NEW YORK — Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter risks being banned from the league depending on the results of the NBA’s investigation into bets involving Porter, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during a news conference Wednesday after the league’s annual Board of Governors meetings.
“It’s a cardinal sin of what he’s accused of in the NBA,” Silver said.
Porter has been away from the Raptors since last month after the league learned of suspicious betting on Porter’s personal stats on two different games — both on the under for his prop bets. Those bets were the largest moneymaking bets on NBA action on those game nights on DraftKings, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook Insights, which is published daily and distributed to media members.
A DraftKings spokesman could not confirm its accuracy.
FanDuel also saw out-of-the-ordinary activity on Porter’s under bets those two nights, an industry source with knowledge of the bets confirmed to The Athletic. The company reported it to U.S. Integrity, a company that monitors sports wagering for suspicious activity.
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Silver said there is an ongoing investigation into Porter. But he holds a large level of latitude when it comes to punishing Porter.
“The ultimate, extreme option I have is to ban him from the game,” Silver said. “That’s the level of authority I have here because there’s nothing more serious around this league when it comes to gambling around our games than direct player involvement. The investigation is ongoing but the consequences could be severe.”
NBA players cannot bet on the NBA, according to a copy of the player conduct memo reviewed by The Athletic, and cannot manipulate or influence games — also known as game-fixing — or not performing to the best of their abilities for a reason related to betting.
With Porter, the NBA became the latest North American professional sports league to get ensnared in a betting controversy. Still, Silver said he remains a proponent of legalized sports betting.
Silver said he would prefer if Congress was involved and created national laws instead of piecemeal resolutions with each state. Other sports leaders have pushed for some change, too. NCAA president Charlie Baker wants to see prop betting banned for college sports.
“There’s a proper role for regulation here in determining the amount of marketing, frankly the kinds of bets that can be placed on our games,” Silver said. “I’m not against it in terms of legalized sports betting because I think the alternative is illegal sports betting, and I think at least in a legalized structure, there’s transparency.
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“Those are really our two choices. You can’t turn the clock back, especially once sports betting became prevalent on the internet, and we all knew before it was legalized that a lot of it was going on.”
Betting has led to changes in behavior in the arena. Silver said he has heard about an increased incidence of fans yelling at players about missing on over/under bets and at coaches for how many minutes they give players. Players have spoken out about the abuse they receive. Advertising for sports betting is rampant in states where it is legal, in-arena and on television broadcasts.
Some change, Silver said, might be needed.
“There are lessons to be learned from the way that sports betting is monitored and regulated in other jurisdictions,” Silver said. “Again, I think as these unfortunate examples come along, we may have to adjust our rules, and our partner gaming companies and those companies that aren’t our partners may have to adjust their behavior, as well.”
Recent officiating changes
Scoring is down across the NBA since February and it’s been clear for a while. Silver said Wednesday the league responded to critiques from fans and coaches to recalibrate the league’s style of play and the points of emphasis for its referees. This may have reached its apotheosis Tuesday night in Milwaukee, when the Boston Celtics and Bucks combined for just two free throws, both by Milwaukee. It was an extreme example of how things have changed in the last few months.
“There was a sense earlier in the season that there was too much of an advantage for the offensive players,” Silver said. “I think Steve Kerr said offensive players were using themselves as projectiles or hunting for fouls, however you want to call it. So that was a point of emphasis on behalf of the league.
“We were transparent with our teams about that. Again, everyone can see what’s happening on the floor and make their own judgments about the calls being made. So, yes, there was a bit of an adjustment made along the way.”
Silver said, on average, there are two fewer foul calls per team per game since mid-February. There have been other points of evidence. The top-scoring team in the NBA before the All-Star Game was the Indiana Pacers, averaging 123.7 points-per-game; the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards were the median teams averaging 114.9 and 114.8 points. The Pacers are the top-scoring team since the All-Star Game, averaging 121 points per game; the median team is averaging 111.4 points.
