Flagrant with Andrew Schulz & Akaash Singh: NBA Insider on NBA Betting Scandal, Poker Ring, & Next Star Traded (Oct 30, 2025)

Overview

This episode dives deep into the recent NBA gambling and illegal poker scandals, featuring a top NBA insider (“NBA Insider”), who brings fresh details, inside perspective, and plenty of humor. The hosts Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh (with frequent contributions from AlexxMedia and Mark Gagnon) explore allegations connecting NBA players and staffers to betting rings, mafia-run poker games, and the NBA’s response. They also discuss the ever-growing intersection of gambling and professional sports, player information leaks, salary freezes for implicated stars, and which NBA superstar is likely to be traded next.

The conversation is raw, comedic, and sometimes irreverent, with plenty of memorable asides about NBA culture, media, and NBA insider life.

Key Discussion Points, Insights & Timestamps

1. Jontay Porter & NBA Gambling Scandal Unpacked

[00:28–10:32]

• Allegations/Revelations:
  • Jontay Porter (Toronto Raptors, 2024) banned & charged for gambling-related infractions, including betting on his own games and giving insider info.
• Scheme Details:
  • Porter and a close network coordinated bets based on whether he would sub himself out, leading to huge "unders" bets. Suspicious betting volumes flagged both by sportsbooks and the NBA, triggering investigations.
• Quote:
  • NBA Insider: “You look back on it and you’re like, if the sportsbooks...saw three, four people are going hundreds of thousands of dollars in, doesn’t it make it so obvious?” ([01:07])
• Authorities’ Response:
  • Once arrested, accused associates cooperated, leading to 34 new arrests and exposure of larger criminal operations.

2. The Poker Ring & Mob Connections

[03:17–05:21, 24:47–29:38]

• Poker Case Overview:
  • Key figures: Damon Jones, Chauncey Billups, mafia members fronting the games.
  • Damon Jones and Billups used as “face cards” to legitimize games and lure wealthy targets (“fish”), with the actual games allegedly rigged using cheating tech (e.g., x-ray sunglasses).
• Mob Involvement:
  • “Four of the five big Italian mob families” implicated per government statements.
• Player-Poker World Crossover:
  • Famous athletes were invited—sometimes unwittingly as victims, sometimes suspected as knowing participants.
• Quote:
  • NBA Insider: “Face cards is what they called it... thrown and flaunted to the fish… there’s these different sunglasses where you can see the cards.” ([05:15])

3. NBA Salary Freezes & Ongoing Investigations

[07:35–08:13]

• Financial Fallout:
  • NBA Insider reveals: the NBA froze Chauncey Billups & Terry Rozier’s salaries ($33M total), payable only if exonerated.
• Investigations Ongoing:
  • Rozier, like Jontay, accused of giving advance info for “under” bets (e.g., informing friends he would play minimal minutes).
  • "The FBI is fully alleging that Terry Rozier was in on it... getting the proceeds." ([18:16])

4. Gambling Legalization & Prop Bet Problems

[09:04–24:37]

• Adam Silver’s NBA embraces sports betting partners, unlike Stern.
• The Growth of Prop Bets:
  • Easier than fixing games: manipulating personal stats or sitting out is more subtle and “victimless.” “Now you just gotta make sure you get less than eight rebounds... sub yourself out because your toe hurts.” —Akaash ([10:03])
• Industry Struggle:
  • Volume & patterns of weird bets still can trigger detection, but smaller bets may slide.
• Potential Remedies:
  • Reducing prop bets, banning certain players, more stringent injury reporting.

5. Gray Zones: Information Leaks, Player Roles, and NBA Culture

[16:28–20:04, 31:09–32:30]

• Discussion of how players innocently or not-so-innocently share inside info with friends or associates.
• NBA Insider Perspective:
  • “A lot of guys give information to people around them.” ([16:28])
• Regulating Player Behavior:
  • The infeasibility—players telling friends or family about injuries, and those people gambling—is “not realistic” to police.

