Co-defendant denies Billups gave him info, pleads guilty in NBA gambling case

Eric Earnest, a key co-conspirator in the insider sports-betting case that has rocked the NBA, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a Brooklyn federal court on Thursday — but his lawyer insisted former NBA star and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups did not supply him with inside information.

Federal prosecutors allege that an unnamed co-conspirator tipped Earnest that the Trail Blazers would be tanking and that certain Portland players would sit out a March 24, 2023 game against the Chicago Bulls, so he could place an illegal bet with a sportsbook. The indictment describes the unnamed source as an Oregon resident who was "an NBA player from approximately 1997 through 2014, and an NBA coach since at least 2021" — a description that matches Billups’ career.

At his plea hearing, Earnest, 54, admitted he "agreed with another person to place an illegal bet on an NBA game with a sportsbook" around that date. Afterward, his attorney Peter Brill called the claim that Billups fed information to Earnest a "fundamental misunderstanding." Billups’ own attorney, Marc Mukasey, told ESPN he had no comment.

Assistant U.S. attorney David Berman said the government could have proved the co-conspirator was an NBA head coach at the time of the wager, but he did not name the man.

In a separate hearing Thursday, Earnest also pleaded guilty to wire fraud tied to rigged poker games. He faces up to 20 years in prison per count, though prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines point to a sentence of roughly three years. Sentencing is set for March 4, 2027 in the poker case.