NBA Investigating Toronto Raptors Forward Jontay Porter for Sports Betting Irregularities

Jontay Porter, of the Toronto Raptors, investigated for betting by the NBA (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The NBA is investigating Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for possible irregularities related to sports betting in specific games that took place on January 26 and March 20 of this year, sources told ESPN. It is noted that the focus of the investigation is on bets placed on specific aspects of the Canadian franchise’s basketball player’s performance during these games, such as points scored, rebounds and assists.

According to details provided by the American network, there is particular interest in betting related to Jontay Porter’s underperformance in the aforementioned games. For example, during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers on January 26, there was a significant amount of betting against the expected performance of the player, who only played four minutes in the game due to an aggravated injury, which affected his final statistics. DraftKings Sportsbook later revealed that bets against Porter on three-pointers turned out to be the biggest win for bettors that night.

A similar betting anomaly was also reported for the March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings, in which Porter exited the game after just three minutes on the court. The betting houses recorded an unusual number of large bets, some exceeding $20,000, against the forecasts for the forward on these dates. This anomalous betting behavior has raised suspicions and led the NBA to take investigative action.

ESPN reported that Porter’s ratings for the game against the Clippers were 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three boards and one assist. For the Kings game, they were around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds; He finished without goals and with two rebounds.

It should be noted that Porter, brother of current champion Michael Porter (Denver Nuggets), currently has a dual contract with the Raptors for which he is earning $415,000 this 2023/24 season. He has participated in 26 games so far this season and is subject to NBA policies that prohibit players and employees from engaging in betting of any kind on league events. Violations of this rule may lead to severe sanctions, including fines, suspensions or even termination of the contract.

This is not the first foray into the league for the 24-year-old native of Columbia, Missouri. In the 2020/21 season he defended the colors of the Memphis Grizzlies 11 times and then spent a few years in the G-League (Wisconsin Herd and Motor City Cruise) until he once again found an opportunity to show himself among the elite of world basketball.

“I never doubt my players’ injuries,” defended his coach, Darko Rajakovic, who also admits that “I just know that no one wants to have this type of situation in their team, we will have to deal with it.” His teammate Garrett Temple, who is also vice president of the players’ union, for his part, said: “I was surprised. In my position I have to support him. But I hope it’s not what it seems.”

The AP Agency added that Porter was not at the Raptors’ home game against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday for personal reasons. He also did not participate in Saturday’s loss at the Washington Wizards, once again for personal reasons. His locker was empty before Monday’s game against the Nets, although his name was still there.

The responsibility of monitoring sports betting and detecting potential integrity issues falls to both specialized teams within each NBA franchise and the league’s data scientists, who work in conjunction with external integrity monitors to ensure transparency and fairness in the sport.

The increasingly close relationship between the NBA and betting has become a cause of enormous concern for some voices within the competition. Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff said he received threats over the phone from gamblers, and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said: “Not everyone cares about how we feel. For half the world, I just help them make money on DraftKings or whatever.” In addition, Rudy Gobert, of the Minnesota Timberwolves, assured that betting is becoming “something bigger and bigger” and that “it is damaging” basketball.

2024-03-26 15:23:00
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