4:23 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Gordon Hayward‘s bad luck with injuries appears to have followed him to Charlotte. Hayward, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Hornets last month after spending the past three seasons with the Boston Celtics, suffered an avulsion fracture of the fifth metacarpal on his right (shooting) hand in
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images 3 stats that prove Aaron Rodgers is MVP over Patrick Mahomes by Steven Kubitza LeBron James shared his thoughts on Giannis Antetokounmpo deciding to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo was set to be the league’s hottest commodity next summer, but news dropped Tuesday that the Milwaukee Bucks star isn’t
Talen Horton-Tucker‘s preseason explosion has Lakers’ fans excited but LeBron James says he was already on the bandwagon. One of the biggest surprises of the preseason so far has been the explosive play of Talen Horton-Tucker. The 2019 second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers saw just 81 minutes of actual court time last season
7:15 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN It was a normal Tuesday for Giannis Antetokounmpo, outside of inking a big business deal. He ate dinner with family, visited the Buy Buy Baby store in Wisconsin to shop for toys and clothes for his infant son, Liam, then went home and fell asleep, only to wake up for
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Nick Saban and Alabama flip 4-star LSU commit on Signing Day by John Buhler Everyone knows the 76ers need outside shooting to juice their offense. Ben Simmons and Dwight Howard look like they’re ready to do their part. The Philadelphia 76ers have struggled to create a consistently efficient offense out
The LA Clippers gave Paul George a big contract extension, and NBA Twitter trolled them for it. Paul George said we wanted to retire a Clipper, and nobody believed him. Well, nobody except the LA Clippers, who agreed to hand him a four-year, $190 million contract extension on Thursday that will pay him up to $226
The wheels came off for the Clippers in the NBA Bubble, but Los Angeles’ “other” team is still a legitimate title contender this season. The Clippers entered the NBA Bubble as many people’s favorites to capture an NBA title. Instead, they crashed out of the Western Conference semifinals in an embarrassing fashion. Doc Rivers paid
6:48 AM ET THE HOUSTON ROCKETS‘ culture in the James Harden era, which bridges two owners and now four head coaches, might be best summed up by a former staffer’s three words: “Whatever James wants.” Unless they were on the front end of a back-to-back set, it was essentially a sure thing that the Rockets
Myles Turner has demonstrated that he can be great at both ends of the floor. But can he be great for these Indiana Pacers? Every year when our writers begin working on the profiles for our 25-under-25 list, I always remind them to focus on the player, not the list itself. The list is the
Three seasons ago, Victor Oladipo was an All-NBA player. Following a ruptured quad in 2018-19, he’s still trying to regain that level of play. Can he do it? Victor Oladipo is a forgotten man. Almost three years ago, he wiggled, bolted and scored his way into a seven-game, first-round duel with LeBron James, nearly leading
11:45 PM ET Houston Rockets superstar James Harden made his preseason debut Tuesday night but has yet to speak to the media since requesting a trade and briefly holding out of training camp. Harden, who was cleared to practice Monday, is in violation of the NBA’s media access rules after declining to make himself available
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Anonymous NFL GM says he’d trade for Carson Wentz despite the gross contract by Josh Hill Giannis Antetokounmpo stunned countless folks by signing a new deal with the Bucks and Twitter as a whole lost its mind. Who in the world saw this coming? On Tuesday afternoon, monster news broke
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images Patrick Mahomes trolls himself over 30-yard sack against Dolphins by Braulio Perez Despite all the offseason drama, James Harden will take the court for the Houston Rockets in a preseason game on Tuesday. Believe it or not, James Harden is all set to make his 2020-21 debut for the Houston
James Harden, Houston Rockets. (Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports) Nationals GM throws water on Kris Bryant trade rumors by Mike Luciano NBA Twitter really wants to trade James Harden to the Miami Heat for some reason. If James Harden gets traded to the Miami Heat, you can thank NBA Twitter for that. The Houston
