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- 'Optics-wise it's about as bad as it gets:' NBA world still in shock over latest betting scandal</p>
<p>Kelly Iko October 25, 2025 at 12:58 AM</p>
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<p>HOUSTON — The sternness in Rockets head coach Ime Udoka's voice as he addressed a collection of reporters prior to his team's home opener cut through the room like a knife.</p>
<p>The 48-year-old is known for his stolid demeanor, and even though it was clear he was also happy for Tiago Splitter, his former assistant who was recently named interim head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, the circumstances under which Splitter moved to the head of the bench were not to be celebrated.</p>
<p>Splitter, an assistant under Chauncey Billups who was often praised for his directness and attention to detail during his time in Houston, was given the position after Billups was placed on immediate leave by the NBA following charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.</p>
<p>Billups, in addition to NBA guard Terry Rozier and former player and coach Damon Jones, was among nearly three dozen individuals taken into custody by the FBI on Thursday in connection with investigations related to an underground gambling ring and illegal sports betting. Billups was allegedly involved in illegal poker games across New York, Miami, Las Vegas and the Hamptons tied to the Mafia. He also appears to be referenced as a co-conspirator in the alleged illegal sports betting scheme.</p>
<p>"It's a tough situation that you don't like to see," Udoka said on Friday ahead of the Rockets' game against the Detroit Pistons. "A lot of people involved in unfortunate situations, but something that we're well-versed on a yearly basis. We have a meeting coming up to talk about it again to reiterate that point, but don't know a ton of information on the specifics of those instances."</p>
<p>Following the bombshell dropped by FBI director Kash Patel and federal attorney Joseph Nocella, the reaction around the league has been a mixed bag of confusion, disappointment and shock. In conversations with people around the league, the general consensus is that while Rozier's resurfaced alleged involvement in illegal gambling is not a surprise — the guard was the subject of a previous NBA investigation — Billups' potential participation is an absolute jaw-dropper.</p>
<p>To this point, Billups has vehemently denied all acts of wrongdoing through an attorney-released statement, but there's enough smoke emanating from all sides of this murky situation to put the NBA between a rock and a hard place. While a handful of outspoken players, including Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who is also the vice president of the NBPA, have no issue voicing concerns, there are a plethora of players who prefer to steer clear of the subject, given the sensitivity and proximity of the matter.</p>
<p>"It's concerning on several fronts," one source told Yahoo Sports. "You'd hope the league was past this after the Jontay Porter situation, but now you have Terry Rozier — who was previously cleared — getting arrested, and an active head coach facing similar allegations. Optics-wise it's about as bad as it gets. And unlike Porter or even going back to Tim Donaghy [match-fixing allegations in 2007] — where you could point to someone making far less than those around him and being more vulnerable to financial pressure — these are individuals who've earned over nine figures in the NBA. That raises deeper questions about motivations and the measures needed to protect the integrity of the game."</p>
<p>It doesn't exactly make it easier for the NBA, which is in the midst of a PR nightmare, that they are actively investigating one of its own franchises for alleged cap circumvention. We're in late October, the league should be celebrating the beginning of another campaign that has already gotten off to a blistering start — multiple overtimes, 50-point showings and a reminder of the rich talent that flows through the league's veins. Instead, the integrity of the sport is in question.</p>
<p>In an interview with Amazon during Friday's game between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks, Silver said he was 'deeply disturbed' upon hearing about the allegations.</p>
<p>"There's nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition," Silver said. "And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting."</p>
<p>In the coming days and weeks, players around the league will be questioned about recent events, leading to a broader conversation about the NBA as a business, its underlying intentions and the corresponding effects on the players as the byproduct. It's already become a huge distraction with the potential for even more fallout. There's a growing thought around the league that more names could potentially come out as a result of the FBI's investigation.</p>
<p>"I don't think once, from my conversations with the union, that the NBA has been like, 'How can we protect players more with the environment?'" Brown told reporters on Friday about how the league can help. "It's all about, 'How can we increase business and revenue?</p>
<p>"I don't think we're having enough conversations about what is the aftermath or the consequences that some of that stuff has."</p>
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Source: "AOL Sports"
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