LeBron James had played through an ankle issue for a while and needed a night off in the middle of the 2022-23 season. The Lakers had let a former teammate of LeBron help him with pregame warmups, even though this former player and coach wasn’t on staff. Both of these things are relatively common occurrences around the league. Neither LeBron nor the Lakers did anything wrong, but they still found themselves caught up in the drama of a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday that led to the arrest of one former and one current NBA player for an alleged illegal sports betting operation.
Damon Jones, a former 11-year NBA player who also served as an assistant coach in Cleveland after his playing days, was was arrested along with five others — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — for “providing, obtaining and using non-public information relating to NBA games to place and cause others to place fraudulent sports wagers for profit, and to launder the proceeds thereof,” according to the federal indictment obtained by NBC Sports.
That indictment describes a situation that is clearly about the Lakers and LeBron, even though neither is mentioned by name (LeBron is referred to as “Player 3" and described only as a prominent NBA player).
Jones was never on staff with the Lakers or a team employee, but helped primarily with LeBron’s pregame workouts during the 2022-23 season. Jones had been a teammate of LeBron’s in Cleveland for three seasons, from 2005-2008, and maintained a relationship with him as Jones moved into coaching on the Cavaliers staff. Jones was never hired by the Lakers but had limited access to the team’s facilities in an unofficial capacity for much of the 2022-23 season, according to reports, and was usually seen working out LeBron pregame, more than an hour before tip-off.
According to the federal indictment, on Feb. 9, 2023 — a game after LeBron broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record — Jones “sent a text message to [an unnamed co-conspirator], writing: ‘Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out! [Player 3] is out tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat to [sic] now!!!’” At the time Jones sent this text, LeBron was not on the injury report, but he ultimately sat out that game with an ankle injury (and missed the next two games as well). The Lakers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks that night without LeBron.
LeBron had no knowledge that Jones was gathering and selling information, a league source told NBC Sports, and the same was true of the Lakers. The Lakers had extended Jones a courtesy, one that, if the allegations are true, was taken advantage of. Neither LeBron nor the Lakers have made a statement about this (which is the smart public relations move). This all took place before the current coaching staff was in place.
Jones also tried to sell information on other Lakers players as well, according to the indictment, but was not always correct. In one instance on Jan. 15, 2024, he sold information to another co-conspirator (Marves Fairley) that another key Laker would not play, and Fairley reportedly bet 100,000 against the Lakers. That player did play and the Lakers won, and according to the indictment Jones had to return the $2,500 he was sent for the information.
