Ex-Raptors player Jontay Porter, banned from NBA for life after gambling scandal, joins new USBL team

Jontay Porter is set to play professional basketball again.

Porter, who was banned for life by the NBA after a gambling scandal in 2024, signed a deal to play for the Seattle Super Hawks in the rebuilt United States Basketball League, the team announced Wednesday.

Porter spent two seasons in the NBA and appeared in 37 total games, most recently with the Toronto Raptors. The league banned him for life in 2024 after determining that Porter purposefully limited his participation in two games in order to influence the outcome of bets made on his performance.

Before one game, the NBA said, Porter disclosed information about his health to someone he knew to be a bettor. The league said he also placed 13 bets on NBA games using someone else’s account, ranging from $15 to $22,000. None of those bets involved a game he played, but he did bet on the Raptors.

Porter’s attorney said that he had been “in over his head due to a gambling addiction.” He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2024, which is a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison. According to ESPN, he is expected to get between 3-4 years when he is sentenced.

A federal judge denied Porter’s request to keep playing professionally in Greece. If he takes the court when the league starts next month, it will mark Porter’s first professional game since his time with the Raptors.

Porter’s gambling scandal is one of several that has rocked the league in recent years. Last fall, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was indicted in a similar scandal. He has pleaded not guilty and denied the charges. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was also arrested on unrelated charges.

The USBL’s first season was in 1985, and it ran through 2008 before it shut down. It will restart March 6 with eight new teams — the Yakima Heat, Vancouver Bears, Bakersfield Majestics, Seattle Super Hawks, Salem Capitals, Lilac City Legends, San Diego Surf and Los Angeles Blue Waves — all based on the West Coast.

The Super Hawks will open their season against the Legends on March 7.