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3:22 AM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz fans, still bitter about last season’s Rookie of the Year award that Ben Simmons won over Donovan Mitchell, began booing the Philadelphia 76ers star during pregame introductions and continued every time he touched the ball for most of Thursday night’s game. But the booing faded in

7:03 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Draymond Green and Klay Thompson remain confident they will break out of their recent shooting slumps and will get back to their winning ways as the Golden State Warriors head into Thursday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Green, who is shooting just 11-for-49 from 3-point range this

1:07 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN CHICAGO — The first time Derrick Rose visited the United Center as a member of an opposing team, he was booed. It was Nov. 5, 2016, and fans jeered when he touched the ball and heckled him when his name was called during player introductions. Wednesday night’s game was a

1:45 AM ET DALLAS — LeBron James is the lone name that keeps coming up when searching for comparisons for Luka Doncic‘s production as an NBA teenager. Doncic came a rebound shy of becoming the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double on Wednesday, finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists

2:08 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James underwent an MRI that confirmed the Los Angeles Lakers All-Star has a strained left groin, a source confirmed to The Undefeated’s Marc Spears. The Athletic first reported James’ test results. James tweeted his relief and hope that he will be on the court soon. The Lakers, who

3:00 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers got a win on Christmas, and they also got a test: Can they keep heading in the right direction if LeBron James‘ strained groin muscle causes him to miss significant time? “This is unchartered territory, obviously, with this group,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said after

10:03 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James hobbled off into the locker room in the third quarter with a strained left groin and was questionable to return against the Golden State Warriors. James appeared to injure his groin as he was on the floor trying to secure the basketball and pass out a teammate

10:09 PM ET LeBron James is keenly aware that his success with the Los Angeles Lakers could come down just as much to his effectiveness as a recruiter off the court as it does to his production on the court. And he is already planning to fulfill his pitchman duties. “I’ve always recruited,” James told

10:09 PM ET Rachel Nichols In an interview ahead of the Christmas Day matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, LeBron James sat down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols to talk about the start of the 2018-19 season, recruiting stars to his team and how he reacted to Finals MVP Kevin Durant‘s comments

Having signed a billion-dollar, lifetime deal, LeBron James was going to be a big part of Nike’s plans, regardless of where he played. But not long after his signing with the Lakers, Nike’s marketing teams in Beaverton, Oregon, and Los Angeles went into overdrive. The company quickly put up billboards steps away from Staples Center

11:55 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Any discussion about the Boston Celtics over this holiday weekend was centered around the team meeting that took place after Friday’s dismal showing at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. There was plenty more talk about it after the Celtics came out and blew the doors off the Charlotte

10:23 AM ET There are 45 minutes until the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kevin Durant is methodically going through his pregame routine, taking shots from various spots on the floor. As he makes his way toward the left corner a fan behind him yells out. “Draymond hates you!” A couple of nights

2:03 PM ET Austin Rivers has agreed to a guaranteed deal for rest of the season with the Houston Rockets, a league source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Rivers will likely help Houston replace Chris Paul, who will miss at least two weeks with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring suffered in Thursday’s loss

3:32 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — As Joel Embiid has emerged from two seasons wiped out by injuries to begin his professional career, he has become one of the faces of the modernization and evolution of the center position. By pairing his massive 7-foot frame with the ability to space the floor beyond the

6:35 PM ET The NBA has fined Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson $25,000 following his ejection in Friday’s 114-106 loss to the Indiana Pacers. NBA executive vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe announced the fine on Saturday. A league statement said Atkinson was fined for “verbally abusing game officials and failing to leave the court in a

2:58 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James defended his comments about wanting to play with Pelicans star Anthony Davis, rattling off the names of several other stars he would love to team with and rejecting the notion that he did anything wrong. Speaking with reporters after Friday’s 112-104 win over New Orleans, James was

11:46 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was critical of NFL owners during the latest episode of HBO’s “The Shop” on Friday night, saying they have a “slave mentality.” “In the NFL they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality,” James said during the episode.

2:56 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is feeling ill and is a game-time decision for Friday night’s game, coach Luke Walton said. James was not at Lakers shootaround. Walton said he was getting extra sleep prior to Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPNApp). “We got a sick

3:36 AM ET LOS ANGELES — On a night that Dallas Mavericks center DeAndre Jordan was welcomed back and honored by his former team at Staples Center, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he hoped to see Jordan’s LA jersey retired when all is said and done. “When you think of [Jordan] more than anybody, you

9:22 PM ET Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul suffered a strained left hamstring and will not return against the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Paul played 12 minutes and had four points before exiting in the second quarter. He lost control of the ball while dribbling past midcourt, and while attempting to take it

1:32 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Naismith Hall of Famer Rick Pitino is finalizing a to deal become head coach of EuroLeague power Panathinaikos of Greece, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Pitino’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has been working with Panathinaikos ownership on a contract to coach the rest of the team’s season, sources said. Pitino’s goal

2:09 AM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry believes his team is close to finding its collective rhythm but admits the group needs to find its “edge” again in order to start rattling off wins at the same clip as in years past. “A lot of it’s just getting

7:45 PM ET Free agent guard Ron Baker has agreed to a deal with the Washington Wizards, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Wizards are waiving Okaro White. Baker, who signed a two-year $8.9 million deal with the Knicks before the 2017 season, was released on Thursday to make room for rookie Allonzo Trier,

8:00 AM ET LEBRON JAMES SAID what many Los Angeles Lakers fans have been thinking for months now. When talking to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on Tuesday, James said that the Lakers trading for Anthony Davis “would be amazing … that would be incredible.” Indeed it would. It wasn’t the most eloquent quote of James’ career

12:47 AM ET NEW YORK — When Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen decided to contest a dunk attempt by LeBron James on Tuesday, he knew he’d end up on social media. “If you go up and you block it, you’re going to be on the highlight. You get dunked on, you’re going to be on

6:46 PM ET Michael Jordan came in at No. 4 on Forbes’ annual list of America’s wealthiest celebrities, with a net worth estimated at $1.7 billion through a sneaker fortune and a 90 percent stake in the Charlotte Hornets. Tiger Woods was tied at No. 9, with an $800 million net worth, according to the

1:57 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — An otherwise ho-hum blowout by the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Chicago Bulls became suddenly tense Monday night when a squabble spilled over into courtside fans and players and coaches tried to separate the teams. It started with Russell Westbrook and Kris Dunn in the third quarter of the

1:04 AM ET NEW YORK — The Phoenix Suns and star shooting guard Devin Booker took to Twitter to troll Knicks center Enes Kanter after their win at Madison Square Garden. 🤦🏽‍♂️ “Pick n Roll at 00 every time” https://t.co/riaizpFpZV — Devin Booker (@DevinBook) December 18, 2018 Monday night’s tweets were the latest in a

5:00 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN The Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up the option on coach Billy Donovan’s contract for the 2019-20 season, the final year on his original five-year deal, a league source told ESPN. Donovan has a 150-96 (.610) record in his three-plus seasons with the Thunder, trailing only Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich

7:43 AM ET NEW YORK — New York Knicks owner James Dolan, who has put the WNBA’s New York Liberty up for sale, said he couldn’t rule out selling the Knicks if the right offer came along. Dolan, who is chairman of Madison Square Garden and also owns the NHL’s New York Rangers, told ESPN’s