In 127 total regular season games with Kyrie Irving, the Boston Celtics were 78-49. Without him, they were 26-15 – not setting the world on fire, but good nonetheless. The bulk of those 41 games without Irving came in his injury-shortened 2017-18. That’s the team that came within one game of knocking off LeBron James
2:32 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — After a Wednesday morning shootaround with the Atlanta Hawks, Jabari Parker took some time to soak in the atmosphere of the newly constructed Fiserv Forum before sharing his honest thoughts. After spending his first four seasons in the league with the Milwaukee Bucks, the former No. 2 overall
7:04 AM ET When Anthony Davis asked the New Orleans Pelicans to trade him, preferably to the Los Angeles Lakers, it may have seemed like a tough decision. But he had five decades of history to show him how. In 1968, Wilt Chamberlain informed the Philadelphia 76ers that he wanted to be traded to the
Zach LaVine has been a prime figure in NBA news this season. It began in training camp when the young Chicago Bulls expressed their intentions of rejoining the playoff party for the first time since 2017. It continued when LaVine confidently told the media of his — and teammate Lauri Markkanen’s — February All-Star plans.
6:47 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he has never seen anything quite like the injury situation his team is dealing, while noting that he has been calling the healthy remaining players on the roster the ‘Elite Eight’ as they continue to play under adverse circumstances. “We could have
Carmelo Anthony is finally back on an NBA roster. Both he and the Blazers are in desperate need of revitalization. Can they make it work? Tuesday night, for the first time in over a year, Carmelo Anthony played in an actual NBA game,, though it was hard to watch him and see signs of the
2:38 PM ET Expectations were sky-high for last season’s Boston Celtics, but a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and second-round playoff loss forced president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to reflect on the decisions he made. “I think that in hindsight, we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it
Factoring in their expectations, the Philadelphia 76ers’ season hasn’t exactly gone par for the course. It hasn’t all been bad; At 11-5, just two games back of the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the team is about where most expected them to be. That gap could be even smaller, had
1:17 AM ET SAN ANTONIO — LeBron James banked in his first 3-pointer of the night and swished his fourth to move past Peja Stojakovic for No. 18 on the all-time 3-pointers list in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 114-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. It turns out the Spurs are partly responsible
In the press release that literally nobody asked for, the New York Knicks denied offering Richard Jefferson a contract “for clarification purposes.” The New York Knicks PR team is having a rough season. So are the Knicks themselves, at 4-13, which is the worst record in the Eastern Conference, but the public relations team hasn’t
The Lakers’ Danny Green threw down the best dunk of his career Sunday night. His reward? A “random” drug test. Danny Green of the Los Angeles Lakers is not known for his athleticism. Not that he isn’t athletic, but he’s best known for spacing the floor, knocking down timely 3’s on catch-and-shoot opportunities, and frustrating
10:29 PM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Pascal Siakam scored 25 points, Fred VanVleet added 24 and the Toronto Raptors held Joel Embiid scoreless for the first time in his career in a 101-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Embiid shot 0 for 11 against the Raptors, missing all four of
Factoring in their expectations, the Philadelphia 76ers’ season hasn’t exactly gone par for the course. It hasn’t all been bad; At 11-5, just two games back of the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the team is about where most expected them to be. That gap could be even smaller, had
7:00 AM ET The 2019-20 season is just over a month old, and we’ve already witnessed the abrupt fall of a dynasty, the rebirth of the Lake Show, Luka Doncic becoming appointment television and, of course, the return of Carmelo Anthony to the NBA. Which teams are rising and falling in the final Power Rankings
Brandon Ingram’s box score stats are scraping career-highs. But are all his points really helping the New Orleans Pelicans? Somehow, Brandon Ingram is only 22 years old. The shine of the Hollywood spotlight was unrelenting throughout the former second overall draft pick’s first three seasons in the NBA, allowing the burgeoning basketball populous insight into
4:02 AM ET LOS ANGELES — New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart said he called some of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammates and front office staffers to clear up the negative comments he made about the organization on his podcast and on social media in September. Hart said he never intended those comments to
In today’s NBA, the offseason is almost as exciting as the regular season and playoffs. There is Free Agency, of course, but outside of the normal player movement storylines, there is also the neverending cycle of workout videos and hype generation. Every summer brings footage of players dominating an LA Fitness gym or of a
8:45 PM ET HOUSTON — Luka Doncic didn’t even crack a smile when Dallas Mavericks fans showered him with “MVP!” chants as he exited the Toyota Center court after a convincing road win over a Western Conference contender. Doncic lightly clapped his hands above his head and gave the fans two thumbs up to show
Justin Rowan joins the latest episode of Fastbreak Breakfast to discuss the Cleveland Cavaliers and their goals and strategy for the season. Following the LeBron James‘ exodus to Los Angeles following the 2018 NBA Finals, the Cavaliers were once again plunged into the darkness of a rebuild. After winning only 19 games in 2018-19, only
11:33 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Boston Celtics announced Sunday morning that Kemba Walker is doubtful for Monday night’s home game against the Sacramento Kings with a neck sprain after his collision with teammate Semi Ojeleye during Friday night’s loss in Denver. Walker fell to the ground and hardly moved after running headfirst into Ojeleye’s
As of this writing, James Harden is averaging 38.4 points per game. Yes, 38.4. He’s within striking distance of 40 – a number that would put him in the most rarified of air, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. Of course, Wilt averaged over 40 twice
1:58 AM ET MEMPHIS — The Los Angeles Lakers‘ 109-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday resulted in a historically triumphant moment in LeBron James‘ 17-year career as well as a historically perplexing one. On the one hand, the Lakers’ 14-2 start to the season is the best that any one of James’ teams
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has been battling a shoulder condition known as impingement. What is it and how long will it take to recover? The Brooklyn Nets announced on Friday that star point guard Kyrie Irving will miss the next three games, extending his total streak to seven, secondary to a diagnosis of impingement
10:09 PM ET Zach LaVine scored a career-high 49 points on 13 3-pointers and hit the game-winner to beat the Hornets on Saturday, just one night after the Bulls guard was temporarily pulled in the first quarter of Friday night’s loss to the Heat. Coach Jim Boylen removed LaVine midway through the first quarter of
As of this writing, James Harden is averaging 38.4 points per game. Yes, 38.4. He’s within striking distance of 40 – a number that would put him in the most rarified of air, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. Of course, Wilt averaged over 40 twice
11:10 AM ET The NBA is engaged in serious discussions with the National Basketball Players Association and broadcast partners on sweeping and dramatic changes to the league calendar that would include a reseeding of the four conference finalists, a 30-team in-season tournament and a postseason play-in, league sources told ESPN. These scenarios would come with
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 06: Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics reacts during the first quarter of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden on October 06, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the
1:01 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — Anthony Davis hit a season-high four 3-pointers, including a clutch four-point play with less than 3 minutes to go, in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 130-127 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. And the team is urging Davis to let it fly even more often from the outside.
As of this writing, James Harden is averaging 38.4 points per game. Yes, 38.4. He’s within striking distance of 40 – a number that would put him in the most rarified of air, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. Of course, Wilt averaged over 40 twice
10:13 PM ET Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker was strapped to a backboard and stretchered from the court late in the second quarter in Denver on Friday night. Walker ran into teammate Semi Ojeleye with his head down and appeared to suffer a neck injury. There was no immediate word from the team on