Chauncey Billups Says Some of His Teammates Played Better High

If you’ve ever found yourself watching an NBA game and thinking, “Am I crazy, or does our team seem stoned tonight?” then you may find it comforting to know that you may well have been right.

Chauncey Billups was talking about the NBA’s marijuana policy Saturday on NBA Countdown. He supported a medical marijuana exception to the league’s weed ban — an idea that seems to be picking up steam across the sports world, with medical marijuana now legal in 28 states, and recreational weed available in eight — but he took it a step further.

Marijuana, Billups said, doesn’t just help some players with pain or anxiety, for some it’s actually a performance-enhancing drug.

Here’s the quote:

"“I had teammates…I actually wanted them to smoke. They played better like that. It helped them focus in on the game plan…I needed them to do that. I would rather them [smoke] sometimes than drink.”"

A few years ago, some former Oregon football players copped to getting high before games to help them perform better, and while stoners have made some outlandish claims about weed over the years, this is one that doctors have been hearing from athletes for a long time.

So I’d say it sounds reasonable that marijuana could help certain athletes perform better, and there might be certain athletes that only think it does.