NBA free agent Malik Beasley is under federal investigation by the U.S. District Attorney’s office on allegations of gambling tied to league games and prop bets, sources familiar with the matter told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday.
Beasley’s attorney, Steve Haney, confirmed the investigation but mentioned that the nine-year NBA veteran has not been charged with a crime.
Beasley’s attorney and the NBA speak out following allegations
“An investigation is not a charge,” he told ESPN. “Malik is afforded the same right of the presumption of innocence as anyone else under the U.S. Constitution. As of now he has not been charged with anything.”
The NBA also spoke out amid the investigation, stating that the league is fully “cooperating” with federal authorities.
“We are cooperating with the federal prosecutors’ investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told the outlet.
Why is Malik Beasley being investigated?
The federal probe into Malik Beasley adds to a growing list of NBA players tied to gambling on league games. According to ESPN, the allegations stem from the 2023–24 season, when the 28-year-old played for the Milwaukee Bucks. That year, Beasley averaged 11.3 points across 79 games and recorded a career-high 77 starts.
A U.S. sportsbook flagged unusual betting activity on Beasley’s stats during his time with Milwaukee, an insider told ESPN.
In one instance, on Jan. 31, 2024, when the Bucks played the Portland Trail Blazers, there was heavy betting on Beasley to record fewer than 2.5 rebounds, which caused the odds to shift significantly. He finished the game with six rebounds, and the suspicious bets were lost.
Haney mentioned in a phone interview with ABC News that prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York are leading the investigation, per ESPN.
Other NBA players who faced gambling investigations
In addition to Beasley’s investigation, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, who was linked to a prop bet investigation and later pleaded guilty to wire fraud, according to The Associated Press.
Terry Rozier, who previously played for the Charlotte Hornets, was also under investigation for gambling and unusual betting patterns related to a March 2023 game, according to The Wall Street Journal, the first to report on the news.
Beasley and the Detroit Pistons “were in serious talks” about his return to the team after initially signing a one-year contract that ended after this past season.
“Beasley and the Pistons were in serious talks on a new three-year, $42 million contract to bring the free agent sharpshooter back to Detroit, but now talks are on pause, sources said,” Charania said in a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
