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9:23 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Of all the additions the Los Angeles Lakers made this offseason, it’s two centers — Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee — who are standing out the most to first-year coach Frank Vogel. “Our centers have really impressed me,” Vogel said Tuesday at the conclusion of his team’s sixth

Sep 27, 2019 ESPN.com staff Whether you are dipping your toes into fantasy hoops for the first time or are a grizzled veteran, the 2019-20 ESPN Fantasy Basketball draft kit has everything you need to crush your drafts. From player rankings and outlooks to draft strategies and more, we’ve got you covered from every angle,

8:03 PM ET LeBron James’ longtime friend and business partner, Maverick Carter, said the NBA star would have held off on entering the NBA draft right out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School had there been measures in place like bill SB 206 intends to implement. “I think if you got paid, you would have

10:06 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green remains confident his team can still make its sixth straight trip to the NBA Finals this season despite the fact the team’s roster underwent a major reconstruction over the summer. And on Monday, Green didn’t hesitate when asked what the team’s expectations should

4:00 PM ET CAMDEN, N.J. — Joel Embiid‘s tears when he walked off the floor following Kawhi Leonard‘s Game 7 buzzer-beater last May weren’t just because his Philadelphia 76ers had lost a heartbreaker. Rather, he felt like he had let his team down. Embiid’s stats and efficiency dipped in the playoffs as he dealt with

7:19 PM ET PLAYA VISTA, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard said his health and playing time will be managed differently this season compared to how the Toronto Raptors managed the star forward. On his first Media Day with the LA Clippers, Leonard said his health is considerably better now than it was entering last season with

7:22 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The five-man team on which LeBron James and Anthony Davis played together so thoroughly dominated the second day of Los Angeles Lakers training camp Sunday that James was pulled to rest before the day’s scrimmages were over. Lakers coach Frank Vogel plans to do more of that with

1:43 PM ET Associated Press AKRON, Ohio — A sweat-stained jersey LeBron James wore while playing Ohio high school basketball and during his first Sports Illustrated magazine cover shoot as a teenager in 2002 is being auctioned. The online auction listing says the gold mesh jersey from the NBA star’s days with the St. Vincent-St.

4:19 PM ET Two-time championship coach Erik Spoelstra has agreed to a long-term contract extension with the Miami Heat, league sources told ESPN. Spoelstra, who would have been entering the final season of his deal, quietly negotiated a new deal that allows him to continue as the league’s second-longest tenured active coach with one team,

7:01 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Bodies bounced off one another during an intrasquad scrimmage that capped the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first practice of training camp Saturday. LeBron James collided with Alex Caruso, causing both of them to fall to the floor. Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard got tangled up going for a rebound

5:49 PM ET SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Speaking publicly for the first time since sexual assault allegations were made against him, new Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton said his focus remains on the team. “Yeah, I mean, look, it’s the same I’ve been saying,” Walton said during Friday’s media day. “I’m here to do my job

6:36 PM ET Anthony Davis, now firmly in the fold with the purple and gold, is keeping sour grapes at arm’s length. The Los Angeles Lakers‘ superstar addition says he isn’t affected by comments the general manager of his former team made that appeared to be critical of the forward’s exit from New Orleans. “That’s

8:54 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Oddsmakers in Las Vegas might consider them the favorites, and desire to repent for the 2018-19 debacle of a season might be palpable, but LeBron James is doing his best to keep the burden of expectations off the Los Angeles Lakers this season. “I’m very motivated but I’m

3:12 PM ET NEW YORK — Kevin Durant reiterated Friday that he does not expect to play this season as he recovers from a torn Achilles suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last June. Durant told ESPN that he is progressing and has not experienced any setback in his rehab. “I’m just strengthening

6:26 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball watched, as seemingly everyone else did, as a clip of his father, LaVar, calling him “damaged goods” made the rounds last week. The clip, from the “Ball in the Family” show on Facebook, was fodder for social media mavens and talk show hosts

