3:46 PM ET ESPN News Services The Washington Wizards have fired president Ernie Grunfeld, the team announced. Washington is next to last in the Southeast Division with a 32-46 record and has been eliminated from playoff contention. “We did not meet our stated goals of qualifying for the playoffs this season and, despite playing with
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Who is the best NBA team to ever land at each of the eight playoff spots in each conference? The playoff seeding system does it’s best to set up a playoff bracket this is smoothly weighted from top to bottom. But the truth is that potential is uneven and great teams land all over the
If you’ve been a diehard NBA fan for years, you’ll probably remember the 2016-17 Los Angeles Lakers. No, their record wasn’t the greatest and, no, they didn’t make the playoffs in the competitive, crowded Western Conference. Instead, this team had its fair share of inside jokes, including one that gradually grew into a viral sensation.
7:26 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Zion Williamson is about to get paid. Long before he steps on an NBA court, the projected No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft is expected to land a sneaker endorsement deal that will make him far richer than his first NBA contract will. In fact, many in the
More details have emerged about the rape accusations made against former Knicks’ star Kristaps Porzingis. The story just keeps getting more complicated. Any NBA action this weekend was largely overshadowed by a rape complaint filed with the NYPD against former Knicks’ star Kristaps Porzingis. The complaint was filed Thursday and news of it broke in
8:58 PM ET Celtics president Danny Ainge presented Dwyane Wade with a plaque featuring a photo and a piece of the old Boston Garden parquet floor Monday night to commemorate his retirement. Ainge met with Wade in a TD Garden hallway before the Celtics hosted the Heat in Wade’s final regular-season game in Boston. “Thank
As franchises have been eliminated from postseason contention, Basketball Insiders started to diagnose their ailments and offer future plans of attack. Unfortunately, it may take a whole lot more than that to fix the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans, who now find themselves in a unique circle of basketball misfortune, had a frustratingly inconsistent campaign
8:41 AM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Eight months after a 29-year-old woman says that NBA star Kristaps Porzingis sexually assaulted her inside his apartment, she contacted the New York Knicks‘ legal department to seek to “mediate in private” a payment of $68,000, according to emails obtained by ESPN. At the time of the woman’s documented communication
Zach Collins doesn’t remember the time, the day of the week, or even the name of the hotel. His body was waging a war against itself — a need for sleep but too much energy to simply succumb — as he tried to accept the immensity of the moment. “You’re sitting there, alone, thinking, ‘Damn,
2:02 AM ET ESPN News Services NBA players are mourning the death of Grammy-nominated West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed outside his Los Angeles clothing store on Sunday, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Police confirmed that three men were shot Sunday, and one of them was killed outside Marathon Clothing, the
As franchises have been eliminated from postseason contention, Basketball Insiders started to diagnose their ailments and offer future plans of attack. Unfortunately, it may take a whole lot more than that to fix the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans, who now find themselves in a unique circle of basketball misfortune, had a frustratingly inconsistent campaign
OG Anunoby emerges from the damp, warm comfort of the locker room and surveys the breezy hallway with eyes both electric and half-lidded. He crouches lower, revealing a nest of permanently tousled hair, to better hear a Toronto Raptors staffer above the din of gathered media and players milling about. He’s pointed toward a waiting
3:51 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Trae Young grabbed a deflected inbounds pass and made a last-second jumper to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 136-135 overtime win over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Justin Anderson had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, and John Collins finished with 23 points and 12
Sunday’s FanDuel slate: 7 p.m. ET: Sacramento at San Antonio8 p.m. ET: Washington at Denver8:30 p.m. ET: Charlotte at Golden State10:30 p.m. ET: Memphis at LA Clippers My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s FanDuel daily picks. Each day in order to offer a variety of price points
This — all of it — was unfamiliar for Derrick White, a player who wasn’t molded for the pros from a young age like so many today. Mock drafts were slotting him in the first round. NBA franchises leafed through his personal life and reached out to friends and family, inquiring about his character. Agents
