NBA player investigated for allegedly manipulating his playing performance to aid illegal gambling scheme

Miami Heat player Terry Rozier is currently under investigation by federal prosecutors over suspicions of an illegal betting scheme, the NBA confirmed Thursday. 

The investigators are working to determine whether Rozier manipulated his performance in two games in March 2023, allegedly in conspiracy with Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.

It is part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Porter in July. 

Porter's ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and "prop bets" - wagers where bettors can choose whether a player will reach a certain statistical standard or not during a game. Last April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose.

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The Porter investigation started once the league learned from "licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets" about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. 

The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior to that game and said another individual - known to be an NBA bettor - placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.

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Authorities believe some of the people who arranged for Porter to fix his performance in two games last season had inside information that prompted them to bet large sums of money against Rozier a year earlier.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the latest investigation, noting that Rozier - who played for the Hornets on the date in question, and now plays for the Miami Heat - has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of wrongdoing.

The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.

"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 in a statement, first released to The Wall Street Journal and subsequently released to The Associated Press and other outlets. "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."

The game involving Rozier that is in question was played March 23, 2023, a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game - and not only did not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining and was not in playoff contention, so it did not seem particularly unusual that Rozier was shut down for the season's final games.

In that March 23 game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in that opening period - a productive quarter, but well below his usual total output for a full game.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Miami Heat and Rozier's representatives for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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