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Sports gambling has been a hot topic throughout the NBA amid several scandals over the last few years. Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. recently opened up on the temptation players face amid a high-profile scandal involving his brother, Jontay.
“The integrity of the game, the sports gambling stuff can affect that a lot,” Porter Jr. said on the One Night with Steiny podcast. “Think about it, if you can get all your homies rich by telling them, ‘Yo, bet $10,000 on my under this one game. I’m gonna act like I got an injury and I'm gonna sit out, I'm gonna come out after three minutes.’ And they all get a little bag because you did that one game. That is so not ok, but some people probably think like that. They come from nothing, and all their homies have nothing. And they're like, bro, if I come out of this game after three minutes and y'all all hit on my under, we're all getting a little bag.
“Obviously, my brother went through his situation. Malik Beasley's going through a situation right now. Terry Rozier was in some hot water. But the whole sports gambling entity, it's bad and it's only gonna get worse.”
Jontay Porter is one of several players the league has investigated for betting activity.
Michael Porter Jr. opens up on brother's gambling struggles amid investigation
The NBA permanently banned Jontay Porter in April 2024 for violating the league’s gambling policy. An investigation found that he schemed to take himself out of games to help bettors win on his player props. The former Toronto Raptors big man said he did it, “to get out from under large gambling debts.”
Michael Porter Jr. elaborated on his brother's gambling problem during a vlog on his YouTube channel.
“Everybody has different vices. Everybody has different things that they struggle with… My brother, for example, struggled with gambling. My vice has always come in the form of women,” he said. “My brother Jontay, he didn't struggle with that vice. I didn't struggle with gambling addiction. I never struggle with that vice. God gave me a lot of money cuz he figured I could handle it and not lose myself in that area. And maybe Jontay, he was not blessed with tons of money because he struggled with that area of the idolization of money. I have not been blessed with a wife because maybe I am not prepared to handle that because of my struggles.”
Jontay Porter's scandal was one of several recent investigations into NBA players' gambling.
In June, the U.S. District Attorney’s office opened an investigation into Detroit Pistons shooting guard Malik Beasley for allegedly betting on games. The NBA also investigated Terry Rozier in 2023 for unusual betting activity on player props involving the guard. However, Rozier has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing.
