LeBron James reaction to gambling accusations of his longtime friend and business partner

In the last couple of days, it has been reported that Maverick Carter, who is the manager for Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, and a business partner of his, spoke to federal agents in 2021 about having a bet on NBA games through an illegal bookmaker, this news came via The Wahington Post on Thursday.

"In 2021 and before 38 states and the District of Columbia legalized sports betting, Maverick Carter was interviewed a single time by federal law enforcement regarding their investigation into Wayne Nix," Adam Mendelsohn, a spokesperson for Carter and James, said in a statement to the Post. "Mr. Carter was not the target of the investigation, cooperated, was never charged, and never contacted again on the matter."

The report also said that Carter placed around 20 bets on football and basketball games over a year with each bet ranging from $5K to $10K. The NBA prohibits players, team officials, and league officials from betting on league games, and the National Basketball Players Association also includes agents in its rule, but business managers are not included by either group.

After the Lakers lost to the OKC Thunder, LeBron James was asked about the matter, the superstar distanced himself saying he didn't know about Carter's talk with federal agents until "the last 24 hours." "Maverick's his own man and at the end of the day, gambling is legal," James said. "I mean, you can go on your phone right now and do whatever you want. And he has no affiliation with the NBA or NFL, so, he can do what he wants to do."

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