LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers are one of multiple National Basketball Association (NBA) teams that have been asked to surrender “documents and records” to the league as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal gambling operations, The Athletic and ESPN reported on Sunday.
ESPN reported that Mike Mancias, an assistant trainer, and Randy Mims, an executive administrator, are among roughly a dozen Lakers employees who are cooperating with the investigation.
However, being contacted as part of the investigation does not necessarily imply wrongdoing.
“The NBA engaged an independent law firm to investigate the allegations in the indictment once it was made public,” a league spokesperson told multiple outlets in a statement.
“As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organizations were asked to preserve documents and records. Everyone has been fully cooperative.”
The Lakers may be a team of interest due to the presence of LeBron James, now in his seventh season with the storied franchise.
When a federal indictment over illicit gambling took the NBA by surprise last month, among the people arrested were former player and assistant coach Damon Jones, a friend of James’ who was accused of selling (or attempting to sell) non-public information to bettors that James would sit out a game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to injury during the 2022-23 season.
The gambling rings have also resulted in the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, allegedly involved in rigged poker games, and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who was accused of tipping off longtime friend Deniro Laster that he planned to leave a game for the Charlotte Hornets early by feigning an injury.
Laster and other conspirators then used that knowledge to “place and direct more than $200,000 in wagers predicting Rozier’s ‘under’ statistics (i.e., that Rozier would underperform)”, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Meanwhile, James is set to practise with the Lakers on Monday (Tuesday, Singapore time), marking the first time he will join the team on the court since being sidelined in the preseason with sciatica, multiple outlets reported on Sunday.
James’ recovery took a step forward last week when he was assigned to the franchise’s G League affiliate and practiced with the South Bay Lakers.
The Lakers announced during the first week of preseason games in October that their superstar forward would miss the start of the season. It marked the first time in his career that James missed a season opener.
The 40-year-old is set to become the first player in NBA history to play in 23 seasons when he makes his season debut. After completing a five-game road trip with a 24-point win on Saturday at Milwaukee, the Lakers play five of their next six games at home starting on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz.
In NBA action on Sunday, Kevin Durant scored a game-high 35 points, Alperen Sengun added a 30-point double-double, and the host Houston Rockets claimed a 117-113 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic.
Durant assisted on an Amen Thompson dunk with 51.8 seconds left that provided the Rockets a 111-110 lead before nailing a 12-foot pull-up jumper with 9.2 seconds left.
Elsewhere, Jaylen Brown scored 33 points and Payton Pritchard finished with 30 as the Boston Celtics escaped with a 121-118 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.
Moses Moody buried a franchise-record-tying seven 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to a career-high 32 points, and the Golden State Warriors, despite not getting a basket from Stephen Curry until the third period, thumped the host New Orleans Pelicans 124-106 in James Borrego’s debut as interim coach. AFP, REUTERS
NBALos Angeles LakersLeBron James