Contrary to prior reports, the NBA will indeed do drug testing in Orlando. The NBA and the players' union have agreed to test for performance-enhancing drugs at Disney, but not recreational ones, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
This should ease concerns that many raised over how players would combat the rust generated over several months without basketball. Had the two sides been unable to come to this sort of agreement, players would have been able to take PEDs with impunity. Given the unprecedented situation that the pandemic posed, it would have been naive to assume that many players wouldn't have at least considered it.
The NBA's interest in enforcing policies against recreational drug use at the moment appears somewhat limited. On Monday, the NBA reinstated Charlotte Hornets guard Malik Monk from his indefinite suspension over violations of the league's drug policy, according to the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. The NBA already has an enormously difficult task ahead of it in maintaining the integrity of its Disney World bubble while also testing for performance-enhancing drugs. Adding recreational drug testing on top of that would have strained the league's resources even further.
Considering any testing needed to be agreed upon by the union, sacrificing recreational drug testing in favor of performance-enhancing drug testing simply made more sense for the NBA. The league's stated intent is protecting the health and safety of its players, and its unspoken priority is protecting the integrity of the product it plans to put on the floor in Orlando. Testing for PEDs is a necessity on both fronts, and the league was fortunately able to negotiate for it.
