Larry Nance was very quick to clarify that he was not implying any kind of illegal activity after a harmless betting quip during his press conference after the New Orleans Pelicans won their NBA Play-In Tournament game on Friday night. Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban made his career flash before his eyes!
The entire exchange could not have been funnier.
Porter, an undrafted free agent who spent time with the Grizzlies and Raptors while bouncing back and forth between the G-League, was recently kicked out of the league after a deep-rooted gambling scandal was discovered earlier this year. He once bet on his own team to lose and often placed individual bets on his own stats.
That, of course, is illegal. Porter could face criminal charges.
As a result, Nance was overly careful with his postgame comments!
Larry Nance: Respectfully, I'm bettin on the Pels. I'm not BETTING, no Jontay Porter. I'm not BETTING. I'm not betting on anything. I don't own a betting app, none of that. pic.twitter.com/0HgTbyXOHr
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) April 20, 2024
New Orleans defeated Sacramento during the final round of the Play-In Tournament to earn its spot in the First Round of the actual 16-team NBA Playoffs. Nance took the podium after the win and proudly threw his support behind his own team for their upcoming series against the Thunder.
However, his wording was accidentally hazardous.
He said that he is “betting on the Pels.” Considering all of the ongoings with Porter, that could have been better worded. Nance quickly realized his mistake and clarified that it was a hypothetical statement.
The 31-year-old hilariously backtracked to explain that he is not actually betting on the game and does not even have an account that would allow him to wager. His moment of realization caused his eyes to bug out and sparked laughter amongst everybody in the room.
Nance is confident that New Orleans will get it done against Oklahoma City. However, he would prefer to avoid a lifetime ban and won’t literally bet on it!