Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life earlier this season for placing bets on himself. More information on his betting exploits has come out after the arrest of a co-conspirator in New York, with federal prosecutors alleging that Porter was asked to throw games to cover up large gambling debts, according to the New York Post.
“Federal prosecutors allege that Porter had racked up large gambling debts in the beginning of the year to co-conspirators, and was encouraged to clear those debts by throwing games in order for certain bets to hit.”
Porter also had an alleged associate Long Phi Pham, 38, also known as “Bruce,” who was arrested on Monday while trying to board a flight to Australia on a one-way ticket. The 38-year-old is accused of working with Porter to place prop bets, which depended on Porter’s individual showing in a game.
They allegedly discussed the $10,000 parlay prop bet where they put their money on Porter underperforming, which led to him subbing out of a February 2024 game by feigning an eye injury and getting a massive payout. However, this is the bet that got flagged and brought Porter under the spotlight, which led to him getting caught.
The New York Post also confirmed that Porter used a Telegram group chat to communicate with the co-conspirators, informing them of the next time he was going to feign an injury to check out of a game early.
“The disgraced NBA player allegedly communicated with the group of co-conspirators through the Telegram group chat app when he notified them before another game — this time on March 20 against the Sacramento Kings — claiming that going to say he was sick to leave a game early… Which netted Pham and his co-conspirators over $1 million in profits, the feds charge.“
The elder brother of NBA Champion Michael Porter Jr. saw the legal troubles coming after the NBA had banned him for life due to his gambling habit, telling all co-conspirators to delete all their chats because they could be hit with a RICO case.
“On April 4, the same day that Porter was banned for life from basketball for betting on games, he allegedly texted the group chat and told them that they “might just get hit w a rico” — referring to a racketeering charge — before asking them if they “delete[d] all the stuff” from their personal cell phones.”
Porter threw away his NBA career due to his gambling habit, which is a shocker, to say the least. The guaranteed veteran’s minimum contract in the NBA could be a multi-million dollar payday. That scale of money could easily be put to good use through investments, but Porter clearly chased the fast cash through betting.
With a supposed gambling debt bringing him into this situation, it’s a wonder if there are more stories predating this season where Porter tampered with the betting lines?
This investigation could be a landmark one in terms of policing how NBA players interact with modern forms of sports betting, especially with the NBA partnering up with various sportsbooks as official betting partners, promoting the same on their programming.
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