The Celtics were the most efficient offense before the All-Star Game at 120.8 points per 100 possessions, and the Cavaliers and Utah Jazz were the median teams with 116.2 and 115.8 offensive ratings. Boston has not been bothered by the new rules since the All-Star break, with a 125.5 offensive rating but the median offensive rating fell to 113.9.
“If you look now at sort of what we’re hearing from our fans, I think the fans want to see great offense, but they want players to be allowed to play defense, as well, and I think that’s what we’re seeing. So I’m very happy with the state of the game, and my expectation is as we move into the playoffs, we’re going to continue to see great competition.”
Timberwolves’ ownership dispute
Silver offered the NBA’s first comment on the ownership dispute playing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore remain at odds with incumbent owner Glen Taylor over their attempt to buy the Timberwolves. Lore and Rodriguez agreed to buy the team from Taylor in stages, with their contract calling for them to pay Taylor for 40 percent of the franchise by March 27 — a stake that would give them control of the franchise.
Lore and Rodriguez scrambled to finalize the finances for their share by the deadline, but contend they told Taylor they had the money and were just waiting for approval from the NBA that the sale would go through. Taylor said they did not meet the deadline, the deal has been voided and he will no longer sell the team.
Silver and the league had held off saying anything publicly until Wednesday and he said the NBA will not get involved in the dispute, which is now a legal one. Lore, Rodriguez and Taylor will first try to solve this through mediation, and if that does not work, then through arbitration, as stipulated in their sale agreement.
“There is no role for the league in that process,” Silver said.
But this sale, or at least agreement to sell, may well change how the league approaches future team sales that are strung out over several years as the Minnesota sale has been. Taylor first agreed to sell the franchise in 2021 for $1.5 billion.
“It’s an important question,” Silver said. “I think this deal happened in the early days of the pandemic, when it was extraordinary circumstances, I think, for everyone in our community. I think lessons learned, too, as new situations evolve in the league as to what kind of transactions make sense. I think let’s wait to see how this one works out.
“But it’s certainly not ideal to have a stepped transaction like this. It met our rules from that standpoint, and it’s what Glen Taylor wanted and it’s what they were willing to agree to at the time. But I think once the dust clears on this deal, it may cause us to reassess what sort of transactions we should allow.”
The NBA is barreling towards another playoff matchup between Steph Curry and LeBron James but the very nature of this one is a hint of how few of these may still be left. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers are currently set to meet in the 9-10 matchup in the West, a Play-In Tournament game that will eliminate one of them from the postseason. The other may still not get into the playoffs either.
Curry and James have been the league’s marquee stars for a decade now — even longer for James. Curry is 36 and James is 39. At some point, maybe even in the next few years, they will each retire.
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
The league’s business has been tied closely to them, with their teams consistently among the most visible on nationally televised games and in NBA Finals games, but Silver said he is not concerned about what happens to the league after they’re gone. He thinks the league will have new stars to replace them.
“Stars can be also created much quicker these days than in the old days,” Silver said. “So you have, in a way, legacy stars deserve to be in those positions, but again, with enormous social media community out there, literally in the billions for basketball, a global market for talent that what’s so cool about sports is that it’s the meritocracy of, at the end of the day, show us what you can do on the floor in the case of basketball. I think that talent gets rewarded, and when you’re fortunate to be a league — both men’s and women’s side where the very best in the world want to play in a single league and there’s so much basketball being played on a global basis, I just think the stars will continue to emerge.
“They’re different, and for those that have been around the sport long enough, I remember when Magic retired and Larry retired and Michael retired and Kobe retired. People were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ It’s amazing. It’s just that new and different stars end up emerging, have their own personalities, their own styles, and next generation of fans cares as much about them as they did the players before them.”
Required reading
(Photo: Emmanuel Dunand / AFP via Getty Images)