Why do modern NBA Draft prospects not stick around in the league? Our four-part series on the 2011-15 NBA Drafts attempts to answer this question. Part one looked at functional strength. Today, we tackle skill development. Skill level can be tough to evaluate with NBA Draft prospects. A player may show the ability to perform
When it was announced that LeBron James was planning on joining the Los Angeles Lakers last year, many thought that he was taking the circus with him. Any team with LeBron on it usually has a media circus from his brand alone, but the other Lakers additions that came with him were laughed at. Lance
9:33 AM ET Associated Press DONGGUAN, China — Luis Scola scored 20 points, Facundo Campazzo finished with 18 points and 12 assists and Argentina earned its first trip to the World Cup semifinals in 13 years by ousting Serbia 97-87 in a quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday. Patricio Garino added 15 for Argentina (6-0), which will
What will Jimmy Butler’s role in Miami look like now that he’s back as an offensive centerpiece? Over the offseason, Jimmy Butler signed a four-year, $142 million max deal with the Miami Heat. This included a sign-and-trade that sent Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers. Combine that with Dwyane Wade’s retirement and Butler is the
9:42 AM ET SHENZHEN, China – In the Rio Olympics three years ago, Team USA averaged 101 points a game with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony leading an electric offense. In the 2014 World Cup in Spain the Americans averaged 105 points with Irving, James Harden, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combining to
The New York Knicks enter 2019-20 hoping for development and cohesion. As recently as this time last year, the Knicks expected to enter the season with at least one cornerstone piece in Kristaps Porzingis, a free agent superstar and a lottery pick added to the roster. Instead, the team experienced tremendous turnover, returning only six
4:34 PM ET The NBA won’t allow players to wear “ninja-style headwear” this season. Several players — including the Miami Heat‘s Jimmy Butler, the New Orleans Pelicans‘ Jrue Holiday, the LA Clippers‘ Montrezl Harrell, the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ Karl-Anthony Towns and the Brooklyn Nets‘ Jarrett Allen — regularly wore the headgear a season ago. The NBA
Why do modern NBA Draft prospects not stick around in the league? Our four-part series, looking back at the 2011-2015 NBA Drafts attempts to answer this question. Part one focuses on strength, and what exactly that means. Over the past few years, it’s become vogue in the draft scouting sphere to not just attempt to
If you remember one thing about Adam Morrison, it’s probably that he cried. If you remember two things about him, remember that he was a baller. Do you remember Adam Morrison crying after Gonzaga lost to UCLA in the 2006 NCAA Tournament? Of course you do. How else could you get those jokes off at his
8:52 AM ET Brittni Donaldson is joining Nick Nurse’s staff to become the 10th current female coach in the NBA. Courtesy Toronto Raptors Brittni Donaldson was almost literally born into basketball in Iowa, but even she could never have imagined her improbable path to becoming the league’s 10th current female assistant coach, and the youngest at
When it was announced that LeBron James was planning on joining the Los Angeles Lakers last year, many thought that he was taking the circus with him. Any team with LeBron on it usually has a media circus from his brand alone, but the other Lakers additions that came with him were laughed at. Lance
12:25 AM ET SHENZHEN, China — Jayson Tatum returned to Team USA practice after an ankle injury but will miss a third consecutive World Cup game Monday when the team faces Brazil (8:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+). Kemba Walker missed Monday’s shootaround with illness but was listed as probable to play in the final second-round game.
