Yahoo Sports Bobby Portis: ‘I just come in every day and be Bobby Portis’
Milwaukee Bucks fan favorite Bobby Portis is only 28, but he will be the oldest player on Team USA at the 2023 World Cup. Dubbed ‘Crazy Eyes’, the stretch five took a break from shooting on the last day of training camp in Las Vegas to talk to HoopsHype about his journey through his career, the opportunity to represent the USA, the upcoming season for the Bucks, and more.
What were your impressions of the Team USA camp?
Bobby Portis: Pretty great, man. Just to come in and be around all the guys. It’s really [expletive] cool to represent your country, We kind of rep our cities that we play, for our families, rep our loved ones, but this is a little different. Just to be on the global stage, rep the red, white, and blue… means a lot.
As you guys start to play in some exhibition games, do you see the chemistry starting to come together?
BP: Obviously, chemistry and camaraderie take time. Things aren’t just gonna happen overnight. Kind of need the ups and downs, the highs and lows, that kind of give you that taste of failure a little bit, and at the same time, it’s always good just to compete. At the same time, you got to get a day at a time. We have a long haul here coming up, but we got to figure it out as fast as we can.
What are your thoughts on the FIBA rules being different from what you’re accustomed to in the NBA?
BP: Yeah man, all about adjusting. Obviously, they play totally different. A lot more physicality, using the chest, being able to kind of move guys, trapping the ball, we can’t call timeouts, get the ball off the rim, things like that. It’s obviously a different game, but I think it’s important for us to learn their game. Obviously with basketball expanding in a global game now, it’s good for us.
You're only 28, but Anthony Edwards mentioned that you're the elder statesman on this roster. What is your role expected to be like?
BP: Man, I just come in every day and be Bobby Portis. That’s all I know how to be, since day one, in my time in the league, man. I’ve never changed who I am, stay true to myself, work on my game each and every year and get better. And try to be a leader working on my leadership qualities over the last three, four years in the league, especially when I got to the Bucks being around great savvy vets like Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Brook Lopez, Jrue [Holiday], Khris [Middleton], all my guys. The core group of guys, those guys, let me kind of be myself. Let me have a voice. And it’s been cool, man. So, my role on this team is to be Bobby, man. It’s all I know how to be.
You pretty much bet on yourself. Speaking about Milwaukee, you signed short-term deals with them, and finally got a bit of a longer deal last season (four-year, $49 million). Do you feel that sort of validates what you’ve been through the years?
BP: I mean, yeah, but every year is a prove-it year, man. Just because you got a deal doesn’t mean you got to stop working and keep building brick by brick. Keep chopping wood and carrying water, that’s the motto. Can’t get complacent, can’t get comfortable in the league.
There are 40, 50, 60 guys that want to have a guaranteed spot every year on a new team. And there’s gonna be 40, 50, 60 guys that are going to get pushed out. So gotta keep getting better each and every year. Can’t be satisfied with whatever you need to be. Whether it is $20 million, $100 million, $200 million. Gotta keep going. Gotta keep chopping wood and getting better. So with me, all I know how to do is work. Let the dominoes fall where they fall.
You guys are having a new coach come in with Adrian Griffin. What do you know and hope he’ll bring to the Bucks that is different from the past?
BP: I don’t like to compare the past and the future, but I just hope he lets us be us, and be the player-driven team. We have a lot of guys on our team that’s done this before, so we kind of know what it takes to get to that next level.
Our biggest thing on the Bucks is just staying healthy. No matter who it is that’s coaching whatever it is, we got to be healthy man. The last couple of years we kind of had bad luck. Khris getting hurt, Giannis getting hurt, hate to dwell in the past, but injuries are real. It’s a real thing in our sport, and we got to stay healthy. That’s the biggest thing for our team.
Giannis seems like a funny guy and you’ve been around him for a couple years now. What’s one of the funniest things he’s done?
BP: Yeah, that’s my boy. Man, it’s hard to tell because every day is something new. But, he’s always messing with somebody each and every day. In our training room, he kind of acts like a big kid. We have all these Nerf guns, shooting each other. And so, people come in and it’s definitely funny, early in the morning time people just wake up at nine in the morning and they get shot in the face. That’d be funny.
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