Raptors Saw Promise in Jontay Porter Whose NBA Career Now Comes to an End

The Toronto Raptors saw Jontay Porter as a potential fit long-term but the 24-year-old center has now been banned from the NBA for violating the league's gambling rules

Jan 15, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter (11) / John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors had hopes for Jontay Porter.

No, he was never going to be some star for the organization. It was unlikely he'd ever develop into anything more than a backup center for Toronto. But for a player on a two-way contract, that would have been good enough.

None of that will happen.

Porter has been banned by the NBA following the conclusion of the league's investigation into unusual betting activity involving the 24-year-old center. Porter disclosed confidential information about his health to a known gambler, limited his own performance in at least one game, and bet on NBA games while a member of the Raptors, the league announced.

"From January through March 2024, while traveling with the Raptors or Raptors 905, the Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account.  These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094," the league found.

There's no evidence that Porter bet on games in which he played, however, he did bet on the Raptors to lose at least one game in a multi-leg parlay that Porter ended up losing.

"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment," NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced in a statement. "While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players.  Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

For the Raptors, it's just the latest in a slew of unfortunate situations for players once seen as promising by the organization. Toronto lost Christian Koloko to a medical issue earlier this year and the Raptors could never get Otto Porter Jr. to stay healthy.

"I think those were two good finds for us that fit our program," Raptors president Masai Ujiri said of Jontay Porter and Koloko. "Maybe we were unlucky in some kind of way."

Some deeper research into Porter's background likely would have helped. As the Action Network reported, Porter owned and operated a VIP account with FanDuel that placed over 1,000 bets totaling millions of dollars in wages prior to joining the team. Porter also operated a Twitter account in which he shared gambling tips, per Adam Laskaris of the Daily Hive.

"We did all due diligence and I think from all the reports and everything we had, I think this was nothing we could know about," Ujiri said of Porter. "We go out there and try to do the best due diligence we can with everybody individually. And we did that with Jontay too."

Had Porter stayed healthy with Toronto, it's reasonable to think he would have been back with the organization next year. He provided some defensive mobility, was an adequate passer for a backup big man, and had some floor-spacing ability. It's entirely possible he could have landed a minimum contract worth roughly $2.1 million.

He gave it all up.