Jontay Porter plans to resume his professional basketball career in the newly re-created United States Basketball League after being banned for life from the NBA for his role in the wide-ranging gambling scheme that also led to federal indictments for NBA player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.
The Seattle SuperHawks announced on Wednesday, Feb. 25 that Porter was the team’s newest signee and noted the 6-foot-10 forward was ‘marking a new chapter in his professional basketball journey.’ Porter’s first game will be the team’s season opener on March 7 against the Lilac City Legends at Seattle Pacific University.
Porter, the younger brother of Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., last played in 26 games for the Toronto Raptors while on a two-way contract during the 2023-24 season. The 26-year-old averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
The NBA gave Porter a lifetime ban in April 2024 for ‘disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.’ Court documents later showed Porter also texted alleged co-conspirators in his gambling case during an NBA game as part of the scheme to win prop bets related to Porter’s performance.
Porter plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court in July 2024 for his role in the gambling scheme that has rocked the NBA. He is still awaiting sentencing as part of the case. Porter previously had a request to play professional basketball in Greece denied by a federal judge.
Terms of Porter’s contract with the USBL were not disclosed.
This revived version of the USBL is beginning its first season in March and the Seattle SuperHawks are one of eight teams based on the west coast in Washington, Oregon and California. The original USBL began in 1984 and ceased operations in 2008, with Muggsy Bogues, Manute Bol and Spud Webb among the future NBA players to emerge from the league.