Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier is under federal investigation as part of a wider government probe into a sports gambling ring, according to The Wall Street Journal. The investigation is centered around a game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023 that included unusual betting activity surrounding prop bets against Rozier’s statistics. Authorities believe some of the people involved in the Jontay Porter betting scandal may have had inside information that compelled them to bet against Rozier.
In that game nearly two years ago, Rozier played only nine minutes and 34 seconds. He finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists. He was not listed on the injury report before the game, but he did not play again for the Hornets during the 2022-23 season afterward. When he left the game, the Hornets called him doubtful to return with right foot discomfort. He was listed with that injury for the remainder of the season.
Rozier has not been charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing. The NBA was made aware of the situation at the time, but found no violations.
“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
Rozier, who was traded to the Heat last January and has played 41 games for Miami this season, has thus far declined to comment.
U.S. Integrity, a private organization that monitors the betting world for improprieties, noticed unusual betting patterns before the game and informed sports books and the NBA. Some sports books chose to take Rozier’s props down afterward. At least one bettor claimed publicly to have had inside information which led to him betting on Rozier to finish with fewer than 6.5 assists in the game.
Porter was banned from the NBA for life last year for his involvement in a gambling scandal, and he has since plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Though both he and Rozier played in the NBA, their circumstances are quite different. Porter was a two-way player without a long-term contract. Rozier is in the middle of a $96 million contract. Sportsbooks have stopped offering prop bets on low-minute players like Porter in the wake of his scandal, but Rozier is a longtime NBA starter, so that change would not apply to him.
In addition to Rozier, the government investigation is reportedly also exploring this gambling ring’s activities related to college basketball and potential point-shaving. Six total men have been charged in the Porter scandal, with four, including Porter, already pleading guilty.
