The popular opinion is that PEDs do not help enhance an NBA player's performance because NBA guys need to be agile and PEDs make them too rigid or something. That sounds alot like what people were saying about baseball players and PEDs 15 years ago. PEDs help guys recover from injuries faster and being stronger does help aspects of a guy's game. I think there are temptations for NBA guys to use. What % of guys in the NBA use? The best case against NBA guys using is that no one has heard linking NBA guys to PEDs. The feds are looking at suppliers all the time and reporters are quick to sniff out big names. For all the baseball, football, track stars that are caught, no NBA name has been released.
It's not just that, it's that the 82+ game NBA season puts a premium on endurance. Adding extra bulk hurts this, and ends up putting more stress on the joints on which NBA players make their livelihood. Baseball and Football don't really have the same issue with endurance, they are more geared towards short periods of intense activity with relatively long periods of recovery, ideal for steroid usage. The NBA has suspended guys for roids before, just nobody you've heard of (Don Mclean, e.g.)
What about if a guy has an injury that he's having a hard time with and just uses it to get over the hump? (like what Andy Petitte claims to have done).
I'm not sure about quickness, I know they can help sprinters and hurdlers with explosiveness. They can't help with skill.
I think NBA players are behind the curve a bit. There is so much ignorance out there about what PED can and cannot do. Someone with a bit of knowledge could definitely improve aspects of their game with PED. There are steroids that improve strength without adding much if any size. HGH alone is great at helping connective tissue injuries heal while adding little if any weight. I honestly think a conservative dose of HGH would help the older guys hold on to some of their athleticism a bit longer. I think it could certainly turn the clock back 3-4 years for some of the guys in their mid 30's.
I kind of agree with you here. If anybody is using steroids in the league. It has gotta be Dwight Howard. I've never seen anyone that lean with that many bulked up muscles.
there was rumor about wilt chamberlain use steroids to keep up the muscles after his career, and thats how he got the heart attack. Just rumor tho.
We shouldn't make judgments on guys based on looks. A guy can be really jacked and not be using, a guy could look pudgy and skinny and be using everyday.
Pitchers in baseball have been noted for taking steroids to increase stamina and speed up the recovery process. The same goes for position players. I could see NBA players using it to help them recover quickly with back to back games and the long season. So its definitely possible.
I would not be surprised if, in the future, any of these players are found to have used PEDs: Karl Malone, Shaq, Alonzo, Larry Johnson, Anthony Mason, Lebron, D-Wade, and Steve Francis(remember how much muscle he gained after he was traded to the magic?).
