What happened

Eric Earnest, 54, walked into federal court in New York on Thursday and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud — the central charge in the NBA's inside-information gambling case, the one tied to guard Terry Rozier.

The government's case turns on a tip. Prosecutors say an unnamed co-conspirator told Earnest that the Portland Trail Blazers would be tanking and that certain Portland players would not suit up before the team's March 24, 2023 game against the Chicago Bulls. In the indictment, that tipster was described as an Oregon resident, "an NBA player from approximately 1997 through 2014, and an NBA coach since at least 2021" — a resume that lines up with Chauncey Billups, the former star turned head coach. In court, Earnest admitted he "agreed with another person to place an illegal bet on an NBA game with a sportsbook" around that date.

Then his lawyer drew a hard line. Outside the courthouse, attorney Peter Brill told reporters his client never got anything from Billups: "Our position is that Chauncey Billups did not at any time provide inside information to Mr. Earnest that he used to place any bets." Brill called the allegation a "fundamental disagreement" with the government.

The government, for its part, did not name Billups in court. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Berman said prosecutors could have proved the tipster was a sitting NBA head coach who fed inside information to people betting on a game — but he left the name out, and Billups is not charged in this case. Billups' attorney, Marc Mukasey, declined to comment Thursday.

Why it matters

Earnest's plea is the first conviction in a scandal that cuts at the one thing legal sports betting cannot survive without: the belief that games are decided on the floor. A bettor who knew Portland's plans — who was sitting, who was coasting — was not gambling. He was cashing in.

The split in Thursday's courtroom is what makes this case unusual. Earnest admitted the illegal bet happened. What he disputes is where the information came from — and that dispute is now the center of the government's theory, which says a sitting NBA head coach handed lineup and tanking plans to a betting ring. With Billups pleading not guilty in the related poker case and his lawyer staying silent here, that theory is still unproven in court.

The poker case is the other half of the story. In a separate hearing Thursday, Earnest also pleaded guilty to wire fraud tied to allegedly rigged poker games — and in that case Billups IS charged. Prosecutors said the games used shuffling machines that could help predict players' hands, with the information relayed to the cheaters. Earnest admitted sitting in those rigged games as far back as April 2019.

It has been a week of scrutiny for star players across American sports: the NFL said it [welcomed an investigation into Jalen Hurts' medical care](/article/goodell-nfl-welcomes-investigation-jalen-hurts-medical-care), another case of a major league publicly backing a probe into one of its biggest names.

What happens next

The sentencing math is rough for Earnest. Each conspiracy count carries up to 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release, with fines up to $250,000 or double the gambling gains or losses. Prosecutors estimated the federal guidelines would land him at roughly 30 to 37 months for the betting case and 63 to 78 months for the poker case. He is due back for sentencing March 4, 2027 in the poker case, with the betting-case sentencing set for April 15.

Then the real fights begin. The remaining defendants — including Rozier and Billups — are scheduled for trial in early 2027. There, prosecutors will have to prove the theory Earnest's own lawyer now openly disputes: that the inside information reached a betting ring from an NBA bench.