Porter’s bumpy road to the NBA
Jontay Porter took an unconventional journey to the NBA. Now his career could be in jeopardy after news broke that the league has launched an investigation into betting irregularities involving the Raptors’ backup centre. Just who is Porter, and how did he end up on the Raptors?
Two-way contract
The 24-year-old Porter signed a two-way contract with the Raptors on Dec. 8. That allows for a maximum of 50 NBA games, in addition to playing in the G League. Teams are allowed up to three such contracts on the roster. Players on two-way deals make just under $560,000 (U.S.) for a full season. Porter was reportedly earning around $400,000. With the Raptors, he has averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games. He missed the past two games for personal reasons, according to the team.
Family ties
Porter’s basketball career started in his hometown of Columbia, Mo., according to his NBA profile. He played at Father Tolton Catholic High School, where older brother Michael Porter Jr. was also a star. The brothers would later transfer to Nathan Hale in Seattle after dad Michael Porter Sr. got hired as an assistant coach at the University of Washington. The younger Porter flourished at Nathan Hale under the coaching guidance of former NBA all-star Brandon Roy. He averaged a double-double, 14.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, and the team went on a 29-0 run to capture the Washington Class 3A state championship.
In 2017, Porter again followed his brother and father, this time to the University of Missouri. After a successful season that included a trip to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Porter briefly considered declaring for that year’s NBA draft along with his brother, but ultimately returned to Missouri for another season. Michael Porter Jr. was selected 14th by the Denver Nuggets and played a role in last season’s NBA championship team.
Injury setback
In a scrimmage against Southern Illinois, Porter tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee and missed an entire season at Missouri. Confident in his talents, he still declared for the NBA draft. But unlike his brother, who was drafted in the first round after missing time with a back injury, the younger Porter went undrafted.
About nine months later, Porter signed his first NBA contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. While he did not play in his first season, still recovering from the knee injury, Memphis resigned him to a multi-year contract the following November. But the Grizzlies would waive Porter the following summer, after he appeared in 11 games. He went on to play in the G League.
Social media
On his X account, which has 16,400 followers, Porter tweets mostly about basketball, but has also reposted a number of tweets from The Financial Cloud, a site that claims it “pursues financial freedom through trading.”