambling trends.
Beasley and Davis are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Four other individuals, including former NBA agent Paolo Zamorano, were also charged on Monday.
“These defendants allegedly operated an illegal betting ring in an attempt to unlawfully earn hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Mr. Nocella said. “As alleged, Malik Beasley allowed himself to be bought and altered his gametime performance to line pockets of Ed Davis and his other co-conspirators.”
Prosecutors noted that Davis, a former first-round pick who spent the 2020-21 season with Beasley with the Minnesota Timberwolves, served as Beasley’s “gatekeeper.”
Authorities said Beasley, through discussion with Davis, agreed to underperform or overperform in certain individual statistics during at least three games during the 2023-24 season.
Prosecutors said that while he played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Beasley attempted to intentionally skew his number of points or rebounds in a given game to win bets for Davis and the other defendants.
Beasley last played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024-25 season, averaging 16 points. He is one of five players in NBA history with more than 300 3-pointers in a season; he made 319 in 2024-25 and has not played in the NBA since because of his involvement in the betting investigations. He played briefly for a team in Puerto Rico earlier this year.
Davis, a North Carolina product, played for eight teams across a 12-year career. He signed several contracts worth a combined $48 million, averaging 5.9 points and 6.4 rebounds across 722 NBA games. He last played with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022 and spent two years playing overseas in Puerto Rico and China.
The NBA has not publicly commented on Monday’s indictments. Since authorities announced their investigation into Billups and Rozier in October, NBA officials have pushed for limits on prop bets — wagers on individual players’ performance.
“Core to the NBA’s position is that sports leagues should have control over the types of bets offered on their games,” the league said in a memo published by ESPN in December. “Because leagues currently do not have such control, any changes will need to be pursued via negotiation with sports betting operators, requests to state gaming regulators, legislative action, or some combination of these avenues.”
The NBA currently has partnerships with several sportsbooks. The league banned former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for life after he pleaded to several gambling-related charges, including wire fraud. Investigators had reported that Porter bet against his own teams and removed himself from games early to ensure certain bets would hit.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
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