The basketball world was rocked by the NBA’s first major gambling scandal since its legalization in 2018 when Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter was caught placing bets on NBA games and influencing betting outcomes while on the court.
This 2024 scandal led to widespread negative publicity for the NBA and ultimately ended when the league decided to ban Porter from the NBA, one of the harshest punishments ever handed out to a player.
Porter averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 37 games. over his NBA career, so he likely wasn’t going to achieve the millions his younger brother, Michael Porter Jr., has through NBA salaries. This might have influenced his involvement in gambling.
Porter was investigated federally and pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He likely faces 41 to 51 months in prison, with one of the conditions of his plea deal requiring him to forfeit his passport.
With this dark chapter still ongoing, it seems Porter is trying to make a return to the world of basketball outside the NBA. After a failed attempt at signing with Promitheas BC in Greece, Porter decided to join the Seattle Super Hawks in the United States Basketball League.
He made his debut for the SuperHawks on Saturday night and put up a monster statline in his return to professional basketball, scoring 21 points with 14 rebounds, 14 assists, three blocks, and two steals in a season-opening 111-88 win over the Lilac City Legends.
Porter released a statement through the SuperHawks after signing with them.
“I’m obviously super-excited to play basketball again. I want to thank the Seattle SuperHawks and the USBL as a whole. The organization is top-notch. I understand they’re sticking their neck out for me and taking a risk with it, and I just want to be a good representative on and off the court. (h/t The Associated Press).”
Porter couldn’t go play in Greece because he couldn’t leave the country while under federal investigation. With him being from the NBA and its associates like the G League, Porter didn’t have many other options to play pro basketball in the USA. While he hopes he can embark on an international career after his legal troubles subside, he’s trying to stay relevant as an active basketball player for whenever the opportunity arises.
The fact that Porter has very little choice in where he can play pro basketball in the USA brings up Charles Barkley’s comments after the NBA banned Porter for life. The 1992 NBA MVP had wished that the league had banned Porter for five years instead of life so he could eventually have a second chance.
“I wish, because he’s such a young kid, I want to make it clear. I understand why they did it, and rightfully so. But I wish they had said, okay, five years, something like that to give him another chance. I understand, like I say, I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth. I understand why they did it, but he’s such a young kid.
Porter was the first NBA player since 1996 to be banned for life, and the first in professional US sports to be banned for gambling since 1954.
The NBA’s ruling means that Porter won’t be allowed near most professional teams in the USA ever again. A five-year ban would mean he’d be eligible to rejoin the NBA at age 30, at which point it’s unlikely he would’ve gotten a roster spot in the NBA. But at least that would leave more options open for Porter, whose inability to play international basketball has no visible end in sight at the moment.
The NBA had to institute rule changes to protect the integrity of the game from the kind of behavior that went on in Porter’s case, including a ban on the use of phones on the bench.
His brother, Michael, is having a great year with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 24.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
