3 Bucks Whose Stock Crashed After First Month of NBA Season

Houston Rockets v Milwaukee Bucks
Houston Rockets v Milwaukee Bucks / Stacy Revere/GettyImages
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3. Bobby Portis

The Bucks and Bobby Portis are staring at a fork in the road—and Bucks fans might already have taken their turn.

Portis was once Milwaukee's unifying glue, a fan-favorite with a scrappy attitude and infectious energy that endeared him to the Fiserv Forum faithful. “Bobby” chants echoed through the arena as he threw elbows in the paint, talked trash, and battled for every rebound. But lately, those chants have been drowned out by tweets and forums calling for Portis to be benched—or even traded.

For fans, the frustration starts with the offense. Under Doc Rivers, the Bucks want movement—of both players and the ball. The game plan thrives when the ball flows freely between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, with quick decisions and smart off-ball cuts. Portis, however, often gums up the works. He has a habit of stopping the ball, isolating in the mid-post, and forcing contested shots. While he’s been known to heat up, the stagnant possessions and missed opportunities have outweighed the occasional offensive burst.

Defensively, it’s been even uglier. At nearly seven feet tall, Portis offers no rim protection and routinely gets targeted in pick-and-roll situations, where he’s more turnstile than defender. The numbers tell the story: the Bucks allow 8.4 points more per 100 possessions when Portis is on the floor. This combination of porous defense and sticky offense has made him an easy scapegoat for the Bucks' early struggles.

The advanced stats are damning. Milwaukee is 12.2 points per 100 possessions worse with Portis on the court—a staggering number that highlights his negative impact. For fans, the hero who once helped secure an NBA title has quickly become a symbol of the team’s current dysfunction.

If Portis wants to stay in Milwaukee long-term, he’ll need to adjust—fast. Otherwise, his once-adoring fanbase might just chant “Bobby” one last time as he heads out the door.