NBA bans Jontay Porter after gambling investigation shows he shared information and bet on games

Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA on Wednesday after a league investigation found he disclosed confidential information to sports gamblers and placed bets on games, even betting that the Raptors would lose.

Porter is the second person to be banned by commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, shortly after Silver took office.

In making the announcement, Silver called Porter’s actions “egregious.”

There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of the NBA league for our fans, our teams and everyone involved in our sport. Therefore, Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our rules will be punished with the harshest penalties, Silver said.

The investigation began after the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that oversees legal gambling markets” about unusual betting patterns surrounding Porter’s performance in a March 20 game against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter had given a gambler information about his own health status before that game and said another person – known as an NBA gambler – placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the grades set for him in parlays through an online sports competition. book. That bet would have returned $1.1 million.

Porter left himself out of the match after less than three minutes, claiming he was ill; none of his stats met the parlay’s totals. The $80,000 bet was frozen and not paid out, the league said, and the NBA launched an investigation not long after.

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 Wednesday in Toronto, shortly before the NBA announced Porter’s ban. “My first reaction is of course surprise, because none of us, I don’t think anyone, saw this coming.”

Later, after the NBA unveiled the ban, the Raptors said they “fully support the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA and are grateful for the quick resolution of this investigation.” We will continue to cooperate with all ongoing investigations.”

The league has partnerships and other relationships with more than two dozen gaming companies, many of whom advertise in various ways during NBA games. Silver itself has long been a proponent of legal sports betting, but the league has very strict rules for players and employees regarding betting.

And what Porter was found to have done violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states: “Any player who, directly or indirectly, wagers money or anything of value on any game or event in the Association or in the NBA G League will , when accused of such betting, shall be given the opportunity to respond to such charges upon prior notice, and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final, binding, conclusive and unchallengeable.

Silver warned last week that this move was possible, saying what Porter was accused of represented a “deadly sin” in the NBA. Porter has made no comment since the investigation began, and never played for the Raptors again – he was listed as out for all Toronto games for the remainder of the season due to personal reasons.

The league also determined 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 bets ranged from $15 to $22,000; the total amount wagered was $54,094 and generated a payout of $76,059, or a net profit of $21,965.

Those bets did not relate to a game in which Porter played, the NBA said. But three of the bets were multi-game parlays, including one where Porter – who did not play in the games involved – bet the Raptors would lose. All three of these bets lost.

While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this issue also raises important questions about the adequacy of the current regulatory framework, including the types of bets offered on our games and players, Silver said. “By working closely with all relevant industry stakeholders, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our competition and our game.”

Porter was on a so-called two-way contract, meaning he could play for both the Raptors and their G League affiliate. His salary for the year was approximately $410,000; had the Raptors signed him to a standard NBA contract next season, as seemed possible, his salary would have exceeded $2 million.

The 24-year-old Porter 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 2020-2021 season.

ESPN first reported the investigation, which reportedly involved Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter played briefly before leaving due to injury or illness. Porter played 4 minutes, 24 seconds against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first of those games, and then 2:43 against Sacramento in the second game.

In both games, Porter didn’t come close to hitting the prop betting lines for points, rebounds and 3-pointers that bettors could play at some sportsbooks. For example, one set of prop bets for Porter for the Clippers game was set at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three rebounds and one assist. For the Kings game they were around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds; Porter finished that game with no points and two rebounds.

The league said the investigation “remains open and may lead to further findings,” and that those findings will be shared with federal prosecutors.