You can forgive new Raptor Marc Gasol for not having enough time to learn the team’s pregame choreography. He clearly didn’t know what was going on. Marc Gasol has not been a part of the Toronto Raptors for long, but it still was mighty awkward to see him left out of their pregame ritual. It
admin
10:41 PM ET Malika AndrewsESPN Minneapolis — Rockets star James Harden put himself in rare company on Wednesday night, scoring at least 30 points in his 31st consecutive game. He is now tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest such streak in NBA history. Harden’s dominant 42-point effort was not enough to fend off the
Joel Embiid is struggling when being defended by Al Horford, and that has to change for the Philadelphia 76ers to reach their ceiling. Tuesday night’s marquee NBA matchup featured the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, in a game that may have implications for playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics went home with a
We are three days away from the NBA All-Star break, meaning that the first half of the season is coming to a close with teams jockeying for position in their respective conference’s standings. Last week’s trade deadline was wild and involved a ton of player movement. It’s still happening right now during buyout season, too.
The Orlando Magic were an afterthought among the big movers on NBA trade deadline day, but they might’ve turned their franchise around. Thursday before 2 p.m. Central time was a mad-house in the NBA. Teams were wheeling and dealing, especially teams in the Eastern Conference, and all the major moves seemed to be over and
Markelle Fultz, whose jumper has made him an object of scorn in Philadelphia, should form a mutually beneficial partnership with Orlando, who got him at little to no risk. The weirdest domino of the 2019 trade deadline fell when Philadelphia traded Markelle Fultz to Orlando. Fultz’s value at this point largely stems from his prior
1:38 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Nearly a year after a hip procedure, Denver Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas will make his return to play against the Sacramento Kings Wednesday, league sources tell ESPN. Thomas, who was upgraded to questionable for the Nuggets game against Sacramento in Denver, made his decision to play on Wednesday morning. Thomas
Someone made an “NBA Jams” t-shirt featuring Ben Simmons’ 3-point rating. It’s both real brutal and incredibly hilarious. When Ben Simmons, the superstar guard of the Philadelphia 76ers, shoots 3-pointers, the memes come out. One actually decided to put it in t-shirt form, and it was both real brutal and incredibly hilarious at the same
2:20 AM ET ATLANTA — The Los Angeles Lakers limped into the All-Star break on Tuesday, falling below .500 for the first time since Nov. 7 after a 117-113 loss to Atlanta Hawks. At 28-29, the Lakers are 2.5 games back of the Sacramento Kings for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. For
As ever, Russell Westbrook has taken it upon himself to be the yang to his own ying for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. Even as a rejuvenated, re-signed Paul George has emerged as a borderline MVP candidate, leading the NBA’s best defense without its own best wing defender, Westbrook remains at the center of the
For the last eight weeks, four of Basketball Insiders’ experts have offered up their views on the 2018 NBA Draft, here is their Final Consensus, with notebooks to follow: Version: 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 Benny’s Notebook: It’s finally here — whew. This is our last set
New York Knicks forward Mario Hezonja has long posterized opponents. But in Cleveland, he had, quite possibly, the dunk of the year. Mario Hezonja and the New York Knicks haven’t had a lot to celebrate this season. After all, they’re dead last in the NBA at 10-46, traded away their only marketable star, and have
Frank Ntilikina might not be the player on everybody’s minds after the New York Knicks traded away Kristaps Porzingis, but this deal has big implications for the French guard just the same. The New York Knicks made plenty of statements when they decided to trade away former franchise cornerstone Kristaps Porzingis in a deal that
6:35 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Nearly a year after a hip procedure, Denver Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas could make his return to the lineup on Wednesday night, league sources told ESPN. Thomas, who was upgraded to questionable for the Nuggets game against Sacramento in Denver, will make a determination about playing earlier in the day
Cam Reddish has been the marginalized member of Duke’s big three, but he’s still considered a top-10 prospect. Is he still worthy of that status? There are plenty of difficult prospects to evaluate in the 2019 NBA Draft. You can make the argument for any of the following as the most difficult — Bol Bol,
