Malik Beasley’s NBA future is suddenly back in limbo, and this time the stakes are far bigger than basketball.
Federal prosecutors in New York have indicted the free agent sharpshooter on sports gambling charges, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Former NBA big man Ed Davis was also indicted, Vorkunov reported.
Beasley’s attorney, Steve Haney, told Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press that his client is facing sports betting, money laundering, and wire fraud charges and that they “look forward to defending all charges.”
According to the allegations laid out by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Beasley and Davis became close when they were teammates on the 2020/21 Timberwolves and later worked together to manipulate Beasley’s play in four different NBA games for betting purposes while Beasley was with the Bucks during the 2023/24 season.
Prosecutors say Beasley was dealing with million dollars in gambling losses and joined the scheme with Davis and three other people, including former NBA agent Paolo Zamorano, in an effort to dig out from that debt.
One text message, allegedly sent by Davis about a month before the first targeted game, captured the mindset prosecutors say was behind the operation. “Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting,” Davis allegedly wrote to Beasley. “Everything else they got the edge.”
The first game in question was Bucks/Cavaliers on January 26, 2024. Prosecutors also identified Bucks/Hornets on February 27, Bucks/Clippers on March 10, and Bucks/Nets on March 21 as games the group allegedly targeted with Beasley-related prop bets.
Beasley took only two field goal attempts and scored three points against Cleveland, and investigators say the group wagered thousands of dollars on that contest.
The alleged betting pattern continued in the Clippers game, where the group reportedly played the over on Beasley’s rebounds at 3.5. Beasley got his fourth rebound in the final seconds, and the group celebrated. But the plan didn’t hold together in the Nets game, where the group allegedly bet the under on his rebounds and Beasley finished with six boards.
The indictment lands after a turbulent stretch for Beasley, who was one of the league’s most dangerous three-point shooters and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2024/25. He had been positioned for a lucrative multiyear deal with the Pistons in free agency, but those talks stopped once reports surfaced that federal investigators and the NBA were looking into a possible link to illegal betting activity.
Beasley, 29, later signed earlier this year with Cangrejeros de Santurce, the Puerto Rican team owned by Bad Bunny, while he waits for clarity on what comes next in the NBA.
NBA spokesperson Mike Bass issued a statement to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press after the indictment became public.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictment unsealed today involving Malik Beasley and Ed Davis. Beasley last played in the NBA during the 2024/25 season and Davis last played in the league during the 2021/22 season.
We will continue to investigate this matter and cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Beasley and Davis are now the fourth and fifth former NBA players indicted by federal prosecutors in the ongoing illegal sports gambling probe, joining Terry Rozier, Jontay Porter, and Damon Jones. Porter was permanently banned from the NBA after a league investigation found that he had disclosed confidential information to bettors. The other cases remain ongoing.
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