As I understand it - the players are randomly tested a couple of times per season. I remember a few years ago, I was attending the Raptors training camp and a couple of players had to be excused because they were going to be tested. The NBA has their own dudes that go around the league and collect samples. It's probable that these tests are scheduled with the teams reps somehow, so there may be a little bit of warning given to a player, but not enough to stop in time, I don't think. I don't know if it includes the summer, as a player could easily juice after the season ends and be clean by the time training camp rolls around. Wasn't that tattooed dude from the Wizards a few years back caught? The name is on the tip of my tongue... ...and yes, Don McLean was using because he was getting old and breaking down, so the roids were used to accelerate recovery and maintain what he had, as opposed to build. EVERY pro league has guys who juice. I don't think the NBA is any different and if someone is found, it won't be anything like the Donaghy scandal. Unless it's Lebron James.
professional doping starts in highschool. guys like lebron or dwight howard are beasts physically. they definitely did use or still use drugs. the nba isn't really interested in a anti-doping policy because if they were many players would get caught and that would be bad publicity.
I fully believe those two, as well as Amare and Oden, were using in HS if not JH. Specifically, I think Amare, Oden, and LeBron were using HGH. I have no way of proving a thing, but I look at those comic book physiques and crinkled foreheads at the age of 18 and get suspicious. It's like looking at Sosa's altered skull and 3 foot thick arms back in the day - how could you not smell something fishy? Evan
I've always been suspicious of LeBron. Other guys coming right out of high school with those builds would make me suspicious as well. It's extremely unusual to be both super-tall and muscular at that age - your body doesn't usually have the capability of keeping up with the growth spurt. The other famous athlete that I suspect is Annika Sorenstam, the LPGA star. She increased her average drive by 30 yards in her thirties, and her arms and legs are seriously thick. She also has some problems with zits and her face is pretty manly these days when she used to have a young, cute face.
HGH alone does not build much muscle mass in young adults and adult males. Ask any bodybuilder about that. It is more of a fat loss drug and a "permanent" gains drug. Simply put, HGH would have almost zero benefit for a high school athlete. Also, almost all anabolic steroids cause premature closing of the growth plates through estrogen conversion (estrogen closes growth plates). It's been a few years but the last I heard only anavar (oxandralone) actually had a positive effect on growth plates.
Boozer had an NBA body in high school. If he did them, it's probably been a while....and he's just maintaining the mass he has. A friend of mine is a huge Duke fan, and I remember when Duke was recruiting this kid, he was showing me photos and video clips. I was like, "Is that guy 30 years old????"
He bulked up even more last year, and his face was constantly broke out like a teenager. I remember some guys in HS doing that stuff. They had major zit problems on their face and back. And I agree, there is simply no way that guys 17 and 18 years old can have physiques like Bron, Howard, and Oden. Frankly, I think steroids like HGH and God only knows what else is out there that we don't even know about yet, are getting so sophisticated and hard to detect and so borderline to all the other OTC stuff that it is virtually impossible to police properly. I would not be surprised to learn down the road another 20 years or so that guys like Shaq were military science experiments from their birth. Personally, I'm convinced that Yao and Shaq both are products of governments experimenting with science. Guys like Lebron and Oden are products of opportunistic and greedy family friends and coaches.
You're giving too much credit to pro athletes. For the most part, these guys are ordering their stuff off the net and buying it off the streets...just like everyone else. They tend to not be very educated about the performance enhancing substances they use. I would imagine their celebrity also makes it hard for them to find good "sources" For example, athletes are often caught using nandralone which is quite possibly the WORST steroid to use if not getting caught is part of your agenda. Where as testosterone, dianabol, winstrol etc. can clear a person's system in anywhere from days to weeks, nandralone can show up on a drug test for a year or even 18 months. These guys are not getting anything better than Joe Roidhead can get off the net and most times Joe Roidhead has a better idea of what he is using and how it effects his body.
