John Salley is certain Chauncey Billups didn't help rig card games to make the mob money ... saying this week he's "100 percent" sure his good friend was framed.

The NBA legend didn't make many bones about it during an airport chat on Thursday ... insisting there's just no way the suspended Portland Trail Blazers head coach knew of any kind of illegal activity at poker games he attended. Play video content

"You think Chauncey's got time to make [an X-ray] table?" Salley said. "Like, 'Hmm, we're going to make this table and we're going to go --?' No."

"He flies into Vegas," Salley continued, "they pay him to use his name, he's playing poker. He gets paid to play poker."

"You'll see."

Billups was arrested last week after federal prosecutors claimed he was in cahoots with mafi

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