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Adam Silver pivots from gambling scrutiny to NBA expansion talks

A basketball falling through a hoop

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner, Adam Silver, has appeared on multiple broadcasts during the festive season to challenge the gambling-riddled narrative surrounding the sport.

On the one hand, Silver has sought to quell concerns about the sport’s integrity in North America. On the other hand, the Commissioner has refocused the sport’s priorities on future growth, including national and international expansion, as the game seeks to distance itself from the federal investigation into current and former players.

Silver publicly declared on Good Morning America (GMA) that the scandal that dominated the 2025 headlines was “an isolated incident.”

Despite Silver’s confidence, the sport remains under congressional scrutiny, and betting operators are poised to impose sanctions on prop bets unless the sport provides reassurances and policy changes.

NBA dominated by gambling cases across 2025

Silver, in the GMA appearance, delivered a measured, confident appraisal of the league’s integrity, saying it’s (the NBA) “absolutely solid.”

As we reported in detail, the NBA has been fighting the publicity surrounding a betting scandal that spanned multiple league games and both former and current stars.

Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones were all embroiled in the FBI’s case centring around illegal poker games and also the fixed outcomes of prop bets and match outcomes across previous seasons.

All three men were accused of using inside information to influence these outcomes for personal financial gain. Those individuals were also heavily rumoured to be linked to organized crime and the prominent mafioso families in North America.

Since that time, all three men have pleaded not guilty, with Rozier’s legal counsel asking for all charges against the former Charlotte star to be thrown out.

These charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, says Rozier’s counsel, Jim Trusty, should not stand as they are not direct actions or intent to wager by the NBA player.

“The indictment does not allege that Mr. Rozier ever placed a bet, whether himself or through a proxy, on any NBA game,” Trusty said. “Nor does it allege that he knew that Laster intended to sell this information to others, or that using it to place wagers would violate the Betting Companies’ rules.”

Silver moves away from the public ties to the betting cases

Speaking ahead of the NBA Cup Final, Silver told the press that the outcome of the gambling cases falls outside the sport’s regulatory remit and that “it’s out of our hands.”

“He (Rozier) hasn’t been convicted of anything yet either,” Silver commented when pressed on the Miami Heat guard’s future. “This is an unfortunate cirumstance. Sometimes there’s these unique events and maybe sometimes they require unique solutions.”

This distancing signals to the media and fans that the NBA is not pursuing the penalties that could be imposed on the three individuals at the heart of the case.

It is an intentional move for the sport to leave Rozier, Billups, and Jones’ fate to the courts and move forward.

NBA expansion takes centre stage

A topic Silver was keen to address was a potential European expansion and rumours that a Las Vegas team would be presented to the NBA commission in the near future.

Silver said, “There’s an enormous opportunity there,” when addressing questions of a possible European NBA team.

Any focus away from gambling and questions about betting irregularities is good news for the sport, so the tone of Silver’s comments about the future was overly forward-thinking.

“I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities… I don’t have any doubt that Las Vegas could support an NBA team,” said Silver when addressing the national expansion rumours.

With the NBA already deeply embedded in Las Vegas through Summer League, the NBA Cup, and the WNBA, the city has become increasingly difficult to ignore as a possible new franchise home.

Plus, a team tied to the betting capital of the nation would be a nod to the Commissioner’s intent to take betting reform seriously to avoid another gambling incident.

Injury reporting to change ahead of betting scrutiny

While expansion dominates the future-focused narrative, Silver has not ignored the structural issues raised by betting scrutiny.

On GMA, he reiterated the league’s long-standing view that regulated betting markets offer greater transparency than illegal alternatives.

“For me, the options are illegal betting or legal betting. And if given that choice, we’d much rather there be legal betting where there’s transparency.”

ESPN’s Shams Charania is the leading correspondent for breaking news in the sport, and in the same week as the marquee win for the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup, he reported that the NBA is considering changes to injury reporting.

“Teams now will be required to resubmit injury listings on game day between 11 am and 1 pm local time and update public reports every 15 minutes, sources tell ESPN,” said his post on X.

Silver lining

Silver has proven himself a tactful and key figure for the league in times of turmoil, and his messaging ahead of 2026 is on expansion, growth, and the future.

Something the NBA is fortunate to have after a 2025 that rocked the sport and could have been devastating for prop betting in the league.

We have already seen betting changes enforced on America’s greatest pastime, Major League Baseball, as a result of gambling investigations.

As part of the cases involving Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, who are facing allegations of illegal gambling, the sport now has limited prop betting and is entirely removed from parlay builders.

Featured Image: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

The post Adam Silver pivots from gambling scrutiny to NBA expansion talks appeared first on ReadWrite.

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