News

9:46 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — Emerging Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey suffered a left foot injury and was ruled out of the second half of Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Wells Fargo Center. An X-ray on Maxey’s foot was negative, and he will get an MRI on Saturday, sources told

11:38 AM ET Associated Press For the first time in 12 years, USA Basketball is not atop the world men’s rankings. FIBA, the sport’s governing body, updated its rankings Friday, and Spain moved into the top spot, a sliver ahead of the U.S. The four-time defending Olympic champion Americans moved into the top spot after

2:52 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — Kevin Durant didn’t mince words after watching Ben Simmons play the best game of his brief Brooklyn Nets career in Thursday night’s 109-107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. “Incredible,” Durant said after watching Simmons score 15 points, grab 13 rebounds and dish out seven assists in 32 minutes.

2:07 PM ET Kawhi Leonard will return and start against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, coach Ty Lue said. Leonard was previously listed as out, but his status was upgraded to questionable at the LA Clippers‘ Thursday morning shootaround. After playing in two of the first three games of the season, coming off the

1:40 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — X-rays on LaMelo Ball‘s left ankle were negative, but the Charlotte Hornets‘ All-Star point guard has already been ruled out of Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coach Steve Clifford said it is too early to know how much time Ball will miss after spraining the

1:28 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN PHOENIX — Over the last 10 years, the Golden State Warriors built a dynasty on playing free, competitiveness and a sense of togetherness that could rarely be shaken. Yet, just 15 games into this season, it all feels to be crashing down. On Wednesday, the Warriors suffered their latest blow,

6:46 PM ET Suspended All-Star guard Kyrie Irving is nearing completion on the process needed for a return to play and could rejoin the Brooklyn Nets as soon as Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center, sources told ESPN. Irving will miss his eighth consecutive game on Thursday night in Portland, but he

7:00 AM ET TIBURON, Calif. — The first thing Klay Thompson does, before any of the boat stuff — untying the docking lines from the bollards, tossing the fenders onto the deck, checking the instruments and gas tank — is turn on the music. Nine times out of 10 he picks Michael Jackson. Lately, though,

6:34 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. made his season debut in Tuesday night’s 113-102 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Jackson had surgery in June to repair a stress fracture in his right foot and had yet to play a game this season. He was in the

8:00 AM ET Brian Windhorst and a team of ESPN’s Insiders sort out life and the news from in and around the NBA world. Victor Wembanyama carries the date in his mind, a sinister anniversary he apparently has been unable to let go. “That loss, I have thought about it every day since July, 11,

11:56 AM ET Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain of his right big toe and will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks, the team announced Tuesday. Bane suffered the injury during the Grizzlies’ win Friday night over the Minnesota Timberwolves and sat out Sunday’s loss to

2:15 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — James Wiseman will go down to the Golden State Warriors‘ G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, on Tuesday for an extended period, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Monday night. Wiseman’s stint could last up to 10 consecutive days, Kerr said. The team informed Wiseman of this

8:07 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are pausing all FTX-related promotional assets, the team told ESPN on Monday. The final FTX promotion will be on the Jordan Poole bobblehead given out at Chase Center on Monday night — an item made several months ago before the cryptocurrency exchange firm

12:53 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After 76ers superstar Joel Embiid scored 42 points to lead them to a win Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center over the Atlanta Hawks, Embiid declared he was simply doing “whatever it takes” to lead his team to victories. Little did anyone realize what Embiid had in store

1:16 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook spent eight seasons as teammates on the Oklahoma City Thunder — and thousands of hours practicing together through the years — so the pair knows each other’s respective games very well. That’s one of the main reasons Durant had to smile when asked what

Nov 10, 2022 Matt Ryan hit the biggest shot of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ season for free. Well, kind of. The training camp invitee, who earned a partially-guaranteed contract and a spot in coach Darvin Ham’s early-season rotation, is waiting on the first direct deposit to hit his account. “I haven’t even gotten a paycheck

4:42 PM ET ESPN News Services Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball made his regular-season debut vs. the host Miami Heat on Saturday night in a 132-115 loss. Ball had missed the Hornets’ first 13 games this season with a left ankle sprain he suffered in a preseason game on Oct. 10. He had 15 points,

12:57 AM ET DALLAS — Luka Doncic, who admitted fatigue following a pair of off games during the Dallas Mavericks‘ 0-2 road trip this week, reported for work Saturday night reinvigorated. He attributed his energy to a great recovery day and “two, three, four” shots of pregame espresso as well as a Red Bull. The

3:29 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will not play in the Sunday game against the Los Angeles Lakers, coach Jacque Vaughn said Saturday, and it remains unclear when he will return to the floor as he continues to serve a team-imposed suspension. Irving was suspended for a minimum of five

12:56 PM ET Suspended Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has met with team, league and union officials on “several occasions” in recent days and there’s optimism for a resolution “very soon,” the National Basketball Players Association told its membership Friday in an email obtained by ESPN. Even with the fifth of a minimum five-game suspension

2:54 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has run out of words to describe the play of Stephen Curry to start the season. Earlier this week, he said Curry was “breathtaking.” After Friday night’s 106-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kerr used “spectacular.” Curry scored 40 points against

7:43 PM ET Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are ending their arena naming rights deal with bankrupt cryptocurrency firm FTX. The county, which owns the arena, signed a 19-year, $135 million deal for the bayfront Heat homecourt’s name in 2021. After an initial balloon payment of $14 million, FTX was scheduled to make a

3:47 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The NBA fined Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane $15,000 on Thursday for kicking a ball into the stands. Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, announced the fine. Bane kicked the ball into the stands with 54.7 seconds left in the fourth

9:14 PM ET Adam Silver said he has “no doubt” that Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is not antisemitic after the two had what the NBA commissioner called “a direct and candid conversation” earlier this week at the league’s headquarters in New York. Silver, who is Jewish, discussed Irving in an interview with The New

5:07 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — LeBron James did not suffer a tear in his groin late in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ loss to the LA Clippers on Wednesday, an MRI revealed Thursday. Lakers coach Darvin Ham said James is day-to-day going forward. The team is officially listing him as doubtful for Friday’s game

10:33 AM ET Associated Press The relationship between Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Nike is likely severed for good, the shoe giant’s co-founder told CNBC. “I would doubt that we go back,” co-founder Phil Knight said in an interview that aired Thursday. “But I don’t know for sure.” Nike announced last Friday that it

12:49 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Lakers star LeBron James left Wednesday’s 114-101 loss to the LA Clippers midway through the fourth quarter with he said was a groin injury and did not return. Team doctors will evaluate James on Thursday and administer medical imaging on his groin to determine the extent of the injury.

12:19 PM ET NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets officially named Jacque Vaughn head coach Wednesday. Vaughn’s promotion comes with a deal through the 2023-24 season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Vaughn had been serving as interim head coach since replacing former coach Steve Nash on Nov. 1. The move comes as a surprise given

Nov 8, 2022 Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry had never been happier about a win in the 11th game of the regular season than he was about the Golden State Warriors‘ 116-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Coming off a five-game losing streak, the Warriors considered this to be as

9:38 AM ET Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson had surgery Tuesday that removed part of the meniscus in his right knee, a procedure that should allow him to return in one to two months, sources told ESPN. It was unclear until the operation whether Johnson would need a more extensive repair that could’ve ended his