More startling is how infrequent players have been suspended for PEDs in the last ten years. Since PEDs became popular in baseball and other sports in the '90s, around the same time NBA players began trended towards super athletes, becoming a staple these last 15 years. A lot of conjecture, not a lot of proof, but you have to ask yourself one thing. How are these guys so much faster, leaner, and stronger than previous generations that trained all the time? I understand better diets, sleep, rest, and more curated training plans have changed the landscape on how people train. But when the competition is so tight, players will do anything to keep relevant; any success with PED use that went unpunished will only make it more likely a necessity in the league.
I think the comment about gambling groups and its dissociation with PEDs for credibility makes a lot of sense that there is a shift in the NBA's position. Weeding out the use across the league as quietly as possible is in their best interest to protect from tarnishing the last couple of decades. Something they know can really kill a sport's fanbase as they watched the MLB suffer in recent years after their scandal.