Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter got banned from the NBA for life on Wednesday. The league investigated and found out he shared secret information with sports bettors and bet on games, including betting on the Raptors to lose.
Porter is only the second person ever to be banned by Commissioner Adam Silver. The first was Donald Sterling, who used to own the Los Angeles Clippers, in 2014.
Silver said Porter’s actions were “blatant” and threatened the integrity of NBA games. The investigation began when the league noticed strange betting patterns around Porter’s performance in a game against Sacramento on March 20.
It turned out Porter had shared information about his health with a bettor before the game. Another person bet $80,000 that Porter wouldn’t meet certain goals set for him in parlays.
Porter left the game early due to illness, and the bettor would have won $1.1 million if Porter hadn’t met those goals. But since he didn’t, the bet wasn’t paid, and the NBA started looking into the situation.
Raptors President Masai Ujiri spoke out in Toronto just before the NBA announced Porter’s ban, saying, “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.” Ujiri admitted he was surprised by the news, as he didn’t see it coming.
The NBA has deals with over two dozen gaming companies, many of which advertise during NBA games. While Commissioner Silver supports legal sports betting, the league has strict rules against it for players and staff.
Porter’s actions violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which prohibits players from betting on NBA or G League games. Silver had warned that such behavior is a serious offense in the league.
Porter has not spoken publicly since the investigation began and did not play for the Raptors again after being listed as out for personal reasons for the rest of the season.
The NBA found that Porter, who is the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., placed 13 bets on NBA games using someone else’s betting account. These bets ranged from $15 to $22,000, totaling $54,094. He won $76,059, making a profit of $21,965.
Porter’s bets didn’t involve any games he played in. However, three of them were multi-game parlays, including one where he bet on the Raptors to lose, even though he wasn’t playing. All three of those bets were losses.
NBA Commissioner Silver said that while legal sports betting helps detect suspicious activity, this incident raises concerns about the current regulatory framework. The league will work with industry stakeholders to protect its integrity.
Porter, who is 24 years old, averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 26 games for the Raptors, with five starts. He also played 11 games for Memphis in the 2020-21 season.
ESPN was the first to report an investigation into Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter played briefly before leaving due to injury or illness.
Against the Los Angeles Clippers, Porter played for 4 minutes and 24 seconds, and against Sacramento, he played for 2 minutes and 43 seconds.
In neither game did Porter meet the prop-wager lines set for points, rebounds, and 3-pointers. For instance, in the Clippers game, the prop wagers were set at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, but Porter scored no points, grabbed three rebounds, and made one assist.
In the Kings game, the prop wagers were around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, but Porter scored no points and had two rebounds.
The NBA stated that the investigation is ongoing and could uncover more information. The league is sharing its findings with federal prosecutors.
