Kevin Garnett is the latest player to be caught up in the NBA-poker scandal, and his involvement had everyone saying the same thing.
On Thursday, the FBI announced that multiple people had been arrested due to their alleged involvement in either fixing illegal poker games, or trading inside information for sports betting purposes. Among those arrested were current Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, current NBA player Terry Rozier, and former NBA player/coach Damon Jones.
Multiple athletes reportedly participated in card games organized by those indicted by the DOJ in “Operation Royal Flush.” Two different reports say that one famous athlete who participated in a 2019 poker game was Kevin Garnett.
Kevin Garnett played in game in 2019 in Las Vegas referenced below. It's likely he was just there as a celeb player and was not named in the indictment and likely wasn't aware of the cheat.
— Jeff Nadu (@JeffNadu) October 23, 2025
Per 2 sources I have- "Chauncey cleaned up in that game." pic.twitter.com/fEDgVMWCcg
Garnett had been retired from the NBA for a few years when he reportedly attended one of those poker games. And there is no suggestion that he did anything wrong (beyond attend the game) or knew anything wrong was going on with the games.
The report led everyone to say the same thing though and note how similar the mention of Garnett playing in an illegal poker game was to the Hall of Famer’s role in the Adam Sandler movie “Uncut Gems” that also was released in 2019.
The same year Uncut Gems came out… you can’t make this up pic.twitter.com/nH5yVoTVVQ
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 24, 2025
Dawwwwg. Crazy cuz he was in that movie with Adam Sandler that was literally ABOUT GAMBLING😭😭
— Steven Holiere (@farandjustafew) October 24, 2025
Uncut gems was a biopic
— Tuck C. (@Tuchto) October 24, 2025
Sandler portrays a gambling addict in the movie. Garnett visits the jewelry store owned by Sandler’s character. Garnett’s involvement in a real-life poker game, given his role in a gambling movie like “Uncut Gems,” was a little too on-the-nose for fans.
