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Bobby Portis Jr. has been suspended for 25 games by the NBA for taking a banned substance.

Portis has appeared in 46 games with the Milwaukee Bucks this season and is averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.2 minutes.

The Bucks currently have a 29-24 record and have 29 games remaining in the regular season.

Mark Bartelstein, agent for Portis, released the following statement to ESPN:

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

“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 spring. 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.

“Bobby is a great person, teammate and professional, and has a wonderful reputation in our league, his communities, and his team. There are no bigger fans of the NBA than Bobby and I, and we are grateful to have closely and collaboratively worked with the NBA on countless occasions. We support the league’s anti-drug policy and its purpose in having a fair, competitive, healthy landscape for our athletes as it relates to drugs of abuse, performance enhancing issues, etc. Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuser. Bobby works tirelessly on increasing his performance in all natural, legal, healthy ways, but he made a mistake and took a pill that unknowingly he should not have. Today, in this instance, I am so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the policy does not allow for a different result for an honest mistake with pure intentions.

“Bobby loves being a part of the NBA and he loves being a role model and a true ambassador for the Bucks and the city of Milwaukee. This has been incredibly difficult for him, but he will accept this penalty with grace and turn this into a great opportunity to improve and further build his reputation and performance in every way, both on and off the court.”

The Sacramento Kings are going to start their postseason run without one of their best players. Sixth Man of the Year contender Malik Monk will miss four-to-six weeks due to a sprained right MCL.

Monk was injured early in the Kings loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The veteran guard left in the first quarter and didn’t return. The Kings also lost guard Kevin Huerter to season-ending shoulder surgery earlier this week.

This season, Monk has averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists in 72 games off the Sacramento bench. That production has Monk as one of the leaders to win Sixth Man of the Year.

The Kings have nine games remaining in the season. The Play-In Tournament starts in just over two weeks. As of Saturday, Sacramento is the 8th seed in the Western Conference. The NBA Playoffs start in three weeks. That means Monk likely needs the Kings to advance past the first round before he’d be able to return.