A lifetime NBA ban for gambling hasn’t ended Jontay Porter’s basketball career.
Porter, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy crime, has been signed by the Seattle Super Hawks of the soon-debuting United States Basketball League.
“The SuperHawks family and the USBL are excited to welcome Jontay to the 2026 roster,” Seattle wrote Wednesday on Instagram to announce the move ahead of its March 7 opener.
“As a former NBA professional, Jontay brings significant talent to the team. A 6’10” Power Forward, Jontay is marking a new chapter in his professional basketball journey!”
Porter, the brother of Nets’ star Michael Porter Jr., is the face of the NBA’s gambling scandal after having been found to have been rigging his stats to manipulate prop betting.
He’s just the second person to ever be banned for life, joining former Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
The NBA announced in April 2024 that Porter had been banned after “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors” and “limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes.”
Before a March game that year, Porter, who played for the Raptors at the time, told an NBA bettor information about his health that led to an $80,000 winning bet on his “Under” prop cashing and paying out $1.1 million.
Porter, who also played for Toronto’s G-League team, placed at least 13 bets for more than $54,000 on NBA games in 2024, including one featuring Toronto in a parlay, though he did not play in those games.
He won $21,965 on said wagers.
In July 2024, Porter pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud that came with $456,000 in fines and restitution, saying he did so to help eliminate a “large gambling debt.”
ESPN reported that Porter could receive up to 20 years in prison for his crime, although he is “expected” to receive a 3-4 year sentence.
“I know what I did was wrong and unlawful, and I’m deeply sorry for my conduct,” Porter said to Brooklyn federal Judge James R. Cho at the time.
Porter previously requested a federal judge to play in Greece, but that request was denied, per ESPN.
He appeared in 37 games across two seasons in the NBA, playing in 11 contests with the Grizzlies in the 2020-21 season and 26 games with Toronto in the 2023-24 campaign.
He averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds.