On the early morning of October 23, the NBA community was shocked by the FBI’s arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
David Stern oversaw the league’s explosive growth during his 30-year tenure as NBA Commissioner from 1984 to 2014 and helped establish the WNBA in 1996, but endured his fair share of scandal.
Current commish Adam Silver is dealing with a major scandal right now, but is it bigger than anything Stern dealt with?
Stern managed controversies during that period and oversaw the relocation of six franchises, most notably when the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder in 2008.
In June, the Thunder won its first NBA Championship since relocating, defeating the Indiana Pacers in seven games. To this day, NBA fans in Seattle are heartbroken about the team’s move 17 years ago.
From a major betting scandal during the Stern era to ongoing betting controversies, here are the top five most controversial scandals in NBA history.
1. NBA Betting Scandals (2024-2025)
Since Billups, Damon Jones, and Rozier were arrested by the FBI, there has been major concern about betting across the NBA.
In March 2024, the NBA launched an investigation into former Toronto Raptors guard Jontay Porter, brother of Brooklyn Nets guard Michael Porter, over “multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months.”
Over a month later, Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA for violating the league’s gambling rules by sharing confidential information with sports bettors.
That was the warning shot.
In one of the games he played, on March 20, 2024, in the matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies, Porter limited his involvement because “he was feeling sick.” Many in the know knew something was off and later on so did the public.
Over a year later, the FBI announced the arrests of Billups, Rozier, and Jones, the former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach, for allegedly conducting rigged sports betting and poker games.
The league placed Billups and Rozier on leave and will withhold their full salaries pending the review of the federal indictments. The NBPA has made a statement denouncing that financial move.
There has been a rise in betting concerns across the league in recent years, and it’s quite troubling. The integrity of the game is the reason why this is No. 1 on our list. Nothing is more important if the fans don’t think the outcome is legit.
2. The Tim Donaghy Scandal (2007)
Arguably the most controversial scandal in NBA history occurred in 2007, but comes in No. 2 on our list. Referee Tim Donaghy was accused of betting on games and manipulating the point spread. The FBI investigated Donaghy for betting tens of thousands of dollars on games during four seasons from 2003 to 2007.
In August 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the gambling scandal, and a year later, he received a sentence of 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
After the gambling scandal emerged, Donaghy resigned as an NBA official in 2007. He had officiated from 1994 to 2007, during which he worked 772 regular season games and 26 playoff games.
In the ensuing years. Donaghy made a series of accusations of game that were once manipulated by various referees. One of the most poorly officiated games was notably Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers shot 27 free throws and ultimately won the game (and series) over the Kings. In real time, many fans complained and even veteran reporters, about the quality of officiating in that game. Donaghy’s comments only grew the perception there had been manipulated games.
Mind you, apologies if I make you all feel old out here; I was four years old when my hometown team, the Phoenix Suns, were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals, who went on to win it all that year.
In the aftermath of the series, Donaghy explained the reason he rigged the game in the Spurs’ favor vs. the Suns was the “dislike” of owner Robert Sarver by his superior.
To this day, I remain curious about what the officiating crew really did and how much it manipulated the outcome between the Suns and Spurs in Game 3 of that series. Even a little doubt should be too much for the league to accept. It does make you wonder.
3. Donald Sterling Receives Lifetime Ban in Adam Silver’s First Year as NBA Commissioner (2014)
Donald Sterling was the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers from 1981 to 2014, until new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handed him a lifetime ban.
Sterling was one of the most criticized owners in American sports history for the Clippers’ struggles as a franchise and his decisions-making throughout the years.
In his early years when the Clippers were based in San Diego, he received a $10,000 fine from the league for making comments about accepting his team finishing last to draft a player like Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson. Sampson decided to stay in college in 1982 after his junior year because he didn’t want to play for the Clippers. He wasn’t the only elite college players that didn’t want to play for Sterling.
Fast forward to the early 2010s. The Clippers bring in Blake Griffin, the team’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and Chris Paul, one of the best point guards in league history, to contend for a title.
It looked like the Clippers were legit title contenders for the first time in but on April 25, 2014, the franchise was rocked by something that many didn’t consider all that surprising, other that it went public. Private recordings of Sterling making racist comments about V. Stiviano were made public and it painted a bad light on having someone in his position with those views.
His remarks impacted the league, especially its Black players, who were seen wearing shirts inside-out “to obscure any team logo” during their pregame huddle in the postseason.
Four days later, Silver announced in a live press conference that Sterling would receive a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine, the maximum allowed by the league’s constitution.
Just 11 years later, the Clippers now play in their own home arena, the Intuit Dome, with Steve Ballmer as its owner, and have experienced moderate success as a franchise in recent years. Los Angeles made its first appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 2021, losing to the Phoenix Suns in six games.
Sterling gave the game a black eye, but in the end, the forced sale of the team still earned him millions upon million of dollars. It was embarrassing for the league, but how truly for an again man?
4. Malice at the Palace
A lot happened on the night of November 19, 2004, when the Malice at the Palace took place during a game between the defending NBA champions, the Detroit Pistons, and the Indiana Pacers. It was a chaotic day in Michigan for NBA players and fans, with consequences ranging from fines and suspensions to lifetime bans.
The season before, these two teams faced off in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Pistons advancing to the NBA Finals in six games over the top-seeded Pacers.
