Following Blakeney’s journey from NBA player to accused game fixer

Antonio Blakeney took to the court in Israel on Sunday, delivering one of his standout performances this season by scoring 27 points for the Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team, which he has been part of since 2024. Meanwhile, back in the United States, Blakeney was making headlines for a significantly different reason.

Earlier this month, federal law enforcement revealed criminal charges claiming Blakeney was among the key figures in a U.S. college basketball gambling and game-fixing scandal in China involving 26 individuals.

The indictment asserts that Blakeney persuaded NCAA players that his co-conspirators would pay between $10,000 and $32,000 for subpar performances, abstaining from games, or providing insights about players’ health and game conditions. The indictment suggests that Blakeney was set to gain a share of the winnings.

At 29 years old, Blakeney is the sole former NBA player among the accused. He faces charges independently from the other alleged conspirators, and it remains uncertain if he has reached an agreement to act as a cooperating witness. Regardless, the charges represent a significant turning point in the career of a once-promising five-star recruit who spent two seasons at LSU and parts of two seasons with the Chicago Bulls and their G League affiliate before moving to teams in China and Israel.

Blakeney’s legal representatives declined to comment to ESPN, and his family also refrained from making any statements. Attempts to reach numerous former teammates and coaches from high school through professional levels went unanswered.

The Department of Justice’s statement regarding the indictment claims that Marves Fairley, a co-defendant in this case as well as in an October NBA gambling indictment, left nearly $200,000 in Blakeney’s storage unit in Florida as payments and proceeds following the 2022-23 season. This payment was allegedly linked to point-shaving and game-fixing in China. If convicted of the wire fraud-related charges in the United States, Blakeney could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Blakeney was raised in Florida, initially in the Sarasota area and later in Orlando, where he excelled at Oak Ridge High School. By his sophomore year, longtime trainer Iren Rainey informed ESPN that he recognized professional potential in Blakeney, noting his ability to consistently score and skillfully navigate past defenders. Blakeney was so highly regarded that he was the subject of a multipart documentary featured on YouTube.

In a conversation on the “Euro Insiders” podcast last year, Blakeney mentioned that he began to consider his NBA prospects while still in high school, particularly when he played against NBA players Austin Rivers and Courtney Lee during recreational sessions in an open gym.

“I did enough to make myself think, like, dang, I’m in the 11th grade and I’m playing against NBA guys and I can do something,” Blakeney stated on “Euro Insiders.” “I know I can make it there one day if I keep working.”

The matchup was organized by Rainey, who has trained numerous NBA and WNBA players and has worked with Blakeney since his high school days.

“That’s when Antonio, psychologically, made the paradigm shift of knowing: I am an NBA guy,” Rainey remarked. “I can compete at this level.”

Blakeney earned Florida’s Mr. Basketball award in 2015, surpassing his AAU teammate and future NBA No. 1 pick Ben Simmons. Both were named McDonald’s All-Americans. For one year, Blakeney and Simmons played college basketball together at LSU. During his sophomore season, Blakeney averaged 17.2 points per game and received second-team All-SEC honors before declaring for the 2017 NBA draft.

He went undrafted. However, that did not deter other undrafted players from making it to the NBA, Blakeney recalled telling himself in the “Euro Insiders” interview, so why should it hinder him? “All I knew was I’m going to be one of those guys,” Blakeney said. “That’s all I was thinking that night. Like, I’ll be one of the guys that went undrafted and make it.”

Blakeney was the leading scorer for the Bulls in the 2017 summer league. He signed a two-way contract, appearing in 19 NBA games for the Bulls in 2017-18 and 57 games in 2018-19.

While he did not have any standout performances in the NBA, he excelled with the Windy City Bulls in the G League, averaging 32 points per game and earning Rookie of the Year honors in the 2017-18 season.

The Bulls attempted to mold him into a 3-point and defensive specialist, “but at the time, I was so young, [what] I didn’t really get to understand is that’s what gets you paid in the NBA, like being a role player,” Blakeney explained on “Euro Insiders.”

If Blakeney had been able to adapt sooner, Rainey suggested, he might still be in the NBA.

The Bulls waived Blakeney on September 9, 2019. International opportunities soon followed, including an offer to play in China.

