There’s an argument to be made that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was in his prime physically during his four-season stint with the Miami Heat. James spent the latter part of his 20s in a Heat uniform and was a physical specimen while playing with stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
His blend of speed and strength made him an intimidating force in the open court during his Heat days. He was a freight train in the sense that it was nearly impossible to stop him once he got a full head of steam on the break.
Some skeptics have accused James of using steroids before. Former Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague recently added to the noise with some bold comments.
Jeff Teague says LeBron James used steroids while being on the Heat
“They started testing for HGH and he had to sit out. He said his back was hurting and he sat out for 3 weeks then came back skinny.”
(Via @club520podcast, h/t @JesseGladsaget)
pic.twitter.com/8Sd5bgwaXr
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) July 23, 2025
“Miami Heat Bron was — he was on steroids, bro,” Teague said. “He had to sit out he was on steroids, for real, like, legit was on steroids, bro, allegedly. But he had to sit out. … Y’all remember that, though? … They started testing for HGH…and he had to sit out. He said his back was hurting. He sat out for like three weeks, and he came back skinny. I was in the league. I remember.”
However, after making those comments, Teague curiously took to Instagram and reversed course.
The NBA actually started testing for HGH after James’ Heat tenure was over, so Teague might have misremembered some details while making his original comments.
HGH refers to human growth hormone. In this case, the topic at hand is synthetic human growth hormone, a banned substance in the NBA and other sports leagues. Some athletes have turned to it in hopes of experiencing benefits like increased muscle growth, decreased body fat and faster recoveries.
One of the more prominent owners in all of the NBA has pushed to legalize HGH under certain circumstances. Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban — who was once the team’s majority owner — supports the use of HGH for players recovering from injuries.
Cuban funded a study conducted by the University of Michigan that concluded the use of HGH could aid in the recovery of ACL injuries by stopping the loss of muscle strength in knees.
Despite its potential recovery benefits, the NBA has tested for HGH for several years now, and it has even led to the suspensions of some players.
Teague’s comments and subsequent reversal are certainly interesting, and one can only wonder what led to him taking back the claim.