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Jontay Porter

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Jontay Porter
Free agent
PositionCenter / power forward
Personal information
Born (1999-11-15) November 15, 1999 (age 25)
Columbia, Missouri, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeMissouri (2017–2019)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Memphis Grizzlies
2021→Memphis Hustle
2022–2023Wisconsin Herd
2023Motor City Cruise
2023–2024Toronto Raptors
2023–2024→Raptors 905
Career highlights and awards
  • SEC Sixth Man of the Year (2018)
  • SEC All-Freshman Team (2018)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Jontay Porter (/ˈdʒɒnteɪ/ JON-tay;[1] born November 15, 1999) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers where he played alongside his older brother, Michael Porter Jr. He was awarded as the Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year during his freshman season. Porter missed the entirety of his sophomore season after he tore his medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament. He was an early entrant in the 2019 NBA draft but went unselected.

Porter started his professional career in 2020 on a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies and spent time with their NBA G League affiliate Memphis Hustle. He sat out the 2021–22 season after he was waived by Memphis. Porter joined the Wisconsin Herd of the G League for the 2022–23 season. After starting the 2023–24 season with the G League's Motor City Cruise, Porter was signed by the Toronto Raptors on a two-way contract with the Raptors 905.

In 2024, Porter was banned for life by the NBA for violating their gambling policies while playing for the Toronto Raptors. The scandal resulted in him facing criminal charges.

High school career

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Much like his older brother Michael, Jontay started out his high school career playing under the Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School in their home town of Columbia, Missouri. In his freshman year, he averaged 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for Father Tolton before being a key figure in helping them win the Missouri Class 3 State Championship for the first time during his sophomore season. In his junior year of high school, Jontay and Michael, along with their younger brother Coban, moved to Seattle, Washington, after his father earned an assistant coaching job at the University of Washington for their basketball team. During Jontay and Michael's time at Nathan Hale High School, the brothers were coached by former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy, who helped lead the squad to a perfect 29–0 record and the Washington Class 3A State Championship. Under the coaching of Roy, Porter averaged a double-double of 14.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game for Nathan Hale High School, thus earning a name for himself alongside his older brother.

Porter was previously a recruit under the Class of 2018, with him being ranked as high as 11th overall by ESPN at one point.[2] However, after his father was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Missouri, his older brother changed his commitment from the University of Washington to his hometown University of Missouri, and Brandon Roy changed coaching positions from Nathan Hale to Garfield High School, Jontay reclassified himself into the Class of 2017 alongside his brother, joining his family out at the University of Missouri. Between his time preparing for his transfer from high school into college, Porter grew two more inches, thus allowing him to play as a power forward, with center being a viable possibility as well.

Recruiting

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jontay Porter
PF 		Columbia, MO Nathan Hale (WA) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (110 kg) May 22, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 25  ESPN: 25
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

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Porter, five days before his 18th birthday, made his season debut on November 10, 2017, in a 74–59 win over Iowa State University. Three days after his debut, he recorded 11 points and 8 rebounds in a blowout 99–55 win over Wagner College. One week later, Porter recorded his first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in a 67–62 win over Emporia State University. On January 10, 2018, Porter made his first start of the season for Missouri, recording a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 68–56 win over the University of Georgia.[3] Porter continued starting for the team during the next five games before returning to the bench for the rest of the season. On February 27, Porter scored a season-high 24 points to go with a team-leading 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a 74–66 win over Vanderbilt University. In his last game of the season, he started for Missouri in the NCAA Tournament. On April 5, Porter announced he would enter the 2018 NBA draft alongside his brother. However, unlike Michael Porter Jr., he entered the draft without hiring an agent first, thus allowing him the possibility to return to Missouri for another year if he was willing to do so.[4] On the May 30 draft day deadline, Porter decided to return to Missouri instead of entering the NBA Draft early where he was seen as a likely first round pick, possibly joining his brother Michael in the lottery had he stayed in. Porter was seen as potential lottery pick for the 2019 NBA draft.[5]

On October 21, 2018, it was announced that Porter would miss his sophomore season after tearing both his ACL and MCL in a scrimmage.[6] While rehabilitating, Porter tore his ACL again on March 23, 2019.[7] Despite the injury and Porter's stock plummeting, Porter entered his name for the 2019 NBA draft as one of 233 early-entrant participants.[8][9] Porter was also one of 66 original participants included in the 2019 NBA Draft Combine.[10] 89 players removed their names from draft consideration at the May 30 deadline, but Porter chose to remain eligible in the 2019 NBA draft's entry pool.[11] After his injuries, Porter was seen as a late first round or second round pick.[12]

Professional career

[edit]

Memphis Grizzlies (2020–2021)

[edit]

Porter was not chosen in the 2019 NBA draft, partially due to teams wary of his injury history.[13] On March 8, 2020, Porter signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.[14][15] On November 22, 2020, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that they had re-signed Porter, this time to a multi-year contract.[16] On July 30, 2021, he was waived by the Grizzlies after making 11 appearances.[17] Porter joined the Denver Nuggets for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[18]

Wisconsin Herd (2022–2023)

