3:38 PM ET New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin clarified comments he made about the challenges of building a title contender around LeBron James during their three seasons in Cleveland together, saying Friday that he maintains a “positive relationship” with James. In a Sports Illustrated story published Thursday, the former Cavaliers general manager
Despite the frequency to which players experience downtrending performance, it seems as if there is still no clear cut consensus answer as to why players go through slumps, or a trusted way to systematically and repeatedly break players out of shooting slumps once they occur. In the second installment of High-Performance Mindfulness, we will dissect
3:38 PM ET New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin clarified comments he made about the challenges of building a title contender around LeBron James during their three seasons in Cleveland together, saying Friday that he maintains a “positive relationship” with James. In a Sports Illustrated story published Thursday, the former Cavaliers general manager
Teaira McCowan was a dominating defender in college at Mississippi State. She’s helped the Fever improve dramatically at that end but she’s still just scratching the surface of her potential. When the Fever selected Teaira McCowan with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, it was a play to improve their defense. Her
7:22 PM ET ESPN News Services MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Grizzlies haven’t called Vancouver home since 2000. That’s not stopping them from tapping their Canadian roots to celebrate the NBA franchise’s 25th season. Memphis unveiled two throwback uniforms Thursday in a video posted to Twitter. 🔥🔥🔥 The #ThrowbackThursday you’ve been waiting for 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/xK0QMwNosQ —
Entering their fifth season together with brand new contract extensions, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum will continue to torch defenses as arguably the most dynamic starting backcourt duo in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star-caliber pairing scarily knows each other’s tendencies. When one is having an off night, the other will pick it up.
7:28 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — While the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors gear up for next season, Scotiabank Arena is getting a multimillion-dollar face-lift. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Michael Friisdahl calls it a “reimagination” of the venue that opened in February 1999. “We’ve got to keep getting better, we’ve
Carmelo Anthony is still available, but that might not be the case if things had played out differently in free agency. There’s a famous quote that goes “if ‘if’ was a fifth, we’d all be drunk.” With NBA free agency behind us, the New York Knicks are surely pondering a lot of said “ifs.” According
1:36 PM ET Oklahoma City and forward Patrick Patterson have agreed to a buyout on the final season of his contract, allowing him to become a free agent, league sources tell ESPN. Once his $5.7 million deal clear waivers this week, Patterson’s intention is to sign with the LA Clippers, league sources tell ESPN. The
Entering their fifth season together with brand new contract extensions, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum will continue to torch defenses as arguably the most dynamic starting backcourt duo in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star-caliber pairing scarily knows each other’s tendencies. When one is having an off night, the other will pick it up.
11:33 PM ET In the weeks leading up to the NBA season last October, a bettor at the SuperBook at the Westgate Resort & Casino in Las Vegas placed a $67,000 wager on the Golden State Warriors to make the playoffs at minus-10,000 odds. The bettor was rewarded with a $670 profit when the Warriors
ESPN’s series of 30 for 30 documentaries are required viewing for sports fans, but what are the very best films that have been released to this point? Sports fans love stories. Whether they’re anecdotes, contained mythology, detailed accounts or something that combines those three, there’s nothing that gets lovers of sport quite as enthralled as
The Sacramento Kings have been mired in a playoff drought but made real progress last season. Is this the year they finally make the leap back to relevance? 33, 38, 17, 25, 24, 22, 28, 28, 29, 33, 32, 27, 39. This is not a LOST-esque sequence of numbers that holds some opaque, secret meaning.
