Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Miami Heat guard are in connection with schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by the Mafia, authorities said on Thursday.

Rozier is accused in participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information, officials said. Billups is charged in a separate indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games that were backed by Mafia families, authorities said.

The accused: Prominent names in the NBA, Billups and Rozier were first-round draft picks as high-scoring guards. Billups, a former five-time All-Star player and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, has been Portland’s coach since 2021 and signed a multi-year extension this year. Rozier has played with Boston, Cha

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