The FBI arrested Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups on Thursday after he allegedly took part in mafia-influenced illegal poker games. He was placed on immediate leave by the NBA.
The case involving Billups revolves around rigged poker games. According to FBI director Kash Patel and the Justice Department, four of the New York mafia’s five families were involved in the scheme: the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese families. They say the perpetrators used poker chip tray analyzers, special contact lenses or eyeglasses, and an X-ray table to dupe players out of hundreds of thousands of dollars—and that Billups and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones were in on the scheme.
This is a shocking development for the Basketball Hall of Fame player. He's been in the NBA world for so long, and Billups's career is likely over after this case. Here's a look back at Billups's playing and coaching careers in the league as a refresher when reviewing the detalis of his arrest.
Chauncey Billups NBA playing career timeline
Coming out of Colorado, Billups was drafted No. 3 overall by the Celtics in 1997. He didn't even last a full season in Boston before he was traded to the Raptors in Feb. '98. He only remained in Toronto for about a year before he was traded once again, this time to the Nuggets. Him being traded became an annual occurrence as he was then sent to the Magic in Feb. 2000. But, he never played a game for Orlando as he suffered a season-ending injury.
Billups finally found some consistency in his career when landing with the Timberwolves ahead of the 2000-01 season. But, it was his next stop in Detroit where Billups really made a name for himself in the league.
Billups joined the Pistons ahead of the 2002-03 season and stayed there until '08. He became an NBA champion in Detroit, even winning the NBA Finals MVP award in 2004, and was a three-time All-Star. Billups also an All-NBA Second Team selection and an All-NBA Third-Team selection while in Detroit, and he was also named to two NBA All-Defensive Teams as a second team selection. The Pistons later retired his No. 1 jersey.
He returned to his hometown of Denver from 2008-11, where he earned two more All-Star bids and another All-NBA Third-Team selection. He was shockingly traded to the Knicks mid-season in '11 despite expressing desire to remain in Denver. Billups then landed with the Clippers for a couple seasons to team up alongside Chris Paul in Los Angeles.
Billups ended his NBA career back on the Pistons. He officially retired in 2014 after 17 seasons in the league.
Chauncey Billups NBA coaching timeline
Billups took some time off from basketball before beginning his coaching career in 2020. He first was hired by one of his former teams the Clippers to work as an assistant under Tyronn Lue. He was only in Los Angeles for one season before the Trail Blazers hired him.
Portland announced Billups as the franchise's new head coach in June '21. He received a contract extension as coach back in April earlier this year.
Before his arrest on Thursday, Billups posted a 117-212 overall head coaching record in Portland (including Wednesday's season opener loss), equating to a .356 winning percentage. He has never taken the Trail Blazers to the playoffs in his four years coaching. The highest win percentage the team has posted in a single season under Billups was a .439 from their 36-46 record last season.
