Former NBA player Glen Davis has been released from prison after serving 17 months. His release comes more than a year earlier than initially expected.
A judge sentenced Davis, nicknamed “Big Baby,” to 40 months in prison in 2024 following his conviction in the attempted defrauding of a health care benefits plan. He and former NBA players Terrence Williams, Will Bynum, Tony Allen, Shannon Brown, Melvin Ely, Sebastian Telfair and Keyon Dooling were among more than 20 people convicted in the case.
Prosecutors charged Glen Davis and others with participating in a large-scale scheme to defraud the NBA Players’ Health and Benefit Welfare Plan by filing numerous fraudulent reimbursement claims for dental and chiropractic care. According to the prosecution, the participants in the scam illegally received “over $5 million.”
During the case, the prosecution presented evidence that dentists and physicians who worked with the former NBA players issued false invoices to the league’s supplemental insurance plan for payments.
Why did authorities release Glen Davis from prison early?
The court sentenced Davis to 40 months in prison in May 2024, but he didn’t begin serving it until October of that same year. In his case, the judge postponed Davis’ surrender date after his lawyers requested permission to complete filming a documentary so he could contribute $80,000 toward restitution.
“He used his time productively while serving his sentence and took many programs during that time,” Davis’s attorney, Brendan White, told The Athletic on Friday. “He’s ready to become a productive member of society again.”
“They tried to hold me down,” Davis said in a video uploaded to social media confirming his release from prison. “You know what I’m saying? But I’m back, man. I’m back, baby.”
In order to make the transition from prison to daily life, Davis will now move into a halfway house at the Long Beach Residential Reentry Management Office. The halfway house is scheduled to grant him his release on July 9. He will then be subject to three years of supervised release.
Davis spent eight years as a forward-center in the NBA. The Seattle SuperSonics selected him with the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Before playing a game for the Sonics, the Boston Celtics traded for him and Ray Allen. Boston went to win the NBA championship in 2008. From 2011 to 2013, he played with the Orlando Magic after leaving the team. And from 2013 to 2015, he played with the Los Angeles Clippers.