Banned ex-Raptors player Jontay Porter signs with new USBL team
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Jontay Porter, banned from the NBA for life, signed with the Seattle SuperHawks in February 2026.
A New Yorker profile details over $50 million in FanDuel bets before his fall.
Background
Jontay Porter is a former NBA player with the Toronto Raptors who was banned from the league for life after it uncovered his betting activity. The modern era of legalized sports betting began in 2018, when the Supreme Court overturned the federal law that had outlawed sports betting outside Nevada, and Porter was one of the first athletes in a major American sport since that decision to be banned for life for gambling violations. Interest resurfaced with a New Yorker magazine profile and video by journalist Nick Berardini, which places Porter's experience within the expansion of U.S. sports betting and examines how app-based betting and VIP incentives can reinforce compulsive gambling.
How it unfolded
- Sep 2021 to Nov 2023Porter wagered more than $50 million on FanDuel, including 2,803 bets exceeding $1,000, according to The New Yorker.
- Dec 2023Porter signed with the Toronto Raptors and returned to the court, but his gambling continued.
- Jan 26, 2024Porter exited early from a game against the Los Angeles Clippers under the scheme.
- Mar 20, 2024Porter exited early from a second game, against the Sacramento Kings.
- Mar 25, 2024News of the NBA's investigation into Jontay Porter breaks, five days after that game.
- Apr 2024Porter was banned from the NBA for life once the league uncovered his betting activity.
- 2024Porter pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison.
- Feb 25, 2026The Seattle SuperHawks of the re-created United States Basketball League announced Porter's signing.
- Jul 16, 2026Ammar Awawdeh, 34, of Queens, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery in the scheme that ended Porter's career.
- Nov 8, 2026The New Yorker released a video and published a magazine profile of Porter by Nick Berardini.
- Nov 9, 2026The New York Post reported Porter wagered more than $50 million at FanDuel over roughly 18 months and at one point took out a $500,000 loan on a house in Memphis and lost it gambling.
- Nov 10, 2026Reports said Porter estimated he has wagered at least $500 million over his lifetime and attends regular therapy for his gambling addiction.
Key terms
- NBA
- A professional basketball league in North America made up of 30 teams, widely considered the top basketball league in the world.
- USBL
- A former American professional men's spring basketball league that operated from 1985 to 2008.
- wire fraud
- A U.S. federal crime of using electronic communications to defraud someone, especially across state or international borders.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Porter
- Porter said "we live in a generation of consumerism and greed, and I was the pinnacle of that," and that he has not placed a bet since before his arrest but doesn't feel cured and sometimes misses the thrill.
- Defense
- Mark Lesko, attorney for Ammar Awawdeh, pointed to his client's gambling addiction.
- Analysts
- The New Yorker profile examines how app-based betting and VIP incentives can reinforce compulsive gambling, placing Porter's case within the expansion of U.S. sports betting.
Still unverified
The New Yorker article references lawsuits and investigations alleging that sportsbook VIP programs and algorithmic targeting keep problem gamblers betting. Porter's $500 million lifetime wagering figure is his own estimate and is not a claim that he lost $500 million.