8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA regular season’s final weekend is here, and all we know is 48 hours of chaos lie ahead. Thanks to a jumbled seeding picture in both conferences, only a handful of seeds are decided. Here’s a quick rundown of all of it, beginning with the crowded top of the
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7:58 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Rookie Evan Mobley was back in the starting lineup for the Cleveland Cavaliers for Friday’s key game against the Brooklyn Nets. Mobley missed the previous five games with a sprained left ankle and the Cavaliers lost four of them without their big man. Mobley is a
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images) Cardinals Opening Day roster has 3 likely surprises by Miranda Remaklus Luka Doncic put on a show for the Mavericks against the Pistons on Wednesday night, stunning NBA Twitter with his no-look passes. The Mavericks continued to put pressure on the Warriors for third place in the Western
1:17 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — After entering the All-Star break tied for first place in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls’ prolonged second-half struggles have seen them fall in the standings as they endure their worst stretch of the season heading into the playoffs. Chicago locked itself into the No. 6 seed in
Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers refused to speak on LeBron James’ recent comments about wanting to play with Steph Curry. This week, LeBron James made some headlines, and not just for the Los Angeles Lakers being eliminated from playoff contention following a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns. A clip from James’ HBO
Despite his longtime Philadelphia 76ers ties, Sixers legend Julius Irving (Dr. J) picked Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic over 76ers big man Joel Embiid. As the NBA season draws to a close, MVP votes are being cast by all who watch the game. Three big men continue to dominate this conversation—Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and
Optimizing the combination of James Harden and Joel Embiid for the 76ers means utilizing the pick-and-roll, a play neither player has used much the past few years. With the NBA playoffs less than three weeks away, teams are clawing for spots within the standings, looking to cement their seeding, avoid play-in games, and secure the
9:36 PM ET DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will be suspended for Sunday’s regular-season finale unless the NBA office rescinds the technical foul called against him after the first quarter of Friday night’s 128-78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was officially Doncic’s 16th technical foul of the season, triggering an automatic one-game
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 01: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks off the court after warming up before the basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena on April 1, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this
Kentucky basketball star Oscar Tshiebwe is putting his name in the NBA Draft pool to explore his options but a return to the Wildcats is still open. Kentucky had the unanimous player of the year in their lineup in 2021-22. Could they get him back for 2022-23? Oscar Tshiebwe has accomplished just about every individual
The Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic got chippy on Thursday as a scuffle resulted in ejections for Robin Lopez, Admiral Schofield and Montrezl Harrell. The Hornets are battling for a more favorable draw in the Eastern Conference play-in games. They have plenty to play for this season. The Magic have been eliminated from the postseason.
1:21 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will not play in the final two games of the Lakers season because of soreness in his left ankle, the team announced on Friday. The Lakers, already eliminated from play-in tournament contention since Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns guaranteed the San Antonio Spurs would finish ahead
This season delivered a fascinating and unique MVP race, but only one of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić can take home the most sacred of the individual NBA awards. With Rookie, Coach, Sixth Man, Most Improved, All-Defense and Defensive Player of the Year awards taken care of, it’s time to wrap up the
For the second consecutive season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the worst teams in the NBA. For Sam Presti, it’s all going according to plan. There may not be another executive as intrinsically tied to his team’s success as Sam Presti. The current tankathon the Oklahoma City Thunder have been on for the
12:57 AM ET ESPN News Services DENVER — Nikola Jokic made history on the night his Denver Nuggets clinched a fourth consecutive playoff berth with a 122-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jokic became the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season. He had 35 points,
Our WNBA Mock Draft takes a look at a talented crop of prospects and a draft order that has been dramatically remade by a number of trades. We’re less than a week away from the 2022 WNBA Draft. The Atlanta Dream hold the No. 1 pick for this year’s draft after a trade with the
8:22 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — The Memphis Grizzlies would like for All-Star guard Ja Morant to play at least once before the regular season ends. The final decision for Morant’s return rests with the team’s medical staff. “He’s doing great,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said Thursday. “All signs are in a really good
Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) Frank Clark recruits Tyrann Mathieu back to Chiefs by Braulio Perez Kyrie Irving broke his silence on being snubbed from the NBA 75 team. He believes he deserved to make the list. At the beginning of the NBA season, the NBA released their list
The Pelicans won’t entertain Zion Williamson trade offers unless he forces their hand. But if he does, the New York Knicks should be ready to pounce. Let’s say this off the top – the Knicks need to stay the course and continue to build through the young guns and the draft. They have a collection
New Orleans Pelicans Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports Pittsburgh Steelers full 2022 NFL mock draft by Rucker Haringey The New Orleans Pelicans have been waiting three years for their moment to get back at Anthony Davis for forcing a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers and last night that moment finally came. Last night,
7:42 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that while there was no specific discussion of the impending arbitration between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers, he said his bigger concern moving forward is “a trend of star players not participating in a full complement of games,” and hopes
Apr 6, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets power forward Kevin Durant (7) looks to make a move against New York Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett (9) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports The Brooklyn Nets are gearing up to compete in the play-in tournament,
12:43 AM ET NEW YORK — For the first time since they both spurned the New York Knicks and joined forces with the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played together inside Madison Square Garden and helped lead their team to a 110-98 victory over a Knicks team that
Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has made history with four different NBA teams, which serves as a timely reminder as the No. 1 Suns enter playoffs. The NBA’s WAR (wins above replacement) metric offers a statistical quantification of how much one player influences a team’s record. According to FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR WAR calculations, Denver Nuggets
A general view of the NBA logo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports The NBA Playoffs are right around the corner, but unlike most years, there is an impossible amount of questions still surrounding the league. Most important among them is, who is the best team this season? The NBA Playoffs are just about here, but there
7:10 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Philadelphia 76ers listed guard Matisse Thybulle as “ineligible to play” in Thursday’s game in Toronto against the Raptors, a sign Thybulle could also be unable to play in the three road games of a potential playoff series between the two franchises. Last week, ESPN asked the four teams atop
LeBron James is in range to win the 2021-22 NBA scoring title but he’ll need to overcome some hurdles to get to the top of the stat charts. It’s been an utterly disappointing season for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been eliminated from the playoffs despite compiling a “big three” of stars including LeBron
11:51 AM ET Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will not return for the remainder of the season, the team announced Wednesday. Ball, who has not played since Jan. 14, had surgery on his left knee on Jan. 28 to repair a slight meniscus tear. The team said he is still experiencing pain “with high-level
With the NBA season almost finished, which players distinguished themselves most this year on the defensive end? Accurately evaluating NBA defense is an almost impossible endeavor, and opinions of individual defenders depend largely on the eye of the beholder. There are so many little things that happen (or don’t) within a possession that can fly
Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams has perfected the art of offensive rebounding by just standing there. When it comes to offensive rebounding, Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams likes to KISS it: Keep it simple, stupid. Adams was asked at the podium on how to explain his success on the glass in layman’s terms to the commoners