On April 17, 2024, the NBA announced that Jontay Porter had been officially banned for life after he violated the league’s betting rules, including purposely hindering his own playing time. “A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games,” they wrote in a statement. The NBA went on to spotlight Porter’s March 20, 2024 game, where they revealed that he had disclosed information about his health status to an individual he knew was an NBA bettor. This action resulted in another NBA bettor, whom he had associated with in the past, placing an $80,000 parlay proposition, laying odds that Porter would underperform in the game.
In addition to sharing insider information about his health, the league’s investigation confirmed that the former Memphis Grizzlies player bet on 13 NBA games using another person’s betting account between January and March 2024. “These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094,” they said. “The total payout from these bets as $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965.” The NBA added that none of the games he bet on were games he played. Toward the end of their statement, the league confirmed that the investigation remains open. Days before the findings were made public, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reportedly described Porter’s actions as a “cardinal sin” following a meeting with the league’s annual board of governors, as reported by ESPN.
