News

2:54 PM ET NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are doing everything they can to make Ben Simmons feel comfortable in his new surroundings after being away from an NBA floor for almost a year and a half while dealing with back surgery and mental health concerns, but coach Steve Nash acknowledged that what Simmons

12:46 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors forward Draymond Green will rejoin the team on Thursday, coach Steve Kerr said following Golden State’s preseason win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Green has been away from the team since an altercation with teammate Jordan Poole last Wednesday. He has been fined,

4:36 PM ET ESPN News Services Charlotte Hornets All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball is expected to miss one to two weeks because of his sprained left ankle, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday. The Hornets had earlier announced that an MRI confirmed that Ball has a sprained ankle and his return to full basketball

8:00 AM ET It’s time for our silliest preseason tradition: The 11th (how???) annual League Pass Rankings, a watchability scale to help you avoid wasting time on things like, “Wait, has this team actually ordered its players to tie their shoes together as part of its Lose-A-Rama for Victor Wembanyama campaign?” These are not power

9:16 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Hornets All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of a 116-107 preseason loss against the Washington Wizards on Monday night when his foot was stepped on while he was driving to the basket. The Hornets announced Ball would not return

3:37 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Paul George set aside any ego and made it clear that Kawhi Leonard is the LA Clippers‘ No. 1 option and that he is the second star in the All-Star duo’s pecking order. As they enter their fourth season together with championship expectations, George was asked if there are

8:00 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN As long as the Milwaukee Bucks have star Giannis Antetokounmpo in his prime, they begin every NBA season with championship expectations. Despite losing Khris Middleton, arguably their second-best player, for the final 10 games of the 2022 playoffs with a sprained MCL in his left knee, the Bucks took the

Oct 8, 2022 Associated Press UVALDE, Texas — The smallest gesture can have a huge impact. That was reaffirmed to the San Antonio Spurs when the team held an open practice and community fair in Uvalde, Texas. It was 137 days ago that the small town, 88 miles southwest of downtown San Antonio, was the

6:45 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will miss the Wizards‘ preseason game at Charlotte on Monday night. The Wizards announced Beal’s status Sunday. Washington opens the regular season at Indiana on Oct. 19, so Beal has over a week to get himself cleared

2:53 PM ET NEW YORK — As the Brooklyn Nets embark on the 2022-23 campaign, they do so hoping they can change the narrative surrounding their team and put the focus back on the floor instead of making headlines off of it. “We want to erase everything that was said about our team the last

7:32 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — As the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to integrate a new coach, rebound from one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history and maximize what’s left in LeBron James‘ brilliant career, they have reaffirmed their faith in Rob Pelinka to lead the franchise through it. Pelinka, the Lakers’

2:19 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green offered a public apology and announced he will step away from the team indefinitely after an altercation on Wednesday between him and Jordan Poole. “I’m going to continue to stay away, as I’ve been away, and continue to do work on

8:50 AM ET Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs has suffered a left knee capsule sprain and bone bruise, the team announced. There’s relief that Suggs avoided a more serious injury, sources told ESPN. His timeline on a return will depend on response to treatment, the team said. Suggs was helped off the court and into

8:25 PM ET Associated Press PARIS — Top NBA draft prospect Victor Wembanyama will join France’s national team next month for a pair of World Cup qualifying games. The French federation made the announcement Friday. The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama is among 12 players selected for a road game at Lithuania on Nov. 11 and a home

3:47 PM ET Ramona Shelburne Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 The Golden State Warriors are taking “every legal course of action” to discover how video of Draymond Green

8:00 AM ET The LA Clippers enter the 2022-23 season — Year 4 of the Kawhi Leonard–Paul George era — with enormous expectations. They have a superstar two-way duo. They have perhaps the deepest roster in the league. They are loaded with veteran experience and interchangeable players at almost every position. And they have a

11:30 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — The Adelaide 36ers, the seventh-place squad in Australia’s 10-team National Basketball League last season, boarded a 6 a.m. commercial flight on Sept. 28, when a few players sat in business class and the rest of the roster and staff squeezed into coach. The team made connections in Sydney and

4:46 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green apologized to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday morning for an altercation with Jordan Poole the day before, Warriors general manager Bob Myers said. Green subsequently left the training facilities and is not expected back until Saturday. The Warriors are still in the process of

8:00 AM ET MIAMI — UDONIS HASLEM was vacationing in Orlando with his family this past July when he saw a black SUV pull up to his rental house. “My antenna goes up,” the Miami Heat veteran says of the moment. “A black SUV? I can’t see inside it? I told my kids, ‘Go in

9:49 PM ET Golden State Warriors‘ All-Star Draymond Green threw a punch at teammate Jordan Poole at practice on Wednesday, sources told ESPN. The two players had been verbally sparring prior to some pushing, which escalated when Green took a swing and made contact with Poole, sources said. Team officials are reviewing the episode. Poole

3:46 PM ET As NBA executives consider the transformative impact 7-foot-4 French prospect Victor Wembanyama’s performance on Tuesday could impose on the NBA’s tanking and trade market this season, his agent insists that there’s no plan to listen to some team executives who suggest shutting down the projected No. 1 pick until the 2023 NBA

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA was without its full slate of stars for much of last season, as a number of the league’s best players missed extensive time. But the start of the 2022-23 season marks a fresh start and return to the court for those stars. Marquee veterans such as Kawhi Leonard

5:30 PM ET As Robert Sarver prepares to sell the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, investment bank officials who have managed the sales of professional sports franchises told ESPN that they expect the transaction’s final price to set a record. “It’ll be the highest price ever paid for an NBA team,” one

12:09 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Milwaukee Bucks are slight favorites to win the 2023 NBA championship, and Luka Doncic was tapped as most likely to win the 2023 Most Valuable Player award in NBA.com’s annual survey of all 30 of the league’s general managers. The 21st edition of the survey was released Tuesday and

12:14 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons made his long-awaited debut with his new team on Monday after almost a year and a half away from the game. After pushing for a trade out of Philadelphia while citing mental health concerns and then dealing with offseason back surgery, Simmons said he

5:01 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns was hospitalized last week with a throat infection that caused him trouble breathing and forced him to be on bed rest for days, sources told ESPN. Towns spoke to the media Monday for the first time since falling ill and said his weight was down to 231

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders Which NBA players are on the verge of a breakout season? Last year, it was third-year point guard Ja Morant, who increased his scoring to average to 27.4 points per game from 19.1 during his sophomore season and led the upstart Memphis Grizzlies to the league’s second-best record. Morant set

1:37 AM ET ESPN News Services The Phoenix Suns lost their preseason opener at home to a hot-shooting Adelaide 36ers team from Australia’s National Basketball League 134-124 on Sunday night. The Suns, whose last game at Footprint Center was a 33-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, became

6:28 PM ET Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro — the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year — has agreed to a four-year, $130 million contract extension, his agents, Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports, told ESPN on Sunday. After averaging 20.7 points a season ago, Herro, 22, lands an annual salary worth

Sep 30, 2022 NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant wants to move past an offseason that was consumed by his trade request and his future with the organization. “Can we move on past that at some point?” Durant said after Friday’s practice. “I know it’s an interesting story. I know that it