A man accused of working with Jontay Porter to place prop bets on NBA games has been arrested. Porter had accumulated large gambling debts in the beginning of the year and was encouraged to clear those debts by throwing games.

Long Phi Pham, 38, also known as “Bruce,” was arrested on Monday while trying to board a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Australia on a one-way ticket, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court.

Porter allegedly told Pham that he was going to take himself out early from the Jan. 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers, claiming he was injured, the feds said.

Porter allegedly communicated with the group of co-conspirators through the Telegram group chat app when he notified them before a game on March 20 against the Sacramento Kings, claiming that going to say he was sick to leave a game early.

The NBA banned Porter for life on April 4th.

The feds are looking for three additional people who remain at-large.

The Toronto Raptors plan to pick up their $23 million option on Bruce Brown Jr. with the intent of trading him this offseason, sources tell Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.

The Raptors acquired Brown from the Indiana Pacers as part of the Pascal Siakam trade and discussed moving him at the trade deadline, but no deal materialized.

The Raptors are believed to be motivated to trade Brown in the offseason rather than at the 2025 trade deadline. Brown had a somewhat disappointing tenure with the Raptors. Brown revealed after the season that he was dealing with a knee issue.

The NBA held its 2024 draft lottery in Chicago on Sunday with the Atlanta Hawks winning the top overall pick. The Hawks entered the lottery with just a three percent chance of securing the top pick.

The NBA announced today that Jontay Porter, a Two-Way player recently under contract with the Toronto Raptors, has been banned from the NBA. A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.

The league’s investigation found that prior to the Raptors’ March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor. Another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sports book, to win $1.1 million, wagering that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game. 

The league’s investigation also found that Porter limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game. In the March 20 game, Porter played only three minutes, claiming that he felt ill. Due to the unusual betting activity and actions of the player, the $80,000 proposition bet was frozen and was not paid out. 

In addition, from January through March 2024, while traveling with the Raptors or Raptors 905, the Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account. These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094. The total payout from these bets was $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. None of the bets involved any game in which Porter played. Three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. All three bets lost. 

The suspicious bets involving Porter’s performance in the Raptors’ March 20 game were brought to the NBA’s attention by licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets. 

These findings are based on the information available to league investigators at this time. The league’s investigation remains open and may result in further findings.  The NBA has shared and will continue to share information with federal prosecutors about this matter.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said: “There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment. While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.” 

The Toronto Raptors have signed center Malik Williams. This comes after Williams completed a 10-day contract with the team on Saturday.

The 6-foot-11 center played in six games with Toronto on his 10-day deal. He averaged 2.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game.

The Colorado Division of Gaming ordered the state's sportsbook to report any wagering on "NBA affiliated games" by accounts connected to Jontay Porter.

Regulators are investigated whether Porter had any betting accounts associated with Colorado sportsbooks.

Adam Silver said earlier this week by Porter could be banned from the NBA if there were improprieties involving betting on games. 

The NBA is investigating Jontay Porter following multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past few months with Adam Silver saying a permanent ban is possible.

"I have an enormous range of discipline available to me," Silver said at a hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, after the league's annual Board of Governors meetings at the end of the regular season were conducted over the prior 24 hours. "But it's a cardinal sin, what he's accused of in the NBA, and the ultimate, extreme option I have is to ban him from the game.

"That's the level of authority I have here. Because there's nothing more serious, I think, around this league when it comes to gambling betting on our games. And that is a direct player involvement. And so, the investigation is ongoing, but the consequences could be very severe."

The Toronto Raptors are signing center Malik Williams to a 10-day contract. Williams has played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the G League this season.

Toronto is currently without Jakob Poeltl, Chris Boucher and Jontay Porter in a banged-up frontcourt. Kelly Olynyk is currently the only available center for the Raptors.

In 42 games (24 starts) with the Skyforce, Williams has averaged 10.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Williams played in Poland last season, after going undrafted out of Louisville at the 2022 NBA Draft.

Jontay Porter is under investigation by the NBA following multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months, sources told ESPN.

Prop bets involving Porter from games on Jan. 26 and March 20 are under investigation with the league "looking into it."

There was increased betting interest on the under for Porter props, which for the night were set at around 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. There was also an over/under for Porter's made 3-pointers, which was 0.5.

Porter played just four minutes before leaving the game because of what the Raptors said was an aggravation of an eye injury he had suffered four days earlier in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Porter did not score against the Clippers but three rebounds and one assist, and he did not attempt a 3, meaning the under hit on all of the props.

On March 20, in a game against the Sacramento Kings, Porter played just three minutes before leaving the game because of what the Raptors said was an illness and did not return. He did not score, attempted and missed one shot, and had two rebounds.

Sportsbooks had his over/unders set at around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.

The next day, DraftKings SportsBooks reported to its users that Porter's prop bets were the No. 1 moneymaker from the night in the NBA.

"People were trying to do whatever they could to bet Jontay Porter props [against the Clippers]," the source said. "And then, just a few days ago, the same thing. We had a bunch of people trying to bet under for more."

Porter missed games on Saturday and Monday for personal reasons. 

Porter plays for the Toronto Raptors on a Two-Way contract earning $415,000 this season.

Porter is represented by Andy Shiffman and Mark Bartelstein.

The Toronto Raptors have agreed to sign Kobi Simmons to a 10-day contract.

Simmons has averaged 15.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds for the Raptors 905 this season in the G League.