As Gambling Scandals Approach the NBA, What’s Next?

The Washington Post broke the story on Thursday that Maverick Carter, longtime business partner of LeBron James, bet tens of thousands of dollars on NBA games through an offshore bookie.

This is the first real crack in the dam that has kept gambling scandals away from the NBA. The PGA, NFL, and MLB have all faced betting scandals of players betting on games; it was only a matter of time before those same controversies hit the NBA.

The question is what happens from here.

Carter is not an NBA player, and the NBA has yet to have an active player involved in a betting scandal, but he's about as close as you can get to the most powerful active player in the league. For context, Carter has been friends and partners with LeBron since middle school; they founded LRMR, LeBron's first marketing and management agency, to handle his affairs before James entered the league 20 years ago.

Carter routinely bet NBA games. A list of games Carter bet on has not been reported on or made public yet, but the questions will immediately begin with which games James played in that Carter bet on.

There is no reported link between James and the bets made with Wayne Nix, the bookie. However, the bigger issue is Carter's proximity to James and his understanding of NBA dynamics that might not be public.

Having "inside info" provided by his proximity to James, if not directly from James, is where the caution and concern of harm will stem from, despite there being no evidence thereof.

There's also evidence of Nix taking bets from Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. Nix attended a golf event hosted by Michael Jordan (himself a notorious gambler who has no recorded contact or involvement with Nix); that event was attended by NBA owners and personnel, according to the Post.

More than anything, the harm here is less about Carter — who is not an NBA player — betting on NBA games. It's that the existence of this connection will further public distrust and shake consumer confidence in the NBA's propriety as it merges more and more with the gambling space.

The money afforded by sportsbook partnerships is not something the league, its teams, or its players will want to surrender. But any connection with the books in official and especially under-the-table capacities will further questions not only from the general public but specifically from those who are uncomfortable (and notably, don't gamble and want the ads off their TVs) with those connections.

The NBA is the most discussed online sport. That's not opinion; there are studies behind it. Which also means it's the one that produces the most think pieces and the most Chicken Little warnings about the death of the sport. This will only further those endeavors.

It's important to keep in mind the framework of various betting scandals. LeBron James makes $47 million this season and $51 million the next. LeBron signed a lifetime deal with Nike in 2015 worth $1 billion. More money is always better, but does James really need to risk any or all of that by betting a fraction of his game check on a Hornets vs Thunder game?

But other players, obviously, aren't James. There's a reason players who do have max contracts have said they want to compete for the NBA's In-Season Tournament prize of $500,000 for their teammates who make significantly less. The same is true of the players involved in the Lions betting scandal.

The NBA is overt about trying to prevent these scandals. They host seminars and disseminate informational videos. They have reporting services and additional resources. There are signs in every single locker room that give rules about no betting and no tipping. That last part is important here; the NBA is at least aware of the danger not only of direct betting but providing inside information on teams.

The NBA also directly works with sportsbooks and state regulatory agencies to triangulate investigations into significant bets placed on NBA games and any link to NBA personnel. But these bets by Carter were placed through an illegal offshore bookmaker. Those have been in operation well before the state-by-state legalization of sports betting began in 2019. However, the NBA, along with the other leagues, was never in close contact with and promoting betting prior to that legal shift.

This won't be the last scandal that touches the NBA landscape; any objective view of what has occurred in other sports ensures the thinking, "they make so much more money with their salaries," has not been enough to avoid those scandals. It's not even the first, going back to the Tim Donaghy scandal in the late 2000s.

Is the NBA really doing enough to prevent a player-betting scandal? Is it only a matter of time? Is this the tip of the iceberg involving a figure closely connected to the league's biggest star since Michael Jordan (again, a notorious gambler)? These are all questions that the NBA will have to answer.

This scandal is the start of the public phase of the NBA's battle to prevent betting scandals from eroding consumer confidence. And as long as the money is good enough, there won't be an end, either.