Jontay Porter is currently being investigated for multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months.
Porter has been away from the Raptors for personal reasons and has missed the last three games.
The NBA is investigating prop bets involving Porter from games on Jan. 26 and March 20.
According to a report put out by Adrian Wojnarowski, there was an increased betting interest on the under for Porter on Jan. 26 in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He left the game after four minutes due to what the Raptors called a re-aggravation of an eye injury and all the unders successfully cashed in on him.
Then in a game on March 20 against the Phoenix Suns, Porter played just three minutes before leaving the game due to illness. The unders on Porter cashed in once again.
Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets broke his silence about his younger brother’s on-going investigation via Rachel Strand of ClutchPoints:
“I know Jontay loves the game of basketball. I know what type of dude he is, I highly doubt he’ll do anything to jeopardize that.”
The investigation is the NBA’s first serious gambling-related controversy since sports betting became legalized in most parts of North America.
Porter Jr. was also asked if it is hard to not get involved when there is so much advertising regarding sports betting in the game today, via Strand:
“People in the crowd are saying what they need you to score tonight, or what they don’t want you to score. Every night you’re disappointing someone…it’s part of the game now. I think it’s obviously a dangerous habit. It’s a dangerous vice for people. The love of money is the root of all evil so I think that even though it is a thing, we as players have to accept that.”
Jontay Porter’s season with the Raptors
Porter is averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.8 three-pointers per game this season.
He is on a two-way contract and is earning $415,000 in salary.
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