Bucks' Bobby Portis Suspended 25 Games for Violating NBA Policy

Milwaukee Bucks star forward Bobby Portis has been suspended 25 games for violating an NBA policy.

Feb 10, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) stands during the National Anthem before game against the Golden State Warriors at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis has been hit with a massive suspension. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Portis has been suspended a staggering 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy.

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Just In: The NBA has suspended Milwaukee Bucks' Bobby Portis for 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/FeSDo4jb0k

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025

Portis being suspended for this many games means he is all but going to miss the rest of the regular season.

Portis' agent has responded to the violation and provided a bit of details about what led to the player's massive suspension.

Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports to ESPN on client Bobby Portis' 25-game suspension, detailing what took place: https://t.co/sB9vmPVYxA pic.twitter.com/tVvbotBJlt

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025

According to a release from Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, "Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called Tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol."

Apparently, Portis accidentally took the wrong pain medication, which led to the suspension. It will be interesting to see if the NBA will investigate further to allow the forward to seek a much smaller suspension. He may also attempt an appeal due to the suspension details.

Either way, Portis will not take the court until the near-end of the regular season.

Through the regular season, Portis is currently averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Losing him at this juncture is going to be hard to deal with.

The Bucks are currently 29-24 and are looking to maintain the top six spots to avoid having to face the play-in tournament for the playoffs. There have been plenty of ups and downs related to the Bucks' season thus far, and losing Portis is certainly going to make things far more challenging.

More details have also come out about the suspension, which is set to cost the team millions of dollars. According to more details from Bobby Marks, the team will lose $2.85 million through the 25 games, which boils down to $114,348 per game.

Roster/financial implications in Milwaukee

The 25 game suspension for Bobby Portis will cost:

Total: $2.85M

Per game: $114,348

Roster

Milwaukee can sign a replacement starting with the 6th game of the suspension.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 20, 2025

The Bucks also cannot sign a replacement until the sixth game of the suspension. This will also put the team in a questionable place until they can bring in reinforcements.

For now, the Bucks will have to incur the money lost on the suspension until the NBA potentially lessens the total number of missed games. This might still be investigated and there could be a chance for an appeal, especially if Portis is not a repeat defender.

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