Doping/enhancement drugs in the NBA?

[Massamba]

Charles Barkley in 2010 on how he would feel if he found out a high profile NBA player had used steroids:

First of all, I don?t care, to be honest with you. It?s funny how the public wants to think that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I grew up on welfare in Alabama. If somebody told me they could stick something in my ass to get me making 100 or 200 million dollars, I?m going to be the first in line.

First of all, this stuff wasn?t illegal at the time. They weren?t even testing for it, supposedly. If I could get a needle and start making 15 or 20 million dollars a year, of course I would do it. It bothers me when everybody wants to act like they?re so sanctimonious. If some of these people are out there at the job and they know they can get an injection, they?re not testing for it, it?s not illegal and the can make 10 or 20 million dollars a year or 2 to 300 million dollars, of course they would do it.

In my opinion, Lance is still a great champion. Michael Jordan, Barkley, thoses guys probobly used something, so what? Rafale Araujo used steroids and he never made a great carrer in nba.

[tiderulz]

Who cares, just legalizes PEDs. Lets see how good they can be, and level the playing field.

Lol, people actually have a conscience and believe in something called religion. You can brush those people who don't want anything to do with drugs under the rug, but that would definitely not be leveling the playing field.

what does religion have to do with taking PED's?

[tiderulz]

LeBron, Wade, and Howard are definitely on roids. No question IMO. The injury breakdowns in the case of Wade and Howard are telltale signs. LeBron's breakdown will also be coming soon.

what injury breakdowns for Howard? He had lingering back issues and then took punch to his back from Haywood which exacerbated his injury. There has not been any new testing and he has always tested clean, so where do you get this from?

[kodo]

In my opinion, Lance is still a great champion. Michael Jordan, Barkley, thoses guys probobly used something, so what? Rafale Araujo used steroids and he never made a great carrer in nba.

The effectiveness of whatever "PEDs" guys from the 80s had access to would be a joke compared to what's available now.

Like comparing a mobile phone form the 80s to what you can get these days.

But watching Tim Duncan's resurgent season makes me want to legalize PEDs for any stars above the age of 35.

[Hendrix]

Rashard Lewis got booked a couple years ago, he's never been the same since. And he's a pretty skinny dude, not your stereotypical 'roid head' so who knows how prevalent it is? I think it was something to do with enhancing recovery time.

Accept dhea isn't an anabolic steriod. I swear people need to research before saying bull

Doesn't it lead to an increase in sex hormones, including testosterone, which is an anabolic agent?

About 5% of testosterone comes from DHEA. So, increasing your dhea levels by say, 30%, is going to do next to nothing.

Additionally, DHEA tends to convert to estradiol in men. Estradiol down-regulates the HPTA axis's production of testosterone (as does testosterone). So, if you are taking DHEA and it is converting more-so-to estradiol, then you would end up with less testosterone.

DHEA has about zero performance enhancing ability. It's ridiculous to point to a timeline of him getting caught with DHEA and his regression in basketball talent. The 2 things have nothing to do with one another.

[thamadkant]

I would bet most of the players are taking something , normal people just are not that big or ripped and I am not talking about height .

speak for yourself

I have lifted weights most of my life , I could bench over 300 lbs and weigh about 155 and I always looked in shape but only a little bigger than someone that never lifted weights at all . These guys are freaking huge and are for sure taking something . I am sure there are a few that don't take anything but probably more do than don't .

Lol
BS man

I lift weights everyday for years and I've got decent muscle mass on me.
You don't eat.


And 300 pounds?? Lol bench press 300 a your only 155... How many reps? 1-3...
Body builders do 225-250 pounds to failure 12 reps, less weight higher reps when shredding.
Their max bench press would be around 500-550pounds, but rarely do them... It's for strength, muscle building you have to pick a weight range that you can lift enough times to overload muscle and get a pump.
It about combo of reps and weight.


Steroids is about speedy recovery, people pack on muscle during recovery period not training.

Lance Armstrong using steroids would benefit his muscle endurance rather than size because he wouldn't be leg pressing 500-800 pound weights.

Steroids is not jut about bulking.... It boost hormones, energy, recovery etc... People think steroid automatically mean bigger... Lol... It allows you to work harder, recover quicker...if you don't work hard you don't get gains... Just liver and kidney problems if taken long term.

