What medication did Bobby Portis take that cost him a 25 game suspension?

The NBA handed Bobby Portis a 25 game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, according to a league announcement made on Thursday morning.

Toradol, OK. Tramadol, not so much

ESPN insider Shams Charania confirmed Portis will have to sit out for almost the entire rest of the regular season after he tested positive for Tramadol. Tramadol, which was recently banned drug by the NBA, is used to was treat severe pain. According to Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, this was an unintentional mistake made by his client who confused medications.

“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. Tramadol, however, is not an approved pain medication and was just recently added to the banned substance list this past summer. The Tramadol pill he took came from an assistant of his, with a valid prescription for the painkiller, which he mistakenly told Bobby was Toradol. This was, again, an honest mistake that was made because of the similarity in the names of the drugs and the fact they both serve a very similar purpose. Bobby was using this anti-inflammatory pain-reducing medication to deal with an elbow injury he had this past fall and believed he was taking Toradol to alleviate some pain in preparation for that night’s game.”

Portis to miss most of final stretch of season

The Bucks are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. With a record of 29-24, they are fifth in the East with 29 games to go. They are a long way from the top of the Cavs who lead the conference, but are just a gain away from 4th place. On the other hand, they are only 3.5 games above the Orlando Magic who are in 7th place and would be in the Play-In if the season ended today.

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Portis is having another strong season off the bench for the Bucks, and is in the running for Sixth Man of the Year averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. The Bucks won’t get their top bench player until April 8th when Portis will be reinstated by the league.

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