GLOBAL DRUG CODE REACHES NBA

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - NBA players on Olympic teams will face
out-of-competition random drug tests for the 2004 Athens Games starting July
1 as part of a global program that is expected to be approved today.

Under the system, which applies to athletes in all Olympic sports, drug
testers can show up unannounced at a player's house at any time to ask for a
sample.

This is the first time NBA stars will face such comprehensive, pre-Olympic
testing, U.S. drug officials said. ``There will be no differentiation
between a team handball athlete and an NBA professional,'' said Terry
Madden, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

The NBA and other U.S. professional leagues are not formally covered by the
World Anti-Doping code being completed at a three-day drug summit here. The
code set outs uniform drug-testing rules and sanctions across all sports and
countries.

Pro leagues are only ``encouraged'' to comply, because they aren't under the
jurisdiction of international sports federations or national governments.
But pro athletes wishing to take part in the Olympics are subject to the
same pre-Games testing as other competitors.

Players on the U.S. roster or contending for spots on the Athens team will
be part of a pool of athletes subject to testing.

The program is similar to what NHL players faced before the Salt Lake City
Olympics. NBA players have been in the Olympics since the first Dream Team
at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

``We've been through it before with the NHL players, and it worked well,''
Madden said. ``I think they can relate to the NBA and tell them that
everything is done properly.''

The NBA players' union had no comment Tuesday except to say it was reviewing
the new policy.

U.S. players had to take random drug tests at training sites in Hawaii and
Australia before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. NBA players also were subject to
out-of-competition controls before last year's world championships in
Indianapolis, where the United States finished sixth.

USA Basketball, the national governing body, said this is the first time
players will be eligible for testing so far before the Games and away from
the playing venues. ` `It's something the USOC has encouraged and been
pushing for,'' USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said. ``It's a
requirement.''

Last month, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan were
selected to the 12-man team. Kobe Bryant, Mike Bibby and Karl Malone are
also expected to join, with the rest of the roster announced in the spring.

The team will compete in a qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico in August.
If the Americans finish among the top three, they earn a trip to Athens.

The U.S. Olympic Committee, the White House Drug Control Policy Office and
the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency back the new code.

Edward Jurith, general counsel of the White House office, called the code a
``significant step forward'' but said the U.S. government was not in a
position to influence the pro leagues.

Sports organizations have until the Athens Olympics to sign the code or face
possible expulsion from the Games. Governments are to sign a declaration of
support before the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.