The NBA on Tuesday announced that Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson has been suspended for 25 games after he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Thompson was suspended without pay beginning with Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. It came after he tested positive for ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033, also known as ligandrol, two substances listed by the NBA as steroids and performance enhancing drugs.
While under suspension, Thompson will still be able to practice and travel with the team, according to WEWS-TV. He will also be allowed to be in the team’s facility and in arenas up to two hours before a game’s start time, the news station reported.
In a statement, the Cavaliers reiterated its support of the NBA/NBA Players’ Association Anti-Drug Program and said it was “disappointed” to learn of “the recent news surrounding Tristan Thompson.”
“His time away from game action will have impact on our team,” the statement read. “We stand behind Tristan and offer our support throughout this suspension period.”
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 23, 2024
The World Anti-Doping Agency includes both ibutamoren and SARMs, or selective androgen receptor modulators, on its banned substances list. Ibutamoren is classified as a growth hormone secretagogue while SARMs are anabolic agents. Both have been associated with muscle growth and bone density, The Washington Post reported.
Thompson, 32, is in his first season back with the Cavs after helping the team to four straight NBA Finals appearances from 2015 to 2018, including the team’s first-ever NBA championship in 2016. He spent his first nine seasons in the league with the team before leaving as a free agent in 2020, according to team officials and The Associated Press.
He has so far appeared in 36 games off the bench for the Cavs this season, Cleveland.com reported.
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