Former 11-year NBA player Damon Jones was arrested Thursday amid charges that he allegedly disclosed privileged injury information about a “prominent” basketball player to facilitate illegal sports betting, authorities announced.

LeBron James was the prominent player, a source close to James told ESPN.

James was not accused of wrongdoing in the indictment.

Jones was one of 34 people arrested, along with Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, as part of a yearslong investigation spanning nearly a dozen states and involving tens of millions of dollars, FBI director Kash Patel said.

The investigation outlined two separate cases — one on illegal sports betting and another on rigged poker games involving the Mafia, authorities announced.

Jones was an unofficial, unpaid part of former Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham’s staff and is no longer with the team under current Lakers coach JJ Redick. Ham invited Jones to be a part of team activities after James spent the summer of 2022 with Jones present for many of his offseason workouts.

James was unaware that Jones, his former teammate and assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was involved in gambling activity when Jones spent time around James and the Lakers during the 2022-23 season, the source said. The federal indictment alleges that before a Lakers game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 9, 2023, Jones texted a co-conspirator to “get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight” because James was going to be out.

James, who passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in the previous game on Feb. 7, 2023, would go on to miss three straight games because of soreness in his left ankle.

Jones allegedly added via text: “Bet enough so Djones can eat [too] now!!!”

Without James, Milwaukee beat the Lakers 115-106.

Additionally, the indictment alleges that the following season Jones provided nonpublic information to a co-conspirator in connection to the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 15, 2024.

The Lakers had no comment on the allegations against Jones when reached by ESPN on Thursday morning.

Speaking after practice on Thursday, Redick said the league’s anti-gambling rules have been reiterated to his team this season — independent of the FBI’s investigation.

“We’ve had two meetings on it already,” Redick said. “It’s obviously on the front of everyone’s awareness given the last two years, but other than that, there’s no other comment.”

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

Four days ago, the Chargers played their worst game of the season. They were embarrassed and beaten down by the Indianapolis Colts in a 38-24 loss at home.

“We looked like s—,” a dejected Derwin James Jr. said after that game.

Even before, the Chargers had appeared out of sync. They had lost three of their past four, and their sole win, a 29-27 victory over the lifeless 1-6 Miami Dolphins, didn’t sit right with the team.

“We supposed to blow them out,” a frustrated James said then.

Ultimately, the Chargers had looked nothing like the team that began the season 3-0 by sweeping the AFC West.

But the paradigm shifted in a significant way Thursday. The Chargers played one of their best games of the season in a pummeling of Minnesota.

Playing in their first full game with tackle Joe Alt since Week 3, the Chargers did whatever they wanted on offense, and their defense shut down the Vikings to avoid their second two-game losing skid this season.

It was a much-needed win for a Chargers team spiraling into irrelevance. The win gives them a chance them to reclaim first place in the AFC West if the Denver Broncos lose on Sunday.

Trend to watch: Justin Herbert‘s interceptions.

Herbert’s ability to hit throws that few other quarterbacks in the NFL can replicate is what makes him great, but this season he has also put the ball in harm’s way. He threw his seventh interception of the year Thursday. Herbert was backed up against the Chargers’ goal line, rolling to his left, and tried to hit a smothered Ladd McConkey with a pass that was tipped and intercepted. The Vikings scored their first touchdown on the next drive. In this game, where the Chargers dominated, it was a meaningless turnover, but Herbert’s poor decision-making in recent weeks could hurt the Chargers if it continues.

Most surprising performance: Kimani Vidal.

The Chargers’ sixth-round pick in 2024, who was released after the team cut the roster to 53 players, racked up 117 yards on 23 carries and scored his first career rushing touchdown.

Vidal also had a standout performance against the Dolphins in Week 5, with 124 rushing yards against the league’s worst run defense, but until Thursday, that game seemed like an anomaly. By dashing a defense that held the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Saquon Barkley to just 44 yards and 2.4 rushing yards per carry just last week, Thursday proved Vidal can be a consistent impact player.

Stat to know: Oronde Gadsden II is the first rookie tight end since Mike Ditka in 1961 with 240 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in a two-game span.

Gadsden, who finished with five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, has emerged as one of Herbert’s favorite targets and one of the Chargers’ best receiving tight ends in recent memory. A fifth-round rookie, Gadsden had the most receiving yards by a Chargers tight end since Antonio Gates in 2009 in last week’s game, when he finished with seven catches for 164 yards and a score. He appears to be headed toward having a significant role in the passing offense this season.

Next game: at Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 2)

There is no sugarcoating it. The Vikings played one of their worst games in the four-year Kevin O’Connell era Thursday night, and it left them at a crossroads in a season that is rapidly deteriorating.

It was the second-worst loss in the O’Connell era by point differential. The worst was a 40-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.

The Vikings are now 3-4 and squarely positioned in last place of the NFC North, with the NFL’s most difficult remaining schedule ahead of them. The Chargers, losers in three of their previous four games, dominated them in every phase. The Vikings are ravaged by injuries, which continued to pile up Thursday as tight end Josh Oliver (foot) and cornerback Jeff Okudah (concussion) were added to the list, and the team is now facing a massive competitive decision.

Will the Vikings deem quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) ready to return for their next game, Nov. 2 at the Detroit Lions? And if so, will they stick with him no matter how he plays — knowing their playoff hopes are in the balance?

The Vikings committed to a cash payroll this season of more than $350 million, hoping they could compete for a deep playoff run while developing McCarthy in real time. It doesn’t look good for the former, and now it might be time to find out about the latter.

Most surprising performance: The Chargers gashed the Vikings’ defense in every way imaginable. Some opponents have managed to accumulate yards against them this season, but before Thursday night, the Vikings had at least been able to limit scoring.

They entered the game tied for No. 10 in the NFL with an average of 20 offensive points allowed per game. But they had no answers Thursday for Justin Herbert, who weaved through their blitzes to rush for 62 yards and throw three touchdowns. The Chargers faced little resistance in amassing a total of 419 yards and 29 first downs.

What to make of Wentz’s performance: In what might have been his last start for a while, Carson Wentz was clearly in pain throughout the game — largely because of a left shoulder injury suffered Oct. 5 that is still requiring a harness. He also appeared to hit his throwing hand on Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack‘s helmet in the first half.

It’s admirable that Wentz kept pushing through, but at times it was tough to watch. Rookie Max Brosmer would have been next in, and the Vikings likely didn’t want to expose him to the mess Wentz was experiencing.

Trend to watch: The Vikings played almost the entire game without their starting tackles, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, even though both had played every snap in Week 7.

O’Neill (right knee) was inactive and Darrisaw (left knee) left after nine snaps and did not return. That left the Vikings to go most of the way with backup Justin Skule at left tackle and third-string tackle Walter Rouse on the right side. It wasn’t a recipe for creating running lanes or protecting the quarterback, and it showed. The Vikings finished with 34 rushing yards and took five sacks.

Next game: at Detroit Lions (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 2)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Minnesota Vikings are visiting the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL Week 8 matchup Thursday.

NFL reporters Kevin Seifert for the Vikings and Kris Rhim for the Chargers will provide updates on all the biggest plays and highlights from SoFi Stadium.

Vikings-Chargers highlights