The role of PEDs in playoff performance

[Walker Wiggle]

For the past few years watching the NBA playoffs I have wondered, among other things: how much of what we're watching is just a function of who's taking the most/best PEDs?

Historically, there *are* some athletes that raise their level of play in the playoffs. This is one of the important distinctions between Russell and Chamberlain, and why the first was greater than the second in terms of his value as a basketball player and a winner. This type of conversation, related to things that mostly happened in the 1960s, is pretty straightforward.

What about now? I think fans are completely willing to ignore the role of PEDs in basketball OVERALL, but the playoffs is a unique case. Because often times when we say a guy "always turns it up in the playoffs", we never wonder if there are chemical, rather than natural, factors at play.

PEDs are not just about strength. There are tons of ways for guys to raise their game besides steroids and HGH, for instance. Among them:

EPOs: bring more oxygen to the muscles.
Ephedrine: increases energy, mitigates fatigue.
Beta blockers: helps keep poise, mitigates the effects of nervousness.

I suspect that history is being written right now for this sport on the basis of who's the cleverest user, thanks to league that won't credibly test, and a fanbase that's too willing to turn the other cheek. The killer is that I just don't know. Is Jimmy Butler the best playoff performer since Michael Jordan, or does he just have a great combination of drugs and timing that help him elevate his play in the postseason? Does Lebron James have a really good doctor we don't know about, or is he really just a genetic freak that can muster incredible energy after playing 40+ minutes? And on and on.

Please tell me someone out there, anyone, actually cares about this stuff. I want to be amazed because the guys are great, not because their doctors are great.

[ozgod]

Don’t these guys get tested?

I’m sure it’s happened in the past…I just don’t have any evidence.

[Kernewek]

If our assumption is that they're all using PEDs, surely we would also have to assume that it's largely a level playing field in terms of use. It's not like LeBron is getting better PEDs.

[Who]

In soccer, I remember the scandal of Juventus players taking "vitamins" in the 1990s but the players having no idea what they were really being given but they always ended up with more energy than their opponents.

Franz Beckenbauer said this was common in Germany in the early 1970s. So this is not new. This goes back 50 years at least. I am not sure they are any more common today than back then.