MIAMI (AP) 鈥� Terry Rozier declined to answer questions Friday about the investigations by federal prosecutors into unusual betting patterns surrounding his play in a game when he was with the Charlotte Hornets in 2023.
Rozier, now with the Miami Heat, is linked to the same probe that led to former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter being banned for life from the NBA, facing criminal prosecution and eventually pleading guilty to committing wire fraud.
Porter is awaiting sentencing. There has been no indication that Rozier is under criminal investigation, and he has not been charged with a crime.
鈥淥n advice from counsel, I can鈥檛 answer any questions about that matter," Rozier said Friday. "So, I won鈥檛.鈥�
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday first reported the investigation surrounding the Hornets-New Orleans game involving Rozier on March 23, 2023. Rozier left the game after 9 1/2 minutes and not only did not return 鈥� foot discomfort was the reason cited 鈥� he did not play again for the Hornets that season.
The NBA said it has previously looked into the Rozier situation and did not find that any league rules were broken. It confirmed Thursday that there is an investigation by the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office for the Eastern District of New York, and the league said it is "cooperating with that investigation.鈥�
Rozier 鈥� averaging 12.1 points per game this season 鈥� will continue to play for the Heat, per usual. Miami opens a road trip at San Antonio on Saturday.
鈥淗is status is still the same,鈥� Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Rozier's place with the team on Friday.
Rozier said he's 鈥渋n a great headspace鈥� and that he does not anticipate any issues being able to focus on playing, even with the investigation now having been revealed publicly.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of always been easy. It鈥檚 kind of been my life," Rozier said. "You know, once I get in between them lines, I can block out anything. So, it鈥檒l be pretty easy for me. I鈥檓 around a great group of guys. We鈥檝e got a great locker room, great staff, so it鈥檚 easy for me.鈥�
In that March 23, 2023, game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in that opening period 鈥� a productive quarter, but well below his usual total output for a full game.
Posts still online from that date show that some bettors were furious with sportsbooks that evening when it became evident that Rozier was not going to return to the Charlotte-New Orleans game after the first quarter, with many turning to social media to say that something 鈥渟hady鈥� had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night.
Some sportsbooks offered Rozier prop bets 鈥� his totals for that night were generally set around 21.5 points, six assists and four rebounds 鈥� that day, then took them down hours before the start of the Charlotte-New Orleans game. It was not clear why that happened, and some bettors wondered aloud why that unusual move had taken place. Rozier was not listed on the team鈥檚 injury report going into the game.
The 30-year-old Rozier is in the third year of a four-year, $96.3 million contract.
Porter鈥檚 ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and 鈥減rop bets鈥� 鈥� wagers where bettors can choose whether a player will reach a certain statistical standard or not during a game. The Porter investigation started once the league learned from 鈥渓icensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets鈥� about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter鈥檚 performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento.
The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual 鈥� known to be an NBA bettor 鈥� placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
