7:00 AM ET YEARS AGO, AFTER a bad hurricane hit Wilmington, North Carolina, Michael Jordan came back to help the recovery effort. Jordan doesn’t go home very often, but he had some friends with him on that trip and wanted to show them where he’d grown up while they were in town. The house, a
The New York Knicks are one of the most iconic franchises in sports. Their roster hasn’t always been loaded with iconic players though. The New York Knicks have a long and storied history. Even their arena is iconic. While the last 20 years haven’t been as kind to the team, their history is littered with
Welcome back to Basketball Insiders’ “Looking Back” series! We’ve already gone over how the first and second overall pick have fared since 2009, so naturally, the next pick up is the third overall pick. Like with the first two, we categorize these players by if they are hits, misses, in the middle, or role players.
10:22 PM ET Many basketball fans enjoy debating who was better between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. But when the Los Angeles Lakers‘ star fantasizes about playing with Jordan, it’s as his teammate, not his adversary. “Me personally, the way I play the game — team first — I feel like my best assets work
Photo by JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images Michael Jordan admitted in episode 10 that he thought the Chicago Bulls could have won another championship and it still bothers him. Ouch. The ending of The Last Dance was a dagger to the heart to any Chicago Bulls or Michael Jordan fan who wanted to see the
4:55 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA’s draft lottery won’t take place Tuesday in Chicago as was originally planned, but whenever it does happen it is likely to look the same as last year, league sources told ESPN. Since play was suspended March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic, teams at the top of the
6:43 AM ET NEARLY 22 YEARS have passed since Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf took one last shot at keeping the team together, but he remembers the meeting like it was yesterday. “I remember the date,” Reinsdorf said. “It was July the 3rd in 1998.” The Bulls had won their third straight NBA title and
From the alleged truth behind Michael Jordan’s Flu Game to believing the Chicago Bulls could’ve run it back, here are five things episodes 9-10 of The Last Dance shed light on. The Last Dance came to its triumphant end this week, as Episodes 9-10 covered the final two years of Michael Jordan‘s legendary career with
10:45 PM ET NBA Insiders What will be the legacy of “The Last Dance”? ESPN’s 10-part documentary series about Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls concluded on Sunday night, offering unprecedented access to one of the greatest dynasties and players of all time. With the NBA season on hold, Jordan and that era of
Welcome back to Basketball Insiders’ “Looking Back” series! We’ve already gone over how the first and second overall pick have fared since 2009, so naturally, the next pick up is the third overall pick. Like with the first two, we categorize these players by if they are hits, misses, in the middle, or role players.
6:52 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament outside Los Angeles did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside, according to autopsies released Friday. The reports by the
Photo by Rich Schultz/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. Reading a headline without actually reading the article is a bad habit 99.9 percent of us have fallen victim to at some point
8:57 AM ET THE MOVIE THEATER was empty when the Chicago Bulls walked in. It was Nov. 23, 1995, and the Bulls, in Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz the following night, decided to catch the 5 p.m. showing of “Casino” after the team’s Thanksgiving feast. By the time they left the three-hour
Jason Peters workout video confirms former Eagles Pro Bowler has a lot left in the tank by Jake Starr Adam Silver updates NBA players on the latest plans for restarting the season by Ian Levy WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 26: Kobe Bryant arrives for the Premiere Of Showtime’s “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” – Arrivals at
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images The Mamba Sports Academy will no longer use Kobe Bryant’s iconic nickname following a mutual agreement with the Laker legend’s estate. An agreement now takes the “Mamba” out of the Sports Academy. The late Kobe Bryant, known as the “Black Mamba,” will no longer have his nickname synonymous with the
2:59 PM ET A week after NBA commissioner Adam Silver told players to prepare for what could be the “single greatest challenge of all of our lives,” the president of the players’ association, Chris Paul, has affirmed publicly — and adamantly — that players want a return to competition. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard, in
Photo credit should read DAN LIPPITT/AFP via Getty Images ESPN’s “The Last Dance” will conclude with episodes 9 and 10 this Sunday night. Michael Jordan’s ‘competition’ problem has been underlined and the stories continue to come out. Antione Walker had a gambling problem. It was part of the reason he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
7:00 AM ET Editor’s note: This as-told-to, from Phil Jackson, on Chicago’s historic 1998 playoff run and the end of the Bulls’ dynasty, was originally published in the May 18, June 1 and July 13, 1998, issues of ESPN The Magazine. Watch Episodes 9 & 10 of “The Last Dance” on Sunday at 9 p.m.
