Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Tristian Thompson tested positive for SARM LGD-4033.
Tristan Thompson is renowned for his on-court prowess and basketball IQ. Recently, he has found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Thompson has been suspended by the NBA for 25 games after allegedly violating the anti-drugs protocol. Just as fans were soaking up this news, the Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the kind of drugs that Thompson tested positive for.
Notably, he debuted in the league in 2011 after being picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers. After being a part of the Cavaliers’ roaster for nine seasons, Thompson joined the Boston Celtics. However, it did not last more than a season, and fans saw him wearing five different jerseys before hitting the free agency period in 2023. As if this was not enough, he left everyone stunned by making a debut on ESPN as a sports analyst.
The following year, then-Washington Wizards guard Jodie Meeks missed the 2018 playoffs and the start of the following season after testing positive for ipamorelin, a growth hormone secretagogue similar to ibutamoren. And in 2019, John Collins — then with the Atlanta Hawks — spent 25 games on the sidelines after the league found pralmorelin, another growth hormone secretagogue, in his system.
Thompson, who has averaged just over 12 minutes per game this season in Cleveland, will be eligible to return to the court in mid March. The Cavaliers, who currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, will look to maintain their playoff positioning without the center as he completes his 25-game suspension.
Dubbed “legal steroids” despite their dubious legal status, SARMs like LGD-4033 can increase the risk of heart attack, liver failure, sexual dysfunction, and psychosis, the FDA warns. Ibutamoren, meanwhile, has been associated with the potential for congestive heart failure in patients, per the FDA.
Both drugs are banned by the NBA as well as sports governing bodies such as the NCAA and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Thompson is not the first NBA player found with such substances in his system. In 2017, then-New York Knick Joakim Noah earned a 20-game suspension after testing positive for LGD-4033 while taking supplements in an attempt to expedite his return from injury, according to the league.
