Amid all the news surrounding the beginning of NBA free agency – not least of which was their acquisition of Ja Morant in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies – news has broken this week of a former prominent member of the Portland Trail Blazers being indicted in a criminal case that highlights one of the NBA’s biggest current problems.
Four years after playing his last NBA game, former Blazers center Ed Davis is back in the headlines for a very different reason. Davis was one of six people indicted this week as part of a federal gambling investigation that prosecutors say involved former NBA guard Malik Beasley manipulating his on-court performance to influence prop bets during the 2023-24 season. Davis, who played alongside Beasley with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020-21, is alleged to have been a key figure in the scheme.
Former Blazers Fan Favorite
According to the indictment, Beasley had accumulated millions of dollars in gambling debt. Prosecutors allege that Davis loaned him money and later used that financial leverage to recruit him into a betting operation centred on player prop wagers. The government claims that Beasley then deliberately altered his performance in several Milwaukee Bucks games, allowing bettors with advance knowledge of the plan to profit from wagers on his statistical production.
Federal investigators say the group targeted bets involving Beasley’s individual numbers, rather than game outcomes. In one example outlined in court documents, bettors allegedly wagered tens of thousands of dollars on Beasley failing to reach a specific rebound total. Prosecutors claim Beasley knowingly cooperated, with text messages cited as evidence of coordination between the various participants.
Davis is accused of far more than simply knowing about the activity. Prosecutors allege that he helped organise the betting operation and acted as a link between Beasley and other members of the group, including former NBA agent Paolo Zamorano. Davis was arrested on Monday, while Beasley had not yet surrendered at the time the indictment was announced.
Davis’s NBA Career
Selected 13th overall in the 2010Â NBA Draft, Davis built a 12-year NBA career by doing the little things, rebounding, defending the paint, set screens and carving out a role for himself on eight different teams despite never averaging double figures in scoring.. He appeared in more than 680 regular-season games for the Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers. His three seasons in Portland from 2015 to 2018 were among the most productive of his career, as he became a fan favourite through his rebounding and relentless energy off the bench.
For the NBA, the case is the latest in a series of gambling-related scandals that have raised uncomfortable questions about the integrity of professional sports in an era of widespread legalized betting. Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned from the league in 2024 for gambling violations, and investigators have continued examining suspicious betting activity involving NBA players ever since.
ESPN reports that Davis’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
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