Malik Beasley has been indicted on illegal sports gambling charges by federal prosecutors in the United States District Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, along with five others, including fellow former NBA player Ed Davis.
Beasley, Davis and the four other named co-defendants face charges of sports bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The news comes exactly one year after Beasley's name was originally connected to a federal sports gambling investigation. On June 29, 2025, with Beasley and the Detroit Pistons closing in on a three-year, $42 million contract, word broke that he was part of an investigation into allegations of gambling on NBA games and prop bets.
Beasley and Davis, who allegedly became friends while playing together for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2020-21 season, concocted the scheme for the 2023-24 season, according to the federal indictment. Davis, who the indictment calls Beasley's "gatekeeper" in the gambling ring, offered to loan Beasley money to pay off millions of dollars in gambling debts, according to federal prosecutors, which Beasley would pay off by helping ensure the co-conspirators won their bets.
Among the alleged bets was a Jan. 26, 2024, Bucks-Cleveland Cavaliers game, during which Beasley scored just three points, as well as a Feb. 27, 2024, game against the Hornets, a March 10 game against the Los Angeles Clippers and a March 21 game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The federal indictment includes text messages from some of the co-defendants celebrating Beasley grabbing a rebound with 1.1 seconds left in the March 10 game to hit the over on rebounds, with one saying "he pushed (Pat) Connaughton outta the way" and that they were "1.1 seconds away from being down thousands of dollars."
The scheme allegedly fell apart in the March 21 game against the Nets when Beasley went over on his rebounding prop; he was supposed to go under based on information provided by Davis. The defendants demanded Davis either pay them for the lost wagers or work with Beasley to fix future bets, according to the indictment. Davis allegedly agreed to the latter, but backed out after news broke that Jontay Porter was under federal investigation for a similar fixing scheme.
The year after Beasley's alleged role in the fixing scheme, he had a career season in Detroit, averaging 16.3 points per game with the Pistons, knocking down 319 three-pointers on 42% shooting, which was the second-most made threes in the league that season behind only Anthony Edwards. After Beasley's name became publicly attached to the federal investigation, Detroit scuttled plans to re-sign Beasley to a lucrative deal and pivoted to bringing in sharpshooter Duncan Robinson from Miami. Beasley sat out the entire 2025-26 season amidst the investigation.
Davis played in the NBA from 2010-22, last appearing in 31 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2021-22 season.
Beasley and Davis are the fifth and sixth current or former NBA players to get indicted on federal sports gambling charges. Jontay Porter pleaded guilty in 2025 to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Terry Rozier pleaded not guilty to four charges for his alleged role in a sports gambling ring. Chauncey Billups was arrested for his alleged role in a rigged poker game, while Damon Jones, a retired 11-year NBA veteran, is expected to change his plea to guilty as he was indicted on charges related to both the rigged poker game and the sports gambling ring.
