10:09 PM ET Rachel Nichols In an interview ahead of the Christmas Day matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, LeBron James sat down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols to talk about the start of the 2018-19 season, recruiting stars to his team and how he reacted to Finals MVP Kevin Durant‘s comments
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Is there any word that excites fans more about an individual player than “potential?” Hardly anyone comes into this league a finished product. With rare exceptions like Tyreke Evans and Michael Carter-Williams, almost every player that makes it in the NBA gets better after their rookie season. Some young players need more time than others.
A typical top-five pick in the NBA will spend the bulk of his rookie season navigating the league’s ups and downs through games without much more than personal development and reputation at stake. Luka Dončić, then, is a particularly notable exception to this trend, having assumed a central role on a team squarely in the
You can’t really understand Stephen Curry until you’ve seen him take a jumper. It is the organizing principle for every other outward expression of his basketball id — the languid cuts and curls, the slight frame, the oppressive confidence, the slithery dribbles, the skittish defensive energy he evokes from opponents. He pulls up behind the
Having signed a billion-dollar, lifetime deal, LeBron James was going to be a big part of Nike’s plans, regardless of where he played. But not long after his signing with the Lakers, Nike’s marketing teams in Beaverton, Oregon, and Los Angeles went into overdrive. The company quickly put up billboards steps away from Staples Center
As the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors this Christmas, all eyes will be on LeBron James, but he’ll be closely watching his teammates. When LeBron James steps onto the Oracle Arena floor this Christmas, all the cameras and microphones will be focused on him, but the pressure will be on LeBron’s
With no clear way to make the players younger, the Charlotte Hornets did the next best thing and made the coaching staff younger. The Charlotte Hornets, as a team, somewhat stuck in the mud with no clear path forward on the current core, knew that they had to get younger this offseason. The Charlotte Hornets,
It would be a metaphoric gut punch to Charlotte’s fanbase, but the Hornets would be better off getting a king’s ransom for Kemba Walker right now. Trading a star is never easy, but it feels nearly impossible for the Charlotte Hornets. Kemba Walker is really all the Hornets have got, and life without him would
11:55 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Any discussion about the Boston Celtics over this holiday weekend was centered around the team meeting that took place after Friday’s dismal showing at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. There was plenty more talk about it after the Celtics came out and blew the doors off the Charlotte
Is there any word that excites fans more about an individual player than “potential?” Hardly anyone comes into this league a finished product. With rare exceptions like Tyreke Evans and Michael Carter-Williams, almost every player that makes it in the NBA gets better after their rookie season. Some young players need more time than others.
Despite a disappointing, injury-riddled 2017-18 season, it’s too early to give up on John Wall as he looks to bounce back and lead the Washington Wizards. For John Wall, the 2017-18 season was a massive disappointment. He slugged through an injury-riddled campaign before the Washington Wizards were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
By trading Marcin Gortat and replacing him with Dwight Howard, the Washington Wizards may have solved their biggest problem: The locker room. Directing blame for the Wizards over eight years of John Wall’s career has been a choose-your-own-adventure of misery. Is injury and inexperience to blame for the team’s inability to break through to the
10:23 AM ET There are 45 minutes until the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kevin Durant is methodically going through his pregame routine, taking shots from various spots on the floor. As he makes his way toward the left corner a fan behind him yells out. “Draymond hates you!” A couple of nights
2:03 PM ET Austin Rivers has agreed to a guaranteed deal for rest of the season with the Houston Rockets, a league source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Rivers will likely help Houston replace Chris Paul, who will miss at least two weeks with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring suffered in Thursday’s loss
The Sacramento Kings are off to a solid start this season, but Dave Joerger may not be winning the front offices’ approval with his allocation of playing time. Dave Joerger is now into his third season as head coach of the Sacramento Kings, which qualifies him as a long-term solution for a franchise on its
FanDuel daily picks from NBA fantasy basketball high salary and high value players to add to your lineup on December 23, 2018. Sunday’s FanDuel slate: 6 p.m. ET: Phoenix at Brooklyn, Charlotte at Boston, Chicago at Cleveland, Miami at Orlando8 p.m. ET: Minnesota at Oklahoma City8:30 p.m. ET: LA Clippers at Golden State9 p.m. ET:
What the Sacramento Kings are doing so far this season is probably not sustainable. I don’t say that to rain on the parade of Kings fans, who absolutely deserve a fun, young team that surprises everyone and makes a run to the playoffs. But the Kings, who entered Tuesday night’s play at 10-10 and in
3:32 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — As Joel Embiid has emerged from two seasons wiped out by injuries to begin his professional career, he has become one of the faces of the modernization and evolution of the center position. By pairing his massive 7-foot frame with the ability to space the floor beyond the
NBA Trade season is officially here. These players have been featured in rumors since Opening Night but it’s time to find some deals that work for them. As we near Christmas, most teams have a good understanding of what they are and what realistic goals they can reach. For some teams, these goals are aligned
Is there any word that excites fans more about an individual player than “potential?” Hardly anyone comes into this league a finished product. With rare exceptions like Tyreke Evans and Michael Carter-Williams, almost every player that makes it in the NBA gets better after their rookie season. Some young players need more time than others.
6:35 PM ET The NBA has fined Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson $25,000 following his ejection in Friday’s 114-106 loss to the Indiana Pacers. NBA executive vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe announced the fine on Saturday. A league statement said Atkinson was fined for “verbally abusing game officials and failing to leave the court in a
LeBron James isn’t worried about tampering, and he’s putting the full-court press on recruiting Anthony Davis. LeBron James hasn’t been shy about his desire to bring another star to the Los Angeles Lakers. He recently said that it “would be amazing” to play with New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis, and then James followed
SACRAMENTO, CA – DECEMBER 14: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors warms up against the Sacramento Kings on December 14, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of
The Orlando Magic are looking to flip center Nikola Vucevic for some assets and draft picks. This should catch no one by surprise in the Magic Kingdom. For the past three seasons, it seemed that the one common thing around the Orlando Magic — other than losing — has been trade rumors surrounding Nikola Vucevic.
DETROIT, MI – APRIL 6: Detroit Pistons head basketball coach Stan Van Gundy shouts out instructions during the second quarter of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Little Caesars Arena on April 6, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User
2:58 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James defended his comments about wanting to play with Pelicans star Anthony Davis, rattling off the names of several other stars he would love to team with and rejecting the notion that he did anything wrong. Speaking with reporters after Friday’s 112-104 win over New Orleans, James was
11:46 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was critical of NFL owners during the latest episode of HBO’s “The Shop” on Friday night, saying they have a “slave mentality.” “In the NFL they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality,” James said during the episode.
Plenty of NBA rookies are making meaningful contributions for their respective teams this season, but these five guys can develop into franchise players. Drafting a quality role player is nice for a franchise, but the best GMs understand the real goal of the draft is to uncover superstars. The 2018 Draft class is full of
2:56 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is feeling ill and is a game-time decision for Friday night’s game, coach Luke Walton said. James was not at Lakers shootaround. Walton said he was getting extra sleep prior to Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPNApp). “We got a sick
3:36 AM ET LOS ANGELES — On a night that Dallas Mavericks center DeAndre Jordan was welcomed back and honored by his former team at Staples Center, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he hoped to see Jordan’s LA jersey retired when all is said and done. “When you think of [Jordan] more than anybody, you