Tyronn Lue Addresses Friend Chauncey Billups's Arrest in FBI Gambling Probe

Lue and Billups are close friends.

LA Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue discussed good friend Chauncey Billups's arrest. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Tyronn Lue was asked to address his good friend Chauncey Billups's arrest as part of the FBI's massive mob-linked gambling investigation, and he had a lot to say about the situation.

Lue has known Billups since he was 17, and he is the godfather to Billups's three daughters. The two are close beyond their basketball association, so the arrest had to hit home.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne asked Lue about the situation and the Clippers' coach opened up. He said he has spoken to Billups since his arrest and that he believes his friend is confident in the direction things are going.

"When you’ve known somebody so long, you can just tell by their voice— if he's okay," Lue said. "Like I said, he's confident in what's going on. The toughest part just for him is just like his family going through with his daughters. But other than that, he's really confident about the situation. So just hearing his voice, I can just see that he's okay. So that was good to hear."

Lue was then asked how he was processing the situation and said, "I mean it is hard to process. Chauncey is my brother since he was 17 years old and you hate to see him go through something like this along with his three girls, who are my goddaughters, and his wife Piper. I believe in Chauncey’s character. I know who he is as a person. I've been with him since I was 17 years old. So it's just hard to see something like this happen. So he has my love and support always."

When I asked Lue how he was processing the whole situation, he said: “I mean it is hard to process. Chauncey is my brother since he was 17 years old and you hate to see him go through something like this along with his three girls, who are my goddaughters, and his wife Piper. I…

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) October 26, 2025

Billups, who is the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, was among the nearly three dozen people arrested by federal officials on Friday. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for participating in rigged poker games.

Lue was named as a participant in the rigged poker games Billups played in, along with Kevin Garnett. Neither Lue, nor Garnett is under any suspicion of wrongdoing.

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