Bobby Portis says goodbye to Bucks fans at pop-up shop in Milwaukee

The Mayor had one last meet-and-greet with his constituents.

>Bobby Portis, who had sky-high approval ratings during his six-season run with the Milwaukee Bucks, set up in a pop-up shop at the HYPEBOYS streetwear store on Wisconsin Ave. for three hours on July 8.

>Predictably, fans lined up in their No. 9 jerseys and “Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!” t-shirts for over a hour before Portis arrived in a Mercedes SUV. They were also quick to scoop up some of Portis’ Underdog gear before he leaves town for good. “The People’s Champ” – a key emotional piece in the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship run – is on the move to the Miami Heatas part of the massive trade that included Giannis Antetokounmpo.

>“Just fan appreciation,” Portis said in between signing items. “Obviously being somewhere so long, especially six years in a community that you called your own.

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>“Kind of wanted just to send it out the right way. Obviously when you change teams and things like that it’s a new era.”

>Portis was actually in Miami on vacation with his family  – and on the phone with Bucks general manager Jon Horst – when the deal leaked out to the public. It’s been an emotional few weeks for the 31-year-old Portis, who also penned a heartfelt goodbye to Bucks fans on social media.

>“You kind of understand it, but at the same time it’s kind of hard to let go,” he said. “To be somewhere for six years, win a championship and get so much support like I have from a city, it’s tough.

>“Players go their whole careers and I don’t get that type of feel, that type of love that I got from the community, from the fans and the organization as well.”

>Portis averaged 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game during his six seasons with the Bucks. But his connection with the city’s fans transcends statistics.

>“It’s meant the world to me,” Portis said. “Blue-collar city that works hard.

>“I look at myself as one of them. A small-town kid from Arkansas, my population of my hometown (Little Rock) was probably 200,000 (or) 300,000, same as here. Small-town kid that worked hard for everything he had. Super fortunate to get in the position to be a Buck.”

>This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bobby Portis says goodbye to Bucks fans at pop-up shop in Milwaukee