Jaren Jackson Memphis Grizzlies
Petre Thomas - Imagn Images
In case you haven’t been paying attention, the NBA has a little bit of a gambling problem. In fact, some might even say that the league has a major gambling problem.
Over the last year alone, the league has had several players and even one head coach investigated by the FBI for betting on NBA games or giving gambling tips to others to bet on games.
More specifically, most of the bets were parlays involving individual player prop bets. So, as you can imagine, it’s not exactly a good look when you have an announcer discussing the parlay he placed on a game that he is currently in the process of broadcasting.
Grizzlies announcer bragging about hitting his parlay
can’t believe this is the world we live in nowpic.twitter.com/PmhYg9qGC7
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) November 21, 2025
Memphis Grizzlies Sideline Reporter Hits On In-Game Parlay During Broadcast
That’s exactly what happened on Thursday night with Memphis Grizzlies sideline reporter Rob Fischer. With the Grizz up 137-96 and time winding down, play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica asked, “Fish, you hit that parlay, right?”
“I did,” Fischer responded. “I did hit the parlay. First one this season, Pete. We all needed a game like this. Everybody needed it.”
Now, there is some important context here. The Grizzlies’ local broadcasts are hosted on FanDuel Sports Network, and before the game, the reporters give viewers a FanDuel Same Game Parlay recommendation so that they can get bet on the game.
So it’s possible, likely even, that Fischer himself did not have money on the game that he was calling. But it’s still an absolutely terrible look for a league mired deep in an ongoing gambling controversy that refuses to go away, and fans were stunned by the commentary.
Seems like local broadcast crews should not be allowed to gamble on the games they cover but maybe it’s just me https://t.co/I9aKg7aTWK
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 21, 2025
Every mob movie ever has the one guy who goes “we had our hands in EVERYTHING” and I’m supposed to believe this stuff is on the up & up? 😒 https://t.co/2AsaplbxKT
— Jesse (@silverindow) November 21, 2025
Is it possible for the NBA and teams to have gambling partners and for players to still easily avoid gambling? Of course. But when the integrity of the sport is already questionable, stuff like this isn’t doing a ton to help the cause.