The Milwaukee Bucks have been dealt a big blow in their push for the NBA championship following news that Bobby Portis has been suspended 25 games for violating the league’s banned substance policy.
Currently fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, the Bucks are right in the mix for a top spot thanks in part to Portis’ contributions as a rotation player.
His play this season has made him a potential candidate for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, having finished as a finalist the past two seasons.
However news of Portis’ suspension will dent those hopes, as well as the hopes of the Bucks, and it appears it was all the result of some confusion over similarly sounding medications.
“Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called Tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol. Toradol is an approved pain medication that he has used previously and that teams and players use for pain and inflammation at times,” Portis’ agent Mark Bartelstein told Shams Charania.
“Tramadol, however, is not an approved pain medication and was just recently added to the banned substance list this past spring. The Tramadol pill he took came from an assistant of his, with a valid prescription for the painkiller, which he mistakenly told Bobby was Toradol. This was, again, an honest mistake that was made because of the similarity in the names of the drugs and the fact they both serve a very similar purpose.
“Bobby was using this anti-inflammatory pain-reducing medication to deal with an elbow injury he had this past fall and believed he was taking Toradol to alleviate some pain in preparation for that night’s game.
“Bobby is a great person, teammate and professional, and has a wonderful reputation in our league, his communities, and his team. There are no bigger fans of the NBA than Bobby and I, and we are grateful to have closely and collaboratively worked with the NBA on countless occasions.
“We support the league’s anti-drug policy and its purpose in having a fair, competitive, healthy landscape for our athletes as it relates to drugs of abuse, performance enhancing issues, etc. Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuser.”
What this means for Portis and the Bucks
Portis’ suspension begins on Thursday night when the Bucks play host to the Los Angeles Clippers.
He will be eligible to return to the court on April 8 when the Bucks take on the Minnesota Timberwolves during the final week of the regular season.
So far this season Portis has appeared in 46 games, averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
He was drafted 22nd overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2015 and has since played 10 seasons in the NBA. Portis joined the Bucks as a free agent in 2021 and was part of the title winning team later that year.
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