8:15 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his foot, an injury he suffered while he was working with Team USA this summer, the Lakers announced. Kuzma has not been cleared for full practice or game participation and will miss at least the first three weeks

2:29 PM ET The NBA G League is experimenting this season with a new rule under which all trips to the free throw line will include only a single foul shot that will be worth one, two or three points depending on the nature of the foul leading to the attempt, officials told ESPN. It

3:21 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — It was time for the last jump shot of Markelle Fultz‘s workout on the Orlando Magic practice court on Wednesday. He let a 3-pointer fly from the left corner, and spun around in celebration even before the ball swished through the net. After two years of problems,

6:17 PM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — Videos of Ben Simmons making jumpers flooded social media over the summer, and the All-Star point guard said he is ready to take his game to another level when the Philadelphia 76ers open camp next week. “I feel like this summer I fell in love with the game

1:35 PM ET The Philadelphia 76ers have hired former NBA center Roy Hibbert as player development specialist, the team announced Wednesday. Hibbert, 32, played in the league for nine seasons and was a two-time All-Star with the Indiana Pacers. The 7-foot-2 Hibbert finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2013-14, when the

6:49 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Wizards forward Troy Brown Jr. has injured his left calf and is expected to miss about a month, the latest in a series of injuries the team is dealing with as the NBA season approaches. The Wizards said Tuesday that Brown strained his calf a day earlier during

7:11 PM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Strong starts to the preseason by American 18-year-olds LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton have ramped up the interest in the Australian National Basketball League among NBA scouts. Local media said more than two dozen scouts watched preseason games in Hobart, Tasmania, this weekend, where Ball and Hampton impressed

2:07 PM ET ESPN News Services Nets point guard Kyrie Irving caught an inadvertent elbow during a pick-up game at Brooklyn’s practice facility Tuesday and was sent to the hospital to be evaluated, but general manager Sean Marks said the team was just being cautious. “I wouldn’t even want to speculate at all but I

10:06 AM ET ESPN.com staff It takes a special breed to know what season it is right now. Fall? Nope. Football season? Nope. Baseball postseason? Nope. C’mon! If you’re reading this, you are the right breed. The kind of person who knows it is … fantasy basketball season! NBA training camps and preseason games will

8:46 PM ET The Memphis Grizzlies and Andre Iguodala have mutually agreed to let him stay away from the team, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Memphis has no plans to negotiate a contract buyout and continues to expect that it will find a trade for Iguodala prior to the Feb. 6 deadline, sources said.

8:10 AM ET The 2019 version of NBArank debuted on Monday with players Nos. 100 to 51, including hyped rookies (the Memphis Grizzlies‘ Ja Morant), established veterans (the Denver Nuggets‘ Paul Millsap) and intriguing players on new squads (the New Orleans Pelicans‘ Lonzo Ball). Who didn’t make the cut but should have? Which players are

12:58 AM ET Kelly CohenESPN Dazzling football catches — the ones that shock the crowd and get our Twitter fingers going — are why we keep watching the game again and again. Odell Beckham Jr. was falling backwards with a defender all over him on Sunday Night Football in 2014 when the wide receiver made

Sep 19, 2019 Associated Press USA Basketball has kept its No. 1 spot in the FIBA world men’s rankings, even after a disappointing seventh-place showing in the World Cup that ended earlier this week. It’s now nine years and counting in the top spot for the U.S., which has held the No. 1 ranking since

3:45 PM ET The NBA Board of Governors on Friday passed a stricter package of measures aimed to enforce compliance with tampering and salary cap circumvention. Speaking in New York, commissioner Adam Silver said the provisions passed unanimously as the league seeks a “culture of compliance.” “Suspending executives … taking away draft picks … voiding

6:15 PM ET Vince Carter, the league’s oldest player, will return for a record 22nd season, the Hawks officially announced on Friday. The Hawks are bringing the 42-year-old, eight-time All-Star back for a second season. Last season, he averaged 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 76 games and 17 minutes per game for the rebuilding