NBA free agent Malik Beasley is under investigation by the U.S. District Attorney’s workplace regarding gambling allegations tied to league video games, an individual acquainted with the state of affairs informed The Associated Press on Sunday.
The individual spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to touch upon the matter.
“We are cooperating with the federal prosecutors’ investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass mentioned in a press release launched to the AP and different shops on Sunday.
ESPN was the primary to report on the investigation.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Cooper Flagg goes to the Dallas Mavericks No. 1 within the 2025 NBA Draft
“There have been no costs in opposition to Malik,” Steve Haney, Beasley’s legal professional, informed the AP. “It’s simply an investigation at this level. We hope individuals reserve judgement till he’s charged — or if he’s charged. It’s not unusual for there to be a federal investigation.”
The probe into Beasley comes 14 months after the NBA banned Toronto’s Jontay Porter, who was linked to a prop wager investigation and finally pleaded responsible to committing wire fraud.
This previous season, The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Terry Rozier — then of the Charlotte Hornets — was under investigation for exercise associated to uncommon betting patterns surrounding him in a March 2023 recreation.
Rozier, now of the Miami Heat, has not been charged with any crime, nor has he confronted any sanction from the NBA.
Porter’s ban got here after an identical investigation into his efficiency and “prop bets” — wagers the place bettors can select whether or not a participant will attain a sure statistical commonplace or not throughout a recreation. The Porter investigation began as soon as the league discovered from “licensed sports activities betting operators and a company that displays authorized betting markets” about uncommon gambling patterns surrounding Porter’s efficiency in a recreation on March 20, 2024, in opposition to Sacramento.
The league decided that Porter gave a bettor details about his personal well being standing prior that recreation and mentioned that one other particular person — recognized to be an NBA bettor — positioned an $80,000 wager that Porter wouldn’t hit the numbers set for him in parlays by way of a web based sports activities ebook. That wager would have received $1.1 million.
Beasley signed final yr with the Pistons, taking a one-year contract for $6 million within the hopes of cashing on this summer season as a free agent. A second individual, chatting with AP on situation of anonymity as a result of no deal was introduced, mentioned Detroit was “very ” in re-signing Beasley to a multi-year contract this summer season. Those talks could be in jeopardy, given the uncertainty regarding the federal probe.
He made a single-season, franchise-record 319 3-pointers within the common season. He helped Detroit make the playoffs for the primary time since 2019 and finish an NBA-record 15-game postseason shedding streak within the first spherical in opposition to the New York Knicks.
Beasley averaged 16.3 factors final season and has averaged 11.7 factors over his profession with Denver, Minnesota, Utah, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee and Detroit. He scored a career-high 19.6 factors a recreation through the 2020-21 season with the Timberwolves.
The Atlanta native performed at Florida State and the Nuggets drafted him No. 19 total in 2016.
