Brooklyn federal judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. pushed back the jury selection and trial of former NBA coach Chauncey Billups and six other defendants to 8 March 2027 after a scheduling conflict for the legal team of defendant Lee Fama. The case had already been moved once, from 2 November to 30 November, before this latest postponement.
According to Hoops Rumors, the new date is the earliest the court and all defence lawyers could manage, and Reyes told the defendants the trial is expected to last about four weeks. As reported in August, the NBA had already placed Billups on leave after federal gambling charges became public. Billups pleaded not guilty in November and was released on a $5 million bond.
The prosecution centres on allegations that the defendants helped run rigged private poker games tied to organised crime and used hidden technology to cheat players. Federal investigators have said Billups was one of the celebrity “face cards” used to draw in victims who did not know everyone else at the table was part of the scam.
The case has been moving toward trial against a backdrop of guilty pleas and plea negotiations. In March, prosecutors extended plea deals to a dozen defendants, and Billups was not among those who accepted one. The court record also says at least a dozen defendants have pleaded guilty, while others are still negotiating.
Billups’ lawyers had earlier pressed to keep the November setting, arguing that a delay would cost him his livelihood and subject him to intense public obloquy. The court’s revised calendar now calls for motions in limine to be served on 18 December, responses due on 15 January 2027, replies on 22 January and joint voir dire materials, the request to charge, the verdict sheet and exhibits due on 16 February.
