9:56 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Friends since their high school days and former USA Basketball teammates and NBA Players Association leadership members together, LeBron James and Chris Paul are about to go against each other in the playoffs for the first time in their storied careers. “It’s going to be comparable to playing against
In our third 2021 NBA Mock Draft, the Houston Rockets land the No. 1 pick and a chance to grab a future star to build around. Since our last NBA Mock Draft, both the NBA and NCAA seasons have concluded locking in the non-lottery draft order and giving us one final look at some top
Ahoy, ahoy Bball junkies! Upon resuming Basketball Insiders’ Now What? Series, we now take a look at the post-LeBron Cleveland Cavaliers 2.0 in Year 3. Because of these new play-in guidelines, the Cavaliers were technically in the playoff hunt for most of the season. Even if there’s a solid argument that calling their season a
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) landed on the floor after he was fouled by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) as he goes up for a basket in the fourth quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports The Whiteboard: Lakers need to bench their bigs, Grizzlies
The Blazers and Nuggets both had elite offenses this season but reached those heights in different ways behind Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokic. Stylistic diversity in the NBA is dead, or so those not familiar with the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers’ work this season will tell you. The two teams, set to square
10:05 AM ET Two 6-foot-9 Florida twins ranked among the top 15 high school juniors in the country — Matt and Ryan Bewley — are signing two-year deals with the Overtime Elite professional league, sources told ESPN, marking the first prep underclassmen to sign contracts with an American professional basketball league. Matt, who is ranked
The finalists have officially been announced for this year’s set of NBA awards. The 2020-21 campaign provided yet another unique NBA season. But one thing that was no different was the level of play on the court. The start of the playoffs also means announcing all the finalists for the regular-season awards. TNT had the
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images The Phoenix Suns are being overlooked in the championship conversation. Here’s why they could shock the world and win the 2021 NBA title. A year ago, the Phoenix Suns just considered themselves fortunate to be invited to the NBA bubble at all. Now, they have legitimate title aspirations. It isn’t
1:24 AM ET During an impassioned speech that took place in the middle of the season after a loss, Russell Westbrook told the Washington Wizards that they were going to make the playoffs despite all the injuries, a COVID-19 outbreak and losing streaks the team had to endure this season. On Thursday night, Westbrook delivered
The Warriors and Lakers turned their play-in game into an instant classic. The Lakers prevailed but the Warriors have more than a few questionable calls to stew over. Both the Warriors and Lakers needed some of those chaotic variables to break their way in Wednesday night’s play-in tournament — bit players to hit big shots,
Ahoy, ahoy Bball junkies! Upon resuming Basketball Insiders’ Now What? Series, we now take a look at the post-LeBron Cleveland Cavaliers 2.0 in Year 3. Because of these new play-in guidelines, the Cavaliers were technically in the playoff hunt for most of the season. Even if there’s a solid argument that calling their season a
After Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were dogged by fit questions for years, the 76ers figured out how to make them work together offensively. Can the Philadelphia 76ers win a title with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons? That question has hung over them for as long as they’ve been teammates. Embiid is a throwback, low-post
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports As the Philadelphia 76ers seek to win their first NBA championship since 1983, here’s what they’ll hope to accomplish in the coming months. The Philadelphia 76ers won’t find out who they face in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs until Thursday, but it ultimately shouldn’t matter. Regardless of whether
7:46 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry are the finalists for this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player award. The top three vote-getters for each of the NBA’s major end-of-season awards — MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the
Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. (Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) 3 controversial calls that cost the Warriors against the Lakers by Ian Levy The Golden State Warriors may have lost, but at least Steph Curry won on the internet. Steph Curry channeled his inner Alonzo Mourning during the Golden State Warriors play-in tournament game loss
12:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers‘ postseason run opened with Wednesday’s winner-take-all play-in game against the Golden State Warriors. And it took everything the defending champions had to win it, 103-100. LeBron James‘ 34-foot 3-point heave to beat the shot-clock buzzer fell through the net with 58.2 seconds remaining, breaking a
1:30 AM ET LOS ANGELES — By all accounts, the play-in tournament has been a resounding success for the NBA this year. It created exciting new scenarios toward the end of the regular season and mostly stemmed the widespread tanking which had made a mockery of the final month of play for the 14 teams
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 15: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center on May 15, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User
The Golden State Warriors are looking to upset the Los Angeles Lakers in their play-in game on Wednesday night. There are two keys to getting it done. What will it take for the Golden State Warriors to take down the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Play-In Tournament? Los Angeles may be the favorite in
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 08: Tacko Fall #99 of the Boston Celtics defends Russell Westbrook #4 of the Washington Wizards during the first quarter at TD Garden on January 08, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the
Jeremy Lin, Beijing Ducks. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) Stephen A. Smith goes nuclear on abysmal Shohei Ohtani take (Video) by Alicia de Artola NBA veteran Jeremy Lin just hinted on Twitter that he’s getting ready to hang up his sneakers and call it a career.
7:59 PM ET NEW YORK — After a regular season riddled with injuries, the Brooklyn Nets are entering the NBA playoffs as close to fully healthy as they’ve been all season. Star guard James Harden, who missed over five weeks with a hamstring strain, was available to play in just two games during the final
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Defending Zion Williamson is, increasingly, becoming one of the most complex strategic challenges in the NBA. His size, agility and touch around the basket give him at least one
The Pelicans are hoping a great final week can allow the team to sneak in to this year’s play-in tournament. It is easy to lose track of time given the late start to the 2020-21 NBA season. But the regular season ends next weekend, and the New Orleans Pelicans are one team playing with a
7:00 AM ET The 2021 NBA postseason officially tips off Tuesday with the play-in tournament followed by the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. After a thrilling end of the regular season with seeds finally decided on the last day, the Charlotte Hornets and the Indiana Pacers will start things on Tuesday in the
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images Several realistic goals stand out for the Knicks now that the long postseason drought is over. The New York Knicks are back where they belong in the NBA Playoffs. The team did well enough to secure the No. 4 seed and thus home-court advantage in the first round against the
Alex Rodriguez. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) Heather Hardy returns to boxing and looking for answers by Jeremy Herriges Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore have purchased the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor. After spending over a month at the negotiating table, former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and tech entrepreneur Marc Lore have agreed to buy the
The Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 — headlined by the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett — is the most accomplished class in history. After more than a year of delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, finally, this weekend, the Basketball Hall of Fame will enshrine the star-studded Class of 2020
May 15, 2021 The season has been a slog for the Boston Celtics. There was a spate of COVID-related absences that shut down practice for a stretch, a knee injury that hampered Kemba Walker, nine straight games missed by key mid-season acquisition Evan Fournier, and finally a devastating season-ending injury to Jaylen Brown. The Celtics
The Washington Wizards may have what it takes to make some postseason noise this spring. After struggling out of the gate, the Washington Wizards played strong enough basketball down the stretch that they project as the last team into the Eastern Conference Playoffs this season. Washington finished in eighth place in the East this year, meaning the Wizards