Former NBL import banned again over anti-doping breach while in Australia
Former NBL star and NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell has once again found himself at the centre of an anti-doping saga, with the forward suspended by his current club in Puerto Rico after a failed drug testing process that dates back to his time with the Adelaide 36ers.
Harrell has been released by Atléticos de San Germán ahead of the Puerto Rican playoffs after being suspended by the Baloncesto Superior Nacional . , the suspension stems from Harrell’s failure to complete an out-of-competition drug test while playing for the Adelaide 36ers on January 29, 2025. While Harrell did not test positive for any performance-enhancing substances, the failure to complete the testing process resulted in a sanction.
Harrell was formally notified of the suspension on June 29, the final day of the BSN regular season. Just days earlier, he had produced one of his best performances of the season for San Germán, recording 32 points and 14 rebounds, including the game-winning basket, against Capitanes de Arecibo.
BSN tournament director Ricardo Carrillo told Primera Hora that he received formal notification from the NBL through the Puerto Rico Basketball Federation on Wednesday night, confirming Harrell’s suspension, which remains in effect until January 2027. Although the communication was received through the NBL, the league does not impose these suspensions. Anti-doping sanctions are administered through Sports Integrity Australia and the World Anti-Doping Agency .
“Yesterday I received a formal notification from the Australian league through the Puerto Rico Basketball Federation. Based on my investigation, I drafted a resolution that I sent today to all the team owners, including the president, explaining in detail what happened,” Carrillo said.
“On January 29, 2025, the player was notified that he would be given an out-of-competition doping test. He told them that he had been practising since 9:00 a.m. and that he was dehydrated. Even so, Harrell urinated 40 millilitres. Later that day, he urinated an additional 40 millilitres, but the minimum amount required for a doping test is 90 millilitres.
” “Harrell said he couldn’t urinate anymore, and the person in charge of the doping control warned him that he couldn’t leave because that would be a violation of the regulations, as it would be considered as if the test hadn’t been completed. That carries a four-year ban, but he indicated that he couldn’t urinate anymore and left,” he continued.
Carrillo explained that anti-doping officials reduced the sanction to two years, backdated to January 29, 2025, after determining Harrell had attempted to complete the test but was unable to provide the required sample. He also confirmed Harrell did not test positive for any prohibited substance.
Montrezl Harrell of the 36ers drives to the basket under pressure from Matt Hurt of the Phoenix during the round 19 NBL match between South East Melbourne Phoenix and Adelaide 36ers at John Cain Arena, on February 02, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. According to Carrillo, the BSN was unaware of the situation while the investigation was ongoing, with anti-doping cases remaining confidential until a final and binding decision has been made.
Despite the failed drug testing process in January, Harrell was still able to complete the season with the 36ers, appearing in their final five games, before re-signing with the club several months later while the matter remained unresolved. The latest suspension is separate from the events that saw Harrell leave the Adelaide 36ers last year.in September 2025, before the start of the 2025-26 NBL season, after uncertainty surrounding a potential suspension under FIBA regulations.
The situation stemmed from a separate anti-doping matter involving his time with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association . Harrell, who was one of the NBL’s most electrifying players during the 2024-25 season with his energy, highlights and star power, was found to have breached anti-doping regulations after testing positive for carboxy-THC, a metabolite found in cannabis. , which began on November 5, 2025, and concluded on February 4, 2026.
The latest development adds another chapter to a complicated period for the former Adelaide star, who has continued to produce at a high level internationally despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding his playing future. In 29 appearances for Atléticos de San Germán, he averaged 17.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists which led to him being named in the All-Star Five team.
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