2:28 AM ET PHOENIX — Jrue Holiday knows what everyone wants him to do. No one needs to tell him to be more aggressive offensively. Or to keep shooting, that his shots will eventually start falling. “We always kind of throw that out there,” says his father, Shawn Holiday. But Shawn has coached his son
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6:08 PM ET ESPN News Services Denver Nuggets wing Will Barton has declined his $14.7 million player option for the 2021-2022 season and will become a free agent, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. There is a strong interest between the team and Barton to negotiate a new deal once free agency opens in August, sources
8:06 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHOENIX — Two days after Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s ridiculous block of Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton‘s dunk attempt late in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals helped save Milwaukee’s season, he still can’t explain exactly how he was able to pull it off. “It’s
8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The Milwaukee Bucks know what it takes to come back from a 2-0 deficit, having already done so in the second round against the Brooklyn Nets. Now, after falling behind 2-0 in the NBA Finals, the Bucks return to Phoenix with the series level at two games apiece. Can the
10:07 PM ET PHOENIX — After coming up small in what would have been the biggest win of his career, missing out on taking a 3-1 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals, Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul went to the tape. Just like Paul and teammate Devin Booker reviewed the film
11:00 AM ET Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is withdrawing from Team USA and will not travel to Tokyo for the Olympics, his agent, Jeff Schwartz, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. Love spent 10 days with Team USA in Las Vegas preparing for the Games but is still returning to full form from a
3:40 PM ET DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks hired Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd as head coach in large part because they believe he’s uniquely suited to guide Luka Doncic as the 22-year-old two-time All-NBA selection pursues his championship aspirations. In a news conference Thursday to introduce Kidd and new general manager Nico
2:44 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books LAS VEGAS — Bradley Beal is expected to miss the Tokyo Olympics because of health and
1:55 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN MILWAUKEE — Teams don’t become NBA Finals contenders overnight. The same goes for players developing into All-Stars and league MVPs. Making those kinds of gains, and reaching that kind of rarified air, takes time and pain, sweat and tears. For Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, the past eight years have
2:04 AM ET MILWAUKEE — When are we going to see a Khris Middleton game? From the Deer District to the bluffs of Lake Michigan, this has been the persistent question around town since the Bucks returned to Milwaukee down 2-0 to the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals. Giannis Antetokounmpo will get his
8:41 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has entered the health and safety protocols at Team USA camp, sources confirmed to ESPN. USA Basketball announced a player had entered the protocol but didn’t name the player. Beal, who played 30 minutes in Team USA’s win over Argentina on Tuesday night, is
12:07 PM ET Denver Nuggets assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. and Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham are the front-runners in the Washington Wizards‘ coaching search, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bucks assistant Charles Lee also has emerged as a finalist for the job, sources said. Unseld, who has served as a Nuggets assistant since
8:21 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Team USA stabilized itself by putting together its most complete game of its Olympic preparation schedule, beating Argentina 108-80 Tuesday night. After back-to-back losses that saw the Americans struggle with offensive execution and defensive stamina, they showed more traction on both fronts 12 days before their Olympic opener in
8:53 PM ET LA Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard underwent successful surgery to repair a partial tear of the ACL in his right knee, the team announced Tuesday. In their release, the Clippers said there was no timetable for his return. Leonard was injured in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Utah
12:17 PM ET The New Orleans Pelicans are progressing on a deal to hire Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green as head coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. A 12-year NBA veteran, Green has been an assistant with the Suns for the past two seasons and spent the previous three seasons on the Golden State Warriors‘
10:09 PM ET Team USA might indeed win its fourth consecutive Olympic gold next month in Tokyo. But if they do, it will be a story of overcoming adversity. The Americans lost their second consecutive exhibition Monday, this time bested by Australia 91-83 in Las Vegas. Dating to the 2019 World Cup, where they finished
8:00 AM ET Tim Bontemps Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM P.J. Tucker wasn’t interested in eating the goulash. It was during the 2008-09 season, and Tucker was somewhere in the Ukraine, playing for BC Donetsk
1:14 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN MILWAUKEE — The Phoenix Suns took control of the NBA Finals by surging ahead in the final five minutes of the first half of Games 1 and 2 at home. On Sunday night, the Milwaukee Bucks began to climb back into the best-of-seven affair by giving the Suns a taste
12:58 AM ET MILWAUKEE — It’s easy to forget that as recently as six days ago, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was questionable to take the court for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. A journey of more than two decades that started in the humble Athens, Greece, neighborhood of Sepolia and arrived on the doorstep
4:28 PM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Phoenix Suns forward Torrey Craig is planning to play in Game 3 on Sunday after injuring his right knee in Game 2, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Craig was listed as probable for the game Sunday on the NBA’s official injury report. Craig was
6:03 AM ET NBA Insiders The Milwaukee Bucks are down 2-0 once again this postseason, but can the Bucks find a way to rally against the Phoenix Suns as they did against the Brooklyn Nets? The dynamic duo of Devin Booker and Chris Paul have carried the Suns for the first two games, and if
10:27 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Team USA suffered a stunning and sobering defeat in its first exhibition basketball game before the Olympics, getting outplayed by Nigeria in a 90-87 loss Saturday night. Coming into the game, the Americans had been 54-2 in exhibition games since professionals started playing in 1992. Nine years ago, they
5:02 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN MILWAUKEE — The Bucks returned home for Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals in a less than enjoyable position after the Phoenix Suns won the opening two contests of this best-of-7 affair in Phoenix. But if one judged the state of the Bucks solely from how superstar forward
11:30 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Philip Anschutz sold his 27% minority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to Los Angeles Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly in a deal that closed Friday. The transaction was approved by the NBA’s board of governors, according to AEG. “We remain strongly invested in the
11:09 PM ET With just nine available players, Team USA promoted seven players, including three NBA players, from its Select Team for five exhibition games over the next week. Saddiq Bey of the Detroit Pistons, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs will be available for minutes if
3:52 PM ET ESPN News Services An MRI on the right knee of Phoenix Suns forward Torrey Craig revealed no structural damage, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Craig’s status on a return is day-to-day. Craig was injured in the third quarter of Thursday night’s 118-108 Game 2 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He appeared
11:10 AM ET Former Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks is finalizing a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers to become Chauncey Billups’ top assistant coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brooks spent the past five seasons as the Wizards’ coach, taking Washington to the playoffs three times and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals in
1:05 AM ET NBA Insiders By now you have probably heard about the tattoo Devin Booker has on his arm, “Be Legendary,” which was inspired by the advice the late Kobe Bryant wrote on his shoes after a game during his final season. Booker idolized Bryant. Wanted to learn everything he could from him. Then
6:59 PM ET The Orlando Magic are closing in on Dallas Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley and he’s emerged as the strong front-runner to become the franchise’s next head coach, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Conversations are ongoing, but Mosley, 42, has separated himself in the organization’s process, sources tell ESPN. As the Magic move into
1:54 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Jayson Tatum was 15 when he made his first USA Basketball national team. It was 2013, when he got picked to play in the FIBA Americas U-16 championships at Uruguay. And one of the biggest thrills from that experience was getting his jersey. It bore No. 10.