Bobby Portis: “No one wants to talk to a loser” | NBA

After years of struggling in bottom teams, Bobby Portis caught the winning virus. This is how we could summarize his choice to stay in Milwaukee during the “free agency”, during the offseason.

A choice that may have surprised you given the amounts he could have claimed elsewhere, to finally commit to a two-year contract at just over 4 million per season, with a “player option” for 2022/23. ” It was hard. That’s a lot of money. I’m 26 and I’m not getting any younger. From a business point of view, it is difficult,” he also admitted. “In my place, others would probably have left. But as far as I’m concerned, I’ve never felt anything like this before, you know? “.

The thrill of victory

The fact of finding himself in a winning franchise therefore made him think twice, he who shone in teams of “losers”. Even with the big checks from his next contract, there was no guarantee he would end up in that same environment, where nothing is more important than winning. Bobby Portis thus tasted the intoxication of a title, which had more value than all the dollars in the world.

“No one wants to talk to a loser”he slipped with a smile, in particular in reference to the opportunities related to the sponsors. “When I was with the Bulls, nobody wanted to talk to us when we were losing. Nobody wants to talk to you. It’s like that. If I had won in Chicago like we are winning now, we would have all the contracts, we would have everything we want. When you win, everything around you becomes better. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much success in Chicago and New York. The teams I’ve played on haven’t been successful, so I haven’t really had the chance to have that big, big-market franchise, off-the-pitch experience. Here, it really doesn’t matter being a small market team because we have a great basketball team, and we won a title. When you do things like that, it brings you so much off the pitch.”

Beyond the love of the fans and the exhilaration of victory, his role in Milwaukee is also rewarding. By re-engaging with the Bucks, he knew what to expect in terms of input and confidence from the staff.

The perfect role in the best of castings

Among the points that also made Bobby Portis think twice, there is finally the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, with whom he has a special relationship. It was indeed the “Greek Freak” who called him during the summer of 2020 to offer him to come. At the time, Bobby Portis then split a promise to which he held: ” Giannis, I will take less money to join you and we will win the title this year. “.

The two players have had a special relationship ever since, and Giannis Antetokounmpo never missed an opportunity to put his contribution on the ground forward.

“I knew exactly what he was going to bring to the Bucks. What he did on Game 6 speaks for itself (16 points at 6/10 shooting, 3 rebounds in 23 minutes), It’s that simple. He wasn’t afraid of the moment, of taking his shots, of bringing energy. He wasn’t afraid to go out there and fight.”recalled the Bucks’ “go-to-guy”.

This is how Bobby Portis flourished in the role of soldier of the Greek, developing this desire to continue to go to war for him and to be inspired by his daily investment.

“Being around Giannis really pushes me, really makes me give my best. When I see how hard he works, see how much he sacrifices for the game and see how much he puts in it. Not only in basketball, but also off the court, by the way he is involved in his physique and in training. That’s all. I watch it too. As he looks at me, I look at him too”he concluded.