NBPA president Fred VanVleet blasts league for gambling partnerships

NBA players bear the brunt of gambling issues

It's easy to see the increased focus on gambling, parlays and prop bets. Search any player's name on social media after a game, and there will be a flood of posts complaining about a player falling short in some statistical category, often with an accompanying allegation that they, their coaches or the league were cheating.

It's bad for the reputation of the league, and it's bad for the reputation of players. Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban over gambling on his prop bets, while Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley have been effectively kept off the court while their own gambling accusations are being investigated.

The added attention on gambling means that any player's bad night or early departure for injury is viewed as suspicious by the gambling public. If the NBA truly is gaining a relatively small amount of revenue, the tradeoff probably isn't worth it, given that the tradeoff seems to be a large contingent of fans claiming games are rigged, evidence be damned.

The league's labor agreement runs through the 2029-30 season, so there may not be a lot VanVleet and union leadership can do. But it appears clear that just because LeBron James can do commercials for DraftKings and Giannis Antetokounmpo can invest in prediction market Kalshi, the players aren't happy about the new marriage of the NBA and gambling companies.