Sports betting has definitely been at the heart of the news in the NBA in recent weeks. After the accusations of Rudy Gobert, who pointed out the potential pressure exerted on referees by betting, then those of JB Bickerstaff, who deplored the attitude of his own fans for the same reasons, we have reached a new stage since it's an NBA player who is suspected of being at the heart of arranged sports bets!
The NBA has indeed launched an investigation against the Raptors player Jontay Porter, suspected of having tampered with his performances during two matches, against the Clippers on January 26 then against the Kings on March 20. All the bets will thus be examined since the brother of Michael Porter Jr would have arranged to sign poor performances, and thus validate certain odds.
On January 26, for example, abnormal activity was detected for bets on the fact that the player did not exceed his statistical average, then at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists, with the added bonus of the condition of not registering no 3-pointers. And that's what happened, the player being released after only 4 minutes of play, officially for an aggravation of an eye injury contracted four days earlier against Memphis. Result: these are the biggest winnings that were pocketed on DraftKings Sportsbook that evening.
Several sanctions provided for, up to and including termination of contract
The same scenario occurred again on March 20, with further abnormal activity following a poor performance by Jontay Porter and the latter's premature exit after three minutes, claiming to be ill. Once again, these bets constituted the biggest winnings of the evening on the American online betting platform.
Enough to logically attract the attention of NBA employees responsible for monitoring anomalies of this kind, especially since the amounts involved on those evenings were very unusual, certain bets ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 dollars, i.e. ten times more than usual bets.
If it turns out that Jontay Porter or those close to him are behind his bets, this could logically result in serious sanctions. As a reminder, this practice is completely prohibited in the NBA, for players but also all league employees. A violation of this rule can therefore result in sanctions ranging from a fine to suspension, including possible breach of contract.
For the moment, the NBA has not yet officially communicated on the case of Jontay Porter, who was sidelined by the Raptors during Saturday's match against the Wizards and that of this night against Brooklyn.
“I never doubt injuries. I never doubt the honesty of the players. Obviously, I have never experienced a situation like this before”replied Darko Rajakovic, who explained that he had not yet spoken about the situation with his players. “I don’t know their reaction. I just know that no one wants this kind of situation to happen to anyone, to any team. We just have to deal with it. »
Undrafted after suffering two major knee injuries during his time at the University of Missouri, Jontay Porter made his NBA debut in 2021, playing 11 games with the Grizzlies. He had been seen in the G-League, at the Wisconsin Herd in 2022/23, and this season at the Motor City Cruise and the 905 Raptors, the Canadian franchise having hired him on a “two-way contract”, which allowed him to playing 26 NBA games with the Raptors. A “two-way contract” which paid him $415,000 for the season….
| Jontay Porter | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | SAME | 11 | 5 | 53.3 | 37.5 | 60.0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
| 2023-24 | TOR | 26 | 14 | 38.5 | 33.3 | 83.3 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 4.4 |
| Total | 37 | 11 | 40.3 | 33.8 | 78.3 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 3.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