[dolphinatik]

I do think PED use is high in the NBA but I dont think it makes a difference. It lets guys prevent injury and recover faster from the beatings they take to thier bodies and joints. It doesnt matter much because everyone has the same opportunity. Even if Jordon came out and said he was on PED who cares... there is nothing to say Domonique wasnt, Pippen, Clyde, Wilt, Kemp, Pippen, or anyone else. If they cared they would have a proper testing system. If everyone stopped taking PED I think the best players would still be the best players just with less minutes

[D.Brasco]

LOL at people posting pictures of buff players and assuming they are the one who must be doping.

[MrBigShot]

Imagine if a legit report came out and said Jordan was taking PED's...How would you feel if Jordan came out like Lance?

Could care less. He dominated because of skill along with athleticism that was prevalent since before he was in the NBA.

[Brovva Blaqq]

varejao?

blood thickening is a side effekt of some PEDs...

[losetowin]

Lance was taking EPO, which increases the body's ability to delivery oxygen to the muscles. Totally different than what an NBA player would take.

I assumed people knew the difference. Stop with the pictures of Lance as some sort of rebuttal against doping in the NBA.

[Shot Clock]

Lance was taking EPO, which increases the body's ability to delivery oxygen to the muscles. Totally different than what an NBA player would take.

I assumed people knew the difference. Stop with the pictures of Lance as some sort of rebuttal against doping in the NBA.

He was also accused of taking hgh and testosterone, both extremely likely in the NBA roday.

[Shem]

Dwight and LeBron would be my first suspects if I was going after players using PED's. And one thing PED's can do is give the person using it back problems. That's the first thing that came up was a conversation I had with my two brothers a few years ago after Dwight hurt his back as a reminder to what we discussed between a year or two before Dwight had to have off season back surgery.

[D.Brasco]

Lance was taking EPO, which increases the body's ability to delivery oxygen to the muscles. Totally different than what an NBA player would take.

I assumed people knew the difference. Stop with the pictures of Lance as some sort of rebuttal against doping in the NBA.

You should have assumed he was taking much more than just EPO, as someone already posted he also admitted to taking testosterone and hgh and he was infamously blood doping.

Performance enhancers aren't there to just make you buff, people seem to confuse them with steroids and bodybuilding. Someone like steve nash could hypothetically be on as many ped's as someone like dwight howard would.

[Froob]

I find it hard to believe Dwight wasn't on peds at one point or another. Didn't he go from skinny little dude to super jacked in like a year?

[heatwillbeback]

I find it hard to believe Dwight wasn't on peds at one point or another. Didn't he go from skinny little dude to super jacked in like a year?

He went from an 18 year old high school kid to a player with dedicated professional trainers. He filled out his frame

With hs to pro guys, expect big changes when professionals get their hands on them. Its not something I would be suspicious of just due to pictures.

A guessing game with pictures is not smart imo.

As for overall use, the NBA relies more on skill than strength- I dont see steroids as a problem like it has been in other sports.

[Hendrix]

I'm not sure why people post pictures of players, as if it is any kind of proof that players are using steroids.

There's not a single player in the NBA that has a physique that is unattainable naturally. Especially when you consider that a lot of the guys in the NBA are physically gifted/freaks of nature. I mean, take the most physically gifted person you ever knew (played sports with, went to school with, worked with, etc...) and multiply that by 10, and you have the kind of physical gifts that a guy like Lebron has. Looking at a player really means nothing.

The only reason imo a player would use any kind of PED would be for easier recovery over a 82 game schedule, and/or to increase RBC's to improve endurance.

However, I really do wonder if that would be viable. I can understand using steroids in a sport where you have 1 event that you have to train towards (Bodybuilding, cycling, powerlifting). I can also understand using steroids in a sport with a short-ish season like football. I can also understand using steroids in a sport where fatigue isn't really going to impair you like baseball.

