If the gambling-related allegations against Toronto’s Jontay Porter are proven genuine, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated Wednesday that he may be expelled from the league.
Silver, addressing after a two-day meeting of the league’s Board of Governors, did not divulge any facts about the Porter investigation beyond the fact that it is ongoing. Porter hasn’t played since the league announced it was investigating into betting trends surrounding his on-court performance.
“I have enormous range of discipline available to me,” Silver went on to say. “He’s accused of a cardinal sin in the NBA. The most extreme option I have is to ban him from the game. That is the degree of authority I have here; there is nothing more serious.”
ESPN originally reported the probe, which it said focused on Porter’s play in games on January 26 and March 20. Porter played briefly in both of those games before exiting due to injury or illness, and he fell far short of the numbers offered to bettors as prop wagers in those bouts. That means those who gambled against Porter would have won because he left both games before reaching the sportsbooks’ points and rebounds lines.
Some bookmakers have indicated they were alerted to peculiar betting patterns regarding the Porter prop offerings in those games, which implies it’s conceivable that the league, which has business links with many wagering organizations, may have gotten some of the same.
“I mean, this is not new that there’s unsavory behavior, even illegal behavior, around sports betting,” Mr. Silver said. “I guess my point is that to the extent it’s going to exist, if you have a regulated environment, you’re going to have a better chance of detecting it than you would if all the bets were placed illegally.”
Porter was listed as out for the Raptors’ 10th consecutive game in Brooklyn against the Nets on Wednesday, citing personal reasons. The Raptors wrap out the season with games in Miami on Friday and Sunday. Porter’s absence began almost concurrently with the disclosure that the NBA was looking into the betting patterns surrounding his games.
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