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On November 3, 2022, Porter was named to the opening night roster of the Wisconsin Herd, the G League team affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks.[19]

Motor City Cruise (2023)

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On October 2, 2023, Porter signed with the Detroit Pistons,[20] but was waived on October 21.[21] Nine days later, he joined the Pistons' G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.[22]

Toronto Raptors / Raptors 905 (2023–2024)

[edit]

On December 9, 2023, Porter signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors.[23] He averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games played.[24]

Gambling charges and ban from NBA

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On March 25, 2024, ESPN reported that the NBA had opened an investigation of Porter for "multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months".[25] On April 11, the Colorado Division of Gaming issued an instruction to state sportsbook operators to immediately report any potential wagering on "NBA affiliated games" by accounts connected to Porter.[26] The investigation centered on irregularities found related to proposition bets around Porter's individual statistics. On March 20, during a game against the Sacramento Kings, the NBA said Porter "disclosed confidential information about his own health status" to an individual known to be a sports bettor.[27] Yet another bettor then wagered $80,000 on a parlay bet that Porter would not meet certain player statistics – an under bet – which would have won $1.1 million. Porter's behavior drew notice once he removed himself from the game due to illness. The size of the bet was highly irregular, which also helped raise suspicion. The bet was never paid out, and an investigation opened instead, after the sportsbook reported the unusual activity to the NBA.[28][29] In its investigation, the NBA also found that between January and March 2024 Porter had placed 13 bets on NBA games using another person's account. Some of the wagers included parlay bets involving the Raptors losing. His wagers totaled $54,000 over that period, netting over $22,000 in winnings.[27] The NBA accused him of "disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games".[29]

On April 17, Porter was banned for life from further play or any other involvement in the NBA and its associated leagues.[28][30] He became the first active player to be banned from the NBA for gambling since Jack Molinas in 1954,[27] as well as the first active player to be permanently banned from the NBA without any means to return since Richard Dumas in 1996.[31] On June 4, 2024, Long Phi Pham, an alleged co-conspirator in Porter's scheme, was arrested at JFK International Airport while attempting to flee the country.[32] Three more alleged co-conspirators were subsequently arrested: Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollad, and Ammar Awawdeh.[33] On July 3, Porter was also charged with a federal felony in relation to the case involving those four men.[34] On July 3, 2024, court papers were made public revealing Porter's imminent criminal charges in the United States at the federal level for his role in the sports betting scandal, which then resulted in his lifetime NBA ban.[35] [36] Porter is also undergoing a criminal investigation in Canada.[35][37] In the federal case on July 10, Porter would plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which could impose a range of no time in prison to up to 20 years in prison for what he did but faces a most likely time of 41 to 51 months in prison.[38] One of the conditions related to his guilty plea was to forfeit his passport for a pre-sentence release, which forbade him to play overseas for the Promitheas Patras B.C. of the Greek Basket League.[39] The NBA would also implement what's called the "Jontay Porter Rule" following his ban to forbid sportsbooks to include unders on player props that are either on two-way contracts or 10-day contracts.[40]

Personal life

[edit]

In addition to his older brother Michael Porter Jr. with the Denver Nuggets, Jontay has two older sisters, Bri and Cierra, both of whom were deemed medically retired from playing sports, both due to multiple leg injuries.[41] Cierra Porter later returned for her senior year at the University of Missouri.[42] Two of Porter's younger brothers, Coban and Jevon, played collegiate basketball as well, with Coban previously playing for the University of Denver and Jevon currently playing for Loyola Marymount University after previously going to Pepperdine University until early 2024. Both Coban and Jevon were arrested while in college for drinking while driving, with Coban receiving an eight-year concurrent prison sentence for the vehicular homicide of 42-year-old Katharina Rothman and the injury of her passenger, Jason Blanch.[43]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Memphis 11 0 4.9 .533 .375 .600 1.3 .1 .3 .1 2.0
2023–24 Toronto 26 5 13.8 .385 .333 .833 3.2 2.3 .8 .8 4.4
Career 37 5 11.2 .403 .338 .783 2.6 1.6 .6 .6 3.7

NBA G League

[edit]

Source[44]

Showcase Cup

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Wisconsin 15 8 27.0 .442 .411 .714 8.5 2.4 .5 1.5 13.5
2023–24 Motor City 10 10 33.7 .456 .277 .667 11.1 2.5 .8 2.8 16.8
2023–24 905 5 5 27.0 .607 .682 1.000 9.2 4.0 1.4 2.4 18.8
Career 30 23 29.2 .475 .395 .727 9.5 2.7 .7 2.1 15.5

Regular season

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Memphis 9 0 16.8 .342 .184 .556 4.7 1.2 .9 1.2 7.4
2022–23 Wisconsin 17 13 29.4 .353 .287 .600 11.4 3.4 .9 2.6 11.5
2023–24 905 7 7 30.3 .344 .298 .636 10.9 6.0 1.4 2.6 13.1
Career 33 20 26.1 .348 .270 .600 9.5 3.5 1.0 2.3 10.7

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Missouri 33 7 24.5 .437 .364 .750 6.8 2.2 .8 1.7 9.9