1:30 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Back-to-back NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has committed to the Milwaukee Bucks long-term. Antetokounmpo agreed to sign a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Bucks on Tuesday, he announced on Twitter, with the terms being confirmed by agent Alex Saratsis to ESPN. The deal includes an opt out after the
PORTLAND, OREGON – NOVEMBER 12: James Wiseman #32 of the Memphis Tigers and Anthony Mathis #32 of the Oregon Ducks battle for position during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) Darren Woodson’s take on Mike
Klay Thompson’s injury has downgraded the Warriors from contenders to pretenders. What can Golden State fans reasonably expect this season? The days of the Warriors dominating the NBA at a historic level are over. Klay Thompson will miss another season due to injury which effectively ends any remote chance Golden State had of competing for
3:57 PM ET First-year Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas said he had a “good conversation” with James Harden before the perennial All-Star’s first practice of the season Monday, but they did not discuss Harden’s reported desire to be traded. “You can ask him about his commitment and all that sort of thing,” said Silas, who
The Boston Celtics head coach claims that young superstar Jayson Tatum actually grew two-inches in height. On Tuesday evening, the Boston Celtics open up their preseason as they hit the road to face the rival Philadelphia 76ers. With the team falling just short of the NBA Finals in the Walt Disney World bubble, the Celtics
11:15 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN When Zion Williamson told reporters about not having any sort of restrictions on him this season, he was happy. The smile on his face was bright and his happiness shined through on the video call last week. After the New Orleans Pelicans‘ 114-92 win over the Miami Heat in their
The Denver Nuggets are making a sizable but smart investment in Monte Morris. The Denver Nuggets have their backcourt of the future (at least for now) in Jamal Murray and Gary Harris. Thanks to an agreement struck on Monday, they’ve got an important depth piece locked in there too. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the
Jamal Murray was explosive in the NBA bubble, now he’s ready to bring that version of himself to every game. Jamal Murray is 23, and the biggest moment in his NBA career took place inside the NBA Bubble. If you blinked, maybe you missed it. If you changed the channel to check on a baseball
7:08 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN After a chaotic offseason that saw the NBA draft and free agency compressed into a single week — followed almost immediately by abbreviated training camps amid teams adjusting to newly implemented COVID-19 testing protocols — the chase is on to see if the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 27: Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets speaks to media during Brooklyn Nets Media Day at HSS Training Center on September 27, 2019 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
Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images LSU imposing bowl ban on itself in a hilarious move by Scott Rogust Mark Cuban gave J.J. Barea a parting gift for his time with the Dallas Mavericks. Being a Mav for life often defies conventional knowledge. So even though Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knew J.J. Barea probably wasn’t
Luka Doncic, the Slovenian wonder boy, is a generational spectacle and No. 1 on The Step Back’s 25-under-25 list for 2020. Only a handful of players can draw fans in like carnival barkers, promising spectators grand-staged wonders they’ve never seen before. Dallas’ lone star is among them. Remember back when the 2018 draft loomed and
7:59 AM 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 arrival of John Wall has left All-NBA guard James Harden unmoved and uninterested in pursuing a new
11:27 PM ET NEW YORK — After a year and a half of Achilles rehabilitation, Kevin Durant returned to the basketball court for the first time on Sunday night for the Brooklyn Nets preseason game against the Washington Wizards. “I was anxious, nervous,” Durant said afterward. “I visualized this moment for so long. Nine, ten
The Golden State Warriors star decided to show off by making trick shots from the tunnels of the Chase Center. The 2019-20 NBA Playoffs just ended over two months ago, and we’re now onto the preseason for the 2020-21 campaign. On Saturday, the Golden State Warriors returned to the Chase Center in San Francisco for
The 25-under-25 is a celebration of the best young players in the NBA, but 25 is never enough. Here are the best players who just missed the cut. For the fourth year in a row, The Step Back is honoring the best young players in the NBA with our 25-under-25. The list is exactly that