Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups were the biggest NBA names associated with Thursday’s federal indictments for illegal gambling schemes, but one of the individuals indicted in both of the separate investigations was former NBA player Damon Jones.
Jones is accused of playing a role in the alleged illegal poker operation that collectively swindled millions from victims using high-tech cheating mechanisms. He is also accused of involvement in a scheme to use inside information to bet on NBA games.
Before his name resurfaced in 2025, Jones had a long NBA career as a journeyman and spent time on the bench as an assistant coach after his playing days ended.
Here’s what you need to know about Jones and his NBA experience.
Damon Jones arrest details
Jones was arrested by the FBI on Thursday and is tied to both the federal sports gambling investigation and rigged poker game investigation.
Jones was one of three individuals, and the only one directly tied to the NBA, to be indicted as part of both investigations. Here are the details on the allegations against Jones.
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Damon Jones gambling investigation
According to The Athletic, Jones took advantage of his connection to LeBron James and passed along inside information that James would miss a game against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023.
Jones “sold or tried to profit from non-public information so that others could bet on it,” The Athletic reported, also adding that Jones worked with James during pregame workouts in 2022-23 despite not being an official member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching staff.
Jones is also accused of having involvement in the illegal poker operation that allegedly included high-tech cheating mechanisms that swindled victims out of about $7 million, collectively. Billups’ indictment also stems from the poker operation.
What is Damon Jones’ relationship to LeBron James?
Jones spent three seasons with the Cavaliers as a player from 2005-08, playing alongside LeBron James. The two were on the Cleveland team that went to the NBA Finals in 2007.
Jones maintained a relationship with James after his playing career, spending time with the Cavaliers as an informal shooting coach in 2014 before joining Tyronn Lue’s staff in 2016. He was on Cleveland’s staff for James’ final two seasons with the organization.
According to The Athletic, Jones was still working with James in an informal role during the 2022-23 season, when he is accused of sharing inside information about the NBA star’s playing status with a bettor. While he wasn’t an official Lakers coach, Jones worked with James during pregame workouts.
MORE: Will the Trail Blazers fire Chauncey Billups?
Damon Jones playing career
Jones, now 49 years old, spent 11 seasons in the NBA from 1998-2008 as a guard and 3-point shooter.
Jones went undrafted out of Houston but stuck around in the NBA for about a decade, largely serving as a role player while starting a career-high 66 games with the Miami Heat in 2004-05.
To call Jones a journeyman might be an understatement. He spent time with 10 teams in 11 seasons and stayed with only two teams for more than one season: the Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks. He also had plenty of playoff experience, including a 30-point game with the Heat in 2005 and a role off the bench during the Cavaliers’ NBA Finals run with LeBron James in 2007.
Jones last appeared in the NBA with the Bucks in 2008-09, averaging only six minutes per game.
Damon Jones NBA stats
| Season | Team(s) | Games | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% |
| 1998-99 | Nets/Celtics | 24 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 36.1% |
| 1999-00 | Warriors/Mavericks | 55 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 38.5% |
| 2000-01 | Grizzlies | 71 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 40.9% |
| 2001-02 | Pistons | 67 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 40.1% |
| 2002-03 | Kings | 49 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 38.1% |
| 2003-04 | Bucks | 82 | 7.0 | 2.1 | 5.8 | 40.1% |
| 2004-05 | Heat | 82 | 11.6 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 45.6% |
| 2005-06 | Cavaliers | 82 | 6.7 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 38.7% |
| 2006-07 | Cavaliers | 60 | 6.6 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 38.6% |
| 2007-08 | Cavaliers | 67 | 6.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 41.6% |
| 2008-09 | Bucks | 16 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 32.4% |
| Career | 657 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 40.7% |
Jones, a guard, was a career 39 percent 3-point shooter and appeared in 59 playoff games with four different teams.
Damon Jones coaching career
Jones joined the Cavaliers as an informal shooting assistant in 2014 before taking on an assistant role with the team’s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, in 2015-16. Lue, who replaced David Blatt as head coach of the Cavaliers in January 2016, added Jones to his NBA staff ahead of the 2016 playoffs and kept him on through 2018.
Jones’ coaching career gained the most notoriety when Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith was suspended for throwing a bowl of soup at him in 2018.
MORE: Which players have received NBA lifetime bans?
