Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier have been arrested in connection with a probe into illegal gambling, US media reported Thursday.
ABC News, citing law enforcement sources, said the arrest of the 49-year-old Billups was linked to an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia.
Rozier was arrested in a separate but related betting case, the television network said.
CBS News said FBI Director Kash Patel was scheduled to make an announcement concerning the arrests in New York at 10:00 am (1400 GMT).
A former star player for the Detroit Pistons, Billups retired from the league in 2014 and has been the coach of the Trailblazers for five years.
ABC said Billups would make a first court appearance in Oregon later Thursday.
Rozier, 31, has been in the NBA for 11 years and was the 16th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2015 draft.
He did not play in the Heat’s opening game of the NBA season on Wednesday.
An NBA player, Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors, was banned from the league for life last year for his role in a betting scandal.
© Agence France-Presse
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