Johntay Porter Permanently Banned From The NBA

Why was Johntay Porter banned from the NBA? What will the young player do now that his NBA career is over? How does the NBA plan to deal with other players who get involved with gambling on games?

Yesterday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that Toronto Raptors forward Johntay Porter was banned from the NBA permanently for his involvement in a gambling scandal. The last time the league banned a player indefinitely was back in 2017 when O.J. Mayo was banned for multiple violations of the league's substance abuse policy.

Porter was an undrafted player out of Missouri University who played briefly with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021 and appeared in 26 games for the Toronto Raptors this season. He is the younger brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

 With injuries mounting in Toronto during a lost season, Porter had earned an opportunity to significant minutes for the Raptors in the second half of the season but had not played since March 22, when he was suspended as the league began its investigation into potential violations of the NBA's gambling policies.

Why Was Johntay Porter Banned?

At the end of their investigation, the NBA concluded that Porter had violated the league's policies multiple times. You can read the entire press release from the NBA below.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/h2TIkaE7xs

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 17, 2024

 Not only did Porter bet on NBA games himself, but he had shared information with sports bettors through a Discord server about his health and planned poor performance in an upcoming game. A bettor wagered $80,000 on Porter going under his player prop in a game where Porter played only three minutes because he felt sick.

At the time, he had been playing around 20 or more minutes per game which was the reasonable expectation for the game in question had he not complained of illness. The implication being made by the NBA is that Porter intentionally sat out most of this game so his props would go under and the bettors who he tipped off would make a large profit.

Is Porter's Punishment Fair Or Too Extreme?

The general consensus from a lot of NBA media outlets has been that Adam Silver got this one right and that making an example out of Porter for this type of conduct is necessary as the NBA becomes more entangled with betting and sportsbooks going forward. Let's face it, the league would be in a much tougher position if a much more famous player was involved in a scandal of this magnitude - the way that MLB is with the Shohei Ohtani scandal involving his interpreter.

However, some might claim a lifetime ban is a bit steep. After all, Miles Bridges served only 10 games of a 30-game suspension this year after missing the entire 2022-2023 season when he was charged with domestic violence. And Josh Giddey was allowed to play all season for Oklahoma City even while he was being investigated for a potentially illegal relationship with an underage girl.

I tend to agree that the punishment was warranted, but even with such severe consequences, do we really think this is the last time we see a player get entangled in a betting scandal?

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