Doc Rivers on Why Bucks Didn’t Appeal Portis’ 25-Game Suspension

Doc Rivers recently revealed why the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t appeal Bobby Portis’ drug suspension. Rivers, 63, has served as the Bucks’ head coach since 2024 and divulged the team’s decision to let Portis, 30, take his punishment as they won’t appeal the suspension. Read on for further details surrounding Rivers’ shocking comments to the general public.

Doc Rivers’ Revelation

The Bucks will be without Portis, one of their key players, for a large stretch of the 2024-25 NBA season. He was suspended for 25 games because he violated the NBA’s banned substance policy. His talents include giving the Bucks scoring and rebounding off the bench with the second unit. He is also a spot starter if needed.

Rivers recently told reporters the Bucks thought about appealing the Portis suspension, but the “danger of that was too great to take.” Rivers didn’t add further details, but he suggested that dragging this out would’ve potentially pushed the suspension into the postseason. The Bucks sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and shouldn’t need Portis to succeed in the playoffs.

Bobby Portis’ Drug Suspension

The Milwaukee Bucks suspended Portis for 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, the NBA announced on Thursday. The Bucks’ suspension will sideline him, a 2021 NBA champion, for most of the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA season. He tested positive for the drug tramadol, a medication used to treat severe pain in adults. His representative, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, said this was an accident.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news surrounding his suspension on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “Just In: The NBA has suspended Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis for 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, sources tell ESPN.” Charania’s post attracted plenty of attention, with one user recalling a Portis shot that’s arguably one of the most iconic in NBA history and another asking, “You don’t say?” 

Stats

Rules are rules, but Bucks head coach Doc Rivers told ESPN that Bobby’s positive test for tramadol happened “a long time ago.” Rivers said he believed that Bobby’s punishment shouldn’t be so severe, given the circumstances. Portis has averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.4% from downtown during the 2024-25 NBA season.

The NBA season has already been tough for Portis, who previously missed six games due to the death of his grandmother. His home was also burglarized by a string of break-ins of professional athletes’ homes. He has been playing in the NBA as a power forward since 2015. The Chicago Bulls selected him with the 22nd overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft out of Arkansas.