ANALYZER: The Jontay Porter gambling controversy involving the Raptors for Dummies

If you’ve avoided the realm of sports betting and the incessant barrage of news and information about wagering directed at you, you may be wondering for what specific offense Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter is under investigation.

Porter was not included in the Raptors lineup on Monday as a result of rumors that the NBA was investigating anomalies in prop bets involving the 24-year-old star.

Prop bets, also known as proposition wagers, are wagers that are not dependent on the score or result of the game. They might be focused on a team, an individual, a coin flip, or even the playing of the national anthem.

An example of a team prop bet would be: Which team will score 30 points first? One such prop bet per player might be: Will player X score 15.5 points or less?

The league is allegedly looking into specific prop bets related to Porter’s performance.

For these reasons, it likely caught the eye of the NBA when prop bets on a fairly anonymous player reportedly started to spike in recent months.

ESPN reports that the games in question all took place between Jan. 26 and March 20.

In a Jan. 26 game versus the L.A. Clippers, one prop bet on Porter was: Will he make more or less than 0.5 three-pointers. That night, Porter left the game after playing just four minutes, aggravating an eye injury suffered earlier in the week. He didn’t attempt a three-point shot.

These factors perhaps drew the NBA’s attention when prop bets on a player who is largely unknown seemed to be increasing in recent months.

According to ESPN, all of the aforementioned games happened between January 26 and March 20.

One prop wager on Porter in a Jan. 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers was: Will he make more or less than 0.5 three-pointers? Porter’s four-minute stint in the game that evening contributed to the aggravation of an eye injury he had earlier in the week. He refrained from attempting a three-pointer.

The next day, wagers on Porter making fewer than 0.5 three-pointers were the greatest moneymakers for gamblers, according to DraftKings Sportsbook’s daily press release.

Porter just played three minutes in a game against the Sacramento Kings last week before leaving due to sickness. The next day, under wagers on Porter were once again the highest wagering earner for bettors, according to DraftKings’ statistics.

Porter is not playing as of yet, no evidence has been established, and the league is allegedly looking into the matter.

For those of you who do not know, the NBA is investigating a Toronto Raptors bench player for this reason.