With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Pistons center Ben Wallace drew a foul on Pacers forward Ron Artest, who hit him across the back while trying to score a layup. The irony is, the Pacers’ regulars did not have to be in the game and Artest was egged on by teammate Jamaal Tinsley. What happened next was insanity by NBA standards, but did it really need to happen?
The fight between the two players began when Wallace slapped Artest in the face, prompting players and coaches from both Detroit and Indiana to gather around.
Meanwhile, Artest was lying on the scorer’s table while Wallace threw a towel at him, and teammate Reggie Miller was backing him. The incident escalated when a fan, John Green, threw a plastic cup of Diet Coke at his chest, causing Artest to lose his temper and go into the stands after Detroit fans. In the melee, Artest initially went after the wrong fan in the audience.
More Pistons fans in attendance join Green in throwing food and drinks at Pacers players as the incident escalated. It was ugly. It was shocking and some people even called 911 to get policemen over to The Palace of Auburn Hills. That night at The Palace felt like a scary movie for sports fans worldwide.
Suspensions, legal Charges and Security Changes
Following the Malice at the Palace, five Pistons fans involved (Green, John Ackerman, Bryant Jackson, William Paulson, and David Wallace, Ben Wallace’s brother) and five Pacers players faced charges of varying degrees of assault and battery. Three Indiana players (Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O’Neal) received indefinite suspensions and faced legal consequences that affected the Pacers’ remaining season.
Stern issued suspensions without pay to nine players from both the Pacers and Pistons, totaling over 140 games and costing nearly $11 million in salary.
Artest was suspended for 86 games (73 regular season games and 13 playoff games), the longest in NBA history, and lost nearly $5 million due to his actions during the incident.
Jackson received a 30-game suspension and lost nearly $2 million in salary, while O’Neal was initially suspended for 25 games, later reduced to 15 games.
Even more than that, the Pacers were having an incredible season, and many felt the team had a great chance to win a NBA title that season. That core never came close again.
The NBA introduced new security guidelines on February 17, 2005, for all team arenas and enhanced security for players and coaches.
The Pacers finished the 2004-05 season with a 44-38 record and lost to the Pistons in the playoffs, once again in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. One of the greatest in franchise history, Reggie Miller, announced his retirement at the end of the season after playing for 18 years with Indiana. He never won a NBA title.
The Pistons finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 54-28 record and advanced to the 2005 NBA Finals, in which they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.
The incident is more memorable than the Indiana or Detroit lost season. The NBA never wants to see that happen again.
5. Latrell Sprewell Choking Incident (1997)
Six years before I was even born, Golden State Warriors shooting guard Latrell Sprewell did something unthinkable. A terrific player who had once shocking incident overshadow his 13-year professional career.
On December 1, 1997, head coach P.J. Carlesimo yelled at Sprewell to make ‘crispier passes’ during a practice.
There was some animosity brewing between the two and Sprewell ended up attacking Carlesimo, grabbing his neck and choking him for seven to 10 teammates before teammates intervened. Just 20 minutes later, he returned to practice and punched Carlesimo in the face before being pulled away for good.
As a result, the NBA suspended Sprewell for ten games without pay, and the next day and a huge public uproar and photos of Carlesimo surfaced, the Warriors voided the rest of his contract, with the league suspending him for a total of 68 games over a year. The Warriors initially voided his contract, but in arbitration that ruling was over-turned.
Following the incident, Sprewell rejoined the league in 1999, playing five seasons with the New York Knicks and two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves before retiring in 2005.
Carlesimo continued coaching the Golden State until 1999 and served as an assistant on Gregg Popovich‘s staff with the San Antonio Spurs, winning three championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007.
There had long been on-court fights in the NBA, but the thought of a player and coach getting into a physical altercation at practice was the reason this incident cracks our list. Sprewell’s public image never really recovered. Let’s hope an incident like this never happens again.
Honorable Mentions
A blockbuster trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks took place in February 2025. The Mavericks unexpectedly traded Slovenian All-Star Luka Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, who won a 2020 NBA Championship with the team.
When Davis made his debut with the Mavericks, he injured his hip abductor and missed the next 18 games, in which Dallas missed the playoffs the year after making it to the 2024 NBA Finals.
Mavericks center Anthony Davis is headed to the locker.
— Ron Harrod Jr. (@RonKnowsSports) October 30, 2025
He entered the game with a Bilateral Achilles Tendinopathy injury.
Davis looked to step hard on the ground and started limping instantly to the bench. pic.twitter.com/lQoW4hgtcA
Fans in Dallas are still upset with general manager Nico Harrison, even chanting “Fire Nico” during home games at American Airlines Center. In the aftermath, the Mavericks received the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, selecting Cooper Flagg out of Duke with the top pick.
It’s just incomprehensible to Dallas fans that Luka could be traded and Davis is injured again as the 2025-26 season tips off. The reason it didn’t crack the Top 5? It’s business and some of the game’s all-time greats have been traded.
Another honorable mention note was Robert Sarver‘s tumultuous tenure as owner of the Phoenix Suns for nearly 19 years, during which the team missed the playoffs from 2011 to 2020.
Sarver received a one-year suspension and a $10 million fine in 2022 for allegations of racism and misogyny in the workplace. After receiving the consequences of the investigation and legal matter, he sold the Phoenix Suns and Mercury teams to Mat and Justin Ishbia in February 2023.
All of these NBA incidents were shocking, but nothing tops the integrity of the game. In this day and age of gambling being socially acceptable where it once was not, it’s going to be the biggest issue for the NBA to take control of perhaps in its 75-year history.
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