Examining Strange NBA Betting Trends Involving Terry Rozier in 2023

Federal prosecutors are currently investigating peculiar betting trends related to the performance of former Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game from nearly two years ago. This inquiry is linked to the same investigation that resulted in the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, as confirmed by the NBA.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to break the news about this investigation, highlighting that Rozier—who was part of the Hornets during the incident and now plays for the Miami Heat—has not been charged with any crime or accused of any misconduct.

The NBA previously looked into the situation and found no violations of its rules.

“In March 2023, the NBA was informed of unusual betting activities associated with Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” said NBA spokesperson Mike Bass in a statement initially provided to The Wall Street Journal and later to the Associated Press and other media outlets.

“The league carried out an investigation and found no infractions of NBA regulations. We are now cognisant of an investigation initiated by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and are providing our full cooperation.”

The US Attorney’s office has yet to make an official comment. Both the Heat and the Hornets referred to the NBA’s statement when asked for their input.

The contested game featuring Rozier took place on March 23, 2023, during a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Rozier spent the first 9 minutes and 36 seconds on the court in that game, but did not return due to a foot issue and ended the remainder of the season sidelined.

Charlotte was not in playoff contention with eight games left, making Rozier’s early-season shutdown appear somewhat standard.

In the game held on March 23, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds, and two assists in that first quarter, a solid performance yet significantly below his typical output for an entire game.

Social media posts dated from March 23, 2023, reveal that some gamblers expressed their frustration with sportsbooks when it became clear Rozier would not return to the Hornets-Pelicans contest after the first quarter. Many took to social media, suggesting that something “shady” occurred regarding prop bets tied to his stats for that evening.

One angry gambler shared a ticket for a three-leg parlay where a $65 bet could have paid out $401.95. They had wagered on over 6.5 goals in the Tampa Bay-Ottawa NHL match and over 8.5 rebounds for Julius Randle—both of which were successful. However, the ticket ultimately became invalid as Rozier fell well short of the prop bet total of 32.5 combined points, assists, and rebounds.

Another punter revealed they had received “some inside info” about Rozier leaving the game early, showing a ticket where they turned a $122 bet into a $222 payout.

Some sportsbooks offered prop bets for Rozier—his expected totals that evening were generally around 21.5 points, six assists, and four rebounds—before pulling them down a few hours prior to the start of the Charlotte-New Orleans game. The rationale behind this unusual action remains unclear, with some bettors questioning the motive behind it. Notably, Rozier was not listed on the injury report leading up to the game.

Rozier, now 30, is in the third year of a four-year, $96.3 million contract.

Porter’s ban stemmed from a similar investigation into his performance and prop bets—where bettors predict whether a player will achieve certain statistical benchmarks during a match. Last April, the NBA handed Porter a lifetime ban after its inquiry revealed he had leaked confidential information to sports gamblers and even placed bets on games, including wagers on his own team’s defeat.

The investigation into Porter was initiated after the league was alerted by “licensed sports betting operators and an organisation monitoring legal betting markets” regarding unusual wagering activity surrounding his performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. The league discovered that Porter had provided a bettor with information about his health before the game and that another individual—known to be an NBA bettor—made an $A128,000 wager predicting that Porter would not meet his performance metrics in parlays through an online sportsbook. That bet had the potential to yield $1.7 million.

Details concerning the bets that led to the investigation of the Hornets-Pelicans matchup remain undisclosed.