Michael Porter Jr. went viral on the internet after he claimed that the potential for rigging and gambling in the NBA is immense. The Nets’ forward believes that even rich athletes can cave into helping his/her friends earn a massive payday. He also added how players get “death threats” if they don’t comply.
This comment from Porter Jr. sparked outrage on the internet. They did not sit well with the former NBA champion Channing Frye, who openly claimed that Porter Jr. needs to be shut down by his PR team.
On the latest episode of the Road Trippin podcast with Kendrick Perkins, Frye spoke about Porter Jr.’s latest comments.
“I just don’t think he understands how betting works, right? There’s an algorithm for who bets what and how much. If all of a sudden 15 random people bet $10,000 on the under, that algorithm is going to spike up, which is how they found his brother.”
“Because they’re like, ‘Who the f*** bets on Porter, right? Who the f*** bets on a guy off the bench that much money?’ That does not exist like that.”
“So, unless you are a regular better and you get an inside source, but that’s defeating the purpose of what he’s even talking about.”
“Also, we’ve got to get him off the podcast. We got to just… He needs a timeout. His PR team needs to just say, “Hey, man. We get what you’re trying to say, but it ain’t coming out like like, brother.”
“Hey, listen. You know, sometimes when you go out with the homie, you get a little too drunk, you’ve got to take the drink out of his hand and give him some water. We need to get MPJ some water. Sit him down and just be like, just shush and keep quiet.“
Porter Jr initially got real about his brother Jontay Porter Jr.’s gambling controversy from March 2024. He said that just like his brother had gambling as a vice, his vice growing up was women, and how money issues eventually caused his brother to get into gambling. He even tried to defend him at the time of the investigation.
While what Porter Jr. might be saying is true, the internet is probably taking the Nets’ forward’s word of caution a bit too casually. Maybe it’s because of the relationship he has with Jontay Porter Jr. If it were anybody else, instead of the brother of the last player banned for gambling from the NBA had said this, maybe the league would take it more seriously.
But maybe Frye is right about the fact that Porter Jr. needs to ease it with the PR tour this summer. He embarrassed himself on the internet earlier this summer when he offered a homeless man some money, and he was turned away. Unfortunately, marking another incident where the internet is telling a basketball player to ‘shut up and dribble.’
