His NBA career could be in jeopardy after news broke that the league has launched an investigation on betting irregularities involving the 25-year-old player.
Jontay Porter took an unconventional journey to the NBA. Now his career could be in jeopardy after news broke that the league has launched an investigation into betting irregularities involving the Raptors’ backup centre.
Just who is Porter, and how did he end up on the Raptors?
Two-way contract
The 24-year-old Porter signed a two-way contract with the Raptors on Dec. 8. A two-way deal allows for a maximum of 50 NBA games, in addition to playing in the G League. Teams are allowed up to three such contracts on the roster.
Players on two-way deals make just under $560,000 (U.S.) for a full season. Porter was reportedly earning around $400,000. With the Raptors, he has averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games. He missed the past two games for personal reasons, according to the team.
Shortly after signing with the Raptors, Porter said he was looking forward to his second stint in the NBA: “Now that I get a chance to … get a few minutes in an NBA game, hopefully I can build on that and prove to myself and the rest of the world that I belong and I’m able to play on this level,” he told the Star’s Doug Smith.
Family ties
Porter’s basketball career started in his hometown of Columbia, Mo., according to his NBA profile. He played at Father Tolton Catholic High School, where older brother Michael Porter Jr. was also a star. The brothers would later transfer to Nathan Hale in Seattle after dad Michael Porter Sr. got hired as an assistant coach at the University of Washington.
The younger Porter flourished at Nathan Hale under the coaching guidance of former NBA all-star Brandon Roy. He averaged a double-double, 14.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, and the team went on a 29-0 run to capture the Washington Class 3A state championship.
In 2017, Porter again followed his brother and father, this time to the University of Missouri. After a successful season that included a trip to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Porter briefly considered declaring for that year’s NBA draft along with his brother, but ultimately returned to Missouri for another season. Michael Porter Jr. was selected 14th by the Denver Nuggets and played a role in last season’s NBA championship team.
Injury setback
In a scrimmage against Southern Illinois, Porter tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee and missed an entire season at Missouri. Confident in his talents, he still declared for the NBA draft. But unlike his brother, who was drafted in the first round after missing time with a back injury, the younger Porter went undrafted.
“Of course, if he’s healthy, in my opinion, he’s a lottery pick (top 14),” then Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said of Porter, per the Columbia Daily Tribune.
About nine months later, Porter signed his first NBA contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. While he did not play in his first season, still recovering from the knee injury, Memphis re-signed him to a multi-year contract the following November. But the Grizzlies would waive Porter the following summer, after he appeared in 11 games. He went on to play in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd and Motor City Cruise.
Career highlight
After signing with the Raptors in December, one game against his brother stood out. About two weeks ago, when the Raptors visited Denver, the Porter brothers played against each other for just the second time in the NBA and swapped jerseys after the game. Jontay finished with 14 points (4-of-7 from three) in 21 minutes, while Michael scored 19 points in a 125-119 win by the Nuggets.
“I was really, really happy for Jontay,” the older brother told the Denver Post. “Not only him being out there, but also the way he played. I should’ve told the coaches beforehand. They said it was on me that he hit all those threes.”
The accusation
ESPN first reported the gambling investigation on Monday night, about an hour before tipoff between the Raptors and Brooklyn Nets at Scotiabank Arena. The NBA later confirmed the probe, involving Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 against the Los Angeles Clippers and March 20 against the Sacramento Kings. Porter played four minutes and 24 seconds against the Clippers before leaving, citing an injury. Against the Kings, he played 2:43 and left with an unspecified illness.
In both cases, his production came in under the betting lines offered for Porter’s total points, rebounds and three-pointers. A prop (or proposition) bet is usually tied to a player’s performance rather than the outcome of the game. The Porter props for the Clippers game were reportedly 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three rebounds and one assist. For the Kings game, it was 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds; Porter had no points and two rebounds.
Social media
On his X account, which has 16,400 followers, Porter tweets mostly about basketball, but has also reposted a number of tweets from The Financial Cloud, a site that claims to “pursues financial freedom through trading.” In one post, Porter calls it a site “our companies (sic) website just launched.” He also posted that his account was once hacked and used in a PS5 giveaway scam, but that he had recovered access on Jan. 8, 2021.
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