Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones has requested to change his plea to guilty after he was charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering and accused of sharing and selling insider information about undisclosed details of NBA games on numerous occasions.
Jones’ change-of-plea request was noted in a court filing on April 16, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, and the date for him to officially appear before a judge was not disclosed.
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Jones originally pleaded not guilty to those charges on Nov. 6 at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
According to prosecutors, Jones gave NBA lineup decisions and pre-released medical information to his co-conspirators, who then placed significant wagers based on the tips. The medical information allegedly involved LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who were playing for the Los Angeles Lakers at the time.
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
Kawhi Leonard and team owner Steve Ballmer are at the forefront of an investigation into whether the team allegedly helped facilitate a $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal for Leonard with a now-bankrupt sustainability company called Aspiration.
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
The NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. on Feb. 20, 2025 for 25 games for testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, which is an opiate.
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
The NBA gave Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter a lifetime ban in April 2024 for “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.”
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
The NBA banned Donald Sterling for life, forced him to sell the Los Angeles Clippers and fined him $2.5 million in April 2014 after racist comments made by Sterling on a private audio recording were disclosed.
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
In the 2009-10 season, it was discovered Gilbert Arenas had brought guns into the Wizards locker room and had an alteracation with then-teammate Javaris Crittenton involving firearms in the locker room. The NBA suspended both players indefinitely, and Arenas ended up serving a 50-game suspension.
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
In 2008, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to a 15-month prison term and three years of supervised release for betting on games that he officiated.
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NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed
Latrell Sprewell was fired from the Golden State Warriors after he choked Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo during a closed door practice.
Before a Lakers game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 9, 2023, authorities say Jones texted a co-conspirator, alerting them to bet on the Bucks before the injury statuses of both teams were released. James ended up not playing in the game because of a lower-body injury, and Los Angeles went on to lose the game 115-105
Jones, who played 11 NBA seasons for 10 teams from 1999 to 2009, is also accused of using his notoriety to get people to poker games rigged by organized crime figures in order to steal money from them, sometimes using technology, including poker chip trays with hidden cameras, and rigged shuffling machines with the ability to read the cards in the deck.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Damon Jones Ex-NBA player to plead guilty in betting, gambling scandal
