Another NBA Player Charged With Rigging Games for Gamblers
According to a federal indictment, Malik Beasley was in debt to a former teammate when he agreed to help gamblers by manipulating his own performance.
- A federal indictment charged NBA player Malik Beasley with conspiring to manipulate his performance in games for a gambling scheme.
- Former NBA player Ed Davis allegedly reduced Beasley’s gambling debts in exchange for Beasley fixing his game performances.
- The government’s investigation led to Beasley losing a proposed $42 million free-agent contract and ending his NBA career.
It was the final seconds of a comfortable Milwaukee Bucks win in March of 2024, but Malik Beasley was still playing as though his life depended on it.
Just before the buzzer sounded, Beasley sprinted from the 3-point arc to the hoop and fended off an opponent to snag his fourth rebound of the night. That rebound did nothing to help his team, but it meant everything to another group of people: the gamblers to whom Beasley had allegedly promised he would hit the “over” on his prop bet for rebounds, set at 3.5.
According to a federal indictment handed down on Monday, that one second of effort meant Beasley’s alleged co-conspirators took home more than $5,000.
“Fam we were 1.1 secs away from being down thousands lol,” one defendant wrote in a group text to his alleged conspirators.
This was merely one instance in what federal prosecutors in New York say was a sweeping gambling scheme that saw Beasley allegedly conspire with a former teammate to intentionally manipulate his performance. Meanwhile, 12-year NBA veteran Ed Davis and his associates were raking in thousands of dollars betting on Beasley’s statistics.
The government’s indictment identifies four games during the 2023-24 season where it said Beasley agreed to participate in the scam. Beasley had allegedly accumulated millions of dollars in gambling losses and, at times, owed money to Davis, a retired forward who played with Beasley on the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2020-21 campaign. In return for fixing his games, Beasley would have his bill to Davis reduced or eliminated, according to the indictment.
The charges against the 29-year-old Beasley are yet another example of a prominent NBA player swept up in illegal gambling activities—and the implications for the league are chilling. On Jan. 26, 2024, the day Jontay Porter removed himself from a Toronto Raptors game with a fake injury so his conspirators would win bets, there was another game on the take 500 miles away. (Porter has since pleaded guilty to federal charges and is awaiting sentencing.)
Beasley was playing for the Bucks, making sure he would grab fewer than four rebounds, according to the indictment. He succeeded. Beasley’s attorney, Steve Haney, said they would “vigorously defend the charges.”
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” said NBA spokesman Mike Bass.
By March 10, 2024, Beasley had already manipulated his performance in two other games without detection, according to the indictment. But against the Los Angeles Clippers that night, it took the full 48 minutes for Beasley to hold up his end of the bargain.
On a group text right after his final, sprinting rebound, one defendant wrote in all caps, “NO WAY.” Another replied, “What’s funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief.”
About a month before the scheme began, according to the indictment, Beasley was trying to repay his debts to Davis. That’s when Davis texted him, “Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting. Everything else they got the edge.”
John Adams, an attorney for Davis, declined to comment.
Once Beasley was on board, the next question was which games to target. The government says the gamblers specifically looked for non-marquee games—far from the NBA’s nationally televised showcases on ESPN and TNT—where Beasley could manipulate his performance.
“It’s better not to be on tv for us,” one defendant wrote in a group chat.
There was also infighting among the group, with some bettors chasing big paydays while others settled for more modest wins. At one point, one defendant accused another of betting so much that he single-handedly altered the lines, which risked drawing suspicions from authorities.
“You making insane amount stop it,” one defendant complained to another. “You move the lines every time.”
According to the indictment, the scheme collapsed after Beasley allegedly failed to deliver on his promise to underperform on rebounds in another game. Gamblers demanded that Davis arrange for Beasley to keep fixing his performance so they could recoup what they had lost.
Davis initially agreed. Days later, news broke that the NBA was investigating Porter for gambling. Davis reneged on his promise, prosecutors say.
As for Beasley, he played in the NBA through the end of the 2024-25 season. That summer, he was on the verge of signing a $42 million free-agent contract that would’ve doubled his career earnings.
That offer disappeared during the government’s investigation that led to Monday’s indictment. Beasley hasn’t played in the NBA since.