Jontay Porter banned by NBA after gambling investigation reveals he bet on games
FILE-Jontay Porter (center) of the Toronto Raptors fights for a rebound with Lindy Waters III (right) of Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2023-2024 NBA regular season game between Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder on March 22, 2024. (Photo by
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has received a lifetime ban from the NBA after a league investigation revealed that he provided confidential information to sports bettors and bet on games, including betting on the Raptors to lose.
Porter is the second person to be banned by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, shortly after Silver took office, the Associated Press noted.
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Silver released a statement announcing Porter’s ban saying in part "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."
A probe began once the NBA learned from "licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets" about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20 against Sacramento.
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ESPN first reported the investigation, which it said surrounded Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter played briefly before leaving citing injury or illness.
According to the AP, the NBA determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his health status before that game, and said that another individual placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
In under three minutes, Porter removed himself from the game, claiming he was sick. The $80,000 bet was frozen and not paid out, the NBA told the AP, and the league started an investigation shortly afterward.
The NBA also found out that Porter — the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. — placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using someone else's betting account, the AP noted.
These wagers ranged from $15 to $22,000; the total wagered was $54,094 and generated a payout of $76,059, or net winnings of $21,965.
The NBA told the AP that the bets did not involve any game in which Porter played. But three of the wagers were multi-game parlays, including a bet where Porter — who was not playing in the games involved — wagered on the Raptors to lose. All three of those bets lost.
Porter, 24, averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games, including five starts. He also played in 11 games for Memphis in the 2020-21 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.