12:04 AM ET Russell Westbrook drove the lane, found Thomas Bryant open for an easy dunk while the Washington Wizards‘ big man was fouled and then immediately ran to Bryant to scream his approval. In his first game with the Wizards, Westbrook only logged 17 first-half minutes in Washington’s 99-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
The sports world makes for a beautiful palette but individual images can get lost in the constant shuffle. Here are the best Getty Images sports photos from this week. Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images C.J. Elleby of the Portland Trail Blazers collides with Justin James of the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter during their preseason game at
The Philadelphia 76ers may be willing to include Ben Simmons in a James Harden trade. James Harden wants out of Clutch City, and after showing up late to training camp because he was partying with rapper Lil Baby, the Houston Rockets can sense this is becoming a bad situation. Harden had already given his list
After a disappointing 2019-20 campaign, can the Philadelphia 76ers bounce back under new head coach Doc Rivers and new team president Daryl Morey? The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2019-20 NBA season on the shortlist of title favorites. Nine months later, the Boston Celtics demoralized them with a first-round playoff sweep. Their sixth-place finish in the
6:13 PM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has a mild muscle strain in his right foot and is doubtful for Tuesday night’s opener against the Brooklyn Nets. Green initially injured his foot during a scrimmage earlier in the week and had an MRI that came back clear, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said
The Orlando Magic enter this year hoping internal consistency and growth will help them stay competitive in a suddenly more crowded Eastern Conference. Here are their five biggest questions for 2020-21. 1. An impossible task: Try your best to explain what the Orlando Magic’s goal is for this season. What is a good season for
11:20 AM ET Months before he agreed to purchase the Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion, Ryan Smith, who was formally approved as owner by the NBA’s Board of Governors on Friday, said he was “really close” to making a bid to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves. Smith, who made his fortune as the co-founder of the
Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors. (Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports) North Carolina vs. Kentucky live stream: Betting odds, TV channel, prediction by Mike Phillips The Toronto Raptors’ new court in Tampa, Florida is very impressive, given the circumstances. You have to check out what the Toronto Raptors‘ new Tampa, Florida hardwood looks like.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will look vastly different this season. It’s now Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s team. Can the 13th-best young player deliver? Praise showered down from the heavens — and from the keyboards of fans and journalists alike — when the Oklahoma City Thunder traded star wing Paul George to the L.A. Clippers in the summer
12:04 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving says he plans to burn sage before every game this season to honor his Native American heritage. Irving was seen burning sage on the court at TD Garden during warm-ups before his Nets beat the Boston Celtics 113-89 on Friday night in the
The Knicks avoided making any big mistakes in free agency, but did the front office do enough to contend for the playoffs this season? Tom Thibodeau’s arrival in New York is supposed to bring respectability to the Knicks. What’s unclear is whether or not he’ll have the talent required to push this roster into the
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 04: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks in between plays against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Madison Square Garden on March 04, 2020 in New York City. The Utah Jazz won, 112-104. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) Miami football: Grading Hurricanes 2021 recruiting class
3:58 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Los Angeles Lakers will repeat as NBA champions, according to a survey of NBA general managers. That prediction was one of many takeaways from NBA.com’s annual survey of all 30 front offices prior to the start of the new season. The survery featured 33 questions, ranging from what player
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. In the eyes of many, NBA preseason games — much like NBA Summer League games — are meaningless. In the win-loss column, those people couldn’t be more correct.
Brandon Ingram’s game has worked well with the New Orleans Pelicans, an environment that makes the most of who he is. The thing about Brandon Ingram is that I feel the vague connection us peons feel with famous people who grew up in areas we know really well. My parents retired quite a few years
Zion Williamson comes in at No. 10 on our list, but with his potential and skill set, his ceiling is limitless. If he stays healthy while diversifying his game, he could rise even higher. As far as hype and anticipation go in watching someone play basketball, Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans is at
12:26 PM ET Marc Spears NBA free agent guard Jeremy Lin is expected to sign a deal to play with the Golden State Warriors‘ G-League team, a source told The Undefeated. Lin averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists in 480 games in the NBA from 2010-19. The former Harvard guard began his career with the
With the deadline for signing to a supermax extension coming quickly, will the Utah Jazz have to trade Rudy Gobert? The Utah Jazz have two core pieces around which everything else revolves — Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Mitchell has gotten a new contract, a five-year rookie max extension worth up to $195 million, and
The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to rebound after a rough 2019-20 season. Below are five questions about the team that need to be answered. 1. Who is in the Timberwolves’ starting backcourt? Timberwolves’ head coach Ryan Saunders has not kept his desire to frequently employ a two lead-guard lineup a secret in the build-up to
7:28 PM ET The NBA is investigating allegations made against Jerry West and the LA Clippers involving the free-agency recruitment of Kawhi Leonard in 2019, a league source confirmed to ESPN. TMZ Sports reported this week that a man who claims to be close to Leonard filed a lawsuit against West and the Clippers, alleging
In the first NBA Power Rankings of the 2020-21 season, we look at the source of each team’s basketball power. Our new look NBA Power Rankings are back, a non-traditional structure for a non-traditional era of professional basketball. The world is no longer just about wins and losses and teams are no longer the primary
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. Yesterday’s announcement that Giannis Antetokounmpo was signing a five-year, max extension with the Milwaukee Bucks was a remarkable anti-climactic end to months of hand-wringing and hypotheticals. We’ve become
Giannis Antetokounmpo has committed to the Bucks and Aaron Rodgers is thrilled for the future of the team. Yesterday, Giannis Antetokounmpo took to Twitter to announce that he was signing a five-year supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, the only NBA team he’d ever played for. This announcement shut down months of hand-wringing and rumor-mongering
6:18 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Ramona Shelburne Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News The Houston Rockets are increasingly expanding trade discussions on All-NBA guard James Harden beyond his preferred destinations of
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 14: Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat (Photo by Kim Klement – Pool/Getty Images) NBA Offseason 2020: 5 potential landing spots for Joe Harris by Mike Luciano Drew Lock is a problem for the Broncos’ front office by Rucker Haringey The Miami Heat are throwing it back to
The Miami Heat have championship aspirations and the versatile excellence of Bam Adebayo is the foundation on which they rest. In the third quarter of a January game against the Raptors, Bam Adebayo brought the ball up the court to initiate the offense. It was not necessarily standard for Adebayo, the team’s center, to lead
10:59 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN A new NBA season will tip off Tuesday, but the league’s mission to support empowerment for the Black community, as demonstrated in the Orlando bubble, hasn’t been forgotten. The NBA Board of Governors in early August announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the NBA Foundation, dedicated to creating
The regular season is almost here, and with NBA trade rumors swirling, these are the five stars most likely to be included in blockbuster trades this year. The dust of the NBA offseason has settled, and most front offices are done making moves before the start of the regular season. That doesn’t mean big trades
Ja Morant is the Memphis Grizzlies‘ latest superhero but with great power comes great responsibility. I am watching Into the Spider-Verse and thinking about Ja Morant. I am watching Into the Spider-Verse and thinking about how with great power there must also come great responsibility. I am watching Into the Spider-Verse and thinking about great
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies to a surprising playoff berth last season, but the odds are stacked against Memphis replicating that feat. The Grit N’ Grind era is over in Memphis, but Ja Morant gives the Grizzlies more star power than ever before. This season might be too soon for Morant to lead his young