Ex-Lakers Coach Damon Jones Pleads Guilty in NBA Betting Bombshell

Damon Jones, a former NBA player who served as personal shooting coach to LeBron James and assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers, pleaded guilty on April 28, 2026, in Brooklyn federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Reading a prepared statement, Jones confessed to using his insider access to nonpublic injury information on NBA stars to defraud sportsbooks from December 2022 to March 2024, violating NBA conduct rules and betting site terms. He faces 21-27 months in prison under sentencing guidelines, with a hearing set for January 6, 2027, before Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall, and must forfeit $35,000.[1][3] Prosecutors detailed how Jones' co-conspirators paid him $2,500 for tips, then placed bets against the Lakers—including one worth six figures—capitalizing on hidden injury details about James and Anthony Davis. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. branded it "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized." Jones, arrested by the FBI in October alongside about 30 others, also admitted guilt in a related rigged poker scheme where he and Chauncey Billups acted as "face cards" to lure high-rollers.[1][3][4] The scandal ensnared other NBA figures: former Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, who lost his job, and current player Terry Rozier, the ex-Miami Heat guard. On April 27, prosecutors moved for superseding charges against Rozier, alleging bribery and honest services wire fraud for taking himself out of a game to hit "under" prop bets after receiving a bribe. Jones initially pleaded not guilty in November, posting his parents' home as bond collateral, but flipped after months of legal wrangling.[1][2][5] This marks the first guilty plea among roughly 30 defendants in the Eastern District of New York probe, spotlighting vulnerabilities in athlete injury reporting as legal sports betting surges nationwide. Jones' bail bars him from gambling, organized crime ties, or unapproved transfers over $10,000. NBA officials have stayed mum, but the case threatens to erode trust in game outcomes just as betting apps proliferate.[1][3][5]