2:07 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has agreed to a three-year, $100 million contract extension — extending his current deal to five years and $157 million, his agent, Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports, tells ESPN. The new deal will start with the 2021-22 season. McCollum became eligible for the extension on Saturday
The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a hefty three-year extension with CJ McCollum. For better or worse, it ensures the status quo for a franchise trying to get over the hump. General manager Neil Olshey has rarely shied away from ponying up the dough for his own players, and the Portland Trail Blazers’ latest
2:09 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Video games have taken over the NBA. From the NBA 2K League, which features gaming squads for 21 of the league’s franchises, to Josh Hart and Reggie Jackson competing at the Fortnite Pro-Am at Epic Games’ Summer Block Party in June, it’s impossible to walk into an NBA locker
The Indiana Pacers have decided to go against the grain, putting two centers in their starting lineup. What will it take for their two-big lineup to work? The looming longterm question for the Indiana Pacers last year was whether Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, both young centers and among the team’s best prospects, could work
4:14 PM ET The Philadelphia 76ers announced on Tuesday that the team has agreed to a deal with point guard Trey Burke. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Trey’s experience as a ball handler matched with his scoring ability makes him a good fit for our roster,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement.
Over the next couple of weeks, Basketball Insiders is grading all 30 NBA teams on their offseasons — additions, subtractions, draft picks, trades, etc — and their potential headed into the 2019-20 campaign. Between today and autumn, franchises will be tasked with figuring out how their roster pieces, both new and old, might mesh together
5:27 PM ET The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are the strongest favorites to make the playoffs, while the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns have the longest odds to reach the postseason. Caesars Sportsbook on Tuesday released Yes/No odds on each team’s playoff chances. The Bucks at -5,000 are the biggest favorites to make next
As we head down the stretch of the 2019 WNBA season, here’s a look at the MVP race, hitting both favorites and dark horses. As the curtain rises on the second half of the WNBA season, a mere glance at the standings will underscore the league’s remarkable parity. The Connecticut Sun ran out to a
2:09 PM ET LOS ANGELES — When asked about his love of video games, Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons pulls out his phone and flips through a gallery of photos. After a bit of perusing, he stops on the picture he was attempting to find, an older, sepia-tone one contrasting with his state-of-the-art smartphone. In
Over the next couple of weeks, Basketball Insiders is grading all 30 NBA teams on their offseasons — additions, subtractions, draft picks, trades, etc — and their potential headed into the 2019-20 campaign. Between today and autumn, franchises will be tasked with figuring out how their roster pieces, both new and old, might mesh together
4:56 PM ET Anthony Davis already has six All-Star appearances, an NCAA championship and an Olympic gold medal to his name, but the newly minted Los Angeles Lakers forward admits there’s still something missing. “I don’t think I have a failure that I’ve had yet,” Davis told ESPN as a guest on That’s What She
Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images It was Damon Jones who understood his role best when he proclaimed in no uncertain terms: “I’m Alfred.” Here are the NBA’s greatest sidekicks. Most people dream of the lead role; after all, to imagine one’s self as anything other than the title character in one’s own life
9:05 PM ET Associated Press METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton says Zion Williamson‘s athleticism and physical stature would make the Pelicans rookie and top NBA draft choice an intriguing NFL prospect at a handful of positions, starting with the defensive line or tight end. But Williamson is making a case for
Over the next couple of weeks, Basketball Insiders is grading all 30 NBA teams on their offseasons — additions, subtractions, draft picks, trades, etc — and their potential headed into the 2019-20 campaign. Between today and autumn, franchises will be tasked with figuring out how their roster pieces, both new and old, might mesh together
Troy Brown has a path to being useful but didn’t show much in year one. That’s where the Wizards are as a team, too. Last year was a painful one for the Washington Wizards. John Wall tore his Achilles tendon midway through the season before his mega extension kicked in, sidelining the franchise player in
2:44 PM ET More than a billion dollars in contracts were agreed to in the first 24 hours of the NBA’s new league year, but free agency isn’t a feeding frenzy for all players. “Every year it gets harder,” free-agent point guard Jeremy Lin said of his uncertain NBA future. “In English there’s a saying
Over the next couple of weeks, Basketball Insiders is grading all 30 NBA teams on their offseasons — additions, subtractions, draft picks, trades, etc — and their potential headed into the 2019-20 campaign. Between today and autumn, franchises will be tasked with figuring out how their roster pieces, both new and old, might mesh together