Former longtime NBA guard Malik Beasley has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges related to illegal sports gambling, his lawyer told the two men. Athletics And ESPN Tuesday.
Beasley, who was arrested earlier this summer, will formally enter his plea on December 9 in New York.
Advertisement
Beasley was indicted in June on federal charges related to a sports betting scheme alongside former NBA veteran Ed Davis. The duo, who played together for the Minnesota Timberwolves, were accused of working together to manipulate Beasley’s performance in four games during the 2023-24 campaign. Beasley was with the Milwaukee Bucks at the time and Davis was out of the league.
Beasley allegedly owed millions of dollars in gambling debts, leading Davis to lend Beasley money. But in order to pay off that debt, Beasley and Davis reportedly decided to start a betting scheme. They allegedly worked with three others to invest tens of thousands of dollars in a game Beasley played in against the Cleveland Cavaliers that season. Beasley ended up scoring just three points in that game, well below his season average of 11.3 points per game. Beasley is also accused of fixing a game against the Charlotte Hornets in a similar manner during the same season.
Beasley hasn’t played in the league since the 2024-25 season, which was one of the best of his career. He averaged 16.3 points per game, his best output in years, and finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year race with the Detroit Pistons. He was also expected to get a big payday after this season, but his free agency was cut short by both a federal gambling investigation and an NBA investigation into Beasley. He didn’t sign and hasn’t played since.
Advertisement
Prosecutors alleged Davis was responsible for the scheme. They were two of six men charged in connection with the case.
Beasley is the second active NBA player to plead guilty to charges related to playing in the NBA. Jontay Porter was the first and pleaded guilty in July 2024 in a separate but similar scheme. THE The NBA banned him for life in 2024. It is unclear whether Beasley will meet the same fate.
Gn sports
