Bobby Portis

The stars aligned for Portis to have a special 2021-22 campaign when Brook Lopez was limited to 13 games because of injury. Portis stepped up to average 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.8 three-pointers in 28.2 minutes per game. But Lopez was a pillar of health last season, appearing in 78 games for the Bucks. Portis saw his playing time decline to 26.0 minutes per game, but he was still provided 14.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.4 three-pointers. One of the reasons why he remained successful despite his decline in minutes was that he shot 49.6 percent from the field, which was the second-highest mark of his career. Lopez returned to the Bucks on a two-year contract this offseason, setting him up to resume his role as the team's starting center. However, at 35 years old, asking him to average 30 minutes and play in 78 games again might be unrealistic. The Bucks did add his brother Robin Lopez, but he likely will spend most of his time anchored to the end of the bench. Expect Portis to remain one of their key contributors in the second unit, leaving him as a fantasy option late in drafts.

Portis is coming off the best season of his career. With Brook Lopez missing nearly the entire year due to a back injury that required surgery, Portis started 59 of his 72 appearances and saw 28.2 minutes per game. That resulted in averages of 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds 1.2 assists and 1.4 combined steals-plus-blocks. He continued to be a great three-point shooter, hitting 1.8 per game at 39.3 percent, though it was a significant drop-off from the unsustainable 47.1 percent he made in 2020-21. Those numbers resulted in Portis ranking 80th in per-game fantasy production, clearing his previous high of 117 from 2018-19. With Lopez healthy, Portis should revert back to a sixth-man-light role in the frontcourt, playing power forward and center behind Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The organization cemented that role by handing him a four-year, $49 million contract in the offseason. Fantasy managers can draft Portis in standard leagues with a final pick knowing there's not much upside if everyone stays healthy. He's unquestionably valuable for deeper leagues as a high-floor big.

While Portis saw the third-fewest minutes per game of his career (20.8) with the Bucks last season, it was his most impactful campaign as a pro. Portis played a crucial sixth-man role in the Bucks' run to an NBA title. Shooting efficiency was the greatest area of improvement for Portis. The big man shot 52/47/74 en route to 11.4 points per game. He also remained one of the league's best per-minute rebounders. His 7.1 boards per game translated to a 17.9 total rebound percentage, which ranked 12th-best in the NBA. All together, that resulted in Portis ranking 129th in fantasy on a per-game basis -- tied for the second-highest mark of his career. Somewhat surprisingly, the Bucks were able to retain the 26-year-old heading into the 2021-22 season. He should again be in line for minutes in the low-20s, though it wouldn't be surprising to see him receive a slight uptick if Brook Lopez starts to show signs of aging at 33 years old. Considering Portis is not in an advantageous situation for fantasy, he can probably be avoided in standard drafts. However, managers in deeper leagues can take him after pick 100 as a high-floor big, especially when it comes to rebounding.

Portis appeared in 66 games for the Knicks last season (five starts), averaging 10.1 points on 45.0 percent shooting, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 threes in 21.1 minutes. While those numbers were relatively modest, he still showed off upside when seeing 30-plus minutes, averaging 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals in three contests. Heading into 2020-21, the 25-year-old big will be joining the Bucks, as he signed a two-year, $7.4 million deal with Milwaukee during the offseason. He projects to be a backup power forward and center for the team, which means he could continue seeing minutes in the low-to-mid 20s. Portis has never finished inside the top 100 for fantasy on a per-game basis, but he did rank 129th during the 2017-18 season with the Bulls while seeing only 22.5 minutes per contest. Optimistic fantasy managers may be able to draft Portis with a late-round flier hoping that coach Mike Budenholzer can put Portis in a position to reach those heights again.

Portis supplied career-high averages of 14.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 threes in 26.0 minutes while connecting on career-best three-point (39.3) and free throw (79.4) percentages in 2018-19. Portis also matched career highs in steals (0.7) and blocks (0.4). However, he regressed in a couple of areas, appearing in a career-low 50 games due to various injuries while averaging more turnovers (1.5) than assists (1.4) -- this after dishing out 1.7 dimes versus 1.4 giveaways in 2017-18. It's unclear exactly how New York's frontcourt rotation will shake out, but it seems somewhat reasonable to project Portis as a likely backup behind fellow free-agent addition Julius Randle and sophomore center Mitchell Robinson. It's entirely possible Portis will continue to increase his statistical production while carving out a considerable role for himself in 2019-20. But the plethora of frontcourt players (Randle, Robinson, Marcus Morris, Taj Gibson, Kevin Knox) who may be in the mix for minutes at power forward and center could be cause for concern for those considering Portis prior to the later rounds of fantasy drafts.

