What turns around a riveting storyline? The mafia plot twist. While conspiracy theorists were going ah-hah at the shocking arrests of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier, the FBI’s next revelation caused spit takes at screens. LeBron James’ name was thrown into the mix, and that seemed like the biggest shocker (if it’s true) until this one. The federal investigators claim there are alleged mafia ties to the illegal gambling activities in the NBA, which is a whole other can of worms… When that came up, fans flocked to YouTube’s most famous crime boss. And boy did Michael Franzese come through.

The former mobster broke down the intricacies of the mafia’s involvement in this publicly discovered illegal gambling ring. From how he phrases it, it’s almost an athlete-mob honey trap. He even titles this segment in the whole video, ‘Athletes are easy prey.’

“A lot of athletes get in trouble all the time, you know, with respect to gambling. It happens. I don’t like to throw a wide net over everybody. But listen, you got to understand with athletes, gambling is an extension of their competitiveness. They raise the stakes when they gamble, and this is what happens. Many of them get in trouble whether they be in pros or in college. But it’s been happening, and it will continue to happen,” Franzese said in his YouTube video.

Franzese went through what other reports claimed. Four out of five prominent New York-based crime families were involved, and he found it odd that his former associates weren’t. He, however, said that he used to have a dozen bookmakers working for him and therefore knows how athletes fall into this trap.

Because this very lucrative source of income targets athletes’ competitive nature, Franzese claimed that the NBA and other leagues will always be targeted. “Because they know athletes are easy prey in many, many cases. I’m sorry,” he said.

“They used to come to me, you know, my bookmakers and tell me things which I’ll get into a little bit. Athletes are easy prey. They get themselves in trouble. They owe a debt, and they got to do whatever they got to do to get out of it. You know, sometimes we have to intimidate them. Sometimes they just play along with us, whatever. But it happens. And it’s not going to stop happening. Why? Because today, athletes have more access to gambling than they did in my day,” Franzese continued.

Sports betting is not outlawed as long as it’s within a legal framework. It is a problem when the people involved manipulate the game. If the former mobster is to be believed about Chauncey Billups’ indictment, athletes get into legal sports betting, lose money, and then reach out to bookies to recover that and more. It seems to be a vicious cycle…

Shocking Terry Rozier gambling investigation has LeBron James getting an unexpected mention; why is there trouble?

According to reports, Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier faked an injury in 2023 to manipulate the odds. Injury reports are not just to disappoint fans about whether their favorite player is going to be in the game or not. It’s a tool for determining odds. Within the legal betting system, the injury reports are always available before the game from an official team source. But what about the unreported, probable, and in-game injuries?

Franzese described how injury reports, both official and unofficial, help bookmakers, saying, “You’re supposed to report when a player is injured. You’ve got to report it. This is part of the game, so people know. What if you don’t report it, and people get that information? They know, ‘Hey, this player again, Kobe Bryant, he’s not at full steam today.’ You know, ‘This player is not at full steam. Bet the under.’ Whatever. This is what’s going to happen.”

This is not just about Rozier’s arrest. Fans are now skeptical about other injured active players. Andrew Nembhard was ruled out after the first half against OKC, and fans immediately called upon the FBI to raid his house. Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton are also getting dragged in for the terrible misfortune of injuries.

But right now, the biggest injury report is LeBron James, who will be out for at least a month because of sciatica. Earlier, it was, ‘Yeah, he’s 40, understandable.’ Now, however, it seems almost unimaginable for Bron to be injured unless there’s a sinister scheme… While James’ involvement is only a groundless rumor at this point, he is allegedly a subject of this matter.

The FBI indicted Damon Jones, an unofficial Lakers staffer during the 2022-23 season, for sharing non-public information and players’ health statuses. He allegedly texted his contact that a “prominent” player who was not on the official injury report would miss a game. In that game, Bron was listed as questionable and didn’t play due to ankle issues; ESPN corroborated that the player was King James too.

Information about one of the biggest stars in the league makes a massive difference in the odds. Franzese didn’t speak in the context of Damon Jones or LeBron James, but said that he used to make friendships with players and staff to get this unofficial information.

“You can bet so many different ways during a game. So, when you have injury information that only you have, you can make a lot of money. That’s why they tell you you’re not allowed to get this information out. It’s got to be reported, or forget it. Big advantage you can get with unreported injury information. Really help you win a bet. No question,” Franzese concluded.

So far, Rozier and Billups’ legal representatives have denied the allegations.