Ed Davis Plans to Plead Guilty in NBA Betting Case

Former NBA player Ed Davis plans to plead guilty to federal sports bribery charges. According to court documents, Davis played alongside Malik Beasley for the Minnesota Timberwolves during his 12-year NBA career.

Davis is expected to appear next month before Judge Taryn A. Merkl for a change of plea hearing. This hearing will take place 24 hours after the date on which Beasley is scheduled to appear before the same judge. Beasley pleaded not guilty in July, and last month he informed the court that he intended to change his plea. Davis is scheduled to appear in court on December 10.

According to the federal complaint, the two players exchanged messages to plan the manipulation of prop bets. The events took place during the 2023-24 season. That season, Beasley started in 77 games for the Milwaukee Bucks. In a message Davis sent to Beasley on December 29, 2023, he reportedly wrote that the only way to beat Vegas was sports betting and that they could make good money together.

Investigators also reviewed messages related to games against the Cavaliers, Hornets, Clippers, and Nets through March 2024. The messages reportedly show Beasley sharing expected totals for prop bets such as rebounds and points, and Davis allegedly passing this inside information to associates Paolo Zamorano, Ernesto Plascencia, Robert Gorodetsky, and William Brown. These individuals are alleged to have placed bets on the totals.

It is alleged that on March 10, 2024, against the Clippers, Beasley made a big effort to grab a rebound in the final seconds. This rebound was Beasley's fourth of the game and won the bet on his rebounds going over 3.5. The Bucks had already won the game at that point, leading by seven points.