Bucks' Bobby Portis Out 25 Games For Substance Violation, Which He Said Was An Accident

It's been quite a week for Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis.

On Tuesday, Chilean immigrants believed to be connected to a January break-in at his home were charged for their involvement in a series of robberies.

READ: Milwaukee Bucks Player Has Home Broken Into While Playing Saturday Night

Then, on Thursday, the NBA issued Portis a 25-game suspension for violating the league's drug abuse guidelines, though the veteran player's agent claimed the violation was accidental.

Portis is averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for Milwaukee this season. He will return to action for the Bucks during the final stretch of the NBA regular season, with 29 games remaining.

Portis' agent addressed the suspension, stating that the player never intended to take the banned substance, Tramadol. He explained that Portis' assistant actually mistook the banned substance for Toradol, a painkiller permitted under league standards.

"Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called Tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol," said Mark Bartelstein, Bobby Portis' agent. 

"Toradol is an approved pain medication that he has used previously and that teams and players use for pain and inflammation at times.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 10: Bobby Portis #9 of the Milwaukee Bucks walks to the bench during a game against the Golden State Warriors at Fiserv Forum on February 10, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

"Tramadol, however, is not an approved pain medication and was just recently added to the banned substance list this past spring.

"Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuser," Bartelstein continued. "Bobby works tirelessly on increasing his performance in all natural, legal, healthy ways, but he made a mistake and took a pill that unknowingly he should not have.

"Today, in this instance, 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."

The Bucks will host the LA Clippers for a home game at FiservForum on Thursday, marking Portis' first game while under suspension.

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