LeBron James injury information leaked to bettors, indictment suggests

A new bombshell indictment criminally charging former NBA player Damon Jones suggests that while affiliated with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jones leaked information about the injury status of superstar LeBron James to sports bettors before a February 2023 game.

The same indictment suggests Jones leaked information to bettors about the playing status of then-Lakers star Anthony Davis before a January 2024 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The indictment said that Jones told a co-defendant that a star Laker identified only as Player 4 was “probable” for that game. Davis was the only player listed as “probable” for that game, according to records.

One of those bettors who received the information then placed a bet of approximately $100,000 against the Lakers, who ended up winning the game, with Davis playing up to his usual standards.

Neither James nor Davis. who now plays with the Dallas Mavericks, is accused of wrongdoing in the federal indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York.

Jones, 49, Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, and four other men are charged with defrauding betting companies and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case.

Jones and James previously played together on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jones was acting as an unofficial coach for the Lakers at the time of the February 2023 game in Los Angeles that is mentioned in the indictment.

A James spokesman declined to comment to CNBC. A spokesman for Davis did not respond to requests for comment.

The indictment refers to an unidentified Player 3.

The document says that Jones “was a teammate and coach of a prominent player,” who was Player 3.

The indictment says that Jones, on the morning of a Feb. 9 game between the Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks “sent a text message to Co-Conspirator 9, writing: ‘Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out! [Player 3] is out tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat … now!”

“At the time Jones provided this non-public information about Player 3 to Co-Conspirator 9, Player 3 was not ruled out on the NBA’s injury report for the” game, the indictment says.

James ended up sitting out that Feb. 9 game with a lower-body injury, to his ankle

The indictment says, “Due to a lower body injury, Player 3 did not play in the February 9 Game.”

The only other active Laker player to sit out that game with an injury was Scotty Pippen Jr., who did not have a lower-body injury. Pippen was in the concussion protocol for the game.

Milwaukee defeated the Lakers in that game by a score of 115 to 106.

The Bucks went into the game as a favorite by an average of 8 points, according to various odds sites.

A person familiar with James’ situation said James did not know his information would be used for betting.

Other wording in the indictment suggests that Davis is the person identified only as Player 4, who the charging document says was “one of the best Lakers’ players during the 2023-2024 season.”

Before a Jan. 15, 2024, Lakers game at home against the Thunder, Jones “claimed to have learned from the trainer for Players 3 and 4 that Player 4 was injured and only going to play a limited number of minutes and/or his performance would likely be affected in the game because of the injury,” the indictment says.

Jones then allegedly shared that non-public information with his co-defendant, Eric Earnest, “who then sent a text message to the defendant Marves Fairley, stating, “Hit me asap gone one for u dude say he got some info.”

Earnest then allegedly shared information about Player 4 with Fairley, who in turn shared the information with two other people, according to the indictment. Fairley, who paid Jones $2,500 for the tip, and a co-conspirator then placed multiple bets against the Lakers, with Fairley putting down about $100,000, the indictment alleges.

“Hours before the January 15 game, the NBA injury report listed Player 4 as ‘probable,’ and it was not publicly disseminated, including to the Betting Companies, that Player 4 would possibly play a limited number of minutes and/or poorly due to injury,” the indictment said.

But, “ultimately, Player 4 played in the January 15 game in line with his season average in minutes and performed well, and the Lakers won the game,” the indictment noted.

Afterward, Fairley asked that Jones repay Fairley his $2,500 for the tip, according to the charging document.

No other player other than Davis was listed as probable for that Thunder game.

— Additional reporting by CNBC’s Jessica Golden