7:59 AM ET THE GOLDEN STATE Warriors know how fleeting life atop the basketball world can be. Following five consecutive NBA Finals trips, the team suddenly finds itself out of postseason contention in 2019-20 with a league-worst 15-50 record. Serious injuries to star players and the departure of Kevin Durant, a two-time Finals MVP, will
Mike D’Antoni, Houston Rockets, (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) This Houston Rockets‘ season was more of the same from Mike D’Antoni, always surrounded by dazzling superstars and never quite hitting the peak. All the way back in February, the Rockets seemingly were souring on Mike D’Antoni. Before landing Robert Covington for a full-time small ball
Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets, (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty images) Spencer Dinwiddie said on Twitter that if fans could crowdfund his next NBA contract, he’d let them decide where he plays. Now he’s actually set up a GoFundMe campaign. Spencer Dinwiddie has been focused on bringing cutting-edge financial creativity to the NBA. He’s spent nearly a
8:00 PM ET As the nation reels from the coronavirus pandemic, Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard is mourning the loss of Melissa Rios, the mother of his 6-year-old son David, he told reporters Friday. Rios, 31, died of an epileptic seizure on March 27 at her home in Calabasas, California. “I’ve had some things
4:59 PM ET As the uncertainty grows, and science, economic and competitive elements collide, there’s one constant in the struggle to revive the NBA: Owners and players are delivering Adam Silver full room to operate, govern and make the decision on resuming play amid a pandemic. No power grabs, no factions, no public criticisms on
Dwyane Wade, #3, Chris Bosh, #1, LeBron James, #6, Miami Heat, (Photo by Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/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. It’s Friday, which means mailbag day! Hit us up on Twitter
7:00 AM ET MICHAEL JORDAN MISSED. With 35.8 seconds left in Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, the greatest player in NBA history actually just bricked what should have been the winning free throw. And now, for roughly 26 seconds, the basketball world is in chaos:
Welcome back to Basketball Insiders’ “Looking Back” series! We’ve already gone over how the first and second overall pick have fared since 2009, so naturally, the next pick up is the third overall pick. Like with the first two, we categorize these players by if they are hits, misses, in the middle, or role players.
2:03 PM ET The University of Florida is open to hosting events involving professional sports teams looking for a way to play during the coronavirus pandemic, athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement Thursday. After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Wednesday all professional sports teams are welcome in the state for practicing and playing,
Enes Kanter, #11, Boston Celtics, (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Enes Kanter is spending his quarantine planning for a career after basketball. Apparently that career is going to be as a professional wrestler with WWE. The world around us is changing rapidly and it’s forcing everyone to think deeply about their present and their future.
8:54 AM ET A COUPLE OF years ago, Jud Buechler’s daughter Reily was walking through Los Angeles International Airport when she spotted one of Buechler’s longtime teammates: Scottie Pippen. She texted her father about her celebrity sighting. Her phone rang. “Reily,” Buechler implored his daughter, “turn around right now and introduce yourself. Tell him how
10:05 AM ET Bobby Marks NBA teams will withhold more than $30 million from player paychecks on Friday, as players receive their first salary reduction since the league and the union agreed to a plan to temporarily cut pay by 25%. But five of the NBA’s top-10 earners this season — LeBron James, Stephen Curry,