Jontay Porter seeking bond modification to play in Greece after gambling scandal

Jontay Porter and his lawyer are asking a federal judge to modify the terms of his bond conditions to allow him to travel overseas to play basketball. 

The hooper pled guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this month related to the betting case that earned him a lifetime ban from the NBA and led to four other men facing federal charges. 

Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jenson, asked Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall on Tuesday to allow Porter to travel to Greece to play professional basketball for Promitheas Patras BC of the Greek Basketball League. 

As part of his release on a $250,000 bond after pleading guilty, Porter had to surrender his passport, which Jenson is now asking for him to get back as part of the modification. 

He also asked in the letter obtained by The Post that Porter be allowed to travel in Europe and that he also be allowed to reside in Patras Greece. 

The letter stated that the United States Attorney’s Office and the United States Pretrial Services Officer did not have any objections and that Porter would be accompanied by his wife while being under the close supervision of his Greek team, mother and mother-in-law. 

Jenson also wrote that Promitheas BC was aware of his need to travel back to New York for court obligations and would be “very accommodating to a proposed schedule of flexibility to meet any obligation.” 

Porter has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 18 and faces 41-51 months in prison based on sentencing guidelines, The Athletic reported. 

The former Raptors player was banned by the NBA in April, becoming the first active player or coach to be kicked out of The Association since Jack Molinas in 1954. 

An NBA investigation found that Porter had bet on Raptors games and manipulated his own performance in order to help others win prop bets that were placed on him. 

In a complaint brought against four other men by federal prosecutors last month, it was alleged that Porter owed large gambling debts and had agreed to pull himself early from games claiming to be injured. 

In one instance a man bet $80,000 on a Porter-related parlay and won $1.1 million. 

The entire incident has made it hard for Porter to find a job in basketball and his lawyer called the Promitheas BC opportunity a “fortunate” one. 

“The proposed modification would allow Mr. Porter to pursue a very fortunate – and quickly diminishing – opportunity to earn income through his primary skillset. Mr. Porter, and more importantly his agent, believe such an opportunity is unlikely to arise again,” Jenson wrote. “As you may know, Mr. Porter was recently banned from the National Basketball Association. Mr. Porter’s primary skillset and means of earning a living involve playing professional basketball. He left college early in 2020 to enter the NBA draft and has not yet finished earning credits towards his college degree. 

“Since being banned from the NBA there have been no other opportunities available to continue his basketball career. Mr. Porter has a limited window to earn an income through professional basketball during his prime earning years as a professional athlete.”

Porter played college basketball at Missouri and bounced around between the NBA and NBA G-League after going undrafted in 2020. 

He played in 26 games for the Raptors during the 2023-24 season before he was banned.