Damon Jones Gambling Charges: Ex-NBA Coach Pleads Guilty 2026

Ex-NBA coach Damon Jones pleads guilty in gambling scandal  

Ex-Lakers coach Damon Jones pleads guilty after tipping bettors that LeBron James would miss Bucks game. First conviction in NBA gambling probe.

Damon Jones to plead guilty in rigged poker case using X-ray tables. Ex-NBA coach already admitted role in separate NBA betting scandal...

Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones has pleaded guilty to gambling charges, US media reported Tuesday, in the first conviction from a betting scandal that hit elite basketball.

Jones, 49, was charged for his alleged role in a scheme that prosecutors say gave bettors inside information on injuries and game absences between December 2022 and March 2024.

In one case, he leaked that LeBron James would miss a Los Angeles Lakers game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to injury before that news was made public.

Jones first denied the charges but later pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a New York court. Sentencing is set for January 2027.

“I would like to sincerely apologise to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association,” he said during the hearing, according to US media.

 

Jones is the first of six defendants to plead guilty in the case, which includes Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.

Federal prosecutors plan to file further charges against Rozier, alleging that he “solicited and accepted a bribe,” The New York Times reported.

  

Jones was expected to plead guilty later Tuesday in a separate case involving a nationwide network of mafia-linked, rigged poker games.

About 30 people were involved in the scheme, which used advanced cheating equipment including X-ray tables. Jones allegedly used his fame to attract victims.

Developing story: Prosecutors plan to file new charges against Terry Rozier. pic.twitter.com/b4nj74UWln

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2026

Jones had a journeyman playing career with 11 teams, most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008, where he played with four-time NBA champion James.

  

He later moved into coaching, serving as a Cavaliers assistant from 2016 to 2018 during James’s second stint in Ohio.

Jones worked as James’s personal coach during the 2022/23 season after the star joined the Lakers, though he was not employed by the team.