Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested on Thursday as part of a wide-reaching FBI gambling investigation, and it turns out the previous reports and speculation about his involvement in the scheme were accurate.
Back in January, news surfaced that Rozier was being investigated as part of the same sports gambling scheme that led to former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter being banned from the NBA for life. It had been reported that there was at least one game in question involving Rozier, which was on March 23, 2023. Rozier was with the Charlotte Hornets at the time.
In a press conference on Thursday, prosecutors confirmed that Rozier is believed to have manipulated his performance during that game. FBI investigators say evidence shows that Rozier shared information with a co-defendant that he was planning to take himself out of the March 23, 2023, game with an injury. A total of $259,000 in wagers connected to Rozier were placed by several different bettors.
The group with ties to Rozier bet on under props, which are wagers made on a player performing below a certain statistical line. Rozier’s under props cashed because he left the game early. Rozier played just 10 minutes in the game, which was a 115-96 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists before exiting with a supposed foot injury.
Porter engaged in a similar scheme, which was laid out in stunning text messages that were made public. Porter pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Even casual gamblers noticed that something was amiss during the 2023 game between the Hornets and Pelicans. Several people noticed that some sportsbooks had inexplicably stopped offering prop bets on Rozier. One bettor even claimed that he caught wind of a plan for Rozier to leave “in the first or second quarter (depending on game flow and live lines) so that his unders would hit.” You can see those posts here.
Rozier, 31, had one of his worst career seasons with Miami last season. He averaged just 10.6 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field. The NBA announced on Thursday that he has been placed on immediate leave.
