The NBA is facing its first potential suspension for betting violations. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that Raptors forward Jontay Porter is the subject of a league investigation involving "irregularities on prop betting involving him."
Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter is out of the lineup and a subject of an NBA investigation into irregularities on prop betting involving him, sources tell @DavidPurdum, @ESPNWindhorst and me. Story soon. pic.twitter.com/DncBNbDptW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2024
The Toronto Raptors will not be offering comment on this report.
Have reached out to NBA for statement. https://t.co/M1fLUpxYpZ
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) March 25, 2024
The NBA coordinates with both US and Canadian regulatory agencies and sportsbooks to monitor suspicious betting activity across all markets, flagging any suspicious activity. Porter, 24, is on a two-way contract with the Raptors.
According to ESPN's David Purdum, who also reported on the story, multiple betting accounts at an unnamed sportsbook attempted to bet tens of thousands of dollars on Porter unders in the Clippers game in January.
At issue are prop bets involving Porter from games on Jan. 26 and March 20, multiple sources told ESPN. The NBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2024
Porter played four minutes, recording three rebounds and an assist in the Jan. 26 game against the Los Anegeles Clippers in Toronto, and 2 minutes 43 seconds against the Sacramento Kings, recording two rebounds and no other stats.
From ESPN's reporting:
On March 20, in a game against the Phoenix Suns, Porter played just three minutes before leaving the game due to what the Raptors said was an illness and did not return. He did not score, attempted and missed one shot, and had two rebounds.
Sportsbooks had his over/unders set at around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.
The next day, DraftKings SportsBooks reported to its users that Porter's prop bets were the No. 1 moneymaker from the night in the NBA.
So effectively, the suggestion is that the volume of prop bets on Porter corresponded with what, in retrospect, looks like a suspicious exit from the game. Porter missed the Raptors' weekend game due to "personal reasons."
“We have no comment on this story," a DraftKings Spokesperson told The Action Network. "It is important to note that one of the many benefits of legal and regulated sports betting is that sports betting operators identify and report suspicious activity and the integrity of sport is therefore protected in a manner that does not exist in the illegal market.”
Porter's brother, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., declined to speak with the media following Denver's win over the Grizzlies on Monday night.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.
