Ex-NBA players Malik Beasley, Ed Davis indicted in gambling case

Beasley, Davis, and an NBA agent are among six defendants indicted on charges related to an alleged sports betting plot.

Former NBA players Malik Beasley ‌‌and Ed Davis were indicted on Monday on federal charges related ⁠⁠to an ⁠⁠alleged sports betting operation.

They are among six defendants named in an indictment released by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern ⁠⁠District of New York.

Davis was arrested on Monday along with William Brown, Rob Gorodetsky and Ernesto Plascencia, while Beasley and Paolo Zamorano were ⁠⁠not yet in custody as of Monday morning.

Zamorano is an NBA player agent.

The indictment alleges that Beasley lost millions of dollars gambling during his nine-year NBA career with six teams from 2016-25. He agreed to adjust his performance ‌‌ahead of at least three games during the 2023-24 season with the Milwaukee Bucks so that his alleged co-conspirators could wager on his statistics, per the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that Beasley accepted bribes in order to reduce or pay off debts he owed to Davis, his teammate with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020-21. Davis played 12 seasons with ⁠⁠eight teams from 2010-22.

“Only way you can beat ⁠⁠Vegas is sports betting,” Davis texted Beasley in December 2023, according to the indictment. “… We can make some good money.”

A month later, Beasley told Davis he would underperform on ⁠⁠rebounding in a January 26, 2024, game between the Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, per the indictment. He finished ⁠⁠with three rebounds, under the betting line ⁠⁠of 3.5 at some sportsbooks.

“(The) defendants and their co-conspirators placed numerous fraudulent wagers totalling tens of thousands of dollars conditioned on defendant Malik Beasley’s ‘under rebounds’ prop bets,” the indictment said.

As of ‌‌midday Monday, the NBA had not released a public statement on the indictments.

Beasley, a first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the ‌‌Denver ‌‌Nuggets, earned nearly $60 million in his NBA career, which ended in 2019. Davis, a first-round pick in 2010 by the Toronto Raptors, earned almost $47 million.