Oh No! CU Buff Legend Chauncey Billups Nabbed in Mafia-Linked NBA Gambling Bust
By Channel 1 Sports, October 21 2025 Boulder –
In a stunning fall from grace that has rocked Colorado’s basketball community, University of Colorado icon and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups was arrested Thursday morning as part of a sprawling federal probe into illegal gambling rings tied to organized crime. The Denver native, who calls the Mile High City home despite his coaching duties with the Portland Trail Blazers, faces charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering in a scheme prosecutors say defrauded victims of tens of millions.

Billups, 49, a five-time All-Star and the 2004 NBA Finals MVP with the Detroit Pistons, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame just last year. His Buffs tenure from 1995-97 remains legendary: a third-team All-American in his junior year, averaging 19.2 points and 5.8 assists, leading CU to the NIT semifinals. Denver fans adored “Mr. Big Shot” as a hometown hero, his Pistons championship parade drawing Rockies crowds. Now, that legacy hangs in the balance.

Federal authorities in Brooklyn, coordinating with the FBI and NYPD’s Joint Organized Crime Task Force, unsealed indictments against 34 defendants, including Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and ex-NBA player Damon Jones.

The operation allegedly involved four New York Mafia families – Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese – rigging high-stakes underground poker games in Miami, New York, Las Vegas, and the Hamptons.

Prosecutors claim Billups served as a “face card,” lending star power to lure wealthy “fish” into the traps. Games used marked cards, rigged shufflers, and special lenses to ensure losses, funneling cash to mob coffers. A parallel probe accuses insiders of using non-public NBA info for prop bets, echoing last year’s Jontay Porter scandal. “This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” declared FBI Director Kash Patel at a Brooklyn courthouse presser. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. called it a “nationwide scheme to dupe unsuspecting gamblers,” exploiting athletes’ trust.

Billups was apprehended in Portland hours after coaching the Blazers’ season-opening loss to Minnesota. The NBA swiftly placed him and Rozier on leave, vowing cooperation. “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” the league stated. Billups’ attorney was unavailable for comment, but Rozier’s lawyer blasted the arrest as baseless, citing prior NBA clearance.In Boulder, CU Athletics Director Rick George expressed heartbreak: “Chauncey’s impact on our program is indelible, but we support the legal process.” Buffs fans flooded social media, mixing disbelief with tributes to his 17-year career.

The probe, years in the making, underscores gambling’s dark underbelly in sports. As arraignments loom – Billups in Portland, then New York – questions swirl: How deep did Denver’s son go? For now, the court of public opinion awaits answers, tarnishing a Buff great’s golden shot.