Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis Released From Prison After Fraud Sentence

Former Boston Celtics fan favorite Glen “Big Baby” Davis is a free man. The 39-year-old NBA champion was released from federal custody Thursday after serving approximately 17 months for his role in a sprawling scheme to defraud the NBA’s health care benefits program. His first words to the world? “They tried to hold me down. You know what I’m saying? But I’m back, man. I’m back, baby.”

Davis’s path to prison began in October 2021, when he was among 18 former NBA players indicted for allegedly defrauding the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan out of millions. Prosecutors said participants submitted nearly $4 million in false claims for medical and dental services that were never actually provided.

For Davis specifically, authorities flagged a particularly brazen claim. On October 2, 2018, he submitted paperwork seeking $27,200 for dental work at a Beverly Hills office. Geolocation data from his cellphone told a different story; he was actually in Las Vegas that day, flying to Paris shortly after. Over the course of the scheme, Davis submitted more than $100,000 in fraudulent claims.

In November 2023, a jury found Davis guilty of four counts: conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to make false statements, health care fraud, and wire fraud. The following May, Judge Valerie E. Caproni handed down a 40-month sentence, along with three years of supervised release and an order to pay $80,000 in restitution jointly with a co-defendant.

His surrender didn’t go as planned. Davis was originally supposed to report on September 1, 2024, but a judge granted a delay until late October so he could finish filming a documentary about his life, work his legal team argued could help him earn money to pay what he owed.

Davis served his time at Federal Prison Camp Yankton before being transferred to community confinement overseen by the Bureau of Prisons’ Long Beach Residential Reentry Management Office. His official projected release date is July 9, meaning he’ll spend the coming months in transitional custody.

Freedom comes with strings attached. As part of his sentence, Davis must submit to three years of supervised release with mandatory drug treatment and financial management classes. He’s also still on the hook for that $80,000 restitution.

Davis wasn’t alone in this. More than 20 people were convicted in the case, including former Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum, who received 18 months. The ringleader, former lottery pick Terrence Williams, is serving 10 years after prosecutors said he recruited players and pocketed kickbacks from their fraudulent claims.

For Davis, the comeback now happens off the court. The LSU product and 2008 NBA champion played eight seasons, earning over $33 million in career salary, He’ll turn 40 this year, starting the next chapter with a felony record and a second chance.