The former assistant coach admitted to leaking injury information to gamblers to profit from sports
For months, Damon Jones maintained his innocence. Today, that changed in a Brooklyn federal courtroom, and with it, one of the most troubling legal cases in recent NBA history moved into a new and more serious phase.
Jones, 49, a former NBA player and assistant coach, pleaded guilty on April 28 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, becoming the first of 30 defendants to enter a guilty plea in a sweeping federal probe into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games involving NBA figures and alleged organized crime connections. He also entered a guilty plea in connection with the poker scheme.
What Jones admitted to doing
In a prepared statement read to the court, Jones acknowledged that he conspired with others to defraud sports betting companies by using insider information he obtained through his relationships as a former player and coach. Prosecutors say that from December 2022 through March 2024, he leveraged nonpublic details about NBA player injuries and lineup decisions to help co-conspirators place winning bets against sportsbooks.
One of the most notable incidents occurred before a Feb. 9, 2023, game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks. According to federal authorities, Jones texted a co-conspirator urging a large bet on Milwaukee before official injury reports were released, tipping them off that a prominent Lakers star widely speculated to be LeBron James would not play. James sat out that night with an ankle injury, and the Bucks won 115-105. The game came just two days after James scored 38 points to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Prosecutors say Jones was also involved in a second incident roughly 11 months later, this time involving what authorities believe to be Anthony Davis, also then with the Lakers. That tip, however, did not pay off as planned. The player in question performed well, and the Lakers won.
Jones had previously been an assistant coach with the Lakers and shared personal history with James, having played alongside him with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008.
Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones becomes the first person to plead guilty in a gambling sweep that led to arrests of more than 30 people, per multiple reports.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. pic.twitter.com/h2Z4YlhOvi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 28, 2026
The poker scheme and what comes next
Beyond the sports betting charges, Jones was also accused of serving as a so-called face card in rigged poker games, lending his celebrity to lure unsuspecting victims into games where organized crime figures used hidden cameras in chip trays and rigged shuffling machines to cheat players out of their money. Hall of Fame member and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was also named among those accused in that scheme. Jones received $2,500 for his participation in one such game held in the Hamptons.
Despite pleading not guilty in November and initially putting up his parents’ home as bond collateral, Jones reversed course. Sentencing guidelines for the wire fraud conspiracy call for 21 to 27 months in prison, while the poker-related charges carry a range of 63 to 78 months. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2027, before Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall. He has also agreed to forfeit $35,000.
As a condition of his bail, Jones is prohibited from gambling or associating with organized crime figures, and must obtain court approval for any bank transfers exceeding $10,000, outside of legal fees.
A career now clouded by controversy
Despite going undrafted out of the University of Houston in 1997, Jones carved out an 11-year NBA career, playing for 10 different teams and earning nearly $22 million in salary. He shared the court with some of the game’s biggest names, including James, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal.
Meanwhile, the broader case continues to develop. Prosecutors have also moved to file additional charges against current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who is accused of intentionally underperforming in a game to benefit bettors who had wagered on his statistical totals. Rozier has filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him.
With Jones now the first to plead guilty, federal authorities appear to be gaining ground in what has already become one of the most far-reaching legal proceedings the NBA has ever faced.