After seven years of poor roster-building and team construction, the New Orleans’ Pelicans luck has finally run out. Here’s how they lost Anthony Davis. It all began on June 28, 2012. The New Orleans Pelicans, then Hornets, had the first overall pick in the NBA draft after a dreadful 21-45 lockout season. Their luck was
This good of an NBA rookie class deserves coverage more expansive than the current Rookie of the Year frontrunner. There is no arguing the fact that the Dallas Mavericks got themselves a franchise player in Luka Doncic. Doncic, currently the frontrunner for the NBA Rookie of the Year award, is awesome. Enough about him. There
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot to gain by waiting to trade Anthony Davis, including a shot at Zion Williamson. The Anthony Davis trade saga has been one of the most compelling storylines the NBA has seen in some time. Earlier in the day on Monday it seemed as though the New Orleans Pelicans
12:32 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — Jonas Valanciunas had been one of the faces of the Toronto Raptors the past several years. The gregarious, giant Lithuanian became a fan favorite as a mainstay of Toronto’s rise from Eastern Conference afterthought to perennial power. Valanciunas is a nice player, just like the Raptors had become
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) The deadline came and went, and while some teams improved on the court, other teams helped or hurt themselves in a different way: the lottery standings. We’re getting close… For two and a half seasons now, every conversation about an NBA player or team has ended with “…yeah,
On Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline hit all zeroes — along with plenty of fireworks — and now buyout season is right around the corner. But as franchises continue bolstering their roster ahead of the postseason (or lottery-bound future efforts), another deadline passed recently without much fanfare. Last month, the deadline to sign players to
The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly parted ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau, and fans are taking it pretty well on Twitter. It’s the end of the road for Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota. According to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania, the Timberwolves fired the embattled head coach and will replace him, in the interim at least,
The Minnesota Timberwolves are going to have some big decisions to make this summer. Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t changed his stripes. He’s been known to keep his players on the floor for an excessive amount of minutes in the past, and Friday night was no different. With Jeff Teague out with an
10:51 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — As the crowd showered him with a raucous standing ovation, Russell Westbrook turned to the Portland Trail Blazers bench and gave a little wink. A drive and kick to set Paul George up for a 3 made NBA history: A 10th consecutive triple-double, breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s mark of nine
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 18: Marc Gasol #33 of the Memphis Grizzlie and Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies prior to the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 18, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user
Eric Bledsoe is one of the most important parts of the best team in basketball, the Milwaukee Bucks. For the first time in his career, he’s where he wants to be. Eric Bledsoe’s career has been defined by his butting up against the breach of his own development, improvement in the form of plexiglass terrifyingly
Between stops with the Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd, Christian Wood found time to stop by J. Cole’s Dreamville studio with some teammates. Milwaukee Bucks assignment player Christian Wood tore up the Windy City Bulls on Wednesday night, dropping 33 points and 12 rebounds en route to a big win for Milwaukee’s G League team,
2:21 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Atlanta Hawks guard Jeremy Lin is finalizing a contract buyout, clearing the way for him to sign with the Toronto Raptors, his agents told ESPN. Agents Jim Tanner and Roger Montgomery were expected to complete the buyout with the Hawks as soon as Monday, they said, and Lin could sign
On Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline hit all zeroes — along with plenty of fireworks — and now buyout season is right around the corner. But as franchises continue bolstering their roster ahead of the postseason (or lottery-bound future efforts), another deadline passed recently without much fanfare. Last month, the deadline to sign players to
The play was a completely meaningless one, an unraveled thread in the boring rug of a late-December NBA game. Josh Richardson went in one direction and a pass from Justise Winslow sailed away in another one. The Miami Heat would eventually build a commanding double-digit lead against the Bucks; the turnover shouldn’t matter but it