Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis – Instagram
*Welp! He can’t blame anybody but himself. Ex-NBA star Glen “Big Baby” Davis received a 40-month prison sentence from a federal judge on Thursday for his role in a scheme to cheat the league’s health care benefits plan, dating back to November 2023. He also faces three years of supervised release, which includes mandatory drug treatment and a financial management class.
In this high-profile fraud case, 22 individuals, 18 of them former NBA players such as Terrence Williams and Keyon Dooling, were implicated for submitting bogus claims to the NBA Players’ Health and Benefit Welfare Plan.
Despite his persistent claims of innocence since the October 2021 indictments, the 38-year-old Davis was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy to make false statements, culminating in an $80,000 restitution order.
Williams, tagged as the mastermind of this “wide-ranging scheme to steal millions,” was handed a 10-year sentence last August by the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office. Yet, Davis received the second harshest sentence among his peers; last month, ex-guard Will Bynum got 18 months, partly for perjury, per ESPN.
Silence from Davis’ lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, and the Southern District’s press office followed the sentencing.
Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis – Instagram`
In the courtroom, assistant U.S. attorney Ryan Finkel described Davis’ actions as a “sophisticated and intelligent effort” to conceal his wrongdoing.
Support for Davis came through a slew of pre-sentencing letters, including those from family, former coaches, and NBPA officials Ron Klempner and Andre Iguodala, who pleaded for leniency based on Davis’ past contributions and the complexities of the case.
Despite the defense’s plea for a lighter, time-served sentence with community service and mental health therapy requirements due to his cannabis addiction, the turnout at the sentencing was sparse, noted Shroff amidst tears.
Davis, a key player in the Boston Celtics’ 2008 championship run and retired since the 2014-15 NBA season, expressed his dismay during the proceedings, lamenting his lost sense of self with basketball’s end:
“When I lost basketball, I lost myself,” he told Judge Valerie E. Caproni. “I ask you, your honor, to help me get back to who I am.”
Wait a minute! Davis, who’s also known as a big jokester isn’t crying over his prison sentence. Nope. As TMZ noted, earlier today he went on Instagram Live to crack jokes at his own expense — but also pointing out there are a few positives that’ll come out of his time in lockdown. WATCH:
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