Bobby Portis will sign a three-year, $44 million contract to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sunday.
Portis, 30, previously had a $13.4 million player option for the upcoming season that he declined. He was eligible for free agency. His new contract has a player option for the 2027-28 season, according to the report.
Portis joined the Bucks prior to the 2020-21 season and has been a valuable contributor since, including during their run to the 2021 NBA championship. Portis has 99 starts in his five seasons with the Bucks, but has primarily been utilized as Milwaukee’s sixth man.
Bobby Portis has been one of the league’s best sixth men since joining the Bucks. (Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
(Steven Ryan via Getty Images)
Portis was limited to 49 games in 2024-25 primarily due to a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program. Portis’ agent contended that Portis thought he was taking approved pain medication Toradol, but instead took Tramadol, which is banned by the league.
Portis returned before the end of the season and for the playoffs. He averaged 13.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 46.6% from the floor and 36.5% from 3 as Milwaukee’s top scorer and rebounder off the bench. He was second on the team in rebounds only to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Portis rejoins the Bucks amid an offseason of uncertainty. All-Star guard Damian Lillard suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the playoffs that’s expected to sideline him for most, if not all of the 2025-26 season.
Lillard’s injury has further diminished Milwaukee’s hopes of contending next season and raised questions about Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo has been the subject of trade rumors, but remains on the Bucks in the aftermath of the NBA Draft on the eve of the start of free agency negotiations around the league.
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