Bucks' Portis banned 25 games for violating NBA anti-drug policy

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. has been suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy, the league said Thursday.

In a statement, the NBA said Portis tested positive for tramadol, a prescription pain medication that his representative told ESPN the player took by mistake.

"I am devastated for Bobby right now because he made an honest mistake and the ramifications of it are incredibly significant," Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN.

"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," Bartelstein said.

Toradol is a brand name for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory ketorolac.

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The suspension means Portis, who helped the Bucks win the 2021 NBA championship, will miss most of the Bucks' remaining 29 regular-season games.

He will be eligible to return on April 8 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with four games left in the regular season.

The loss of Portis, a key reserve, is a blow to a Bucks team in fifth place in the East.

Portis, who has finished in the top three in voting for the Sixth Man of the Year award the past two seasons, is averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in 46 games this season.

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