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Viewership for the games was as high as it has been since 1998, five years before ESPN and ABC began producing the Finals in 2003, Google searches reached peak levels, social clips broke records for the NBA and Knicks related merchandise has been flying off the shelves. Sportsbooks saw a record amount of action at the window as well. DraftKings told the Post that five of the six most bet NBA games in the sportsbook’s history all came from this NBA Finals series with Game 5 at the top for most-bet NBA game ever at DraftKings. BetMGM said it saw a 28.6 percent jump in the average handle wagered on each game from the 2025 Finals to 2026 Finals. The Knicks were such a massive draw at BetMGM, the team became a liability midway through the series.
Terry Rozier was in violation of his NBA contract and will forfeit most of his $26.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season due to his alleged role in a sports gambling scheme while he was with the Charlotte Hornets, an arbitrator ruled last month. The ruling was included in a court filing released Wednesday.
The same arbitrator initially said the NBA could not withhold Rozier’s salary this season as he faces federal charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The NBA put him on unpaid administrative leave in October, days after Rozier, then with the Miami Heat, was arrested. He and the National Basketball Players Association filed a grievance, and an arbitrator ruled at the time that Rozier should be paid despite being on leave.
Rozier and the NBA returned to the arbitrator this spring after the league said he should not be paid, as the conditions of his bond — which don’t allow him to travel across the country or be in contact with the Heat and Hornets — prevented him from fulfilling his contract. The union and Rozier again appealed, but this time the arbitrator ruled in the league’s favor. Rozier and the NBA returned to the arbitrator this spring after the league said he should not be paid, as the conditions of his bond — which don’t allow him to travel across the country or be in contact with the Heat and Hornets — prevented him from fulfilling his contract. The union and Rozier again appealed, but this time the arbitrator ruled in the league’s favor.
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On Wednesday, a lawyer for Rozier asked the judge overseeing his case to change the conditions of his release because Rozier still hopes to play in the NBA and believes those terms are impacting his ability to do so. The Eastern District attorney’s office removed the Heat from his no-contact list late last month, the filing released Wednesday said, after Miami released him in April, but the Hornets remain. The NBA had asked federal prosecutors to prevent Rozier from communicating with anyone in the league, but that request was denied. Rozier’s attorneys are now asking the judge to remove the Hornets and their current and former employees as well, and to lower Rozier’s limit to not discussing the case with them. Prosecutors have opposed this request.
The Athletic’s poll was conducted before the Heat released Rozier and Jones pleaded guilty in the gambling cases, and before the league unveiled its latest anti-tanking measures. As always, we granted the players anonymity to give them the freedom to answer honestly, without fear of reprisals from opponents, teammates or fans. For transparency and context, we’ll tell you how many people responded to each topic. An informal analysis of the answers to this question came down to the players collectively saying, “No, but…” “I don’t think we have an integrity issue,” one player said. “It’s almost like it’s the beginning of possible issues that could happen because of gambling. It’s getting more negative attention that could affect the purity of the game. “The purists, we just want to play.” "They have to do something with gambling,” one player said. “If they don't, the league is in trouble." “The gambling with social media is a dangerous combination — it has too much of an impact on the game," said another. A third player said, “We go out, and I can hear a fan say, ‘Please get 11 points,’ you know what I'm saying? I just feel like that's (messed) the game up a little bit.”
The NBA asked the nation's top commodities regulator Thursday to impose tighter restrictions on players, game officials and team staff to ensure prediction markets don't undermine sports integrity and fan confidence. Dan Spillane, the NBA's executive vice president and assistant general counsel, wrote in a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that the integrity concerns posed by prediction markets are similar to those associated with sports betting.
Federal prosecutors intend to bring new charges against Terry Rozier related to their sports gambling case against the NBA player and others. A lawyer in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York said Monday that it intends to file a superseding indictment against Rozier alleging that he “solicited and accepted a bribe.”
Cyro Asseo: Pat Riley on players gambling: "The most stupid thing that a player could do. Absolutely just stupid. I hate to use that word but it's the worst thing that any NBA player...when you get in bed with them as a league... with gambling sites.. to me that's a contradiction"
Pat Riley on players gambling:
— Cyro Asseo (@CyroAsseo) April 27, 2026
"The most stupid thing that a player could do. Absolutely just stupid. I hate to use that word but it's the worst thing that any NBA player...when you get in bed with them as a league... with gambling sites.. to me that's a contradiction" pic.twitter.com/z8mpHDTffK
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The NBA is in active discussions with both Kalshi and Polymarket about a prediction-market deal, Front Office Sports has learned. Talks with Kalshi and Polymarket have been happening on a more informal basis for more than a year, but they’ve ramped up in recent months, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. In particular, discussions have gained momentum since Michael Selig, who was confirmed as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in December, began engaging with leagues and making clear the agency will propose rules aimed at ensuring integrity in sports markets.
Although discussions have progressed, there’s no clear time frame for when a deal might happen. “Anything is possible,” one source says. Multiple sources familiar with the matter tell FOS an agreement could be reached before the start of next season.
While guard Terry Rozier remains on the Miami Heat’s roster, his release is expected in the coming weeks. Rozier likely won’t be on the Heat’s postseason roster, according to a league source.