2:40 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Wizards guard Bradley Beal is a star at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., but away from it he has had to go through some of the same frightening interactions with law enforcement that countless black people in this country have. At the “Together We Stand” march — hosted by
Which NBA player archetypes are threatened, endangered or recovering? The 2014-15 NBA season saw the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The Golden State Warriors emerged as the new dynasty not only due to their talent, but their play style: running mostly undersized lineups with an abundance of shooting. The
Zion Williamson, #1, New Orleans Pelicans, (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) Zion Williamson is featured in NBA 2K21’s first look on the PS5 console. NBA 2K21 released a sneak peak featuring Zion Williamson on Thursday. The same day Sony released their first look at the new PlayStation 5 console, 2K Sports dropped a video showing off their
12:27 AM ET Weeks after the team issued a statement condemning “racism, bigotry, violence and prejudice in all its forms” the Los Angeles Lakers announced a pair of moves to aid in their mission to spur positive social change. The Lakers announced the hiring of Karida Brown as the team’s director of racial equity and
The world is on fire. And, frankly, the news of pending basketball hardly seems important in the slightest. The planet-wide pandemic and sweeping protests have turned everybody’s day-to-day routines on their head – but, obviously, for one group, it has done so in awful and disproportionate ways. If you can donate, consider doing so. If
5:43 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Bucks guard Sterling Brown, who was tased by Milwaukee police in 2018 after being cited for a parking violation, sees the NBA’s restart in Orlando as an opportunity to campaign for issues of social justice and racial equality. “A lot of eyes will be on us while we’re in Orlando,”
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images 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. Sitting 6.0 games outside of a playoff spot when the NBA season was suspended, 2.0 games behind the threshold they’d need to reach
2:11 PM ET Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says if his players take a knee during the national anthem, he hopes to join them. In an interview with ESPN’s Outside the Lines on Thursday, Cuban was asked how he would react if he saw his players not standing for the anthem. “If they were taking
The Miami Heat have the depth and personnel to make a deep postseason run. The suspended NBA season came at the perfect time for the Miami Heat. After starting the season with 25 wins in their first 34 games, they went 16-15 over their next 31 contests. A four-month reprieve is exactly what this team
5:37 PM ET The NBA Coaches Association fears new league standards and guidelines that could bar team staffers in high-risk categories for the coronavirus from attending the season’s restart in Orlando could “severely jeopardize” their future employment opportunities. NBCA executive director Dave Fogel and president Rick Carlisle have concerns that several assistants and three head
Former NBA player John Salley speaks onstage during the 2011 Cedars Sinai Sports Spectacular at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on May 22, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Four-time NBA champion John Salley played late into June many times. Salley believes the NBA would benefit by changing their season schedule. John
8:21 PM ET NBA Insiders Who will be the most important and exciting players to watch when the NBA returns next month? The league is set to restart action on July 30 in Florida with eight seeding games for each of 22 teams before a potential play-in series and then the standard playoffs. LeBron James
The world is on fire. And, frankly, the news of pending basketball hardly seems important in the slightest. The planet-wide pandemic and sweeping protests have turned everybody’s day-to-day routines on their head – but, obviously, for one group, it has done so in awful and disproportionate ways. If you can donate, consider doing so. If
The Los Angeles Lakers clearly have the goods to win the NBA title. The Los Angeles Lakers may not have been playing perfect basketball prior to the stoppage of the regular season, but their 49-14 record still placed them atop the Western Conference standings. They will enter the playoffs as one of a handful of
Cole Beasley admits he ‘looked the other way’ for too long, embraces Black Lives Matter by John Buhler 20 role players who are going to become NFL stars in 2020 by Rucker Haringey Magic Johnson, #32, Los Angeles Lakers, (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) The Last Dance brought Michael Jordan back to the center of
10:09 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Any athlete who has a positive test for COVID-19 will have to rest and refrain from exercise for two weeks from the later of the date of the player’s first positive test and/or resolution of their symptoms, if they have any, according to the NBA’s health and safety protocol for
Mike Gundy reads scripted, insincere apology for wearing an OAN t-shirt, says Black Lives Matter by John Buhler Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images Tuesday brought a barrage of details on the NBA’s restart plans. Over the last few weeks, details on the NBA‘s planned restart at Walt Disney Resort in Orlando have trickled out. On
1:03 AM ET Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books Tim Bontemps After months of work, the NBA released its health and safety protocol for the resumption of the 2019-20 season on Tuesday. It covers the teams’ ramp-up over the next
The world is on fire. And, frankly, the news of pending basketball hardly seems important in the slightest. The planet-wide pandemic and sweeping protests have turned everybody’s day-to-day routines on their head – but, obviously, for one group, it has done so in awful and disproportionate ways. If you can donate, consider doing so. If
7:00 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Jason Miller/Getty Images While lying on the court in pain after tearing his left Achilles tendon on Dec. 6, Rodney Hood began to contemplate his basketball future. “The initial thought is like, ‘Damn. Most guys used to retire after the Achilles injury,'” the Portland Trail Blazers swingman told ESPN this
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 03: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers stands on the court in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half at Staples Center on March 03, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this
11:49 PM ET Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone had the coronavirus in March but wasn’t informed of it until months later, he told CBS Denver 4 in an interview Monday. “I’d say around March 20, I started not feeling well, and we began reaching out to team doctors to see if I could get a
10:40 PM ET With a group of players concerned about the NBA restarting its season amid a pandemic and social unrest around the country, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he is listening and his sense is that the league and its players will be able to “work through most those issues over the next few
Credit: Sam Wasson/Getty Images The WNBA seemed to be moving toward a plan to play in 2020, and now they’ve made an announcement. As many major sports try to find a way to have or continue their seasons amid the coronavirus pandemic, the WNBA seemed to shaping their plan. On Monday, the league officially unveiled its
Christian Wood, #35, Detroit Pistons, (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) 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. The Detroit Pistons were 20-46 when the NBA season was suspended, 13th in the Eastern Conference, which means
6:06 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Malika Andrews Close ESPN Staff Writer Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2018 Appears regularly on ESPN Chicago 1000 As a growing faction of NBA players remains uncertain about committing to the league’s plan for restarting the season
The NBA hiatus is coming to a close. With the season expected to resume July 30, just over a month away, there would appear to finally be a light at the end of this long, long tunnel. That said, we’re not quite there yet. But, in the meantime, we here at Basketball Insiders will continue
7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Next month, the NBA is set to descend upon Walt Disney World to attempt to finish out the 2019-20 season. And while winning a championship will be the goal for all 22 teams, plenty of what transpires could have enormous implications and reshape the league. Because of the unusual circumstances
Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) Dwight Howard believes the focus should be on activism not an NBA return. Dwight Howard backs Kyrie Irving’s message that an NBA return would only be a distraction to the Black Lives Matter movement. Irving expressed players should skip the NBA restart
3:42 PM ET San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich criticized NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for caving to Donald Trump in the past on the issue of player protests during the national anthem. “A smart man is running the NFL and he didn’t understand the difference between the flag and what makes the country great —