Anonymous GM on Sleep Deprivation: NBA Has 'A Large Population of Vampires'

As the NBA prepares to kick off another year of coast-to-coast travel across an 82-game regular season, high-ranking officials within both the league office and team front offices are speaking out about the impact of sleep deprivation on players' physical and mental health.  

Baxter Holmes of ESPN spoke with numerous people around the league about the issue, with then-Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside saying it's "impossible" to get quality sleep during the season.

"We have a large population of vampires as it is—add in the travel and it's more so," an anonymous general manager told Holmes. "We all want better solutions to this."

A league source called it "our biggest issue without a solution," adding it's a "dirty little secret that everybody knows about."

The NBA provided a statement to Holmes stating "player health and wellness continues to be a major focus for the NBA." The league pointed to its "significant game schedule changes, an investment in a new airline charter program, a focus on mental health and wellness, and the advancement of wearable technology."

It added: "Sleep is an area we look at closely as part of this effort."

The Portland Trail Blazers led the league last season with well over 40,000 miles traveled:

Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris predicted "in a couple years [sleep deprivation] will be an issue that's talked about, like the NFL with concussions," per Holmes.

National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts told ESPN the union is "anxious to see any new data analyzing the effects of sleep loss in professional sports."

"It's not surprising that poor sleep patterns will negatively affect performance and, more importantly, can cause significant long-term health risks," she said. "In our last round of bargaining, we addressed some of these concerns through schedule adjustments, including by lengthening the season ... and by increasing the mandatory number of days off.”

The 2019-20 NBA regular season kicks off Oct. 22 and all 30 teams will play 82 games by April 15.