SI.com | By Dan Gartland
The NBA will begin testing players for human growth hormone, the league announced Thursday.
Testing will begin next season and players will be subject to three random, unannounced tests each year, in addition to "reasonable cause testing," the NBA said. Two of the three tests will be administered during the season and one will be done in the offseason.
Players will be suspended 20 games for their first positive test and 45 games for a second failed test. A third violation results in banishment from the league.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview with GQ in November that instituting HGH testing was a priority.
Testing for HGH was introduced by the NFL in 2014 and by MLB in 2013. The World Anti-Doping Agency, which handles Olympic testing, first began testing for HGH at the 2006 Torino Games.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told USA Today in 2013 that the NBA should consider allowing HGH use as a means to help players more quickly recover from injuries.
