Former Celtic Terry Rozier under investigation for illegal betting scheme

The investigation is part of a wider government probe into a gambling ring that was linked to former Raptors forward Jontay Porter.

Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier (12) reacts after hitting three-point basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

By Conor Ryan

January 30, 2025

2 minutes to read

Former Celtics guard Terry Rozier has found himself in some hot water.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Heat guard is under investigation for allegedly manipulating his play on the court as part of an illegal sports gambling scheme.

The investigation is part of a wider government probe into a gambling ring that was linked to former Raptors forward Jontay Porter — who was banned from the NBA for life in April for “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.”

In particular, federal authorities investigated a March 2023 game involving the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. In that matchup, Rozier — playing for Charlotte at the time — only played nine minutes in the game, leaving the floor due to “right foot discomfort” and not returning for the rest of the night.

Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds, and two assists, and ultimately did not play for the remainder of the season for Charlotte.

Per the WSJ, betting activity involving Rozier the night of that game caught the eye of gambling firm U.S. Integrity, which altered both the NBA and several sportsbooks that “unusual wagers were coming in on Rozier failing to meet certain statistical benchmarks, such as the total number of points or rebounds he would record in the game.”

At least I was in on it today. Got lucky that I was fed some inside info that Rozier was leaving in the first or second quarter (depending on game flow and live lines) so that his unders would hit. https://t.co/D71oCvED2G pic.twitter.com/QZ1u7rzrCY
— Greg Ehrenberg (@gehrenbergdfs) March 24, 2023

The WSJ report noted that Rozier has not been accused of a crime or any other wrongdoing as part of the ongoing investigation.

“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told the Wall Street Journal. “The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”

Per the WSJ, U.S. Integrity has issued only three alerts involving NBA games over the last two seasons. Two games were matchups that Porter played in; while the other was Rozier’s matchup against the Pelicans.

Rozier, 30, is averaging 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this season with the Heat. A former first-round pick by the Celtics in 2015, Rozier played four seasons in Boston, appearing in 272 total games with the franchise before getting traded to the Hornets.