Journalist Pablo Torre has been putting his investigative chops to work, calling out stories others might shy away from. Though the NBA stars caught on, his reports may not always be appreciated. The latest to come under his radar? Kevin Garnett, whose name surfaced in some sort of wager that’s been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. But that hasn’t slowed KG down one bit. With the NBA season already serving up its fair share of drama, the Hall of Famer seems to be enjoying the action from a different angle: through his bets. And really, who better than Garnett to turn the season’s chaos into a parlay opportunity?

The Celtics vs. Knicks clash might be heating up on the court, but off it, Kevin Garnett’s bet seems to be cooling fast. With New York leading as the third quarter unfolds, KG’s picks aren’t looking too sharp. The NBA legend had taken to X to share his PrizePicks for the night, both centered around the Celtics’ stars, Jalen Brunson and Jaylen Brown, captioning it with, “We’re back! What we doing tonight? Here are my @PrizePicks!” But if things keep leaning the Knicks’ way, Garnett might have to eat this one.

What makes it even funnier? Jaylen Brown had literally warned fans against betting on him. In a video shared by the Celtics on CLNS, Brown brushed off questions about how betting affects him, saying, “I don’t think so. It don’t affect me. I don’t think so. I just come out. I don’t pay attention to that stuff. You know what I mean, people bet, parlay it… Aye, you know what I mean, don’t bet on me. Tell you that right now.” So even before KG locked in his picks, Brown had made it clear he’s not one to gamble on. 

CBS Sports highlighted that with 12 NBA games listed in the latest odds, fans have plenty of chances to try their luck with parlays. Their trusted SportsLine Projection Model, basically a smart computer that simulates every game 10,000 times, has been a favorite for bettors over the years.

In fact, this model has helped $100 bettors make over $10,000 in profit from its top NBA picks across seven seasons. Heading into the 2025–26 campaign, it’s still on fire, winning 160 of its last 278 best bets and pulling in nearly $4,000 in returns. Last year alone, it hit nearly 70% of its best “against-the-spread” calls. But while this betting system keeps turning heads, it’s not something that’s ever really interested Jaylen Brown.

As a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, Jaylen Brown isn’t entirely on board with how the league has handled the rise of sports betting. He’s spoken openly about the lack of real communication between the NBA and its players on how to handle this new betting culture.

“A lot more could have been done to help players and prepare players,” he explained. In his view, players are often brushed off with the idea that since they earn big money, they should be able to deal with all the negativity and pressure from people constantly talking about parlays.

What bothers Brown the most is how betting has changed the energy around the game. “It creates a negative discourse around the game and players when people have money involved,” he said. The situation is made trickier because the NBA itself has big partnerships with sportsbooks that profit from bets on its own teams and players. 

Even Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged recently that things may have gone too far. To address the issue, Silver is moving toward tighter regulations and has requested that some sportsbook partners limit specific player prop bets to help prevent any potential game manipulation.

But this whole conversation didn’t just pop up out of nowhere. It was sparked by the recent arrests of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier in a federal investigation into illegal gambling and sports betting. Their involvement has put pressure on the NBA to re-examine how it protects players from the risks and temptations tied to wagering. This marks the league’s second big gambling controversy in just two years, following Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban in 2024 for his part in a prop-bet scheme.

What’s KG’s role in the underground poker ring?

And as if his betting buzz wasn’t enough, Garnett’s name has popped up in it for all the wrong reasons. Pablo Torre recently reported that “a number of former pro athletes” were involved in poker games linked to the arrest of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Among those mentioned? Kevin Garnett. 

But the details are a little more complicated than they first sounded. Later, Torre reported that a source said Garnett believed he was just going to an afterparty in Los Angeles back in 2019, not an illegal poker game. He reportedly left the event early and hasn’t heard from federal authorities.

The poker game in question was allegedly part of a secret network run by Billups and former player Damon Jones, involving three Mafia families. The high-stakes setup wasn’t your usual card night; it reportedly used crazy tech like rigged shufflers, X-ray-equipped tables, and sensor-loaded eye contacts to cheat players out of their money. It’s not clear if Garnett was just playing or if he was involved in any of the cheating, but sources suggest he was part of that 2019 game. 

One pro poker player even mentioned back in 2023 that some pros “got absolutely filleted” by players who didn’t even know the rules of Texas Hold ’Em, which gives a sense of just how wild these games were.

So far, Garnett hasn’t been charged or officially accused of doing anything wrong. The FBI, under “Operation Royal Flush,” has targeted these games and filed charges against 31 people, including Billups and Jones. For now, KG’s role seems more like a footnote in a much bigger story.