Raptors Player Jontay Porter 'Game Fixing' Scandal Could Be Major Blow to NBA

• Two specific games are reportedly under investigation.

• In both games, Porter exited early citing an illness or injury.

The sports world was shocked by another gambling scandal that surfaced just days after MLB star Shohei Ohtani's interpreter was fired for alleging stealing millions of dollars from the player to pay off a mounting gambling debt.  A Toronto Raptors player is now being accused of fixing games.

The NBA is investigating backup centre Jontay Porter for allegedly fixing games and apparently the Raptors were left in the dark.

ESPN first broke the news in late March and just minutes before a Raptors game was set to tip off. 

“I was just praying for him,” said small forward Bruce Brown on Tuesday after Raptors practice. “Obviously, you don't want to see somebody go through something like that.

“But other than that, I mean, I don't know what's going on. I don't want to comment too much, but I don't know.”

Centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., said that he and his teammates learned about the investigation surrounding Porter the same way fans learned: through media reports.

“We don't really know anything is going on, so it's hard to comment on that,” said Olynyk. “You (reporters) probably know more than us, which is how these things usually work.”

The probe involves Porter's performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20.

The Canadian Press reports that Porter played briefly in both games before exiting with either an injury or illness. He played four minutes 24 seconds against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first of those games, then played 2:43 against Sacramento in the second game.

In both cases, Porter did not come close to hitting the prop-wager lines for points, rebounds and three-pointers that bettors could play.

ESPN said the props surrounding Porter for the Clippers game were 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three rebounds and one assist.

On Tuesday April 16 the gambling news site Action Sports Network claimed Porter has long been a prolific gambler.

Between 2021 — when he was playing in the NBA’s developmental G League — and 2023, Porter placed over 1,000 bets with his VIP account on the FanDuel online sportsbook. State gaming regulators in Colorado, where Porter placed the bets, are now reportedly requesting information on any accounts he may have with other betting sites.

While NBA players are able to place bets on sports other than NBA games, the league is still prepared to take action if need be.

“It’s a cardinal sin of what he’s accused of in the NBA,” commissioner Adam Silver said last week at an annual meeting of team owners. “The ultimate, extreme option I have is to ban him from the game. That’s the level of authority I have here because there’s nothing more serious around this league when it comes to gambling around our games than direct player involvement. The investigation is ongoing but the consequences could be severe.”

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com