10:51 PM ET Associated Press It’s official: In the NBA, this was the year of the 3-pointer. Again. The NBA has set a record for 3-pointers made for the seventh consecutive year, after the 25,808th of the season was made Saturday night. The league is on pace for about an 8 percent rise in 3-pointers
As franchises have been eliminated from postseason contention, Basketball Insiders started to diagnose their ailments and offer future plans of attack. Unfortunately, it may take a whole lot more than that to fix the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans, who now find themselves in a unique circle of basketball misfortune, had a frustratingly inconsistent campaign
Welcome to The Whiteboard, catching you up every morning on what’s good around the NBA. Find The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you by email. The playoff hopes of the Sacramento Kings have been dwindling for a while now, but their loss to the Lakers on Sunday
12:45 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — At halftime of Saturday night’s game here at Barclays Center between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, the home team’s season was on the line. Clinging to a one-point halftime lead, and needing a win to avoid falling into a tie for the Eastern Conference’s eighth and
Here’s how you should set your FanDuel lineup for Saturday’s NBA games. Saturday’s FanDuel slate: 7 p.m. ET: Portland at Detroit, Orlando at Indiana7:30 p.m. ET: Miami at New York8 p.m. ET: Toronto at Chicago, Philadelphia at Minnesota10 p.m. ET: Memphis at Phoenix My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following
4:33 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will be without forward Patrick McCaw for about three weeks because of a sprained right thumb. He was hurt during Thursday night’s win at New York. He will wear a splint while he is sidelined. McCaw is averaging 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds through 26
For the past two weeks, Basketball Insiders has taken a look at the teams who have been eliminated from playoff contention and what they should do in order to get themselves back into the playoffs. Next up in the series is the team with the stickiest situation of all the eliminated teams – the Memphis
Welcome to The Whiteboard, catching you up every morning on what’s good around the NBA. Find The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you by email. Everywhere you look, you can see the signs — buds beginning to pop on the trees, scrawny robins looking to get their worm
Devin Booker’s incandescent scoring pops, but his historic production still isn’t leading to wins. What’s the precedent for this level of individual brilliance coupled with team futility? Devin Booker’s scored 109 points in the last two NBA basketball games he’s played. You know this because it’s insane. You also probably know his team is 0-2
3:53 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After becoming the first Los Angeles Lakers player since Magic Johnson in 1989 to register 17 assists and five steals in a game, Rajon Rondo said he hoped to stick around L.A. a little longer. “Absolutely,” Rondo told ESPN when asked if he wanted to come back to the
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich gave a moving speech about Manu Ginobili during the player’s jersey retirement ceremony. Check it out here. Manu Ginobili was certainly one of the most electrifying basketball players to ever play the game, and his jersey was recently (and rightfully) retired by the San Antonio Spurs after a 116-110 win over
We have seen some epic flops over our lifetime, but none may be able to top what Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons tried to accomplish against the Bucks. What we saw Joel Embiid try to accomplish on Sunday was something that should be enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Granted, we have seen our
9:28 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Oregon Ducks freshman Bol Bol has decided to turn pro, agreeing to hire an agent at CAA for representation in his eventual NBA career, the agency told ESPN on Friday. The 7-foot-2 center is No. 12 on ESPN’s rankings of the top 100 NBA draft prospects. Bol played in nine
In this week’s 2019 NBA Mock Draft, we break down what we saw during the first round of the NCAA Tournament and how it will affect the draft. As always, projected standings are based upon FiveThirtyEight’s CARM-Elo rankings. This version of the mock uses projections as of March 25, with a Suns’ losing streak plugging
If you’ve been a diehard NBA fan for years, you’ll probably remember the 2016-17 Los Angeles Lakers. No, their record wasn’t the greatest and, no, they didn’t make the playoffs in the competitive, crowded Western Conference. Instead, this team had its fair share of inside jokes, including one that gradually grew into a viral sensation.