Adam Silver Could Ban Jontay Porter From NBA if Betting Accusations Are True

Commissioner Adam Silver says that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter could face a lifetime ban from the National Basketball Association. Porter is on leave from the team while the investigation into the potential betting issues continues.

Earlier this season, on two occasions, there were betting irregularities surrounding the performance of Porter, who exited each game under strange circumstances. In both cases, the “under” hit on all the game props for Porter.

In one instance, Porter’s game props were the most-bet props of any NBA player for that date, according to DraftKings. Porter is a bench player who typically played fewer than 15 minutes per game, so high betting activity on NBA odds, like his props, set off alarms from DraftKings and other sports betting operators.

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What Adam Silver Said About the Porter Situation

The NBA commissioner can permanently rule a player ineligible if it is found that he participated in a scheme to influence betting on the sport. The league has not banned a player for specific betting violations since the 1950s. Sports betting has grown rapidly in the last six years, since the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that set the stage for states to legalize the activity.

“I have an enormous range of discipline available to me,” the commissioner said. “But it’s a cardinal sin, what he’s accused of in the NBA, and the ultimate, extreme option I have is to ban him from the game.”

Silver made statements to ESPN this week, including his desire for federal laws to establish uniform regulations on sports betting. Currently, regulators have issued rules that vary from state to state. Every legal sports betting state does permit prop bets on the NBA, but enforcement and oversight are handled differently.

How Sports Leagues Can Deal With Betting Issues

The NBA and other professional leagues in the U.S. have mostly embraced legal sports betting. The NBA and most of its teams have official betting partners. However, there is also wariness from some officials regarding the activity, with an acknowledgment that sports betting is here to stay.

“This is a burgeoning industry in the United States,” Silver said. “It’s been legal in other places in the world for decades. There are lessons to be learned from the way that sports betting is monitored and regulated in other jurisdictions.”

The Raptors released Porter on March 25, the same day that ESPN reported the NBA was investigating him for the betting irregularities revealed by DraftKings officials.

The 24-year-old Porter has played 37 games in the NBA across two seasons. He’s averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on an average of 11 minutes per game.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Jontay Porter was a former player for the Toronto Raptors, and this has been corrected.