3:53 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — After a Joel Embiid tip-in put the Philadelphia 76ers up by 14 with under five minutes remaining Sunday afternoon, the superstar center stretched his arms out wide above his head and soaked in the boos from the partisan crowd at Madison Square Garden. Thanks to dominant performances
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Whether you’re unwrapping presents, spending time with loved ones, or in my case, finishing up Chinese food leftovers from the night before, Christmas day is often best-spent flipping on the television and binging some of the best regular season action the NBA has to offer. Today offers a five-game all day slate, beginning with the
In Sacramento, Kevin Huerter has been empowered to expand his offensive skill set and it’s paying huge dividends for the Kings. “He’s playing like Klay, Steph. The way he’s coming off the handoffs and shooting the basketball right now — if you’re not a basketball fan and locked in on the league, you gotta watch
3:32 PM ET Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis suffered a right hand injury and will undergo further testing and evaluation on treatment options that will help determine how much time — if any — Sabonis will miss, sources told ESPN on Saturday. X-rays confirmed the injury and the need for further examination after Friday’s loss
The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks played one of the closest and toughest series of the entire playoffs last year in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They’ve had some time away before the rematch, but Adam Silver thought that Christmas Day would be the perfect time for Game 8 of that series that Boston pulled out
9:47 PM ET Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is expected to return from a groin injury Sunday for the Christmas Day matchup with the Denver Nuggets, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Booker last played one week ago, when he scored 58 points in a comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He landed on the
There’s no greater Christmas Day tradition then betting on the NBA Christmas Day slate. Sure, opening presents is fun, but it doesn’t beat sweating out a wager on a mid-afternoon NBA game. Want some tips and tricks for betting on the five games scheduled for Christmas Day? Let me help you out. [embedded content] Defending
The Phoenix Suns can finally close the chapter on the Robert Sarver saga Matt Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the Phoenix Suns from Robert Sarver, who owns a majority of the team today, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Sarver announced his intention to sell the team after a September bombshell investigation revealed allegations
Bradley Beal’s time with the Washington Wizards has had its highs and lows and it may be coming to an end. The Wizards should trade him while they can. Bradley Beal is currently in his 11th NBA season. He came into the NBA with a league-ready jump shot and the potential to become a great
Dec 21, 2022 Christmas Day is often filled with holiday cheer, presents and, most importantly, basketball. The NBA will host five games throughout the day airing on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN app, and this year’s matchups are worth the watch. Joel Embiid and James Harden will tip things off and are sure to bring
LeBron is something like a Christmas Day tradition. He’ll play his 17th Christmas Day game of his career when his Los Angeles Lakers travel Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic. I’m sure Doncic will be a Christmas mainstay for the NBA in the years to come, but his Mavs are just 17-16
The Toronto Raptors are in a rough place right now and Joel Embiid didn’t miss an opportunity to kick them while they were down. The Raptors pulled out a 113-106 win over the Knicks on Wednesday night, snapping what had been a six-game losing streak. Overall, they’ve lost nine of their last 12 games, falling
8:00 AM ET The NBA’s star-studded slate of Christmas Day games will pit the game’s best against the best in a high-stakes day of action between top contenders. The surging New York Knicks, with their newest star point guard, Jalen Brunson, and a revitalized Julius Randle, will host MVP candidate Joel Embiid, James Harden and
Two streaking teams meet in Philadelphia on Friday night when the L.A. Clippers face off against the Sixers. The Sixers have won six straight, and have an MVP candidate with a healthy Joel Embiid at center, leading the league in scoring for Philly. They has a stiff test on Friday when the Clippers come to
The Orlando Magic started 5-20 and were as unlikely a candidate as you’d find for a six-game win streak. But Markelle Fultz is back and things are clicking. To be clear, the return of Markelle Fultz is not the only reason the Orlando Magic are on a six-game winning streak, including consecutive road wins over
5:33 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Forward Draymond Green had a blunt assessment about what is holding the Golden State Warriors back following the team’s 1-5 road trip. “Right now, I think we are very fragile,” Green said Friday after practice. “You start going through these things and then you start believing them.
Kevin Durant has been piling up technical fouls at an alarming rate and he’s blaming them on some overly sensitive officiating this season. Kevin Durant is leading the league with 11 technical fouls this season, a shocking uptick considering it’s still December and he only logged eight all of last season. When someone on Twitter
Myles Turner has been one of the hottest names in NBA trade rumors but the Pacers have just signaled their intention to try and keep him. Myles Turner’s future in Indiana has never looked entirely secure over the past few seasons. He’s been mentioned in trade rumors for years and while the path looked clear
3:29 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Lakers star big man Anthony Davis has a stress injury in his right foot and will continue to be sidelined indefinitely, the team announced Friday. Davis injured his foot last week during a game against the Denver Nuggets after his lower leg bumped with Nikola Jokic while the two
Things aren’t working for the Toronto Raptors right now. How aggressive do they need to be in remaking this roster into a contender? After an 11-9 start to the season, the Toronto Raptors have now lost nine of their last twelve to push them to a 14-18 record and 10th place in a loaded Eastern
Dec 21, 2022 Tim BontempsESPN The NBA announced Wednesday afternoon that the New York Knicks would lose their 2025 second-round pick as a result of the league’s investigation into the team’s signing of guard Jalen Brunson this summer as a free agent. “This outcome reflected a finding, following an investigation, that the Knicks engaged in
Every Basketball Hall-of-Fame class is loaded with all-time greats. But the just-released nominees for the 2023 class are in a tier all their own. Yesterday, the Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Fame announced their nominees for the 2023 class and it’s shaping up to be an absolute doozy. Gregg Popovich is a first-time Basketball Hall of Fame nominee.
Dec 21, 2022 Kendra AndrewsESPN NEW YORK — As the Golden State Warriors‘ road struggles boiled over in a 143-113 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, head coach Steve Kerr said his team has hit rock bottom. The Warriors are depleted, playing without five rotational players, including three starters, and there is no
You’d be hard pressed to find a day where I’m not all in on watching the NBA action, but the schedule makers certainly made things tough today with the two matchups on Dec. 22. The New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs kick things off in New Orleans, but Zion Williamson (healthy safety protocols) and
Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports NBA rumors are heating up as the trade deadline gets closer and several struggling teams may be reconsidering who they trade and who they keep. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report rounded up the latest NBA rumors today, with a piece that touched on several surprising players who could be working their
6:30 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols and will not play Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs. Williamson has been a driving force this season for the Pelicans, who are 18-12 and in third place in the Western Conference. He’s averaging
The Warriors are without Steph Curry and coming off a historically lopsided loss. How worried should they be about the rest of their season? The Golden State Warriors are in a bad way right now. Steph Curry is out with a shoulder injury, likely until at least mid-Janaury. They’re 1-3 since he was injured but
10:44 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 52 points and the Toronto Raptors snapped the New York Knicks‘ NBA-leading eight-game winning streak 113-106 Wednesday night. “It’s cool,” Siakam said of posting his first 50-point game at Madison Square Garden. “I’m not a super basketball historian. I didn’t start
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports With Zach LaVine’s name in a few negative headlines this week, we look at some possible trade destinations if the Chicago Bulls opt that route. A gigantic storyline surfaced in the NBA this week, with The Athletic reporting Chicago Bulls star guard Zach LaVine experiencing tension with the organization. Per Shams Charania,
3:55 PM ET Associated Press Gregg Popovich has been at the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony many times over the years, always there to show support for someone on the stage. Next year, he might be there in a different capacity. The NBA’s all-time winningest coach — who has quietly declined overtures from the Hall