John Stockton’s short shorts were not with the times, but much like Stockton’s career itself, their length never wavered throughout the 1990s. I attended elementary school in the early to mid-1990s, and I still remember being made fun of for a pair of jean shorts that, despite touching the top of my knee caps, was
3:08 PM ET ESPN News Services PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers forward Mike Scott was involved in a fight with Eagles fans outside Lincoln Financial Field after wearing a Redskins jersey and hat at a tailgate party before the Eagles’ game against Washington. Scott didn’t appear to get injured in the video of the fight. He
It was a foregone conclusion that LeBron James would be drafted first overall in 2003, even before the draft lottery rewarded his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick. James was already a national phenomenon before stepping foot on an NBA court. James immediately bore a tremendous burden, with pressure to grow into potentially
10:29 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN NEW YORK — New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson made his first public appearance as the newest face of Jordan Brand on Saturday morning, when he helped unveil the upcoming Air Jordan 34 sneaker at a community event in Harlem. The newest annual Air Jordan model will officially release on
Stephen Curry is infamous for chewing his mouthguard incessantly throughout games. Why does he do it and why are we so intrigued by it? It’s like an extra limb, it is so omnipresent — an additional body part that is removable but still essential to his image and persona. It feels certain that this mouthpiece
11:48 PM ET Dwyane Wade may have recently retired from his NBA playing career, but he plans to be on the court with Lakers star LeBron James at Staples Center often in the coming season. Wade, who is now living in suburban Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times that he plans to work out
Stars are king in the NBA. Every offseason, destinations for these stars are speculated on, and the teams who do land one or multiple are vaulted to the forefront of the conversation. It is true that a team’s title chances are virtually non-existent when they do not possess one of the NBA’s elites. The 2004
2:20 PM ET SHENZHEN, China – Before each game at the FIBA World Cup the entire teams are announced to the crowd, culminating with the head coach. Without fail as Team USA has progressed from Shanghai and now to Southern China, Gregg Popovich has gotten the loudest ovation. Popovich, for better or worse, is maybe
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s goggles looked out of place on a world-class athlete, but fit right at home with his quiet disposition and sometimes overlooked NBA legacy. The poster hung on my wall, commemorating something and someone I had no feelings about. It was 1989, Miami’s inaugural NBA campaign, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had played his first and
10:47 PM ET SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — SuperSonics legend Jack Sikma, a driving force behind the franchise’s only NBA title 40 years ago, pleaded with the league to bring back pro basketball to Seattle for the first time since 2008 during his Hall of Fame induction speech Friday night. “To all the diehard Sonic fans who
It was a foregone conclusion that LeBron James would be drafted first overall in 2003, even before the draft lottery rewarded his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick. James was already a national phenomenon before stepping foot on an NBA court. James immediately bore a tremendous burden, with pressure to grow into potentially
12:29 AM ET SHENZHEN, China — Marcus Smart went through Friday’s shootaround and is planning to play when Team USA faces Greece in the FIBA World Cup on Saturday. The Boston Celtics guard missed Thursday’s game against Japan with a left quadriceps strain. He missed several weeks in August with a left calf strain. “Today
3-point percentage is the most commonly used statistic to measure shooting in the NBA. By adjusting for defensive attention, we can create a more accurate figure. If you asked any 100 NBA fans who is a better shooter, Damian Lillard or Pascal Siakam, all 100 would say Lillard. However, if you asked those same fans
4:16 PM ET NBA stars Deandre Ayton and Buddy Hield are helping raise money to aid their native Bahamas, which was devastated by Hurricane Dorian. Ayton, the Phoenix Suns center, announced Friday that he and his family are pledging $100,000 toward relief efforts in the archipelago nation of 400,000. He also asked Suns fans to
The Chicago Bulls are close…to something. They aren’t close to contention – they won 22 games last season. They may not even be close to a playoff berth, as most oddsmakers put the Bulls’ wins projection around 32 (FiveThirtyEight’s model does give them a 55 percent chance of making the playoffs, however). What they are
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images With DeMarcus Cousins likely out for the 2019-20 campaign, the Los Angeles Lakers need to shore up their frontcourt. It’s time to rank their best backup big options. Most assumed the Los Angeles Lakers would be hurting for depth given their salary cap situation and how long they waited around
Dwight Howard’s stock has been steadily declining for a decade, but it’s time we take a moment to appreciate how good he was before it all went so wrong. In February of 2011, Dwight Howard was on his way to finishing second in the MVP race, one spot ahead of LeBron James. It was his
7:46 AM ET Associated Press Poland had not been to the World Cup in 52 years. It’s making up for lost time. Poland is in the driver’s seat for a quarterfinal berth next week after beating Russia 79-74 in a second-round opener on Friday in Foshan, China. Adam Waczynski scored 18 points and Mateusz Ponitka