Portis continued to build on his game last season -- his third year in the league. The former 22nd overall pick saw a career-high 22.5 minutes per contest and averaged 13.2 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the field, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He also recorded 12 double-doubles, nine 20-plus-point performances, and two games with at least 15 rebounds. Despite the emergence of Lauri Markkanen, the signing of Jabari Parker and the drafting of Wendell Carter, Portis’ ability to play both power forward and center should keep affording him opportunities to see the floor. In addition to his impressive rebounding, he’s turned into a passable floor spacer (1.1 threes at 35.9 percent) and free-throw shooter (76.9 percent) -- key aspects for big men in garnering playing time. While it’s ill-advised to assume an uptick in production from Portis given the situation, his overall upside still gives him Fantasy value as a late-round flyer.

Portis had a relatively disappointing sophomore campaign, as he struggled to be much of a factor in the regular rotation. Even following the trade of Taj Gibson to the Thunder at the trade deadline, Portis really didn't do much to help his case as a Fantasy option, though his minutes certainly increased over the last two months of the season. Portis' per game point (6.8) and rebound (4.8) averages fell from his rookie year, although he did demonstrate a slightly improved shot at 48.8 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from deep, up from 42.7 and 30.8, respectively, a year prior. His outlook doesn't look much better heading into 2017-18. The Bulls drafted Lauri Markkanen with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and he's currently slotted in as the favorite for starting point guard duties. The Bulls are officially in full rebuild mode following the trade of Jimmy Butler, meaning the rookie big man should get a ton of run. That could come at the expense of Portis' playing time and it wouldn't be surprising if he ultimately was stuck in a similar or smaller role during the upcoming campaign as he battles with Nikola Mirotic for backup duties.

Portis, the 22nd overall pick in 2015, is coming off of an encouraging debut season in which he established himself as a rotation-caliber player. He appeared in 62 games and made four starts, finishing with averages of 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Portis started slowly, appearing in only four of Chicago's first 24 games, but his role increased dramatically in mid-December after Joakim Noah was lost for the season with a shoulder injury. Portis put up 20 points and 11 rebounds in a Dec. 19 loss to the Knicks, and from that point on averaged 18.5 minutes per game over the season's final 58 contests. While he was a fixture in the rotation, his role fluctuated on a night-to-night basis, making it difficult for the rookie to establish a rhythm. Portis is expected to take a step forward this season, but it's unclear if he'll be able to carve out significantly more minutes, even after the team parted ways with Noah and Pau Gasol over the summer. Taj Gibson projects to start at power forward alongside Robin Lopez, leaving Portis to compete with Nikola Mirotic for minutes off the bench. Portis is the better rebounder and defender, but Mirotic will be needed to space the floor to help offset what might be the NBA's worst shooting backcourt. To his credit, Portis flashed perimeter skills as a rookie -- he 16-of-52 (30.8%) from three-point range -- but he can't match Mirotic's shooting ability. Given the depth ahead of him, Portis is probably an undrafted commodity in most shallow fantasy leagues, but he holds considerable value as a longer-term asset in dynasty formats.

The Bulls selected Portis with the 22nd pick of the 2015 NBA Draft to add yet another talented big man to their roster. Portis had an excellent sophomore campaign for Arkansas as he averaged 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 30 minutes per game. His percentages were impressive as well as he shot 54 percent from the field, 74 percent from the charity stripe, and 47 percent from behind the arc. The Bulls expect him to play power forward and center, and he is similar to fellow Bulls' big man Taj Gibson in his ability to play both positions and play on both ends of the floor. Portis has better range than Gibson though, evident by his ability to shoot from behind the arc. While Portis has a lot of talent, he'll likely be buried on the bench behind Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Gibson, and Nikola Mirotic during his rookie season.