NBA Fans Dig up Malik Beasley Plays That Look Suspicious Following Betting Allegations

Malik Beasley was on the brink of signing a 3-year, $42 million deal before the investigation put paid to those hopes.

NBA Fans Dig up Malik Beasley Plays That Look Suspicious Following Betting Allegations

Malik Beasley on the Pistons (FS Image)

There seems to be a dearth of common sense in a lot of athletes who make the major leagues. Despite a boom in popularity that has seen league revenues skyrocket, some players just can’t seem to give up their habits. After Jontay Porter was put away by the NBA after a comprehensive federal investigation, next up is Pistons sharpshooter Malik Beasley. Beasley is in hot water with federal agencies for betting allegations.

Malik Beasley has been on a tear over the past two years after leaving the Lakers. He was always a good shooter from range, but his production took a step up during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 regular seasons. He finished both campaigns shooting over 41% from downtown. Beasley had 224 3-pointers made in the 2023-24 season with Milwaukee. He outdid himself in his Pistons tenure, making 319 threes last season.

Beasley was on course to lead the league in threes made, having played all 82 games of the season. However, he was pipped to this distinction by Anthony Edwards in the final game of the regular season. Edwards finished with 320 threes – one more than his former teammate. Beasley also had a good outing in the playoffs, in contrast to his Bucks and Lakers tenures, where he wilted in the postseason under pressure.

However, with a federal investigation ongoing about his actions during the 2023-24 season, it is time to put a microscope on his suspect actions. One of these was, unfortunately, his last significant play as a Piston, which NBA Twitter has pounced upon. The Pistons hung closely around the Knicks during the first round of the playoffs, but found themselves down 3-1 in the series.

They made it 3-2, and even had a chance to even it up at 3-3. Cade Cunningham inbounded the ball with barely a few seconds left in Game 6, got it back and passed it to Beasley. What should have been a routine catch-and-shoot opportunity turned into a tragedy as Beasley fumbled the pass and let it go out of bounds, virtually sealing the Knicks’ series win as the game clock expired.

Malik Beasley zoned off
Malik Beasley zones off while defending Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers. (Screengrab from the video: open source from X)

Another Malik Beasley play going viral on NBA Twitter was a piece of defense by him during the fourth quarter of a 2023-24 game between the Bucks and the Pacers. Beasley was guarding Tyrese Haliburton, who faked a screen navigation gesture. Beasley didn’t check for a screen and ended up cheating to the side Haliburton indicated, leaving him with an easy drive and layup opportunity even as the Bucks led.

What fate awaits Malik Beasley based on publicly available news?

As of today, Malik Beasley is still in the clear with regard to facing criminal prosecution. Lawyer Steve Haney, who is representing Beasley, confirmed to The Athletic on Sunday that no formal allegations have yet been made and no charges filed:

This is simply an investigation. At this point, Malik has not been charged with any crime and there has been no formal accusation of wrongdoing. Hopefully everyone will afford him that same presumption of innocence that everyone else deserves.

It is unclear whether this investigation is related to how Jontay Porter is being examined by law enforcement. Porter had bet the under on himself in numerous games when he was unhealthy or slated to play lower minutes totals, flagging the betting company algorithms based on the unnaturally high sums being staked on a bit-part rotation player like the former Raptors player.

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