First Take waited until the second segment to address the bombshell NBA betting scandal, and Stephen A. Smith promptly reminded everyone why they should have waited even longer.
The NBA woke up to earth-shattering news Thursday morning, with Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier being arrested in separate sports betting probes. Rozier, who was previously investigated for possibly manipulating his performance during a 2023 NBA game, was arrested Thursday morning at a hotel in Orlando, where the Heat lost their season opener to the Magic. Billups was arrested in Oregon, in what ABC News reports was part of a separate but related betting case. According to ABC News, Billups was charged in an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia. Former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also arrested in the investigation.
This news broke before First Take went on-air, but Smith’s ESPN show opted to lead with Victor Wembanyama instead of the betting scandal. Minutes after FBI director Kash Patel held a briefing on the investigation, First Take turned its attention toward the betting scandal, and Smith connected it all to Donald Trump.
“Trump is coming. He’s coming…Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what’s going on today…this is just the tip of the iceberg” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/gngy9qbPIG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2025
“How many times for one incident after another, have I said, Trump is coming. He’s coming,” Smith began. “I’m gonna say it on national television again. Bad Bunny is performing at the Super Bowl and all of a sudden you hearing ICE is gonna be there looking to engage in mass deportations. The Super Bowl, disrupting things. Big night for the NBA, Wembanyama put on a show, that has now been smeared because we’re talking about this story. Remember, Trump has a long, long history connected to the world of sports because he had those casinos.”
“Anybody that has been around him. Anybody that has talked to him. Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what’s going on today,” Smith continued. “It’s a statement and it’s a warning that more is coming. And that’s what they’re saying here. I’m just telling you, it’s as serious as it gets. This ain’t the platform for me to get into it the way I’m going to get into it. But I’ve been saying, he’s coming. He’s coming.”
Smith is right. This probably wasn’t the platform for him to get into this. Unfortunately for Jay Williams, Monica McNutt and Vince Goodwill, who joined First Take for this segment, Smith put them in a tough spot by getting into it.
“Talk to people in the NBA, talk to people in the NFL, talk to people in the world of sports. They think this is like the tip of the iceberg,” Smith insisted. “It’s very concerning, we don’t know where this is going to go, but this is just the tip of the iceberg, everybody better brace themselves. Because he’s coming.”
Smith previously revealed Trump called him in 2014 and threatened to run for president as a way of getting back at the NFL for preventing him from purchasing the Buffalo Bills. Yes, the current POTUS is vindictive, but this story was big enough for Smith to address without bringing Trump into it. Active players and coaches were arrested in sports betting probes that likely began before Trump was even in office. Rozier was on the bench for the Miami Heat Wednesday night. Billups was coaching the season opener for the Portland Trail Blazers. And hours later, they’re both arrested as part of a federal investigation into illegal gambling.
Donald Trump may have an axe to grind with the NBA, but what Rozier and Billups are accused of is serious. These aren’t petty crimes being accentuated by a vindictive president. Smith should have focused only on the information that was provided. Instead, he undermined the accusations of these serious betting crimes to pit himself against Trump.