Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr. defends brother, Raptors' Jontay Porter, amid gambling investigation

Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. defends brother, Raptors’ Jontay Porter, amid gambling investigation

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. publicly defended his brother, Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter, on Wednesday night amid the league’s investigation into whether or not the 24-year-old violated the NBA’s gambling policy.

The Raptors pulled Porter from the lineup ahead of Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. The league then released a statement saying that they were looking into several situations in which there were betting irregularities related to Porter’s prop bets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“I know what you guys know,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “I know Jontay loves the game of basketball. He’s been really excited to play with the Raptors. So, I know just as much as you guys know at this point. I have known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is. I know he’s excited to play basketball and highly doubt that he would do anything to put that in jeopardy.”

Per NBA rules, no NBA employee is permitted to place bets related to NBA games.

The NBA is taking a closer look at two games in which there was more betting interest on the under in several of Porter’s prop bets.

On Jan. 26, Porter played just four minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers, and left the game with an eye injury. The Raptors forward had zero points, three rebounds, and just one assist, which resulted in all of the unders hitting in those props.

On March 20, Porter played three minutes against the Phoenix Suns before leaving the game due to illness. He finished with zero points and just two rebounds — once again resulting in all of the unders hitting.

One of the biggest reasons for the suspicion is the fact that large amounts — $10,000 and $20,000 increments– were wagered on the under in many categories. Many sportsbooks don’t accept wagers over $2,000, so it was viewed as an obscure trend.

Porter is currently in his first season with the Raptors on a two-way contract.