News

Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 30, 2023, 02:27 AM ET BOSTON — Jimmy Butler had the ball and surveyed the scene. It was early in the fourth quarter of Monday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, and the Miami Heat had absorbed everything the Boston Celtics — and the raucous crowd inside TD Garden — had

Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterMay 30, 2023, 02:33 AM ET Close ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books BOSTON — Ten years ago, after a historically painful Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat that cost them a championship after an incomprehensible Ray Allen shot, the battle-tested

Adrian Wojnarowski, Senior NBA InsiderMay 29, 2023, 04:54 PM ET Close Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 The Philadelphia 76ers are hiring Nick Nurse as coach, tasking him with helping to deliver the franchise its first title in 40 years, sources told ESPN on Monday. The Sixers and Phoenix Suns were engaged

Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff WriterMay 29, 2023, 12:17 PM ET Close Nick Friedell is the Chicago Bulls beat reporter for ESPN Chicago. Friedell is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and joined ESPNChicago.com for its launch in April 2009. BOSTON — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is confident

Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 28, 2023, 06:26 PM ET BOSTON — The extensive Last Two Minute report from the chaotic final moments of the Boston Celtics‘ heart-stopping 104-103 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night revealed two missed calls — both of which went against Boston — while

May 28, 2023, 05:04 PM ET The NBA has opened an investigation into longtime referee Eric Lewis involving a Twitter account that responded to numerous posts on league officiating and defended Lewis and other NBA referees, league sources confirmed to ESPN. The account in question, which has since been deleted, was listed under a username

Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 27, 2023, 11:35 PM ET MIAMI — The Miami Heat were two tenths of a second away from the NBA Finals. But in that precious time frame, Derrick White — who had served as the inbounds passer on the final possession for the Boston Celtics — managed to convert a putback just

Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterMay 28, 2023, 02:13 AM ET Close ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books MIAMI — Payton Pritchard let out a yelp as he watched Blake Griffin‘s phone, seeing the replay for the first time. “Oh my God, it was so close!” Griffin

Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff WriterMay 27, 2023, 08:09 PM ET Close Nick Friedell is the Chicago Bulls beat reporter for ESPN Chicago. Friedell is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and joined ESPNChicago.com for its launch in April 2009. MIAMI — Heat guard Gabe Vincent will return from

May 27, 2023, 11:00 AM ET ESPN’s fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data, featuring ESPN’s proprietary Basketball Power Index (BPI) to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. What you

Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterMay 26, 2023, 07:05 PM ET Close Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is

Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff WriterMay 26, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09. Back in February, D’Angelo Russell spoke to reporters about a fresh start on the Los Angeles

Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff WriterMay 26, 2023, 12:31 AM ET Close Nick Friedell is the Chicago Bulls beat reporter for ESPN Chicago. Friedell is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and joined ESPNChicago.com for its launch in April 2009. BOSTON — Jimmy Butler still believes the Miami Heat

Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 26, 2023, 01:02 AM ET BOSTON — Before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was asked about his team’s mindset entering a second straight elimination game. “Just win or die,” he said. After a dominant performance Thursday night, the Celtics are still alive. Boston took control

Associated Press May 25, 2023, 01:38 AM ET BEIJING — Former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming has stepped down as head of China’s struggling national basketball league. An eight-time NBA All-Star, Yao had been leading efforts to commercialize the top-tier 20-team Chinese Basketball Association Management Co. since his appointment in 2017. A notice on the

ESPN News Services May 25, 2023, 10:54 AM ET Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent, who is averaging 17.5 points during the Eastern Conference finals, has been ruled out with a left ankle sprain for Game 5 vs. the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, the team announced. Vincent suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of

Adrian Wojnarowski, Senior NBA InsiderMay 24, 2023, 07:22 PM ET Close Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 LA Clippers GM Michael Winger has agreed to become the president of Monumental Basketball, which delivers him full leadership of the Washington Wizards, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Winger will also oversee the WNBA Mystics

ESPN News Services May 24, 2023, 01:28 PM ET Police in Tennessee conducted a welfare check on Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant following cryptic messages on his Instagram story account Wednesday, with officials telling TMZ that he’s just “taking a break from social media.” Earlier Wednesday, Morant posted — and then deleted — messages and

Sam Borden, ESPN Senior WriterMay 24, 2023, 07:49 AM ET Close Sam Borden is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Victor Wembanyama runs toward the bleachers. His team has just won its latest French league game in the Paris suburbs, but as his teammates fist-bump one another and amble in the direction of the locker room,

Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 24, 2023, 12:45 AM ET MIAMI — At shootaround Tuesday morning ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, Marcus Smart had a message for the Miami Heat: “Don’t let us get one,” Smart said. “Just don’t let us get one.” It was quite a statement to make, given the Celtics

Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff WriterMay 23, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close Nick Friedell is the Chicago Bulls beat reporter for ESPN Chicago. Friedell is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and joined ESPNChicago.com for its launch in April 2009. IT’S AN HOUR after the Miami Heat shocked the

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Senior WriterMay 23, 2023, 03:51 AM ET Close Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News LOS ANGELES — Exactly 15 days ago, LeBron James sat in the interview room inside Crypto.com Arena and told the world what keeps him motivated to play in the NBA. “If

Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterMay 22, 2023, 11:21 PM ET Close Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is

Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterMay 21, 2023, 07:47 PM ET Close Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is

Associated Press May 22, 2023, 09:42 AM ET Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA, announced his retirement on Monday. Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer

Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterMay 22, 2023, 02:06 AM ET Close ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books MIAMI — Demons were born Sunday night, those thoughts that stick in the head and on detractors’ lips. The Boston Celtics have played hundreds of memorable playoff games in

Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterMay 21, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books MIAMI — Jimmy Butler enjoys making others uncomfortable. It’s a trait that has become his trademark, applying to everything from overcharging for coffee, blasting country music or barking at

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Senior WriterMay 21, 2023, 02:57 AM ET Close Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News LOS ANGELES — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has memories of the summer of 2020. Fuzzy ones, such as staying in L.A. and playing video games with his teammates. General ones, such as working

Associated Press May 20, 2023, 11:28 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Jamal Murray scored 37 points, Nikola Jokic added 24 points and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals with a 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 of

Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 20, 2023, 01:53 AM ET BOSTON — Over the past two postseasons, the Boston Celtics have repeatedly responded well after losses. They have also repeatedly struggled in close situations late in games. In control for significant portions of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat on Friday night,