Who is Chauncey Billups' wife? All about NBA coach’s family amid gambling controversy

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones were among 31 people arrested on October 23 for their alleged role in an explosive gambling scandal, said FBI director Kash Patel during a news conference held the same day.

According to the BBC, Billups and others allegedly ran rigged poker games, scamming individuals out of millions of dollars using X-ray poker tables and pre-marked cards, connected to mafia families.

Chauncey Billups, who was arrested on Thursday morning in Portland, is married to Piper Billups. The couple met at George Washington High School and later married in 2001. They share three daughters, Cydney, Cenaiya, and Ciara.

Piper owns a real estate business in Denver, Colorado, and holds a degree in marketing from Metropolitan State College of Denver, per Essentially Sports.

Although she maintains a low public profile, Chauncey shared a heartfelt post honoring Piper on Mother's Day 2021.

"I know I’m a lil late BUT I wanna wish my beautiful wife and an AMAZING MOTHER @pbillz a Happy Mother’s Day. You have done an unbelievable job with our 3 girls. Today I salute you. I love you. #Blackqueen #🖤," he wrote on Instagram.

More about Chauncey Billups' arrest

At the aforementioned press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel stated that Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, Terry Rozier, and several others were arrested following the FBI's "coordinated take down across 11 states" in connection with the case.

"Today we are here in New York to announce a historic arrest across a wide sweeping criminal enterprise that enveloped both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra. As you now know, individuals such as Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier were taken into custody today, former current NBA players and coaches. What you don't know is that this is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years. We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud," the FBI Director added.

There are two indictments against 31 defendants, "one involves sports betting and the other involves illegal gambling," said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr.

"The first indictment involves six defendants who are alleged to have participated, one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States. This scheme is an insider sports betting conspiracy that exploited confidential information about National Basketball Association athletes and teams," he explained.

Regarding the second indictment, Joseph stated:

"The second indictment involves 31 defendants alleged to have participated in a nationwide scheme to rig illegal poker games. These defendants, which include former professional athletes, used high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims in underground poker games that were secretly fixed. The gains in the New York area were backed by the Bonanno Gambino and Genovese crime families of La Casa Nostra."

Meanwhile, Billups' attorney released a statement to ESPN, describing him as a "man of integrity; men of integrity do not cheat and defraud others."

"To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his hall-of-fame legacy, his reputation, and his freedom. He would not jeopardize those things for anything, let alone a card game," said his attorney.

He added that Chauncey has and would never "gamble on basketball games, provide insider information, or sacrifice the trust of his team and the League, as it would tarnish the game he has devoted his entire life to."

"Chauncey Billups has never backed down. He does not plan to do so now. He will fight these allegations with the same tenacity that marked his 28-year career. We look forward to our day in court," he added.

Per the BBC, both Billups and Rozier have been placed on leave. Stay tuned for more updates.