Jontay Porter: 2023-24 Season In Review

The following is part of Raptors Republic’s series of pieces reviewing the season for the Toronto Raptors. You can find all the pieces in the series here.

On Jan. 26, when the Raptors played against the Clippers at home, Jontay Porter played four minutes with three rebounds and one assist before leaving the game because of an aggravation of an eye injury. 

On March 20, Toronto hosted the Kings in a game where Porter played only three minutes due to an illness. He didn’t score but had two rebounds. 

Both events seemed part of a chain of bad luck and insignificant coincidences. A couple of unfortunate blows that hit a young two-way player who was playing decent games in search of a more relevant role in the rotation. These facts went even more unnoticed in the parade of youngsters that Darko Rajakovic was testing after the rebuilding process was officially declared. 

But, in reality, it turns out that something dirty was brewing behind the scenes. 

Porter, who had signed a one-year contract with Toronto in December, was the foundation of a meditated plan against the essence of sport. The 24-year-old center wasn’t playing basketball, but betting, putting up the right stats to match his ‘under’ prop bets. Everything came to light on March 25, when ESPN first reported a scandal that shook the NBA minutes before the Raptors took on the Brooklyn Nets in Scotiabank Arena. 

The league started an investigation against Porter with several indications something was amiss. DraftKings Sportsbook stated after the mentioned games of the Raptors against the Clippers and the Kings that Porter’s prop bets were the highest moneymaker from the night in the NBA on both nights.

The Raptors closed ranks around Porter first, with Darko Rajakovic and Garett Temple calling to respect the presumption of innocence. Temple even kept his communication with the center in the following days, he said on The Raptors Show on April 4. 

However, it didn’t take very long for the NBA to come up with a resounding verdict. Barely three weeks after the ESPN report, the league announced Porter was banned from playing in the NBA for life in a statement issued on April 17. 

The outcomes of the league’s investigation confirmed those suspicions. Porter placed at least 13 bets from January 2024 to March, although he didn’t play any of these games. He bet a total of $54,094 and had net winnings of $21,965. He bet that the Raptors lost in one game but he lost that bet. But others were betting far, far more — and winning more.

The NBA determined 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.” 

Moreover, Porter is facing criminal charges in Canada. Authorities from the country opened a criminal investigation into the scandal according to a report published by ESPN two weeks ago.  

This macabre story starring Porter was an unexpected and dramatic ending to a ghostly and eventful season in Toronto. The Raptors not only had to endure the pain of getting rid of players with sentimental value Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, but also the distress of bizarre stories. 

The haunting tale of Porter wasn’t the only one. Last season also saw the Knicks suing the Raptors after a former employer of New York hired by Toronto allegedly disclosed confidential information about players belonging to the Knicks. 

However, both franchises reached one of the most paradigmatic win-win recent trades in January with the Raptors packaging OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn towards New York in exchange for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Not even lawsuits can stop business in the NBA.

The scandal involving Porter overshadowed the brief on-court glimpses of a very versatile center raised in a family with basketball running through its veins. NBA champion Michael Porter Jr. is the spotlight of the familiar picture with up to eight siblings who play or played basketball at some point in their lives.

Standing at 6-foot-11 and with good rim protector abilities, Porter was a very valid candidate to remedy the lack of size that had become chronic in recent times as well as the shortage of shooting. However, the virtue of the center that drew the most attention was his playmaking. 

The 24-year-old center delighted with his passing ability against the Thunder on March 22, putting up 8 assists in 20 minutes. He loves backdoor passes, and he seemed to fit well into Toronto’s offensive system. Porter completed his brilliant performance coming off the bench with 7 points and 3 rebounds. 

Porter also showcased his scoring capacities and had his best game in points against the Nuggets and his brother two weeks before with 14 points in 22 minutes. The center put his shooting talent on full display going 5 of 9 from deep. 

The 24-year-old center played 26 games and averaged 14 minutes to go with 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from downtown. 

Along with his array of skills, Porter even had an inspiring story full of sweat and tears to become an NBA player and to make his way for an NBA return. The Missouri native played with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2020-2021 season after going undrafted in 2019 and tearing his ACL twice. He didn’t compete in the NBA again until he signed with the Raptors last December, going through a two-year tenure in the G-League with the Wisconsin Herd and the Motor City Cruise. 

Before being given an opportunity by the Raptors, the Pistons hired him in October, but he got waived weeks later before the season kicked off. 

However, Porter ruined it all. It’s impossible to say why, but it’s sad that he threw it all away.  Jontay Porter’s case still prompts another reflection about the ethical preferences of the league.

While the NBA was very harsh with the former Raptor for his involvement in gambling to set a good example, the league exacerbates problems around betting by plastering ads for it all over its own product, including at halftime of big games, on the court, with partnerships, and elsewhere. The NBA announced at the end of March, coinciding with Porter’s scandal, that they were incorporating a new feature in the NBA League pass app to bet on games in real time. The best basketball league has adopted dangerous and confusing double standards. 

Beyond these double standards, Porter’s ban from playing in the NBA raises more uncomfortable questions for the league. There’s no question that anyone who goes against the honour of the game deserves to be punished, but it turns out that Miles Bridges was back on the court last season with the Hornets after abusing his partner. 

Morality is complex, but it’s arguable that gender violence is a social scourge worse than betting. And Porter will never play in the NBA again, never get a chance to redeem himself, at least in this league.

It seems the NBA wanted to use the 24-year-old center as a scapegoat. Porter won’t play in the best basketball league in the world anymore, but his case leaves a profound ethical discussion in his place. About the NBA’s choice of ills. 

The post Jontay Porter: 2023-24 Season In Review first appeared on Raptors Republic.