Kevin Garnett poker game row: Why NBA All-Star’s Uncut Gems is trending amid gambling probe

Kevin Garnett is the latest high-profile name mentioned in the NBA gambling probe. A day after Miami Heat veteran Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were charged, ESPN insider Pablo Torre reported that Garnett was also linked to a poker game back in 2019. The Celtics legend is yet to respond to reports.

“🚨 UPDATE: A number of former pro athletes played at private poker games organized by those indicted by the DOJ in “Operation Royal Flush.” One of them — according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of a game that took place in 2019 — was Kevin Garnett,” Torre wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.

Why Kevin Garnett’s Uncut Gems is suddenly trending

While Garnett, a Celtics icon and a 15-time All-Star and 2008 champion, has not commented, but the revelation ties eerily to Uncut Gems, where his character pawns the 2008 ring to fund a bet, only to see it spiral into chaos.

The 2019 Netflix thriller started trending on social media, with fans drawing parallels between Garnett’s on-screen gambling addiction and the real-life probe. Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner, mirrors the high-rollers in the FBI case, with Garnett’s cameo, complete with the line “I need that ring”, now viewed through a scandal lens.

X users quipped, “Uncut Gems wasn’t a movie, it was a documentary,” while others defended Garnett, noting the games’ allure for retired stars seeking thrills.

NBA gambling scandal

Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a player for the Miami Heat, was arrested on Thursday, along with over 30 other people, in two cases alleging sprawling criminal schemes to rake in millions by rigging sports bets and poker games that involve Mafia families.

“My message to the defendants who’ve been rounded up today is this: Your winning streak has ended,” Nocella said. “Your luck has run out.”