LA Clippers fans took the opportunity to rub salt in the wounds of the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, chanting “F-B-I” as opposing players attempted shooting free throws.
This taunting of the Clippers’ west coast neighbors comes just days after the FBI arrested head coach Chauncey Billups for his alleged involvement in a sports gambling ring. Billups, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones, were among more than 30 individuals arrested by the FBI in connection with two separate illegal gambling cases.
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Billups was placed on immediate leave, along with Rozier, by the NBA and has denied the allegations. The Blazers coach has been charged with participating in an illegal poker operation that is allegedly linked to multiple mafia families. Of course, Clippers fans seized the opportunity to take jabs at the opposition.
The Clippers franchise had its own controversy before the NBA season began, after a report from former ESPN personality Pablo Torre uncovered that star Kawhi Leonard had allegedly received $28 million in payments for “no-show” jobs, as a way to circumvent the salary cap. Less than two months removed from the story breaking and an ongoing NBA investigation, Billups and others have the NBA in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
It’s only the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, and already there have been fireworks less than a full week into it. The Blazers visit Inglewood one more time during the regular season, on Mar. 31 (NBC/Peacock game) against the Los Angeles Lakers, Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
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Portland opened the season playing its first two gams at home, so Sunday served as the team’s first road game and a taste of what’s likely to come. They lost to the Clippers 114-107 and have started the year 1-2.
Monday night’s game against the Lakers tips off at 9:30 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena.