The stretch run of the 2024-25 regular season for the Milwaukee Bucks might have gotten more difficult in light of some recent news. On Thursday, it was announced that Bucks big man Bobby Portis has been suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
Allegedly, Portis accidentally took a pain medication called Tramadol for a shoulder injury thinking it was Toradol. Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, claims that his client will not appeal the suspension.
Portis was handed a suspension by the NBA just recently, yet he supposedly failed a drug test several months ago around Thanksgiving.
“A source told the Journal Sentinel that Portis failed the drug test around Thanksgiving, and coach Doc Rivers said on Thursday that the issue had been on his radar for a while,” Lori Nickel wrote.
The 30-year-old has been one of the premier bench players in the league for some time now, as he’s finished in the top three in the Sixth Man of the Year voting in each of the last two seasons. He was primed to contend for the award again this season prior to his suspension.
Across 46 games played so far in the 2024-25 campaign, he’s been his usual effective self as a scorer and rebounder. He’s averaging 13.7 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range as well as 8.3 rebounds per game.
Portis served the first game of his lengthy suspension when the Bucks took on the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 20.
Milwaukee managed to pick up a win sans Portis behind some balanced scoring throughout its starting lineup. Every member of the Bucks’ starting five scored 13 points or more, and star big man Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor.
The Bucks will seemingly have a prime chance to win their second game in a row without Portis. Milwaukee is set to take on the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Friday night, and the Wizards have the fewest wins of any team in the league this season with just nine.
Milwaukee is hoping to work its way up to a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference. The team sits as the No. 5 seed with a record of 30-24 and is just one game back of the Indiana Pacers for the No. 4 spot.