“If it were up to me, I probably would have told him not to make that decision,” Rainey remarked, noting that players typically go to China at the end of their careers rather than at the beginning. However, Rainey was not advising Blakeney at that time.

In the 2019-20 season, Blakeney averaged 34.8 points while playing 16 games for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

“He enjoyed the freedom to play his game. … So I think his confidence was super high when he returned,” Rainey stated.

Then, the pandemic hit. Blakeney remained in the United States in 2021, playing with the G League’s Canton (now Cleveland) Charge in the bubble at Walt Disney World near his Orlando-area home.

“He was coachable,” said Tyler Neal, one of the Charge assistants that season. “Never gave anybody any issues. Never really was a problem at all.”

Neal mentioned to ESPN that Blakeney provided guidance to younger players. The bubble’s limited interactions prevented Neal from getting to know Blakeney well, but he expressed that it was “shocking” and “disappointing” to see Blakeney’s name associated with the scandal.

IN MAY 2021, according to court documents, police questioned Blakeney following an alleged robbery at his residence in Osceola County, Florida. His involvement—whether as a victim or perpetrator—was unclear. Court records indicate he was acquainted with all parties involved. No charges against him exist in Osceola County courts.

A warrant sought the arrest of three men, but not Blakeney, following an investigation. The men faced charges of home-invasion robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault, and grand theft stemming from an alleged robbery during a card game at Blakeney’s residence. Details in the police report presented confusing and contradictory accounts of the incident. One of the victims stated to police that he and Blakeney “often gamble large amounts of money” and that Blakeney owed him nearly $23,000.

In the court files of another defendant, one of the alleged victims signed an affidavit declining to pursue prosecution against Blakeney, asserting that “Antonio Blakeney is a victim in this case” and that the victim was not “afraid or in fear” of Blakeney, who was listed as a defendant. A second alleged victim also opted not to prosecute Blakeney—or any of the defendants—and described the entire situation as a “misunderstanding.”

The case was closed, and no prosecutions took place.

Blakeney returned to China in the 2022-23 season to play for Jiangsu, averaging 32.7 points per game.

It was during that season that federal authorities allege Blakeney conspired with two others to “affect the outcomes of CBA games.” The indictment, filed under seal in 2024 but unsealed this month, claims Blakeney accepted bribes in exchange for staging “intentionally poor performances, sitting out of games, or removing himself from games.” The indictment also alleges that Blakeney recruited other American players in China to do the same.

Blakeney continued his career in China the following season, averaging 30.5 points for Nanjing. During that season, federal authorities allege he received bribes for games in China and enlisted college basketball players in the United States to alter the outcomes of their games. They also allege that he recruited other American players in the Chinese league to modify their performances.

Four days after the sealed indictment was filed, Blakeney signed a contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv. His team won the EuroCup, resulting in Tel Aviv’s promotion to the prestigious EuroLeague this season.

Rainey noted that Blakeney fluctuated between seeking another NBA opportunity and becoming comfortable as a high-level European player.

“Once he proved to himself and to others that he belonged at that level, he embraced it a lot more,” Rainey stated.

It remains unclear how Blakeney transitioned from a successful career to what federal authorities allege was involvement in a game-fixing conspiracy. Rainey remarked that it does not align with his understanding of Blakeney, and he does not believe the allegations are accurate.

Last April, while the indictment was still sealed, Blakeney signed an extension with Tel Aviv through the 2026-27 season. He continues to play overseas, holding a significant role on a team that is tied for first place in both the EuroLeague and the Israeli league.

His coach, Dimitris Itoudis, expressed trust in Blakeney.

“That’s old stories, and whatever I say now might be used or not used, so better not to say …” Itoudis commented, according to Sports Rabbi, an Israeli sports website. “We have no concerns regarding the integrity, commitment, and sports ethics that AB [Blakeney] possesses.”

Rainey mentioned that he spoke to Blakeney before the indictment became public and was unaware that his longtime pupil was under investigation. He noted that Blakeney was enthusiastic about the season and that he never observed any signs indicating Blakeney might be involved in the alleged activities.

“He was in a place in his life where he was growing, where he was elevating and where he was really evolving and maturing as a professional,” Rainey stated. “And I was commending him on that. So for me, this is definitely a huge shock, for sure.”