12:50 PM ET After a second surgery in 28 months to repair his right quadriceps tendon, Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo could be cleared to return to full-contact basketball as soon as November, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Glashow told ESPN. Glashow performed the procedure on May 13, and he expressed surprise that Oladipo had even
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If it still hasn’t sunk in just yet, it bears repeating: the New York Knicks are making their first trip to the NBA Playoffs since 2012-13. Naturally, it’s understandable that most Knicks-centered articles are examining their ceiling this season. Alas, according to Kanye West, the present is the past – so, like Yeezy, we’re looking
NBA fans saw an up-and-down battle Wednesday night that ultimately ended with the Memphis Grizzlies taking care of business and eliminating the San Antonio Spurs. Wednesday night’s game between the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs got off to an ugly start. The Spurs fell behind by 20 points early, but the comeback was on
Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks. (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports) Tyler Seguin still has a challenging road ahead by Mark Carman Celtics fans aim NSFW chant at Kyrie Irving ahead of Nets playoff matchup (Video) by Braulio Perez NBA Twitter went all caps crazy when Dillon Brooks put an exclamation point on the Memphis Grizzlies’ hot start
1:15 AM ET Brianna Williams Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Ja Morant was “on his grizzly” as he led the Memphis Grizzlies to a playoff spot with a win over league MVP finalist Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Read more: Lessons from the wildest NBA season on record The 21-year-old put
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The Washington Wizards really only needed three quarters to eliminate the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night, locking in a first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Wizards used the
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports The Whiteboard: What to watch for in each Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs by Ian Levy John Tavares released from hospital after scary hit to head: Maple Leafs captain out indefinitely by Dave Stevenson A Los Angeles Lakers veteran gives a ton of praise to the Golden State Warriors after their
SAN ANTONIO, TX – MARCH 31: Luke Walton head coach of the Sacramento Kings talks to his team during the game against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at AT&T Center on March 31, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using
9:56 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Friends since their high school days and former USA Basketball teammates and NBA Players Association leadership members together, LeBron James and Chris Paul are about to go against each other in the playoffs for the first time in their storied careers. “It’s going to be comparable to playing against
In our third 2021 NBA Mock Draft, the Houston Rockets land the No. 1 pick and a chance to grab a future star to build around. Since our last NBA Mock Draft, both the NBA and NCAA seasons have concluded locking in the non-lottery draft order and giving us one final look at some top
Ahoy, ahoy Bball junkies! Upon resuming Basketball Insiders’ Now What? Series, we now take a look at the post-LeBron Cleveland Cavaliers 2.0 in Year 3. Because of these new play-in guidelines, the Cavaliers were technically in the playoff hunt for most of the season. Even if there’s a solid argument that calling their season a
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) landed on the floor after he was fouled by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) as he goes up for a basket in the fourth quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports The Whiteboard: Lakers need to bench their bigs, Grizzlies
The Blazers and Nuggets both had elite offenses this season but reached those heights in different ways behind Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokic. Stylistic diversity in the NBA is dead, or so those not familiar with the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers’ work this season will tell you. The two teams, set to square
10:05 AM ET Two 6-foot-9 Florida twins ranked among the top 15 high school juniors in the country — Matt and Ryan Bewley — are signing two-year deals with the Overtime Elite professional league, sources told ESPN, marking the first prep underclassmen to sign contracts with an American professional basketball league. Matt, who is ranked
The finalists have officially been announced for this year’s set of NBA awards. The 2020-21 campaign provided yet another unique NBA season. But one thing that was no different was the level of play on the court. The start of the playoffs also means announcing all the finalists for the regular-season awards. TNT had the
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images The Phoenix Suns are being overlooked in the championship conversation. Here’s why they could shock the world and win the 2021 NBA title. A year ago, the Phoenix Suns just considered themselves fortunate to be invited to the NBA bubble at all. Now, they have legitimate title aspirations. It isn’t
1:24 AM ET During an impassioned speech that took place in the middle of the season after a loss, Russell Westbrook told the Washington Wizards that they were going to make the playoffs despite all the injuries, a COVID-19 outbreak and losing streaks the team had to endure this season. On Thursday night, Westbrook delivered
The Warriors and Lakers turned their play-in game into an instant classic. The Lakers prevailed but the Warriors have more than a few questionable calls to stew over. Both the Warriors and Lakers needed some of those chaotic variables to break their way in Wednesday night’s play-in tournament — bit players to hit big shots,
Ahoy, ahoy Bball junkies! Upon resuming Basketball Insiders’ Now What? Series, we now take a look at the post-LeBron Cleveland Cavaliers 2.0 in Year 3. Because of these new play-in guidelines, the Cavaliers were technically in the playoff hunt for most of the season. Even if there’s a solid argument that calling their season a
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports As the Philadelphia 76ers seek to win their first NBA championship since 1983, here’s what they’ll hope to accomplish in the coming months. The Philadelphia 76ers won’t find out who they face in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs until Thursday, but it ultimately shouldn’t matter. Regardless of whether
After Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were dogged by fit questions for years, the 76ers figured out how to make them work together offensively. Can the Philadelphia 76ers win a title with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons? That question has hung over them for as long as they’ve been teammates. Embiid is a throwback, low-post
7:46 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry are the finalists for this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player award. The top three vote-getters for each of the NBA’s major end-of-season awards — MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the
Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. (Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) 3 controversial calls that cost the Warriors against the Lakers by Ian Levy The Golden State Warriors may have lost, but at least Steph Curry won on the internet. Steph Curry channeled his inner Alonzo Mourning during the Golden State Warriors play-in tournament game loss
12:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers‘ postseason run opened with Wednesday’s winner-take-all play-in game against the Golden State Warriors. And it took everything the defending champions had to win it, 103-100. LeBron James‘ 34-foot 3-point heave to beat the shot-clock buzzer fell through the net with 58.2 seconds remaining, breaking a
1:30 AM ET LOS ANGELES — By all accounts, the play-in tournament has been a resounding success for the NBA this year. It created exciting new scenarios toward the end of the regular season and mostly stemmed the widespread tanking which had made a mockery of the final month of play for the 14 teams
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 15: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center on May 15, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User
The Golden State Warriors are looking to upset the Los Angeles Lakers in their play-in game on Wednesday night. There are two keys to getting it done. What will it take for the Golden State Warriors to take down the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Play-In Tournament? Los Angeles may be the favorite in
Jeremy Lin, Beijing Ducks. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) Stephen A. Smith goes nuclear on abysmal Shohei Ohtani take (Video) by Alicia de Artola NBA veteran Jeremy Lin just hinted on Twitter that he’s getting ready to hang up his sneakers and call it a career.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 08: Tacko Fall #99 of the Boston Celtics defends Russell Westbrook #4 of the Washington Wizards during the first quarter at TD Garden on January 08, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the
7:59 PM ET NEW YORK — After a regular season riddled with injuries, the Brooklyn Nets are entering the NBA playoffs as close to fully healthy as they’ve been all season. Star guard James Harden, who missed over five weeks with a hamstring strain, was available to play in just two games during the final