Shaquille O’Neal and Adam Lefkoe spoke about a multitude of different topics on the latest episode of The Big Podcast. Illegal betting was one of the topics discussed in-depth by the hosts. Speaking about the sin, Shaquille O’Neal revealed how he’d react if he found out that his teammate was involved in illegal betting. Additionally, the Big Aristotle also gave a suitable punishment for Jontay Porter.
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Answering Adam Lefkoe, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t hesitate before claiming that he would punch a teammate in the face if found out illegal betting was involved. Understandably, the outcome of the game changes, and the league shifts its focus to deeply examine every move that the other players make.
“I’ll have to punch him in his face. There is gonna be no conversation. I’m gonna give one wack ‘you just messed up your money, you messed up your family’s money, and now you got people looking at us’,” Shaq said.
The illegal betting conversations began in the NBA because of Jontay Porter who was accused of the same. On numerous occasions, Porter has allegedly performed badly on purpose, in order to win the “under” bets on his stats. If found guilty, O’Neal believes that the Toronto Raptors player will not only have to forfeit his entire salary but will also have to pay the amount he has reportedly won through betting. If the total amount is not paid within 30 days, Shaq will ban the player from all professional leagues in the world.
“He’d have to give his whole salary back and he got 30 days. So you get 30 days to pay the four-fifty that you’re making… plus whatever the person made two-fifty. You gotta pay me six-fifty, you got 30 days. You don’t get that done, you’re banned from all leagues,” Shaq stated.
Unlike what Shaq claimed, Jontay isn’t earning $450,000 this season. The 6ft 11” forward is getting paid $411,000. If the $250,000 amount stated by Shaq is accurate, according to the latter’s terms, Porter would have to forfeit a whopping total of $661,000.
While $661,000 is a huge amount, Porter would rather pay his fine than be banned for life from different professional basketball leagues.
Like Shaquille O’Neal, Adam Silver called betting a “sin”
During the last week of March, the news of Jontay Porter possibly being involved in illegal sports betting went viral. According to ESPN, for the 26th January clash between the Raptors and the Clippers, Porter’s “over/under” props were 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 three-pointers. In that game, quite strangely, Porter only played for four minutes and recorded 0 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.
A similar incident also occurred on 20th March during the Raptors-Kings matchup. The 24-year-old recorded all stats below the “over/under” props given by sportsbooks.
As soon as the incident was shed light upon, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the same. Promising to take the allegation seriously, Silver revealed that a lifetime ban would not be ruled out if the accused is found guilty.
“It’s cardinal sin what he’s accused of in the NBA and the ultimate extreme option I have is to ban him from the game,” Silver said in a press conference. “That’s the level of authority I have here because there’s nothing more serious around this league when it comes to gambling and betting on our games – and that is a direct player involvement. And so the investigation is ongoing, but the consequences could be very severe.”
Speaking in defense of his brother, Michael Porter Jr revealed that illegal betting is not something that his brother would indulge in. While acknowledging that gambling is a vice that can ruin people’s lives, the Denver Nuggets forward spoke about his brother’s character.
“I’ve known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is and I know he’s excited to play basketball and I highly doubt he would do anything to put that in jeopardy,” Michael Porter Jr. insisted.
It’s been almost three weeks since the allegations and Jontay Porter hasn’t been allowed to play yet. With the proof in hand, and new evidence unveiling regularly, it seems as though Porter has already played his last NBA game in all probabilities.
