Denver Nuggets star: My brother Jontay Porter would not risk his career by gambling
Michael Porter Jr breaks silence over prop bet allegations against sibling and claims betting is "part of the game now"
The brother of Jontay Porter leapt to his defense by stating that the Toronto Raptors star would never risk his career by gambling.
Michael Porter Jr, the Denver Nuggets forward, said that his sibling loves the sport too much to put his career in “jeopardy” following claims of betting irregularities.
The NBA launched an investigation this week over three prop bet allegations involving Jontay Porter in two games this season, according to ESPN.
In both instances, he left both games – against the LA Clippers on January 26 and the Sacramento Kings on March 20 – early due to injury.
Betting is legal in the Canadian province of Ontario. But under NBA rules, players, teams and league officials are prohibited from placing bets on basketball. However, they can place wagers on other sports.
According to ESPN, Michael Porter Jr said after his game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday: “Jontay loves the game of basketball. I’ve known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is and I know he’s excited to play basketball and I highly doubt he would do anything to put that in jeopardy.”
He added that sports betting is now a part of the game, noting how people in the crowd are making it known what they need from players in order for their bets to hit.
He commented: “Especially the last few years, you hear people in the crowd saying what they need you to score tonight or what they don’t want you to score.
“Every night, you’re disappointing someone. You’re disappointing people if you score too much because they may have bet on the under, and you’re disappointing people if you didn’t score enough. So, it’s a part of the game now.”
Jontay Porter has yet to address the allegations made against him and has not featured for the past week, missing three games, due to “personal reasons”.
The claims come at a time when major league sports in the US face questions over integrity in regard to gambling.
Last week, the LA Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, after he was accused of stealing $4.5m to pay off gambling debts.
Elsewhere, the NCAA called on all states with regulated markets to ban prop bets verticals in order to maintain sporting and student-athlete integrity.