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. October 24, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Jontay Porter - 2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster - University of Missouri". MUTigers.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  3. ^ "Georgia vs. Missouri - Box Score - January 10, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Missouri's Jontay Porter declares for NBA draft". ESPN. April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  5. ^ Amico, Sam (October 22, 2018). "Potential lottery pick Porter of Missouri to miss season". Sports Illustrated Cleveland Cavs News, Analysis and More. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Dauster, Rob (October 21, 2018). "Missouri star Jontay Porter tears ACL, MCL". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Shapiro, Michael (March 23, 2019). "Missouri's Jontay Porter Re-Tears ACL After Missing Entire 2018-19 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Borzello, Jeff (April 19, 2019). "Missouri's Jontay Porter will enter NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  9. ^ Givony, Jonathan (April 23, 2019). "NBA draft: 233 early-entry prospects declare for 2019". ESPN. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Sixty-six players expected to attend NBA Draft Combine". NBA.com. May 8, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "Eighty-nine early entry candidates withdraw from 2019 draft". NBA.com. May 30, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Siegel, Jeff (May 18, 2019). "2019 NBA Draft scouting report: Jontay Porter". Peachtree Hoops. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  13. ^ Tribune, Eric Blum Columbia Daily. "Jontay Porter's immediate NBA future uncertain". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies sign Jontay Porter". NBA.com. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (March 8, 2020). "Memphis Grizzlies sign rookie Jontay Porter after knee injuries". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies re-sign Jontay Porter to multi-year contract". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies waive Jontay Porter". NBA.com. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  18. ^ "Denver Nuggets 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  19. ^ "Wisconsin Herd Announces 2022-23 Opening Day Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Pistons PR [@Pistons_PR] (October 2, 2023). "The @DetroitPistons announced today the team's 2023-24 training camp roster including the signing of Buddy Boeheim, Tosan Evbuomwan, Jontay Porter, Zavier Simpson and Stanley Umude to Exhibit 10 contracts" (Tweet). Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Pistons PR [@Pistons_PR] (October 21, 2023). "The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has requested waivers on Buddy Boeheim, Tosan Evbuomwan, Jontay Porter and Zavier Simpson" (Tweet). Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Motor City Cruise [@MotorCityCruise] (October 30, 2023). "The engine is revving, and we're ready to roll! Check out the Motor City Cruise training camp roster - we're ready to work! #HustleAndDrive" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "RAPTORS SIGN PORTER TO A TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA.com. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  24. ^ "NBA hits Raptors' Jontay Porter with lifetime ban for violating gambling rules". The Guardian. April 17, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  25. ^ "Sources: NBA eyes Raptors' Porter over gambling". ESPN.com. March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "Colorado books told to report bets by J. Porter". ESPN.com. April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  27. ^ a b c Vardon, Joe (April 17, 2024). "NBA bans Jontay Porter for violating gambling rules". The Athletic. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Jontay Porter banned from NBA for violating league's gaming rules". NBA.com. April 17, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Quinn, Sam (April 17, 2024). "Jontay Porter gambling investigation explained: NBA hands down lifetime ban after prop bet irregularities". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  30. ^ Purdum, David (April 17, 2024). "NBA bans Raptors' Jontay Porter for gambling violations". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  31. ^ Wise, Mike (February 8, 2000), "Minimal Use Of Marijuana Found In NBA", The Commercial Appeal, p. D.6
  32. ^ Kyle, Schnitzer (June 4, 2024). "Brooklyn man arrested in sports betting scheme with banned NBA player Jontay Porter". New York Post. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  33. ^ "2 more charged in betting scandal that spurred NBA to bar Raptors' Jontay Porter for life". Associated Press News. June 6, 2024.
  34. ^ "Banned NBA player Jontay Porter will be charged in betting case, court papers indicate". Associated Press News. July 3, 2024.
  35. ^ a b Young, Ryan (July 3, 2024). "Ex-Raptors player Jontay Porter to be charged with felony in United States after NBA gambling scandal, ban". Yahoo News. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  36. ^ Peltz, Jennifer (July 3, 2024). "Now-banned NBA player Jontay Porter will be charged in betting case, court papers indicate". Associated Press. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  37. ^ Leahy, Sean (June 18, 2024). "Canadian authorities open criminal investigation into Jontay Porter betting scandal". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  38. ^ "Ex-NBA player Jontay Porter pleads guilty in case tied to gambling scandal that tanked his career". Associated Press News. July 10, 2024.
  39. ^ Vorkunov, Mike. "Judge denies Jontay Porter's request to play pro basketball in Greece". The New York Times.
  40. ^ https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1847336012596310280
  41. ^ O'Donnell, Ricky (October 22, 2018). "Jontay Porter's ACL injury is devastating for these 4 reasons". SBNation.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  42. ^ Schiffer, Alex (January 2, 2019). "Why Cierra Porter rejoined Missouri's women's basketball team for one more semester". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  43. ^ Bradbury, Shelly (April 19, 2024). "Coban Porter, brother of Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr., sentenced to prison in fatal DUI crash". The Denver Post. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  44. ^ "Jontay Porter G-League Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
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