Bucks’ Bobby Portis suspended 25 games for violating anti-drug policy

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Bobby Portis for the foreseeable future.

The forward has been suspended 25 games by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, the league announced on Thursday.

Portis appeared in 46 games for the Bucks this season and averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists during that span.

According to the NBA’s statement, the 30-year-old tested positive for Tramadol, a pain medication that is not approved by the league. It was added to the NBA’s banned substance list last spring.

Portis’ agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports spoke on the matter, telling ESPN that “Bobby unintentionally took Tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol.”

The latter is a pain and inflammatory relief medication that is approved by the NBA.

Bartelstein added that Portis was given the Tramadol pill from an assistant who mistakenly told him it was Toradol, describing the whole incident as “an honest mistake.”

“Bobby is a great person, teammate and professional, and has a wonderful reputation in our league, his communities, and his team.”

Portis’ suspension begins on Thursday night when the Bucks host the Los Angeles Clippers. He’ll be eligible to return against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Apr. 8, during Milwaukee’s final week of regular season action.

He was originally drafted 22nd overall in 2015 by the Chicago Bulls and has since played 10 seasons in the NBA. Portis signed with the Bucks as a free agent in 2021 and has since re-signed with the team on a multi-year deal. Through give years with Milwaukee, he’s been a Sixth Man of the Year finalist twice and was a member of its title-winning team in 2021.

“Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuser” Bartelstein added. “I am so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the policy does not allow for a different result for an honest mistake with pure intentions … this has been incredibly difficult for him, but he will accept this penalty with grace.”