Ed Davis to Plead Guilty in Malik Beasley NBA Betting Case

Ed Davis intends to plead guilty to federal sports bribery charges tied to an alleged betting scheme involving former Milwaukee Bucks guard Malik Beasley, with his change-of-plea hearing set for 10 December 2026. Beasley is due in court a day earlier, on 9 December 2026, after previously pleading not guilty in July and informing the court he will change his plea.

Case timeline and core allegation

Federal prosecutors say the scheme targeted NBA player prop markets during the 2023–24 season and that investigators found text messages, betting activity and a contested late rebound from a 10 March 2024 Bucks–Clippers game. Prosecutors allege Beasley communicated his expected statistical performance to Davis, who then passed that non-public information to other participants so they could place wagers. Investigators identified Paolo Zamorano, Ernesto Plascencia, Robert Gorodetsky and William Brown among alleged participants.

The March 10, 2024 play is central to the indictment. With Milwaukee leading by seven points in the closing seconds, Beasley collected his fourth rebound of the night and exceed the 3.5-rebound betting line, winning wagers that were placed on the over. Prosecutors assert that participants placed hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers using the non-public information.

Legal proceedings and charges

Davis will appear before United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl in the Eastern District of New York on 10 December 2026 for a change-of-plea hearing. Beasley has a hearing scheduled for 9 December 2026. Federal filings charge Davis with wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

The case forms part of a broader federal probe into sports betting corruption involving professional basketball players. Former NBA players Jontay Porter and Damon Jones have already pleaded guilty in separate gambling-related federal matters.

Evidence cited by prosecutors

Prosecutors rely on a combination of communications, wagering records and game events. In filings, they cite a 29 December 2023 message from Davis to Beasley, sent the day Milwaukee played Brooklyn, in which Davis wrote that "the only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting" and suggested they could make "good money." The government also points to betting patterns around Bucks games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.

The indictment frames the conduct as attempts to influence player performance for betting purposes, a scheme prosecutors say is punishable under federal sports bribery statutes even when the final game result is not affected.

"the only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting," — message from Ed Davis to Malik Beasley, 29 December 2023

Player backgrounds and connections

Ed Davis was the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft and played 12 NBA seasons, finishing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021–22. He averaged 8.6 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game during his season with the Brooklyn Nets and played briefly for Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico in 2023. Malik Beasley was teammates with Davis on the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020–21, later joined the Milwaukee Bucks in July 2023 and started 77 games in the 2023–24 campaign.

The government's description links communications on specific dates to betting activity; filings and the March 10 rebound are presented as the evidentiary core in the Eastern District of New York action. The matter is being handled amid ongoing federal scrutiny of player prop markets and alleged insider-driven wagering in professional basketball. Read more coverage in our sports and regulation sections.