Last week’s stunning arrests from the FBI’s far-reaching investigations into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games sent shockwaves across the NBA. As the league seeks to better monitor alarming gambling activity, fans have begun their own deep dives, with an old post from the Dallas Mavericks’ official X account raising questions.
On Thursday, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones were indicted in the wake of the FBI’s years-long probes. The news cast an unwanted shadow over the opening week of the 2025-26 season, prompting the NBA to reassess how betting should be regulated to protect its players from “dire risks” to their “careers and livelihoods.”
Shortly after, fans uncovered evidence of the Mavericks seemingly offering gambling advice on X over a decade ago, sparking a mix of reactions.
Mavericks Face NBA Fan Scrutiny Over Unearthed 2015 Betting Advice
A June 2015 tweet from Dallas’ X account drew renewed fan engagement on Monday. The post offered followers betting insight ahead of Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Since you all care, I had Golden State in 6 before the series and have Golden State tonight. So, you know, bet heavy on Cleveland,” the post reads.
Several fans expressed confusion about the resurfaced tweet, with some wondering whether the Mavericks’ X admin possibly posted to the wrong account.
“What is happening rn,” one fan said.
“what in the world,” another added.
“Admin thought they were on the personal ??” one user speculated.
Meanwhile, others cracked FBI-related jokes, with a few calling for the organization to be investigated.
“It’s over gang,” one fan quipped.
“Nah don’t run,” another remarked.
“@NBA @FBI are you aware of this?” one user asked.
However, one fan posted screenshots of tweets from the preceding June 2015, suggesting that Dallas sports insider Bob Sturm took over the Mavericks’ account for the night.
UPDATE: Sturm has since confirmed that he took over the account as part of a promotion and sent the tweet: “Kids, it isn’t that deep. In 2015, us olds had things called “twitter takeovers” and the Mavs asked me to tweet from their account during a Finals game. Back then, it wasn’t a big deal. It was old twitter and we liked it. This is me. I made a gambling joke online. Scandalous!”
Now, Dallas and the rest of the NBA will have to adjust to upcoming gambling safeguards. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania’s Monday intel, “the NBA informed its 30 teams that the league has begun the process of reviewing policies regarding injury reporting, training and education of all personnel, and enhancing internal and external monitoring programs to identify betting activity of concern.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd is among those hopeful that the league can improve the optics surrounding the controversy and keep the focus on the court.
“Hopefully, that doesn’t overshadow what these young men are doing because this is a beautiful game and they’re playing it at a high level and it’s fun to be a part of,” Kidd said. “…Hopefully, they can get that fixed.”
