Forward/center Jontay Porter, who was on a two-way contract with the Raptors this season, has been banned from the NBA, the league announced today in a press release (via Twitter).
“A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games,” the league said in a statement.
The NBA began investigating Porter last month due to betting-related irregularities. The Raptors big man exited games early on January 26 and March 20, reportedly due to a re-aggravation of an eye injury and an illness, respectively.
The “unders” on Porter-related prop bets on those days received heavy action at sports books, including DraftKings. Prop bets allow bettors to wager on whether or not individual players will reach certain statistical benchmarks (e.g. points, rebounds, assists, etc.) in a game.
According to the release from the NBA, the league’s investigation turned up the following details, which resulted in Porter’s lifetime ban:
- Prior to the March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his health to someone he knew to be an NBA bettor. Another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80K parlay prop bet (to win $1.1MM) at an online sportsbook, wagering on Porter to underperform in that game.
- Porter limited his own participation in at least one game to influence the outcome of one or more bets. The league suggests that this occurred in the March 20 game, when Porter claimed he felt ill after playing just three minutes. As a result of the “unusual betting activity and actions of the player,” the $80K prop bet was frozen and wasn’t paid out.
- From January through March 2024, while under contract with the Raptors, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s account. Those bets totaled $54,094 and paid out $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. Although none of those bets involved a game in which Porter played, three of them were multi-game parlays that included a Raptors game. In each case, Porter bet that the Raptors would lose.
According to the NBA, its investigation is ongoing and could result in additional findings. The league had discovered enough to this point to make the decision not to allow Porter to play in the NBA again.
The league also stated that it has shared – and will continue to share – its findings with federal prosecutors.
“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,” commissioner Adam Silver said in today’s release. “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, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”
Porter, who is the younger brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., represented a feel-good story when he caught on with the Raptors this season, since he overcame a series of injuries – including a pair of ACL tears – to make it back to the NBA for the first time since 2021.
In 26 games for Toronto this season, including five starts, the 24-year-old averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 13.8 minutes per night.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Porter earned $415K this season, pushing his career NBA earnings to approximately $2.8MM. He would have been eligible for restricted free agency this offseason.
What a dumbass. Hope it was all worth it
Apparently he won $21k
Imagine blowing potential millions over the lifetime of his playing career over $21k
He can still make millions playing overseas. He’s a fringe NBA player at best. Not saying what he did was right, it wasn’t and he is a moron for doing it. But he can still play ball and make life changing money
Doubt anyone overseas takes a chance on him. What’s stopping him from doing the same over there?
G league nobody.
21m may be more than what he could make with 2 acl repairs. Not condoning it just saying
The league can’t have players manipulating games for betting purposes, that’s what they pay referees for!
This comment wins the day!
Is he still allowed to attend games as a spectator?
Right now, Jontay is primarily concerned with staying out of prison. He comes from a really solid, and deeply religious family. Younger brother Coban has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide. Not yet sentenced, but agreed to a plea deal that will have him serve no more than 8 years. Jontay is very likely to made an example of by the Feds. They know how much of this stuff is out there. Good thing big bro at some point will get a Max contract, or something close once he finishes out his near rookie max.
Coban Porter gets sentenced on Friday. Tough week for the Porter family.
I mean they deserve whats coming to them. You cheat and kill people and things arent so great for you…
Comparing betting on two NBA games to killing someone is insane
Tim Donaghy killed my whole family
Lugnut head.
….MPJ is already on a near-max my super-informed guy
Near Rookie Max
Wonder if a European team will give him a chance
Wonder if he hadn’t bet on his own games whether he would still get a lifetime ban. Maybe so since he’s a fringe player after all and the league absolutely wanted to set an example here no matter what.
He is easy to ban and make an example of. The league needs to look like they are doing something. They also have no incentives now to find other offenders and expose a potential issue across the league. The can claim they didn’t find anything else.
Exactly. Until a household name gets banned, it’s hard to be too impressed.
RIP
Welcome to the future of the NBA by the way. Future of all sports really. The money that these betting sites throw at not just the league but at broadcasting is insane. You cannot watch a live sporting event without betting be mentioned. You’re lucky if its only mentioned. Most times its shoved down your throat with a bright and colorful graphic multiple times a game.
Money talks and simpletons love to give their money to DraftKings.
“The future of the NBA” as if people haven’t been gambling on sports since the dawn of time lol thanks professor
Buddy this is how I know you don’t watch the games. Sports betting is promoted and talked about constantly through the pre game, during the game, the post game, and any sports coverage after the game has concluded. If you think it’s been that way for years than you are the equivalent of Helen Keller, not that we assumed much more of you.
So your theory is if gambling wasn’t advertised players wouldn’t engage in this behavior? How do explain the CCNY point shaving scandal from 1951?
And btw Helen Keller learned to read even though she was blind and deaf. What’s your excuse?
Gambling on sports was never discussed publicly or in the mainstream until the last couple years. Leagues essentially pretended gambling wasn’t a thing. Now, it’s like a disease, it’s spread everywhere, even the local sports radio talks about it regardless of local betting laws.
Hilarious that Michael Porter is the crown jewel of that family.
Hopefully other pro leagues ban him too…or at least know better than to employ this joker.
A real lifetime ban, or a Silver lifetime ban? With the latter, he could apply for reinstatement before the start of next year. After, of course, counselling.
Trading (including betting) on inside information or faciliting it are serious Federal offenses. But, from the league’s perspective, they are almost beside the point here. He modified his performance to change a basketball outcome to align with a wager. That’s a capital offense in any sports league. Silver, for once, has to hold firm on this. Tough for a spineless wimp like himself.
It’s a lifetime ban. He can never play in the NBA again
Yes, now. Pete Rose got a lifetime ban, and has on at least 6 occassions applied for reinstatement. It was denied by the then Commissioner each time, but those Commissioners didn’t have a burning desire to be universally loved. It’s only as strong as the gatekeeper.
Right decision by the nba. He bet his team would lose. Zero class and clearly doesn’t care about his team or basketball. Good riddance!
The thing that really got if for him was probably not the betting on basketball, but conspiring to manipulate outcomes of bets. Like betting on sports they frown on, but working with partners to place bets and then feigning injury to get those bets to make is worse. If he had been less obvious he could have gotten away with it too by just making more minor bets on things like under 4 3s made and then just making sure he only hits 3. It would have been less obvious then leaving a game after 3 min with a wild prop bet way over any normal wager on him.
I can’t help but wonder if this has the chance to affect the organization or any of its draft picks. That losing streak that Toronto went on at the end of the season impacted multiple teams’ draft order.
Almost for sure no unless members of the team other than him were complicit. If its only him and non Raptor employee buddies doing this they wont hold the team responsible.
Now investigate Lebron and his BALCO involvement with the same energy Adam Silver.
what about boban missing his second free throw on purpose for free chickfila?
If they ban Boban we riot.
YoungnStupid ……. g away
Play stupid games….win stupid prizes.
All it’ll take is someone smarter and a few years of this could easily go un-noticed…
The refs alone are bad enough because of gambling… Players on the fringe of the NBA will be tempted by the paydays just as much as the refs have been…
They are just using him to set an example.
We all know they go light on stars if they do something to hurt the image.
Dude just fumbled the bag. He’s already a low tier player, now he’s a low tier individual.