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
9:56 PM ET The NBA has announced a five-year extension of its deal with Tencent, the league’s digital partner in China. Tencent is the NBA’s largest digital partner outside the United States and has been connected with the league since 2009. The current deal, which now runs through the 2024-25 season, includes live NBA games,
A stat-sheet stuffer. A developmental miracle. A puppet-master. This is Derrick White, deconstructed. The San Antonio Spurs are legendary for their ability to mine the diamonds no one else has been able to get to. Sometimes it’s a Patty Mills or Jonathon Simmons reclamation project, making use of a skilled player who hasn’t ever been
Jul 22, 2019 This summer, NBA stars — well, some of them — are taking on the world in China. With players such as James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal withdrawing from Team USA participation, who remains on the roster to challenge powerhouses Spain, France and Serbia? Team USA also is looking
Welcome back to another edition of “Grading the Offseason.” So far we’ve evaluated those whose seasons ended collectively on April 10. Today we’re changing it up a bit and looking at those who managed to make it into the playoffs. First off, we’re heading up to Motown to take a look at the Detroit Pistons.
12:10 PM ET When the NBA’s board of governors convened earlier this month in Las Vegas, the owners’ heads were spinning from a league-shaking flurry of deals that reshaped their realities in a matter of days. The powerful men and women, some through clenched teeth and others with open arms, asked themselves two basic but
Heading into his third NBA season, Luke Kennard is a bit of a mystery. What exactly do the Detroit Pistons have in him as a prospect? For even the most diehard NBA consumers and writers, there are certain young players who exist as somewhat of a mystery. They are intriguing but not quite captivating enough
6:59 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN For the first time in years, the NBA does not have an odds-on favorite to win the title. The dual impact of the Golden State Warriors falling in the NBA Finals then losing Kevin Durant in free agency (along with the expected loss of Klay Thompson for most of next
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
12:38 PM ET Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright has agreed to a deal in which she pleads guilty to facilitation to first-degree murder and receives a 30-year prison sentence. Sherra Wright entered the plea Thursday during a hearing in Shelby County Criminal Court in Tennessee. Lorenzen
The Phoenix Suns are notorious for overpays backfiring in free agency, but a look at their recent history suggests Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr. might buck the trend. Abstract art is a visual language that is lost on many, this writer included. While the connoisseur may see beautiful, striking composition that ventures beyond the