Toronto Raptors' Jontay Porter Receives Lifetime Ban from NBA

Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter has received a lifetime ban from the NBA, the league announced Wednesday. The 24-year old was cited for multiple gambling violations, including disclosing confidential information to bettors, and placing bets on NBA games while playing in the G League. The NBA said that its investigation is ongoing, and that it has provided its findings to the federal authorities.

The NBA opened an investigation into Porter back in March. They found that from January through March 2024, while traveling with the Toronto Raptors and the organization's G League affiliate, Raptors 905, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate's online betting account. The bets ranged from $15 to $22,000, totaling $54,094. The total payout from the bets was $76,059, resulting in. net winnings of $21,965. Three of the bets were multi-game parlays that included one Raptors game where Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. All three bets lost.

None of the bets were placed on games in which Porter played.

The investigation also found that prior to the Raptors' game on March 20, Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to a known NBA bettor. Another individual associated with Porter who was also an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sportsbook to potentially win $1.1 million, wagering that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game.

Sportsbooks reported a spike in betting interest on the under on several of Porter's individual game statistics ahead of a January 26 matchup agains the Los Angeles Clippers. Porter played just four minutes in the game before leaving issues related to an eye injury he had suffered a few days prior against the Memphis Grizzlies. In those four minutes, Porter secured three rebounds, had one assist, and scored no points. He came in under the stat line in all categories that sportsbooks had set for him. 

"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams, and everone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter's blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "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."

Jontay Porter is the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.