Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson dunked so hard at the NBA Rising Stars Challenge he literally broke the rim. All hail our king Zion Williamson, the rim-wrecker. I didn’t anticipate spending my Valentine’s Day evening watching the NBA Rising Stars Challenge, but my life choices led me to this moment. I have no regrets because watching
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2:53 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who is the Quicken Loans founder and chairman, is slowly returning to work eight months after he had a stroke. Gilbert, 58, returned to his Detroit office early this year. He’s there one or two days a week, using a wheelchair and accompanied
The Miami Heat almost swept the festivities for the 2020 NBA All-Star Saturday night in Chicago as Bam Adebayo and Derrick Jones Jr won the skills challenge and dunk contest in one of the best nights in recent memory. The term “positionless” Basketball has dominated the discussion around the modern NBA. The idea was that
11:37 PM ET Lawrence MurrayESPN.com The 2020 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk contest at the United Center in Chicago already had the potential to be memorable Saturday night. 2008 winner Dwight Howard was returning! Pat Connaughton was participating for the first time! Derrick Jones Jr. was back after coming in second back in 2017! And Aaron
The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s greatest enigma. At home, the Sixers are a powerhouse. Their 25-2 record speaks for itself, but that number still fails to encapsulate their impressiveness in their own arena. The 20-point drubbings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams with the best record in each conference, add
10:21 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN CHICAGO — Between them, Buddy Hield and Devin Booker took 108 3-point shots Saturday night. It took until the 108th and final one to determine who would come out on top in the NBA’s 3-point shootout — with Hield, thanks to hitting four of the five money balls on his
Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke put on the greatest dunk contest that never was. The Rising Stars Challenge between the World and U.S. teams was pretty exciting and delivered a special payoff for the fans who watched until the final minutes. Zion Williamson was the main attraction for the U.S. team
2:37 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN CHICAGO — Joel Embiid has heard all of the chatter about the awkward fit between he and fellow Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons on the court, and whether the two of them are capable of winning at the highest levels playing together — noises that have only grown louder as
The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s greatest enigma. At home, the Sixers are a powerhouse. Their 25-2 record speaks for itself, but that number still fails to encapsulate their impressiveness in their own arena. The 20-point drubbings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams with the best record in each conference, add
11:59 PM ET The Rising Stars Challenge got off to a sleepy start in the first quarter Friday, and Team World took a 10-point lead into the halftime locker room despite equipment damage courtesy of New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson. But Charlotte Hornets small forward Miles Bridges flipped a switch in the second
Clippers star Paul George re-aggravated his previous left hamstring strain and faces an unknown recovery time heading into the All-Star break. Hamstrings can be fickle. Los Angeles Clippers’ star forward Paul George re-aggravated the left hamstring strain he suffered earlier this season during the second quarter of a 141-133 double-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics
Kobe Bean Bryant, 41, died on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant was born Aug. 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was introduced to the basketball consciousness as a basketball phenom at Lower Merion High School. He was introduced to the national consciousness in 1996 when
First Things First’s Nick Wright speaks with FanSided’s Mark Carman about the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant during Super Bowl LIV week down in Miami. It might be Super Bowl week down in Miami, but there was notably a somber tone on Monday morning. On Sunday, the world learned of the tragic passing of NBA
10:38 PM ET CHICAGO — United Center rims proved to be no match for rookie Zion Williamson. After catching a lob pass from USA teammate Trae Young in Friday night’s Rising Stars Challenge game, Williamson slammed down a two-handed jam that caused the rim to bend. At halftime, spading experts had to bring out a
The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s greatest enigma. At home, the Sixers are a powerhouse. Their 25-2 record speaks for itself, but that number still fails to encapsulate their impressiveness in their own arena. The 20-point drubbings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams with the best record in each conference, add
1:26 PM ET CHICAGO — It might be early in the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities, which feature events with famous musicians, chefs, Instagram stars and actors, but one person has already left top draft pick Zion Williamson starstruck: former President Barack Obama. Williamson said his meeting with Obama was one of his top life experiences.
NBA All-Star weekend jerseys have patches honoring Kobe and Gianna Bryant and the seven other Calabasas crash victims as well as a black band for former NBA Commissioner David Stern. Kobe Bryant will be in the hearts and on the mind of the NBA community gathering in Chicago for All-Star Weekend. The first All-Star Game since
2:11 AM ET BOSTON — For a brief moment, Lou Williams and the LA Clippers thought they might be able to escape Boston with what they thought could have been a four-point play. But after saying they saw one official count what they thought was a Williams 3-point shot with the foul with 23.6 seconds
The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s greatest enigma. At home, the Sixers are a powerhouse. Their 25-2 record speaks for itself, but that number still fails to encapsulate their impressiveness in their own arena. The 20-point drubbings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams with the best record in each conference, add
The Houston Rockets’ small-ball experiment might not result in a championship, but it’s taking Moreyball to its logical extreme. Give the Houston Rockets credit: Regardless of whether their newfangled small-ball experiment results in a championship, they’re willing to challenge the NBA status quo. Conventional wisdom dictates that teams need a big-bodied center to score near
9:32 PM ET BOSTON — LA Clippers guard Paul George suffered a strained left hamstring again and was ruled out in the second half against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The Clippers announced George was out at halftime because of the same injury that cost him nine straight games in January and a total
Damian Lillard and Ja Morant raised each other over and over again as their teams battled for a crucial win and playoff position. With the Grizzlies and Trail Blazers engaged in a battle for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, Wednesday night’s game held all sort of significance. What normally might have been a
The Warriors are betting they can turn Andrew Wiggins into something more than he’s been. What did we learn about that process from his first game? Human beings have a tendency to want to fix people. Whether it’s in their personal relationships or their favorite basketball team, they often believe that they are brought into
11:24 AM ET Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker will replace the injured Damian Lillard in this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game and 3-point contest. The NBA named Booker as Lillard’s replacement Thursday, one day after the Portland Trail Blazers star suffered a right groin strain. Booker, 23, will make his first career All-Star appearance in his
The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s greatest enigma. At home, the Sixers are a powerhouse. Their 25-2 record speaks for itself, but that number still fails to encapsulate their impressiveness in their own arena. The 20-point drubbings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams with the best record in each conference, add
3:26 AM ET DENVER — The Los Angeles Lakers increased their stranglehold on the Western Conference’s No. 1 spot with an impressive road win against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, but LeBron James claims seeding isn’t a topic of conversation for L.A. “We don’t talk about it,” James said after the Lakers’ 120-116 overtime win
It’s been uttered many times before: “Rappers wanna be ballers, ballers wanna be rappers.” Who do the ten NBA All-Star starters compare to in the rap game? Rap and hoops go together like Jerry Ferrara (Turtle) and fitted caps circa the “Entourage” era. They are practically synonymous. A game that was immortalized on the streets
6:45 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his second straight game Wednesday, just days after his girlfriend gave birth to the couple’s first child. In addition to sitting out against the Indiana Pacers, Antetokounmpo also missed Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Milwaukee (46-7) has the NBA’s best record
Looking to bolster their standing in the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz revamped their bench a little bit back in December. They added Jordan Clarkson in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and released Jeff Green who, to that point, hadn’t had quite the impact they’d imagined when the team signed him in the offseason.
The Dallas Mavericks will add the recently released Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to fill some minutes on the wing. Can he cash in on this golden opportunity? Take a look back at the top 10 picks of the 2012 NBA Draft, and the biggest disappointment in that group is pretty easy to identify. It’s obviously not Anthony