1:24 AM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Trae Young had to compose himself a couple of times when asked about the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. It wasn’t easy for Young, who was mentored by Bryant and had a special relationship with the former NBA star’s 13-year-old girl, nicknamed Gigi. “One of
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12:32 AM ET ESPN News Services Basketball fans in Europe and Asia reacted to the sudden death of former Lakers star Kobe Bryant with tributes and praise. Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among several people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bryant was
3:53 PM ET Kobe Bryant and his daughter were among five people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bryant was 41. Drafted 13th overall in 1996 out of Lower Merion High School, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and
10:13 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert can count on Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle’s vote for All-Star reserves. “In my opinion, he is,” Carlisle said of Gobert after the player’s dominant’s performance in the Jazz’s 112-107 win over the Mavs on Saturday. Gobert had 22 points on 8-of-8 shooting
After Kobe Bryant showed up to watch LeBron James and the Lakers earlier this season, James reflected on the two players’ careers. “Two guys that came straight out of high school, a lot of pressure put on both of us at such a young age. … Just use that every single day on trying to
1:51 PM ET Oklahoma City Thunder center Nerlens Noel underwent a procedure to repair a left cheek fracture and will miss Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to the team. The Thunder will also be without forward Danilo Gallinari, who is out with a sore left thumb. Noel, 25, briefly went to the locker
12:49 AM ET MIAMI — LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard earned the first triple-double of his career in Friday night’s 122-117 comeback victory over the Miami Heat. Leonard finished the game with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, bringing the Clippers back from a 15-point deficit, while handing the Heat just their second home
8:08 PM ET MIAMI — Heat coach Erik Spoelstra responded swiftly to swingman Jimmy Butler not being selected as a starter for next month’s All Star game in Chicago, calling his omission “a joke” and adding that he’s hopeful it will help change the voting process. “I just think it’s ridiculous that we’re still in
3:59 PM ET ESPN News Services Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen will be out for four to six weeks after an MRI of his right hip revealed an early stress reaction of his right pelvis, the team announced. Markkanen, who is averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, was coming off a 21-point performance
2:16 AM ET PORTLAND — After his team’s 133-125 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard expressed frustration with a no-call that eventually led to him receiving a technical foul in the game’s closing seconds. With 3 minutes, 42 seconds left and Portland down by 15, Lillard scored on a
10:08 PM ET Steph Curry has three championship rings, two MVP trophies and five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors. But if Curry’d had his way, he would have gone to the New York Knicks, not the Warriors, in the 2009 Draft. “I wanted to go to New York and
10:53 AM ET Zion Williamson made his highly anticipated NBA debut Wednesday night, scoring 22 points in 18 minutes for the New Orleans Pelicans. His Rookie of the Year odds shortened at all major sportsbooks. We’ll keep track of changes in his ROY odds in this file. All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook. Rookie of
2:14 AM ET NEW YORK — Having been in Zion Williamson’s shoes eight years ago, playing in New Orleans as the NBA’s No. 1 pick, Anthony Davis had some advice for the Pelicans rookie. “Just go out there and play and have fun,” he said. Davis said there are outsized expectations that come with being
10:53 AM ET ESPN News Services Denver Nuggets backup center Mason Plumlee is expected to miss two weeks to a month with a right foot injury, according to the team. Plumlee rolled his ankle in the second quarter of Monday’s 107-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves but was able to return to the game. It’s
1:15 PM ET Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant said he believes that there are three WNBA players who could play in the NBA right now. “I think there are a couple of players who could play in the NBA right now, honestly,” Bryant told CNN when asked if there might be a day
9:44 PM ET DALLAS — The Mavericks fear that starting center Dwight Powell suffered a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon early in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s 110-107 loss to the LA Clippers. “It’s a somber night with Dwight’s situation,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s going to have an MRI tomorrow. Right Achilles
11:02 PM ET NBA Insiders Zion Williamson‘s NBA debut with the New Orleans Pelicans is here. Williamson’s surgery to fix the meniscus in his right knee happened on Oct. 21, the day before the Pelicans opened the 2019-20 season against the Toronto Raptors. The original timeline for Williamson was six-to-eight weeks, which would have put
3:36 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN METAIRIE, La. — Sleep might be hard to come by for New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson on Tuesday night. The No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft is set to make his NBA regular-season debut on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, but he said on Tuesday that
1:35 AM ET ESPN News Services PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard set a franchise record with 61 points, including a career-best 11 3-pointers, and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the equally depleted Golden State Warriors 129-124 in overtime Monday night. Lillard’s previous career high was 60 points earlier this season against Brooklyn. He now
10:30 PM ET HOUSTON — There were no puns intended with the stormy metaphors used by some members of the Houston Rockets after their fourth-quarter collapse in a 112-107 loss Monday to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Forward Danuel House Jr. described it as feeling like the Rockets were in a “dark cloud” after their fourth
2:01 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is being held out of Monday’s matinee against the Philadelphia 76ers in the hope that resting his tight left hamstring will prevent another extended absence. Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said that Irving first presented with the hamstring symptoms on Sunday. He underwent treatment to
5:48 PM ET ESPN News Services Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the last 10 games because of right knee soreness, said he is targeting a return to the lineup on Tuesday against the LA Clippers. 2 Related “The way I’m feeling, I don’t see why there should be any hurdles,” Porzingis told
6:12 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is officially listed as doubtful for Monday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team announced the change in the injury report on Sunday evening, but don’t read too much into it. Williamson is still expected to make his NBA debut on Wednesday night against
12:09 PM ET Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale has agreed to a four-year, $36 million contract extension, agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports told ESPN. O’Neale plans to sign the deal on Sunday, the agents said. Although he could’ve become a restricted free agent this summer, O’Neale and his reps negotiated a
1:45 AM ET HOUSTON — It was halftime in Houston. The Rockets led by six, and Russell Westbrook was rolling, already up to 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, when Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo made a coaching suggestion. Why not try putting Kyle Kuzma on him? Kuzma, known more for his scoring potency than
9:05 PM ET Associated Press PULLMAN, Wash. — Whenever Isaac Bonton drained a 3-pointer or dished out an assist, NBA and Washington State great Klay Thompson was on his feet, cheering on the young point guard. Thompson ended up spending a lot of time on his feet as Bonton scored a career-high 34 points and
2:15 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum will not play in Saturday’s road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a left ankle sprain, the team announced. McCollum was injured in Friday’s 120-112 loss against the Dallas Mavericks, on a drive when his foot landed on the foot of Dallas forward Maxi
7:15 AM ET FRANK VOGEL WAS introduced as the Los Angeles Lakers‘ head coach in the midst of a profoundly bizarre week for the franchise. And it was about to get even stranger. Last May, alongside general manager Rob Pelinka, Vogel took the podium on the team’s practice court. Just hours earlier, Magic Johnson had
6:44 PM ET ESPN News Services INDIANAPOLIS — Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, back in the starting lineup after missing 15 games because of a sprained left knee, had a team-high 27 points Friday night, but Minnesota lost 116-114 to the Indiana Pacers. Coach Ryan Saunders, who told reporters before the game that the Timberwolves would
8:50 AM ET How about a fresh serving of 10 NBA things: 1. The tricks of Ja Morant Morant’s athleticism and fearlessness strike you first. He is so fast. He wants to dunk on everyone — to humiliate victims, the bigger the better. All that is cool. But what is most impressive about Morant —