NBA Players Will Undergo HGH Testing This Season

Following on the heels of Major League Baseball and the NFL, the NBA will introduce blood testing for human growth hormone this season, according to Amy Shipley of the Washington Post.

Before the testing begins, a neutral panel must confirm the accuracy of the test, according to Shipley, a soft-launch approach similar to what the NFL will be doing.  MLB, by contrast, is instituting testing during Spring Training but not in-season, a policy that was written into their new CBA.

The way the NBA testing program will work is not clear at this point, but Shipley offered some details:

NBA spokesman Mike Bass did not provide specifics, but in Article XXXIII of the new agreement, according to a portion of the article provided to The Post, NBA players will be subject to up to two random tests for performance-enhancing drugs during the offseason. They will also be subject to blood testing “upon determination by a neutral panel of experts that the test is scientifically valid.”