In recent times, though Bobby Portis has garnered a reputation as the Milwaukee Bucks' unheralded hero, who consistently rises to the occasion with inspirational play on both ends of the court, his NBA career did not commence on the most positive note.
In 2017, 'Bobby Buckets' viciously assaulted his teammate Nikola Mirotic to such a vicious degree that the latter suffered two broken bones in his face. However, the interesting part was that the Chicago Bulls organization blamed the Montenegrin player more than Portis.
Why was he blamed by the Bulls organization?
Even before the 2017-18 season began, the atmosphere within the Bulls organization was notably demoralizing, evidenced by two of their players constantly locking horns in team scrimmages.
Ultimately, the situation escalated on October 17, when 'Threekola' repeatedly confronted Portis and charged at him. Despite initial attempts to maintain his composure, Portis ultimately succumbed to his emotions, striking Nikola in the face. The assault resulted in the latter suffering a couple of broken bones and a concussion.
Although the Bulls suspended Bobby for 8 games for that incident, they paradoxically attributed greater responsibility to Mirotic than the 2021 NBA Champion.
"There continues to be a lingering sense that Mirotic came into training camp with a feeling of entitlement, and that was not sitting well with many of his younger teammates," a 2017 Chicago Sun-Times report stated . "Mirotic and Portis had some history, so when Mirotic made an aggressive move toward him, Portis, 22, obviously had enough."
Related: "He can call me 2-3, or Bron, or GOAT if he wants to"- LeBron James says Bronny can't call him "dad" in the workplace
Did the Bulls players support Portis or Mirotic?
Although no one publicly defended Portis' actions and agreed they were wrong, the narrative behind the scenes differed. Bulls players believed that BP had put in significant work over the summer and was arguably the better teammate.
This possibly explains why, when Mirotic issued an ultimatum to the franchise to avoid working with Portis at any cost, the Bulls promptly traded Mirotic to the New Orleans Pelicans three months later while retaining Portis until the 2018-19 season.
It's safe to say that though at that time, Portis might have come across as the villain and a less-than-appropriate teammate, his hard work paid off big time. While he ended up becoming an integral part of the Bucks franchise, Mirotic, on the other hand, ended up out of the NBA by the 2018-19 season—a career that lasted for only five seasons in the NBA.
Related: "I hope he just doesn't go to the Celtics" - Bobby Portis on what his thoughts were when the Bucks traded Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard
Local Chicago, IL
Most Popular
Comments / 0