Nowadays, the NBA and other leagues act as if they are very serious about enforcing bans on certain supplements and medicines. They will levy a suspension on someone who purposely or inadvertently used a substance not protected under league rules. So that requires players knowing what is in everything they put in their bodies. Bobby Portis learned the hard way.
Bobby Portis Suspended 25 Games For Violation Of NBA Drug Policy
On Thursday morning, the NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. for 25 games after he tested positive for Tramadol. On Thursday night, Bucks coach Doc Rivers defended Portis before the team’s 116-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I want to make something clear: Bobby’s not a drug user,” Rivers said. “I hate that it just says that you flunked the drug policy. And so when people read that, the first place they go is the wrong place. This is as big a mistake as can be made, like, it’s a mistake. And, so it bothers me on a lot of levels. Rules are rules, I get it, I get it — but there are also human circumstances and common sense to me.
Portis thought he was using a pain medication known as ‘Toradol’. This mix up mean he will have to sit at home for a vital stretch in the team’s season even if the NBA believes Portis’ story, they won’t make any exceptions as curbing the use of performance enhancers is a priority for the league, under any circumstances, to avoid other players taking certain illegal substances and then using the excuse that they inadvertently had their medicines mixed up.
Every drug suspension isn’t because the athlete tried to deceive the league or even gain an edge. Some can be honest mistakes.
Shaq Tested Positive For Cocaine During 1996 Olympics
Shaquille O’Neal and the Inside the NBA crew were discussing how players can get caught out there without nefarious intentions.
When the crew of Inside the NBA were discussing this, the four-time champion revealed a story which he says he’s never shared. Shaq has more stories than the Brothers Grimm, and for all the shocking stories he has told, this recent one has since gone viral because it could have changed the course of Shaq’s career.
His $500M net worth could be significantly less. One thing the Top 75 all-time force has never been accused of is cheating or being a drug user.
“Olympics, ’96 Atlanta. They told us not to eat before we take the drug test. I see them poppy seed muffins, I (ate them). Horace Balmer come into the room, he said, ‘Man, I’m disappointed.’ I had tested positive for cocaine,” Shaq said.
Shaq Diesel escaped the drama, only after authorities did their research did they realize that the poppy seed muffins he ate had some derivatives that matched with cocaine, he claims. (Trace amounts of opium, not cocaine, would be found in poppy seeds.) O’Neal was more worried about the reactions of his stepfather Phil and mother, who he said would ‘kill’ him if they found out he tested positive for that Christina Aguilera.
For these reasons, Shaquille O’Neal wants the NBA to provide more clarity on banned substances. It’s often difficult for players who keep up with all of the banned substances, as new ones with similar names continue to hit the market. Charles Barkley wasn’t really feeling that excuse. Barkley, also a Top 75 player all-time, believes that a player must run all medicine he puts in his body past the team doctor. Once a player has ingested the substance into their body it becomes their responsibility.
However, O’Neal offered his thoughts on where the NBA is failing players in this regard, after revealing his near-catastrophic 1996 Olympics story.
“That’s the only problem I have with the NBA,” Shaq said. “They tell you not to take this, this and that. But something that’s not on the list can be a derivative of something that you’re not supposed to take, and you could mess up that way.
If any derivatives of one banned substance are available in another, that second one can lead to the test report flagging the player as having used the banned substance. Under those circumstances Shaq doesn’t believe that should be the players’ fault.
Diesel wants the NBA to introduce more clarity to the process. Portis is known as a high-character $48 million championship player around the league. There has to be a better way to differentiate a player who made a mistake versus one who is trying to cheat the system.
Prior To Bobby Portis, 35 NBA Players Had Been Suspended For Drugs and Performance Enhancing Drugs
According to the league’s guidelines, an NBA player may be suspended (officially “dismissed and disqualified”) from the league when a player tests positive for a drug of abuse or if that player is convicted of or pleads guilty to the use, possession or distribution of a drug of abuse. When a player is suspended under the program, they have to ensure that they live up to procedural guidelines set forth by the program, and if they don’t they can be permanently banned.
Since the crazy 1980s there’s been dozens of players that have violated NBA drug policy and suffered consequences. Some of the more notable names include Micheal Ray Richardson, Roy Tarpley and more recently Tyreke Evans, O.J. Mayo, Chris Andersen and Richard Dumas.
Between 2013-2018, 16 players were suspended for various drug infractions
As of 2024, according to reports, 35 NBA players had been suspended for drugs and performance enhancing drugs. Portis is the first in 2025. Since 2017, marijuana and cocaine suspensions have become less of a problem.
Only two of the last eight suspensions have been revealed to involve what would be considered “hard drugs” in the past, according to NBA drug policy. Tyreke Evans’ two-year ban and Dion Waiters’ 10 game suspension for THC in 2019. Since Malik Monk’s suspension for an unknown substance in 2020, Portis’ suspension is only the second one. Cleveland Cavs veteran Tristan Thompson was suspended in 2024 for 25 games for using ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033.
When you think of the NBA, you rarely think of performance enhancers, and marijuana use is not something that is regulated by the league anymore. It doesn’t happen often, but Portis’ sticky situation and Shaq’s supposed near disastrous positive cocaine test in 1996 are examples of how putting the wrong substances in your body can potentially destroy your athletic career and reputation.
