LeBron James Doping Allegations Revisited as Rumors of PED Usage by Lakers Superstar Swirl

LeBron James is a 39-year-old NBA player in his 21st season. To this day, he’s still seen as “the King”, and plays just as well as he did back when he was 30. Needless to say, he’s doing just fine, but, understandably, it’s led to some questions as to whether or not what we’re seeing is natural.

Rumors of PED (performance-enhancing drugs) usage isn’t anything new when it comes to basketball, but the tune changes dramatically when it revolves around a star as well-known as LeBron James.

LeBron James isn’t a stranger to doping rumors; just a decade ago, the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration investigated James in a federal probe into Biogenesis (a wellness clinic that allegedly supplied PEDs) that may have involved his colleagues. There was no proof that he had been given PEDs, and his name was cleared of any wrongdoing. Now, however, we’re met with a new slew of rumors of James’ potential entanglement with PEDs.

These allegations can be traced to two major sources: Kevin Garnett and Chael Sonnen.

Former NBA player and Boston Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett recently spoke about LeBron James on his podcast, The Ticket and the Truth, and gave what could be considered a subtle, but bold allegation.

When considering whether or not LeBron James’ son, Bronny, could score a bucket over his dad, Garnett couldn’t help but consider how fit James was at the age of 39. It’s an impressive feat indeed, and Garnett was quick to allege that it wasn’t very natural. “You seen his dad?” he asked when referring to Bronny James, before name-dropping a relatively popular PED. “His dad on that BALCO; he on that new juice.”

This simple allegation drew a slew of online queries from the internet, sparking debates on whether or not James was actually “natty” (naturally built), used some sort of legal steroid, or actually used regular PEDs.

Jason Whitlock, a popular Youtuber who consistently covers NBA reports, threw some gasoline on the fire by bringing up the Biogenesis investigation and James’s involvement in it. While many have been using this to support their beliefs that the Lakers superstar isn’t as natural as he claims, we must reiterate that LeBron James was cleared of any wrongdoing as the investigation came to a close.

Some other social media fitness enthusiasts and commentators, such as bodybuilding Youtuber Bradley Martyn, have made claims that James is on some sort of performance-enhancing substance, none of these allegations have been backed up.

The biggest piece of evidence the internet has dug up so far is something said by MMA fighter and current ESPN employee Chael Sonnen, who actually made the bold accusation last year. The evidence lies in his connections.

According to Sonnen, if there is one thing they have in common, it’s that they have the same EPO dealer. Erythropoietin, or EPO, is a performance and endurance-enhancing drug, and it is very much banned in the NBA. Sonnen champions EPO as king, noting that it is both very expensive and very hard to come by. Because of this, it just so happened that they had the same dealer, allegedly.

Understandably, he had been asked if there was any validity to this frankly bold claim, to which he said “yes” and casually moved on. He also name-dropped a couple others as PED users, including Dwayne Johnson.

Many have championed this moment as being the proof they need that LeBron James is using performance-enhancing drugs. If this is true, it could very well ruin the superstar’s career.

All of the above allegations have been either ignored or denied by LeBron James himself.