However, I don't think steroid cycles really mesh well with the NBA. It wouldn't really make sense to stay on a cycle for a 7 month season. So, the alternative is that they would do a cycle, and then post cycle therapy (PCT). However, generally speaking a lot of people feel like crap, have fatigue, lose strength, lose endurance, develop depression, etc... during PCT. Basically, it is the exact opposite of what you would want while playing an intense schedule. It wouldn't make sense to me to have slightly improved abilities for a few months of the NBA season, and then have diminished abilities for a couple months of the NBA season while you do your PCT. We would be seeing players effort levels varying significantly though the season as they transitioned from cycle to PCT. And, while epo might help for a game, I can't imagine anybody running it for 6 months straight.

[deliriousmouse]

If you think PED use in the NBA isn't rampant you are hopelesssly naive.

If you could take a pill and earn fame and fortune for almost zero risk, would you?

David Stern doesn't want a tough testing program because he knows what would result.

Your summary of drugs just being a magic pill which makes you better really signals you have no informitive opinion of the subject.

Basketball relies on muscle memory and skill much more then Rugby/Cycling rely on strength/endurance, Guys like OJ Mayo who took Dhea are (Please Use More Appropriate Word) because the stuff is rife within a lot of anti-biotics and really effects adrenelin/memory for middle age men/females rather then something to juice up on. It also is pretty good to skim down on fat and is an off the shelf purchase. Im betting Mayo just wanted to get into shape and smash the fat folds rather then be able to bench 300 pounds.

It's more a testiment to Mayo/Lewis that they are idiots and really should seek a team doctor before what they should be taking rather then seeing something with DHEA in it and thinking "yeah this will give me more energy and help me reduce fat!

If NBA players were blood doping like Lance it would just be incase a game gets into the 7th OT and they dont want to start feeling the effects.

Plus it's debatable whether HGH is a Preformance enhancing product in Males. Using it for injuries im completely fine with

Some of you guys are idiots. You think "steroids make you giant like arnold" Anabolic Steoids would make you less functional in Basketball, I cant see much basketballers immediatly gaining 10-15 kilos in muscle and still being as explosive.

Dwight and LeBron would be my first suspects if I was going after players using PED's. And one thing PED's can do is give the person using it back problems. That's the first thing that came up was a conversation I had with my two brothers a few years ago after Dwight hurt his back as a reminder to what we discussed between a year or two before Dwight had to have off season back surgery.

No...it really doesn't, Dwight had a herniated Disc which is something which slides out and pushes against nerves, it's a lifelong thing which he will have for the rest of his life. It's caused by lifting weights incorrectly. Mostly squats.

LOL at people posting pictures of buff players and assuming they are the one who must be doping.

He was caught out blood doping, which generally is swapping out blood for blood which has been put in a machine and made to carry more oxygen in the blood. Playing sport for 50 minutes or running less then 10km a game which is practically useless and a waste of time


Before i get told im ignorant, I still believe there are probably a few, No sporting league would be 100% clean, I however dismiss people saying "Yeah Look at Lebron, its not like he goes to the Gym every second day and is fanatical about his recovery/training, You have to be that intense to be where he is, I feel it's just slander against guys we love playing if your that quick to jump and say :yeah he's 260 pounds and explosive as hell and skillful, He must use Steroids Dur Dur" without knowing what you are saying or having a clue what you are talking about ot what the effects of a lot of "Steroids" are.

And FYI steroids don't make your muscles bigger, It's all in the user. It simply helps muscle recovery. You all would have taken steriods, for a cold, Broken Bones ect. ect. If it saves Derrick Rose 4 months from his knee OP getting all the muslces back to 100% and takes out a loss of that recovery from month 5-8 then go for it.

[Hendrix]

^^^^

1. I'm not sure why you think steroids don't make your "muscles bigger", but that is incorrect.

2. DHEA isn't pretty good to reduce fat. It's crap. 1st of all, it's half life is minuscule, so it may only increase your DHEA levels for a couple hours. 2nd, it's just a prohormone that's whole purpose is to convert to testosterone, however it does this very weakly, and unfortunately it tends to convert more-so to estradiol, which can result in less testosterone. 3rd, if you suppliment exogeneous DHEA into your body, you will just end up downregulating your HPTA's production of pregnenolone, and GNRH, whice in turn will not really end up helping you at all.

[deliriousmouse]

I've probably phrased the Muscles bigger thing incorrectly, You still have to work, it just kills your body's recovery time.

As for the DHEA i've heard mixed results, a guy at the local gym swears by the stuff however im aware quite a few studies have come out and said its utter bull