Shaquille O’Neal is among the many people reacting to the shocking arrest of Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
“I’m ashamed that those guys would put their families and their careers in jeopardy‚“ O’Neal said on ”Inside the NBA" on Thursday.
“There’s an old saying in the hood,” he said. “‘All money ain’t good money.’ So if you’re making $9 million and you’re dealing a certain thing -- like, how much more do you need? Especially if you know you get caught, you can do jail time. Lose your career. Put a bad image on yourself or your family. Or on the NBA.”
“They dropped the ball.”
Billups and Rozier were arrested early Thursday. While the charges are separate, they’re both linked to an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia. In all, six people were charged Thursday with turning professional basketball into a criminal gambling operation by using inside information to place unlawful wagers, according to an ABC News report.
Billups, a former Knicks guard and Basketball Hall of Famer, played 17 seasons in the NBA. He helped lead the 2004 Detroit Pistons to an NBA Finals win, winning the Finals MVP Award.
In October 2024, Billups was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Among his accomplishments are five All-Star nods, three-time All-NBA and two-time All-Defensive.
Rozier is entering his 11th NBA season on his third team. Ahead of the 2015-16 season, he was picked in the first round (No. 16 overall) by the Boston Celtics.
He played four seasons in Boston before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Bronx native and former Knicks guard Kemba Walker and a second-round draft pick.
(NJ Advance Media’s Manny Gomez contributed to this report.)
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