Tristan Thompson of the Cavaliers was suspended for 25 games following an NBA PED test.
The NBA said on Tuesday that Tristan Thompson, a forward/center for the Cleveland Cavaliers, had been suspended without pay for 25 games following his positive test results for two performance-enhancing drugs.
Thompson tested positive for ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033, also known as ligandrol, according to the league. Both are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. A mimic of a growth hormone secretagogue, ibutamoren is categorised as a nonsteroidal anabolic drug, and SARMs, short for selective androgen receptor modulators, are categorised as one. The compounds have been linked to increased bone density and muscle growth.
The Cleveland Cavaliers released a statement saying, “We are disappointed in the recent news surrounding Tristan Thompson, and we fully support the NBA/NBAPA Anti-Drug Programme.” “Our team will be impacted by his absence from the game. We support and stand by Tristan during this moment of suspension.After helping the Cavaliers win the NBA championship in 2016 and leaving as a free agent in 2020, Thompson, 32, is currently playing in his first season back in Cleveland. In his brief playing time, he has assisted Cleveland in overcoming the injuries to both star guard Darius Garland (jaw) and starting forward Evan Mobley (knee). Thompson and the Cavaliers have won eight straight games while they have been away, improving their record to 26-15, enough for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
The first of Thompson’s 25 games will be missed on Wednesday at Milwaukee, where Cleveland will play the Bucks twice over the course of three nights. Returning on March 16 for a road game against the Houston Rockets is the 6-foot-9 veteran.
Canadian-born Thompson was selected by the Cavaliers fourth overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. He left the organisation after nine seasons, spending time with the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers. During that time, the team made four visits to the NBA Finals and won Cleveland’s first major sports championship since 1964. Prior to joining the Lakers just in time to see Los Angeles advance to the Western Conference finals the previous year, Thompson was absent from the NBA for the whole 2022–2023 regular season.
President of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement upon Thompson’s September return to the Cavaliers, “We couldn’t be more excited to bring his experience and character back into our franchise. Tristan embodies every trait we want as part of our team culture.” His background with our team adds a dimension of familiarity, leadership, and physicality that will surely have a beneficial effect on our younger players. His impact is enormous both on and off the court.
Since 2016, Thompson’s relationship with Khloe Kardashian has made him well-known to hordes of people who aren’t particularly interested in the NBA. The highs and lows of their love affair—including the births of two children—were widely documented in her reality TV series throughout the years.
In the NBA, PED-related suspensions have been comparatively uncommon. Prior to Tuesday, DiDi Louzada, a former winger for the New Orleans Pelicans, had been part in just one league game in the previous four years. Three of the most well-known players, Deandre Ayton, John Collins, and Wilson Chandler, were all given 25-game suspensions in 2019.
