Sleep Deprivation In NBA Considered 'Our Biggest Issue Without A Solution'

Sleep deprivation amongst NBA players is what one source involved with player health calls "our biggest issue without a solution."

"It's the dirty little secret that everybody knows about," said the source within a lengthy and detailed piece by ESPN's Baxter Holmes.

NBA teams players 82 games in under six months and fly up to 50,000 miles per season.

One NBA GM calls it a "very big issue." Another GM adds, "We have a large population of vampires as it is -- add in the travel and it's more so. We all want better solutions to this." Says a third, "It is a real problem for the entire league."

Tobias Harris is a vocal advocate for sleep and tries to get nine hours.

"You ask anybody in the room, the thing I talk about is sleep," said Harris.

"I think in a couple years," he says, "[sleep deprivation] will be an issue that's talked about, like the NFL with concussions."

Testosterone is temporarily lowered when being deprived of sleep and injuries seem to accumulate in those situations.