The NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter, alleging he bet on games, passed on information to gamblers and claimed illness to influence a wager, the league said Wednesday.
Porter, 24, a 6-foot-10 power forward and center, is the brother of Denver Nuggets sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. and has spent much of his pro career in the NBA’s developmental G League.
He played in 26 games for Toronto this season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds. He also got into 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020-21, averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
The NBA said its investigation found that Porter had engaged in widespread gambling, against league rules.
It alleged that he “disclosed confidential information” about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor” before a March 20 game.
Porter claimed to suffer from an illness during the game and played only three minutes, the league said.
An $80,000 online bet that he would underperform was placed ahead of the March 20 game, which would have paid out $1.1 million. The conspicuously large amount led to the wager’s being “frozen” and “not paid out,” the NBA said.
When Porter was on the Raptors’ G League affiliate from January to March, he placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using “an associate’s online betting account,” the league said.
The wagers ranged from $15 to $22,000 and totaled $54,094, according to the NBA.
None of the bets were on games in which he played, the league said. Three of them were parlays — which require multiple correct results — with one calling for a Toronto loss, the league said.
He ended up profiting $21,965 from all of the wagers.
The National Basketball Players Association said it would “make sure Jontay has access to the resources he needs during this time.”
However, the union also reiterated its support of NBA gambling guidelines.
“Adherence to league gambling policies is paramount to maintaining the integrity of our athletes and protecting the future of the sports,” it said in a statement. “The NBPA will continue to provide all players with training materials to ensure they understand how to properly navigate the complex sports betting landscape.”
Porter is believed to be the first NBA player booted for gambling since Jack Molinas of the Fort Wayne Pistons was taken off the hardwood in 1954 for allegedly betting on games.
“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place,” Silver said.
Wednesday’s announcement appeared to catch the team by surprise.
“You don’t want this for the kid, you don’t want this for our team, and we don’t want this for our league, that’s for sure,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said. “My first reaction is obviously surprise, because none of us, I don’t think anybody, saw this coming.”
The league was touched by a gambling scandal in 2007 when disgraced referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felonies connected to his bets on NBA games and his secretly advising professional gamblers.
Gambling was once a complete taboo in professional and high-level college sports, with legal wagers on most sports taken only in Nevada.
But sports betting has taken off since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that had required states to ban such wagers.
Now sports betting is legal and operational in 38 states and Washington, D.C. In 30 states and the nation’s capital, bettors can make wagers with taps on their phones.
Credit: NBC Sports
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