6. The NBA Insider Life: Sourcing, Ethics & Breaking News

[30:05–42:00]

• Protecting Sources vs. Doing the Job:
  • NBA Insider stresses factual, balanced reporting: “My job is information, period.” ([30:20])
• Breaking Big News:
  • The insider describes confirming and tweeting the massive Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis trade (110M views, [69:06]), recapping confirmation process and emotional intensity.
  • “My hands are literally shaking. I’m, like, sweating… this is unbelievable.” ([70:02])

7. Scandals, Media, and NBA Information Economics

[55:49–58:11, 80:32–83:32]

• How he got started:
  • Obsession with NBA news, early career, and the “currency” of insider relationships.
• Scoop Sourcing:
  • NBA teams sometimes pressure for leaker IDs, but “they know I’ll never say.” ([53:20])
• Responding to Pressure:
  • “Those types of trade-offs... tit-for-tat, that happens all the time. But if I feel like I need to report it... I’m reporting it.” ([36:36])
• Hard Conversations:
  • “Threats of physical violence are always up there. But I haven’t been, you know, assaulted yet.” —NBA Insider ([39:21])

8. Impact, Fallout, and League Concerns

[94:11–97:28]

• The integrity threat is “dire” (NBA’s own words).
• Magnitude may grow:
  • “The fact that it’s already gone up six, I mean, multiplied by six times… now you have 30 more people. How many more are going to cooperate?” ([97:28])

9. Other Notable NBA Rumors & Discussion

[78:31–83:32]

• Next Star Traded:
  • Giannis, Trae Young, LeBron’s free agency status discussed.
  • “Trey Young didn’t extend his contract... keep an eye on him.” ([107:01])
• Kawhi Leonard's Contracts (and Uncle’s Demands):
  • Allegations about under-the-table demands in free agency; tricky to prove, NBA investigating circumventions like side sponsorship deals ([86:40–91:22]).
• NBA Insider’s Workaholic Lifestyle:
  • 17+ hour screen time days in breaking news cycles.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Player Gambling:
  • "If your boy wants money, just give him. If he wants to make 100 grand. But... he didn’t know he was taking that information to sell it to network of gamblers." — NBA Insider ([16:12])
• On the NBA’s Fix:
  • “I don’t know the solution, but I know for sure the NBA’s got somewhat of, of. I mean they’re, they’re in their own words, this is a dire problem.” —NBA Insider ([24:00])
• On the Luka/AD Trade Scoop:
  • “It’s the probably my most perfect tweet because I made sure this is the one tweet you can’t have a typo in.” —NBA Insider ([71:16])
• On Media Ethics:
  • “If I have the truth of a story and the other side is like, no, no, no, that’s not what it is. But I know that’s what it is. I’m gonna stand on it.” ([32:30])
• On the Scandal’s Scale:
  • “We’ve had a couple bad apples. I think the NBA’s had a couple bad apples. And now… what more can be unearthed? It’s already multiplied by six.” ([18:35])
• Comedic Take:
  • “You got to have on your clutch…” [joking about being arrested in a clutch-branded hoodie] ([08:18])
• Classic Flagrant Banter:
  • “You missed a scoop? That’s not what I thought you were gonna say, I thought you were gonna talk about the family part.” ([101:47])

Segment Timestamps (Selected)

• 00:28–10:32: NBA player gambling: Jontay Porter case and how prop bets enabled insider scams.
• 03:17–05:21 & 24:47–29:38: Mafia-run poker scandal, player involvement, and cheating tech.
• 07:35–08:13: NBA salary freezes for Billups/Rozier, breaking news on investigation updates.
• 09:04–24:37: NBA’s love/hate with gambling, prop bet dangers, injury reporting gray areas.
• 16:28–20:04 & 31:09–32:30: Player leaks, ethics, and the NBA insider’s process.
• 55:49–58:11: How NBA “insiders” get started, build sources, and handle information politics.
• 69:06–73:01: Inside the Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis trade scoop: verifying, tweeting, aftermath.
• 94:11–97:28: Will the scandal snowball? Integrity risk, media reaction, and league fears.
• 107:01–108:44: Next stars on the move: Giannis, Trae Young, and LeBron’s uncertain future.

Tone & Style

The tone is fast-paced, irreverent, and unfiltered—true to the Flagrant brand. Insightful details and tough NBA realities are sandwiched between wild hypotheticals, trash talk, and classic locker-room comedic tangents. The NBA Insider notably balances professional discretion with candor, clearly drawing lines between what can and can’t be shared, but always with a conversational openness that fits the show’s vibe.

Summary for New Listeners

If you’re interested in the collision of the NBA, organized crime, sports gambling, and media in 2025—and how modern prop betting and easy access to player info have transformed both opportunities and risks—this is an essential listen. Expect real details, darkly hilarious asides, and the inside track on the next big star moves, plus an all-access look at how the NBA’s top newsbreakers actually work.