7:05 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Zion Williamson will head into his second NBA season with “no restrictions,” the New Orleans Pelicans star said Sunday. Talking to reporters as the Pelicans opened their training camp, Williamson flashed the biggest smile of the day when asked about what limitations he might have this season. “Me and [Pelicans]
News
3:46 PM ET Disgruntled Houston Rockets star James Harden did not participate in the team’s first practice of training camp Sunday because of the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, coach Stephen Silas said. Silas said that Harden is expected to have an individual workout at the Toyota Center on Sunday evening, but the first-year coach said he
6:02 PM ET Michael Porter Jr. is ready to do more than just fill the void on the Denver Nuggets caused by the departures of key wing players like Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig. The second-year forward is prepared to not only be a full-time starter, but believes he’s ready to be the third star
5:20 PM ET Russell Westbrook may be changing teams and jersey numbers, but the Washington Wizards‘ newest point guard said he isn’t going to change his demeanor on the court no matter what people think of him. Westbrook joined the Wizards on Saturday but did not practice due to paperwork from the trade having just
2:50 PM ET The NBA has warned teams that protocol violations that lead to coronavirus spread impacting opposing teams and causing schedule derailments could result in “fines, suspensions, adjustment or loss of draft choices and game forfeitures,” according to a memo obtained by ESPN. For players violating safety protocols this season, the league warns that
3:07 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA released the first half of its regular-season schedule Friday, as it continues to adjust to the new reality placed upon it by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than what typically happens — the NBA announcing its full 82-game schedule — the league instead unveiled only half of its
10:35 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis said he signed the lengthiest contract he possibly could to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers — inking a five-year, $190 million pact Thursday — in part as an insurance policy should he suffer a career-threatening injury. “That could have been a two-year, three-year deal,” Davis told
4:21 PM ET The NBA schedule has been released for the first half of the 2020-21 season. The regular season tips off on Dec. 22, 72 days after the Los Angeles Lakers hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy inside the NBA’s Orlando bubble. Since then, we’ve had the NBA draft, a flurry of coaching changes and
8:40 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis might have filled his bank account by signing a five-year, $190 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, but one of his teammates now wants him to fill his awards shelf, too. “I’m expecting AD to go for the MVP,” Lakers forward Jared Dudley said
5:26 PM ET First-year Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas has not been in regular contact with James Harden, saying he is giving the disgruntled face of the franchise “space” as the season nears. Harden has informed the Rockets that he wants to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets, according to sources, preferring a fresh
2:56 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Dwight Howard said Thursday afternoon that his “infamous” tweet about returning to the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening hours of free agency — only to be followed a short time later by him agreeing to join the Philadelphia 76ers — was the product of a misunderstanding over whether he
7:40 AM ET All-NBA forward Anthony Davis is finalizing a five-year, $190 million maximum contract to stay with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, Klutch Sports CEO and Founder Rich Paul told ESPN. The deal includes an early termination option prior to the fifth year of the deal in 2024-2025, Paul said. Davis, a free
8:02 PM ET The Houston Rockets have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a first-round draft pick, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Westbrook, as well as fellow Rockets star James Harden, had expressed concern about the direction of the Houston franchise in the wake of the departures of
4:01 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA announced its national TV schedule for the first three days of the season — Dec. 22, 23 and 25 — Wednesday afternoon, featuring nine games involving most of the league’s biggest names. Opening night will see the Warriors open the season by travelling to Brooklyn to face the
7:00 AM ET The NBA returns to regular-season action on Dec. 22 following an abbreviated offseason — one that saw the draft and the start of free agency compressed into the same week — with some uncertainty. With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, the league is facing decisions about how to undertake a campaign outside the
8:45 PM ET The NBA’s Christmas Day schedule is set, and all five matchups are packed with star power. Zion Williamson makes his Christmas Day debut as the New Orleans Pelicans face the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. Stephen Curry, back from a broken left hand, leads the Golden State Warriors against reigning two-time
7:30 PM ET The 2020-21 NBA season is fast approaching, with play scheduled to begin on Dec. 22. As teams prepare for the upcoming campaign, many will be wearing new threads on the court. Nike and Jordan Brand have been unveiling their new looks across the league throughout the offseason, as various franchises will see
6:18 PM ET Olgun Uluc Andrew Bogut has announced his retirement from professional basketball. Widely regarded as one the greatest and most successful players in Australian basketball history, Bogut made the announcement on his Rogues Bogues podcast on Tuesday morning, choosing to put an end to a professional career that spanned 15 years. It was
6:33 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James could be one and done playing the 1 for the Los Angeles Lakers. The newly acquired Dennis Schroder says he intends to start at point guard for the defending champions. “I did this off the bench stuff already in two years with OKC,” Schroder, the reigning Sixth
3:54 PM ET After initially planning for a limited number of fans to be in attendance for home games, the Oklahoma City Thunder are reversing course and will open the season with the arena empty, the team announced Monday. “For months, we have worked in close collaboration with Chesapeake Energy Arena, the City of Oklahoma
6:18 AM ET Who are the NBA free agents to watch in 2021 and 2022? The 2020 free-agent class featured less star power than normal, as the league blitzed through a condensed transaction period featuring the draft and free agency in the same week. The 2021 class has more hype, potentially featuring names such as
3:53 PM ET The Boston Celtics have traded Gordon Hayward and second-round draft picks in 2023 and 2024 to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for a conditional 2022 second-round draft pick. The sign-and-trade agreement creates a $27.9 million trade exception for the Celtics, the largest in NBA history. Hayward, 30, declined his $34.2 million player
2:32 PM ET A historically compressed offseason saw free agency begin less than 48 hours after the league concluded its draft. Oh yeah, the NBA trade moratorium was lifted roughly 32 hours before the draft, creating a flurry of player movement seen possibly only in the busiest of hardcore fantasy formats. An already wild league
7:33 PM ET Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will finally enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2021. The NBA said Saturday that the delayed Hall of Fame weekend — it was to have taken place in Springfield, Massachusetts, in August before being pushed back because of
12:38 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Ahead of training camps opening up across the NBA next week, the league has compiled a comprehensive health and safety protocol for the 2020-21 NBA season and sent it to its teams. The document, which was obtained by ESPN, is 134 pages long, and is similar to the one the
8:06 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN This class of NBA rookies is facing an unprecedented transition to the league. Most of them haven’t played an organized game since March, and now they are set to begin their first NBA training camp on Dec. 1, less than two weeks after being drafted. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic deprived
2:30 PM ET Charles Barkley has insisted his golf game has gotten better. We’re about to find out as he teams with Phil Mickelson in a match against Steph Curry and Peyton Manning at Stone Canyon in Arizona. The Match: Champions for Change will benefit historically Black colleges and universities. play 0:38 Peyton Manning doesn’t
4:45 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN As the NBA continues to move toward starting its 2020-21 season on Dec. 22, a slate of 49 preseason games will be played from Dec. 11 through Dec. 19 to allow teams to prepare for the upcoming campaign. Each NBA team will play at least two preseason games — one
10:50 AM ET Veteran point guard J.J. Barea has agreed to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million, sources told ESPN. With Barea’s return, the Mavericks anticipate entering training camp with 16 players on guaranteed contracts, one over the regular-season roster limit. Dallas plans to have
4:50 PM ET Free-agent big man Frank Kaminsky has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agent, Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Phoenix Suns declined Kaminsky’s $5.2 million team option last week. Kaminsky, 27, helps to shore up the Kings’ frontcourt rotation, which took a hit with