News

8:52 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Dr. Benjamin Paolucci, a longtime team physician for the Detroit Pistons who was with the franchise for each of its three NBA championships, has died. He was 84. The Pistons said Paolucci died Wednesday in Florida. Paolucci retired from the organization in 2015 after serving the Pistons’ medical

2:42 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Less than a minute into his first game as a member of the LA Clippers, DeMarcus Cousins maneuvered his way around Enes Kanter, tapped an offensive rebound to himself and scored on a putback right in front of a delighted Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Making his debut for the

2:28 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry has won two MVPs and three NBA championships, but those who have watched him closely for years believe he continues to play the best basketball of his life during a year in which his team is struggling to hold on to a

5:15 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden will miss at least 10 days with a right hamstring strain, but teammate Kevin Durant is probable to return Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, the team announced Tuesday. Harden played just four minutes before he was ruled out of Monday’s 114-112 win over

7:00 AM ET How does the NBA play-in tournament work and which teams will participate during the 2020-21 season? The league first tested out the play-in round during the 2020 NBA restart in Orlando, Florida, with the Portland Trail Blazers topping the Memphis Grizzlies to get the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. In

5:43 PM ET The LA Clippers have signed DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract for some much-needed depth at center. Cousins cleared health and safety protocols required for any free agent signing with a new team. The Clippers need a backup center and will take a close look at the veteran Cousins. Starting center Serge

7:04 AM ET NBA Insiders The Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to reach the NBA Finals. On paper, no teams come close to matching the star power of Brooklyn’s trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving or L.A.’s dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But plenty

7:00 AM ET The battle for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is shaping up to be a three-team race. The Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks are separated by just 1.5 games. The rest of the conference, however, is in a logjam. Right now — with the No. 4 through No.

12:41 AM ET Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry couldn’t hide his frustration after his team’s latest setback, a 117-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. It’s the Warriors’ seventh defeat in its last eight games. “It’s tough,” Curry said, when asked about how his younger teammates are dealing with all the

8:34 PM ET LOS ANGELES — It didn’t take Paul George long to see what Rajon Rondo can do for the LA Clippers. Rondo made his Clippers debut Sunday, playing 13 minutes off the bench in a 104-86 win over the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. While Rondo had just two points, three

12:46 PM ET Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has agreed to a four-year, $135 million extension that includes bonuses that could take the deal to $160 million, agent Jason Glushon told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal includes a player option, according to Glushon. Holiday joined the Bucks in a four-team trade in November, providing shooting

7:42 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is returning to the lineup Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing the past 10 games with a bone bruise in his left knee. Embiid, who suffered the injury during an awkward fall on a dunk in the third quarter of Philadelphia’s win over

10:13 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis responded to a crash scene involving his personal security guard on Saturday, sources close to Davis confirmed to ESPN. Davis’ security guard, Garrett “GP” Pullman, was riding a motorcycle at the time of the collision and needed to be taken to a local hospital for observation,

2:17 PM ET NEW YORK – There is a “high probability” that Kevin Durant will return to the court this upcoming week after missing more than seven weeks with a hamstring strain, Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said Saturday. Nash said there is a chance Durant could play as soon as Monday against the New

11:34 PM ET The Golden State Warriors suffered one of the most “humiliating” losses in franchise history Friday night during a 53-point defeat at the hands of the Toronto Raptors — a team that came into the game having lost 13 of its last 14 games. “You saw it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after

7:31 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers are planning to welcome fans back to Staples Center for a game for the first time this season. The Lakers are finalizing plans to have fans in attendance when they play the Boston Celtics on April 15. The Clippers are planning on

1:50 PM ET Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is out for Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa as he continues to deal with a lingering tailbone injury. After playing 36 minutes in a 116-109 loss to the Heat on Thursday night, Curry said he would need to see how he felt Friday

1:16 AM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green says that he is not motivated by the NBA’s new play-in games, despite the fact that his team currently sits in 9th place in the Western Conference — squarely on the fringe of the league’s reformatted playoff system. “To be honest with you I don’t go

9:00 PM ET NEW YORK — Kevin Durant, as part of his first public comments since injuring his hamstring in February, on Thursday addressed a feud between himself and actor Michael Rapaport that had been made public this week. Rapaport posted private messages that he said Durant had sent him — which included threatening language

11:24 PM ET NBA Insiders With the NBA season nearly two-thirds complete, teams are now reconfiguring their depth charts and expectations after a wild flurry of trade deadline moves and buyout signings. While big names such as Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball didn’t change rosters, former All-Stars Victor Oladipo and LaMarcus Aldridge now find themselves

12:05 AM ET Members of the Utah Jazz feared for their lives after the team’s charter plane collided with a flock of birds shortly after takeoff Tuesday, causing an engine fire and failure and forcing an emergency landing. “For a good 10 or 15 minutes, I think all of us on that flight were questioning

3:07 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN JJ Redick criticized the New Orleans Pelicans front office for how it handled his trade to the Dallas Mavericks at last week’s deadline, saying that Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin “did not honor his word” to help put Redick in a favorable situation where he would

11:42 AM ET Free-agent center DeMarcus Cousins and the LA Clippers are discussing a 10-day contract, but no decision is expected until next week, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Cousins was released by the Houston Rockets last month, with sources telling ESPN’s Tim MacMahon the decision to part ways was mutual. Cousins, 30, a four-time

6:46 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Andre Drummond will make his Lakers debut Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks and start at center in place of Marc Gasol, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “I think the level of excitement for me is at an all-time high,” Drummond told reporters Tuesday over a videoconference call following his

5:50 PM ET ESPN News Services The Utah Jazz‘s team charter plane had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff on Tuesday after striking a flock of birds that resulted in an engine issue. The Jazz were en route to Memphis, where they are scheduled to play the Grizzlies on Wednesday evening. No injuries

7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA’s trade deadline is officially in the rearview mirror and most of the top players to hit the post-deadline buyout market have already landed with their new teams. That means the league’s collective attention shifts from player movement to movement in the standings, and how the key races will

7:42 PM ET As the defending NBA champions have watched a superteam on the East Coast load up and stack former All-Stars to its roster, Los Angeles Lakers CEO and governor Jeanie Buss views what the Brooklyn Nets have done in a simple way: “Bring it on.” “It brings out the best in us,” Buss

7:00 AM ET Which teams will make the 2021 NBA playoffs and the play-in round? Now that the trade deadline has passed, most rosters are set heading into this final stretch of the season. How will the additions of Aaron Gordon (Denver Nuggets), Victor Oladipo (Miami Heat) and Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls) change the playoff

The NBA trade deadline is in the books. How big of an impact did it have on our latest Power Rankings update? What does it all mean ahead of Week 15? Here’s where our panel sees all 30 teams right now. Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez,

Mar 27, 2021 Center Andre Drummond cleared waivers and he has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced on Sunday. “Andre Drummond gives us powerful, anchor-point skills on both ends of the court,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “We feel extremely fortunate to add a player of his caliber