Bobby Portis
Milwaukee Bucks

Player Facts

Height: 6'10"
Weight: 226lbs.

Wingspan: 7'2"

Date of Birth: Feb. 10, 1995
College Experience: Arkansas (2 years)

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 7
Physical Strength: 9
Positional Size: 8
Positional Wingspan: 8
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 6
Three-Point Scoring: 8
Dribbling: 5
Passing: 2
Perimeter Defense: 5
Interior Defense: 7
Rebounding: 9

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JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Sinking Threes

> North-South Element

> Face-Ups + Rim Running

> Offensive Rebounding Rate

> Defensive Help & D-Rebounding

> Scoring Weaknesses

> Defensive Downfalls

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of NF & ZH Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

The Arkansas product is a high-intensity step-out big who can play the four or the five. Portis has solid size, strength, and length in the frontcourt. While his offense may outweigh his defense, he's not a black hole on that end either. His plus-wingspan of 7'2" is a value-add on both sides.

Bobby Portis unsigned photograph from 2022 NBA Championship.
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Sinking Threes

The 6'10" stretch big has versatile offensive value while bringing a toughness factor. He offers roll gravity and a strong cutting presence yet can pop out behind the arc. Portis also provides firm ball screens at 250-pounds.

From 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, he's hit a minimum of 35% of his spot-up threes for a season. 2021-2022 saw him rise to a flat 39% on his catch-and-shoot treys.

Playing in Milwaukee in a more refined role has seen his downtown clips rise even higher. Portis benefits from the attention that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday command in the form of open 3pt looks.

Portis can also be placed in a corner or at the top in an away-from-the-play capacity (or simply as the trail man). The viability of this option is what permits coaches to play him beside a center. All told, he sunk more catch-and-shoot treys than guys like Stephen Curry, Seth Curry, and Karl-Anthony Towns (2021-2022).

North-South Element

His dives can conclude with above-the-rim finishes. Bobby's got some explosiveness/vertical pop in him, positionally above-average in this regard. The tenacious Portis finishes with force as a roll man. His 149 roller points eclipsed the totals of Mitchell Robinson and Al Horford (2021-2022).

Alternatively, he can short roll for you with a little push shot or the correct next read. In fact, his passing can be serviceable enough for what he's asked to do – Bobby regularly posts low turnover rates.

After a few sub-60% at-the-rim years at the beginning of his career, Bobby has become more accurate. A big part of this has been a shot-selection improvement. His rim runs have become more under control and he now takes a beat more to gather himself and go up on-balance.

2021-2022 had him at a 62% efficiency inside the charge circle. Bobby Portis has also continued to tighten up his accuracy on all other paint shots. Another way he scores is by bullying smaller bodies down low.

Face-Ups + Rim Running

An additional wrinkle to his on-ball offense is a tidy face-up game. He's skilled in the triple threat position and can bang jumpers right off the jab. Otherwise, Portis can rip through and get middle against slower bigs.

BP also loves to hit his man with the inside pivot to create some space. If a cushion is granted, he'll pull the midrange jumper – Bobby shot a respectable 44.5% on two-point jump shots in 2021-2022. Alternatively, a defender looking to rapidly close the space will be attacked by the relatively fleet-of-foot big man.

Bobby runs the floor well. He plays hard constantly and beating his man down is one tangible example of his high-energy style. His hands are soft enough to catch passes in traffic both on the break or in the half-court.

Offensive Rebounding Rate

While putbacks are not a hugely impactful part of his game, his O-REB rates are formidable. His 7'2" wingspan helps but he does a lot of his work jockeying for position on the ground. Bobby typically pulls down around 3 offensive boards per-36 minutes and follows up his own misses especially doggedly.

Defensive Help & D-Rebounding

His positional defense can be solid when remaining disciplined. His measurables stack up well and he's not an easy man to move with bumps/nudges. Portis is at his best when going vertical with that 7'2" wingspan.

He can be set in a drop, blitz the pick-and-roll, or even capably switch out onto wings. Guards are a different story, but the larger wings like a Jerami Grant or Tobias Harris can be contained.

Portis has room to improve as a team defender. However, some positives can be gleaned from watching him in action. For one, he can hold back from going for a block, thereby preserving his foul count.

The most bountiful source of defensive value for the former Razorback is found on the glass. His 8.5 D-boards per-36 outpaced Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac. His squad also benefits from the fact that he can dribble up-court for you afterward.

WEAKNESSES

Scoring Weaknesses

Bobby takes his fair share of jumpers, but the wise thing to do is ensure they are threes rather than deep two's. Fortunately, Portis has grown more vigilant and discretionary with the location of his jump shots.

Bobby can score against mismatches on the low block, he's just not a big-time post threat. His moves can be a bit clunky, and his team is wise to restrict his post touches to whenever he has a small on him.

2019-2020 had him in just the 26th percentile for post-scoring efficiency. As a sidebar, his creating-for-others game is not great, however this is not really within his assigned role.

Defensive Downfalls

Defensively, he barely makes a dent in the steals/deflections/blocks departments. Offense has always been the reason why Bobby gets on the floor in the NBA. He can be late on rotations and seems to lack the shot-blocking instincts that make guys like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen so great here.

In 2021-2022 he averaged a paltry 0.9 steals per-36. At 6-foot-10, his blocks average was at an unimpressive 0.9/36. The five-man unit will likely struggle to defend the backline when Portis is playing the pivot for lengthy stretches. Fortunately, he has made meaningful strides on the defensive end since entering the league in 2015.

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Beacon Bacon

The 2015 NBA Draft produced a number of talented big men besides just Portis, including Myles Turner, Christian Wood, Richaun Holmes, Larry Nance Jr., and Montrezl Harrell