I now believe LeBron James has used PEDs/HGH in his career

[LakerLegend]

Of course I don't know what other players have done it, but where there's smoke there's fire.

There was a lot of coincidence in the NBA's HGH testing policy announcement during the 2014/2015 season and his weight/athletic loss when he went back to Cleveland.

We know LeBron is high up in the players association which negotiates these things, and HGH/other PED's can take months to cycle off...so the timing.

He slimmed down to play a more perimeter oriented game yet somehow got noticeably less athletic within a few months from the end of the 2014 season to beginning of the 2015 season despite not suffering any major injuries. Compare:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Also:

LeBron James was in Miami while the Cavaliers played at home Sunday, with team's permission

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/01/lebron_james_miami.html

Did Bill Simmons Hint That LeBron James Took A Steroid Vacation?

Simmons met fan backlash when he floated the idea that LeBron wasn’t the “same player” early in the 2015 season. He responded as such:

“Like it was our fault that LeBron was playing below the rim for the first two months and the Cavs were a complete mess. I’m sorry for pointing that out everybody!”

After NBA beat writer Zach Lowe struggled to politely categorize LeBron’s two-week refresher vacation to Miami in January, Simmons pushed his stance once again:

Bill Simmons: Uh…I have a couple titles for that but I’m not gonna say.

Zach Lowe: I’m not going anywhere near where you’re going.

Bill Simmons: I’m not going anywhere either!

He later elaborated, saying:

“LeBron James…looked like he was entering another phase of his career. He’s got a lot of miles on him. Looked different in how he was playing. Went away for two weeks, came back. He’s been lights out. [He] basically has been at 29 [points] a game, 6 [assists] and 6 [rebounds]. Fifty percent shooting. He looks like LeBron again.”

http://uproxx.com/dimemag/did-bill-simmons-hint-that-lebron-james-took-a-steroid-vacation/

LeBron traveled to Miami for rehab

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12138531/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers-heads-miami-rehab-back-knee

Le Batard: My Guess is LeBron James is ‘Doing Something’

“No I would not,” Dan Le Batard said. “Not at all. I would understand. In fact if you had to guess on LeBron, you’re looking at someone who physically is different than anyone else you’ve ever seen the history of the sports, the prudent guess is, yeah, he’s probably doing something to get some help there.”

http://slicemiami.com/2016/06/08/le-batard-lebron-james-hgh

Maybe the most damning of all:

Here's the story behind the 2-week break that turned LeBron James' season around

Windhorst says that late in 2014, James had been moody and his body wasn't 100%. After suddenly deciding not to play in a game against the Hawks, the Cavs gave him take two weeks off to rest, from which he returned healthy and in a better mood, seemingly revitalized by some midseason trades.

"[James] had sort of just like waved a bit of a white flag there. He just didn't feel like playing. He had never done that ever before. He had always just played through it. And so it was after that game, [the Cavaliers] said, 'Alright, take your two weeks off,' because he had reached a very low point."

Nobody is quite sure why James' two-week break turned around his season. He does seem healthier and more explosive. If it was just fatigue and simple aches that he was dealing with, then two weeks may have been enough to revitalize him.

http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-2-week-break-turned-his-season-around-2015-4

[Mister Ze]

You're late to the party

[BloodNinja]

Maybe, maybe not but if players want to take PEDs and it gives a better product for the viewers then I'm for it.

[OGLife]

I thought the assumption was all athletes do...

[Arman_tanzarian]

This board never ceases to amaze me.

[ItsThatEasy]

Steph Curry is right up there with him so it is what it is.

[Kurosawa0]

The question I have is why would you care? It's not like baseball where steroids can make up for a lack of ability. In basketball, HGH is going to allow you to have more energy and heal faster, but doesn't make up for a gap in skill or talent. It's more about dealing with aging and the rigors of the game.

Why should we care anymore about a player using HGH than another player using painkillers? If tomorrow we find out Curry takes a lot of painkillers for his ankles no one would think any less of him as a shooter. So, if LeBron takes HGH, was it the drug that made him one of the five best playmakers in the history of the game somehow?

[Michael Lucky]

I'm sure he's hardly the only superstar guilty of using PEDs. Most people just don't seem to care.

[Big Mac Biyombo]

I think it's commonplace to just accept that many high level athletes are juicing these days. I know some guys who played CIS football (Canadian College ball) and they were all on various stacks. I know guys who played minor league pro hockey and said tons of guys were on gear too. Considering how much more athletic the top end guys are: it would be naive to think they're clean. I mean, regular gym bros are juicing for purely aesthetic reasons. Of course elite athletes are going to be doing the same for performance benefits.

This being said: I don't care about it in a sport like basketball. If anything, it's helping the game. Football and hockey is different because we're talking about high impact collisions. But I'm all for juicing in other sports. Especially when it's lengthening guys careers.

[clyde21]

[RCM88x]

That is clearly not a thread, dummy.

[GeorgeMarcus]

He might be, but if so I wouldn't condone it. Average Joes take all kinds of pre-workout and post-workout supplements before going to the gym; the line between that and what you suggest LeBron is doing is pretty murky.

I'm sure those who have a more 'by the book' mentality will disagree with me.

[Kurosawa0]

As someone who has to take medication for back problems just to be able to comfortably do stuff like just shooting at the park, I completely get it if these guys take stuff to make the grind easier. More power to them. Anyone that has a problem better never take aspirin or aleve when they have soreness from exercising.

And also the thing not one of these "he took the two weeks off the use steroids" guys have ever been able to explain why LeBron would need to take two weeks off to do that.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

If Lebron actually did use PEDs, the league would cover it up, just like they did with Michael Jordan's gambling scandal.

[The High Cyde]

Who gives a **** what you believe? Prove it without a reasonable doubt.

The man treats his body like a temple, his diet is second to none, and he has a litany of professional trainers at his disposal. He spends like a quarter of a million dollars to keep his body in tip top shape, there's the smoke and the fire. You got nothing my dude.

[Blkbrd671]

Lol, love how the OP is so detailed when its been quite obvious he and many other players dope. Lebron is a freak athlete but in any sport, when a player has gotten better at a age where he's suppose to decline, its always been from doping. And if your the NBA, a better lebron is just more $$, so why the hell do anything about it?

[dYYYh.k²]

no **** sherlock

[Domejandro]

This type of thread always turns into a nightmare, I think a proactive close is the responsible thing to do.

[bwgood77]

No need to rehash old articles from 3 years ago.