The NBA's latest measure to protect its integrity suggests it may already be compromised

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.

What’s up hoops fans. It’s your boy Prince here for Layup Lines. Thanks for tapping back in with us on this fine Wednesday.

Today starts our seven-day countdown until the NBA season tips off, and one thing that might be under a bigger microscope than in years past is sports betting. There’s no way to escape it after the big scandal that rocked the league last season.

If you remember, the NBA banned former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter in April after an investigation found he bet on NBA games, including his own. He also helped some co-conspirators with their bets on his games. Now, Porter awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.

Jontay Porter has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a case tied to a betting scandal from earlier this year and could face a little over four years in prison

Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA for violating the league’s gaming rules pic.twitter.com/K8wEOj9zHH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 10, 2024

That case only heightened fans’ sense of how close betting was to the game, an awareness that was growing even before Porter got caught thanks to the candid accounts of people like Tyrese Haliburton and J.B. Bickerstaff.

There was always a reality that eventually a player would slip up, just like players had in the NFL, MLB and college. Sports betting became easier to monitor once it was legalized, which meant people who otherwise might have gotten away with it were going to get caught. Odds are Porter won’t be the last.

That’s why commissioner Adam Silver hasn’t wavered on his support of legal sports betting, as he recently told the Associated Press when reflecting on his 2014 op-ed for the New York Times calling for an end to the federal ban.

“I’d say when it comes to sports betting, I certainly don’t regret writing that op-ed piece and being in favor of legalized sports betting,” Silver said. “I still think you can’t turn the clock back. I think, as I said at the time, with the advent of the internet, widely available sports betting online … that we had to deal directly with technology and recognize that if we don’t legalize sports betting, people are going to find ways to do it illegally.”

He’s right. People didn’t just start betting when it was legal to do so. However, that reality doesn’t change the perception that legal betting has damaged the league’s integrity. And the NBA’s latest reported measure to get ahead of that narrative doesn’t help the perception either.

SNY sources: NBA, NBPA worked together to revise policy on cell phone/social media use, prohibit players/coaches from using phone from tipoff to end of game. Intention is primarily to keep their focus on game and, secondarily, for integrity of game. More: https://t.co/8bxUkOWsb0

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 14, 2024

The league is expected to communicate to teams an updated policy that prohibits cell phone and social media use from tipoff until the end of games, SNY reported Monday. The rule is primarily intended to keep players and coaches focused on team matters, according to the report. But it’s also supposed to bolster the integrity of the game as it relates to gambling.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, though. Gambling is not a secondary concern as it relates to this rule. It’s the only concern. The league didn’t just come up with a random policy to restrict the cell phone use of grown men because they’re too distracted to play basketball. It’s more likely this was a reaction to something that was becoming, or already is, an actual problem.

The problem? Players know the lines. They know the game lines, and more specifically, they know their prop lines. It’s hard to avoid. Sports bettors are constantly in their mentions and direct messages with gripes, bribes and threats, letting them know. A recent NCAA study found just how much athletes hear from angry sports bettors on social media. Sometimes players hear it from bettors right there in the area. Jayson Tatum said in March he feels bad when he doesn’t help people’s parlays win.

I can’t say for sure how much that noise impacts how players approach the game. But let’s be completely clear. If someone chases even an extra point or rebound to make a bettor happy, that’s an integrity problem.

By my read, this revised policy is the NBA’s attempt at turning down some of that noise for players. The NBPA’s reported involvement tells me the players probably wanted it. Even if this policy is just a Band-Aid on cut that requires stitches, the attempt is not a bad thing.

The inevitability of legal sports betting struck, and the NBA is taking measures to adjust and protect its integrity. This won’t be the last measure we see a league take in what should be a constant evolution.

One to Watch

WNBA Finals Game 3 (odds via BetMGM)

New York Liberty (-3.5; -175) at Minnesota Lynx (+145) (O/U 160.5)

The WNBA Finals shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 tonight, and this is a big deal because the finals haven’t been in Minnesota since 2017.

That’s seven whole years since the last time these fans have seen their team on this stage, which may not sound like a long time to some of the more strained fanbases among us, but it is for a proud group that won four championships and reached six finals in the seven years before this recent stretch.

When we talk about the Lynx, we’re talking about basketball royalty. They can break a tie for the most titles in WNBA history if they’re able to win these next two games at home. But it won’t be easy. They’re 3.5-point underdogs to the New York Liberty Tuesday night.

I’m not sure if Minnesota will win, but I do think they’ll respond to what should be a great crowd at the Target Center to start. So my favorite pick from this game is Minnesota against the +1.5 first-quarter line.

Shootaround

— 15 photos of the new Intuit Dome from the Clippers’ home preseason debut

— The 76ers doubling down on oft-injured stars is backfiring already

— Jamal Murray’s knee issue is a bad omen for the Nuggets’ title window

— Bronny James was back in action against the Warriors Tuesday night

That’s all for today’s newsletter. Enjoy the WNBA Finals and more preseason action tonight.