On Wednesday afternoon, the NBA announced that Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter has received a lifetime ban from the league for violating gambling rules.
In a statement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the decision to ban Porter was made in order to protect the “integrity of NBA competition.”
“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,” Silver said.
According to the league, an investigation found that before Toronto’s March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings, Porter shared confidential information about his own health to someone he knew to be an NBA bettor. This individual then placed an $80,000 parlay betting Porter would underperform and wound up winning $1.1 million from the wager.
Porter played three minutes in the March 20 matchup against the Kings before checking out of the game with a supposed injury. He did not return to the game and ended up netting zero points and two rebounds.
There was also irregular gambling activity involving Porter props a few months earlier on Jan. 26 in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. In that game, Porter played four minutes in the first quarter, collecting three rebounds and an assist before checking out of the game after allegedly reaggravating an eye injury.
Sportsbooks reported increased betting interest in Porter’s props that night, which were around 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. DraftKings reported the day after the game that the under on Porter 3-pointers won bettors more money than any other NBA player prop that night.
The investigation also found that Porter placed over $50,000 in bets on NBA games from January-March 2024 using an “associate’s” online account. Porter, who split time between the Raptors and their G League affiliate during the period, made $21,965 in net winnings from the wagers.
Porter, whose brother Michael Porter Jr. is a member of the Denver Nuggets, also bet on the Raptors to lose on at least one occasion.
Earlier this week, a report by The Action Network claimed that, according to multiple sources, Porter “owned and operated a VIP account at Fanduel in Colorado that wagered millions of dollars in total from 2021-2023.”
One source told the Action Network that while there were allegedly over 1,000 wagers placed from the account, none of the bets were on the NBA or college basketball. Porter played in the G League during that time period.
Porter is the first NBA player to have a lifetime ban levied against him for gambling-related issues since Roger Brown back in 1966. Brown was never actually accused of gambling directly, but instead was banned because of his association with notorious gambler Jack Molinas, who was the center of several point-shaving scandals. He went on to have a 10-year career in the ABA as a member of the Indiana Pacers, Memphis Sounds and Utah Stars.
Brown averaged 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game during his career. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 after being selected by the Hall’s ABA Committee.