Former Mizzou Standout Jontay Porter Pleads Guilty for Betting Scandal

Porter was banned from the NBA on April 17 after being found guilty of a betting scandal surrounding his name.

Mar 11, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter (34) reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Former Missouri men's basketball standout and Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal criminal case on Wednesday, per the Associated Press' Jennifer Peltz.

Porter was banned from the NBA on April 17 after being found guilty of a betting scandal surrounding his name. He was first put under investigation on March 25 and wasn't allowed to play until the case was resolved. Porter was then put under criminal investigation by authorities in Canada on June 18.

Porter entered the plea at his arraignment in a New York federal court and was set to be released on a bond of $250,000. Porter is set to be sentenced on Dec. 18 and could face around 3-4 years in prison. He'll also likely have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and potential fines.

“I know what I did was wrong, unlawful, and I am deeply sorry,” Porter said in court on Wednesday.

In the Raptors' Jan. 26 game, there was increased betting interest on the under for Porter props. He ended up playing just four minutes before leaving the game due to a "re-aggravation of an eye injury" from a recent game and all of the unders hit. The following morning, DraftKings Sportsbook said that the under on Porter's 3-pointers was the biggest winner of any NBA player prop from that night.

On the March 20 matchup, Porter played just three minutes before leaving the game due to what the Raptors called an illness. All of the under props hit and DraftKings reported that Porter bets were the most lucrative of the night yet again.

Four men surrounding the scandal were charged with wire fraud a couple of weeks before the Investigation and Enforcement Bureau opened the criminal probe but Porter hadn't been charged just yet.

One of the four men told Porter, who had gambling debts to pay, that he'd have to purposely exit games early so that the unders would hit. It was revealed in court that Porter responded to this threat by saying "u hate me and if I don’t get u 8k by Friday you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up.”

It was also revealed in the courtroom that after the original investigation conducted by the NBA opened, Porter messaged the men saying that they should delete “all the stuff” from their phones.

Porter played in 26 games this past season and is averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 14 minutes per game.

At Mizzou, Jontay Porter earned a spot on the 2017-18 All-SEC Freshman Team after averaging 9.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.7 blocks and 0.8 steals in 24.5 minutes per game. He was also named the Co-Sixth Man of the Year that season. However, he was sidelined during his sophomore campaign after suffering a season-ending knee injury during a preseason closed scrimmage.