Betting is escalating in the NBA at breakneck speed since the competition has partnered with the houses that promote them. Multiple criticisms in recent weeks have led the League to move internally and remove any weeds that may appear. This is how the first investigation among the players has been reached. As revealed ESPN With the help of Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst and their gambling expert, David Purdum, there is already a player in the spotlight: a file has been opened to find out if Jontay Porter, who is participating this season with the Toronto Raptors, has been part of betting fraud as the main reason.
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Two games have focused the attention of the League, alerted by the betting houses themselves:
· On January 26 (against the Clippers) the bet that won the most money that day in the NBA was the three-pointer shot by Porter. In the game he did not shoot three-pointers and was also below his statistics in points and rebounds. He left after four minutes saying that an eye injury he had from the previous game, against the Grizzlies, had aggravated, although in the game he came next he was back at full strength with 19 minutes of play.
· On March 20 (against the Kings) the maneuvers that generated the most profits that night in the NBA were those referring to Porter. In the game he attempted a single shot and grabbed two rebounds before asking to be substituted for what was classified, without further explanation, as an illness. In this case, bettors also flocked to predict lower-than-normal statistical data for Porter in this 24-year-old interior.
He has stepped aside himself, the Raptors have not, for personal reasons. He no longer played on Monday.
Suspicious movements with Jontay Porter were detected in the betting houses on those two occasions. The posts about statistics of this style, about specific players, were ten times higher than usual, according to ESPN. The power forward, brother of current champion Michael Porter (Nuggets), has a dual contract with the Raptors for which he is earning $415,000 this 2023/24 season. He is not the first in the NBA: he was in 2020/21 with Memphis and, after that, he spent two years in the G-League looking for an opportunity that has now come to him. “I never doubt my players’ injuries,” defends Darko Rajakovic, his coach, who also admits that “I just know that no one wants to have this type of situation on their team, we will have to deal with it.” One of his teammates on the Toronto squad is Garrett Temple, who is also vice president of the players’ union, and he says the following: “I was surprised. In my position I have to support him. But I hope it’s not what it seems.”
Jontay Porter, under the NBA’s magnifying glass
One of the NBA spokespersons admitted after breaking the news to the media that they are in an observation period. As all players are prohibited from betting on any event held by the League, and there are even workers in each franchise who are dedicated to monitoring this aspect so that irregularities are not committed, the sanction can be of any type. It is expected, if the suspicions are confirmed, that it will be exemplary.
It is reminiscent of the case of Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee for 13 years who even went to jail after it was discovered that he was betting on the games in which he participated.
Betting was officially established in the NBA a few years ago. Two companies, FanDuel and DraftKings, are tied to them with sponsorship contracts. Companies have come to this market and intend to make it their own, influencing without regard. That second home was acquired three seasons ago by Michael Jordan, who at that time owned the Hornets, as an investor and consultant. They have gotten into the business.
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Jontay Porter’s basketball playing career could have ended here. He has only been with the Raptors since December. In 26 games he has averaged 4’4 points, 3’2 rebounds and 2’3 assists. Porter, trained at Mizzou like his brother (who aspired to be number one in the draft until a back injury ended his options), had gone through physical problems during his college years: he tore his anterior cruciate ligament twice .
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2024-03-26 08:58:40
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