The fast-paced basketball takeover that is the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament is behind us. After four consecutive days of 12-hour basketball, we get a few days of a break before the Sweet 16 kicks off on Thursday. Through the first four days, we saw players either help or hurt their draft stock for
After two catastrophic seasons with the New York Knicks, Joakim Noah is experiencing an unexpected resurgence with the Memphis Grizzlies. There is a stench that emanates from the New York Knicks. It’s the decay of former lottery picks on their last legs in the league. It’s the has-been stars failing even to post empty numbers.
3:52 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic suffered compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his lower left leg in a double-overtime win against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night and will be out indefinitely. Nurkic was jumping for a rebound and came down awkwardly in a tangle of
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, we’re revisiting the same discussion. This time, with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
In the midst of a discouraging season, LeBron James found a bright spot, passing Michael Jordan for fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Michael Jordan has always cast a shadow over LeBron James’ career. Jordan redefined what greatness looked like for an individual athlete, reshaped our conception of a basketball star and threw up
Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards in NBA history, but that doesn’t qualify him to fix the Lakers offense for LeBron James. If the Lakers fire coach Luke Walton after this season, the team could turn to Jason Kidd, but would that solve the problems that ail them? ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports
1:30 AM ET Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic had to be stretchered off the court Monday night after suffering a serious left leg injury in double overtime of the Blazers’ 148-144 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Nurkic finished with 32 points and 16 rebounds. The Blazers clinched a playoff berth with the win. Many
Here are all of the NBA Draft prospects to watch in the South region of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament’s South Region is probably the lightest in terms of big name prospects for the 2019 NBA Draft. The region is not without quality teams, but there are few players who will be in consideration
In basketball, passes are means to an end — tools that teams can use to increase their chances of scoring. In many cases, they can lead to efficient offense. Catch-and-shoot jumpers, for example, tend to be converted at a higher clip than comparable pull-up attempts. In pick-and-roll situations, possessions that are used by roll men
Welcome to The Whiteboard, your daily source for the previous day’s best NBA content from around the internet, plus an original column. Catch The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. For a team that is planning on reaching peak form after adding
2:35 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Cal Ramsey, who starred at NYU in the 1950s and went on to play and broadcast for the New York Knicks, died Monday. He was 81. The Knicks said he died of cardiac arrest at The Riverside Premier Rehabilitation and Healing Center in Manhattan. After his playing
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, we’re revisiting the same discussion. This time, with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
1:53 AM ET LOS ANGELES — With the playoffs already out of the picture, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers played for pride in Sunday’s 111-106 win over the Sacramento Kings — and to appease the mythical basketball gods. “I would never cheat myself,” James told Spectrum SportsNet in his on-court interview after recording
Hornets fans were praying to God for a last-second miracle to keep their team’s playoff hopes alive, and Jeremy Lamb delivered. The Charlotte Hornets were looking for a miracle from the basketball Gods on Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors, and Jeremy Lamb delivered. It’s one of the most insane buzzer-beaters you will ever see,
10:13 PM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE — The NBA’s winningest team couldn’t stop watching as the NCAA’s biggest show — and most-hyped prospect — were pushed to the brink on Sunday afternoon. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pat Connaughton, Brook Lopez, Tony Snell, Bonzie Colson and a gaggle of reporters were glued to two television screens playing the
The midwest region in the 2019 NCAA Tournament features two Blue Bloods with several first-round NBA Draft prospects each. Get excited for March Madness. Not only will we see great basketball for about a month straight, we also get to see big-time NBA Draft prospects compete against a higher level of competition. In particular, the
It started with a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk on the break. He shot the next 3-pointer off the dribble, then fading away, then falling out of bounds. He pointed to the floor and pulled up from 28 feet. The opponents were double-teaming him, fouling him, and calling in reinforcements from the bench. It
1:21 AM ET Kyrie Irving appeared to question Brad Stevens’ coaching strategy after Kemba Walker scored 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter to rally Charlotte to a 124-117 victory over the Celtics. The Hornets closed Saturday night’s home game on a 30-5 run that included all 18 of Walker’s fourth-quarter points.
HOUSTON, TX – MARCH 22: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets takes a three point shot defended by Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center on March 22, 2019 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using
8:41 PM ET Ramona Shelburne Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News Paula Lavigne Close ESPN Staff Writer Data analyst and reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit. Winner, 2014 Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award; finalist, 2012 IRE broadcast award; winner, 2011 Gannett Foundation
It is nearly April and that means the NBA postseason has begun to take shape. But while a number of teams’ posture for higher seeding, the season is already all but over for others – four to be exact. Basketball Insiders is bringing back its annual “Fixing” series to provide a blueprint for all four
The Denver Nuggets have risen to the upper echelon of the Western Conference on the strength of an elite offense that features crisp ball movement. They assist on roughly two-thirds of their made field goals, trailing only the Golden State Warriors for the league lead. Their four secondary assists per game place them among the
8:45 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will not play Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks after being given the game off to rest. “Rick [Celebrini, Warriors director of Sports Medicine and Performance] and I have been talking about it the last couple weeks,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before
Ja Morant looks incredible right now but what he already knows could cause him to drop off a little at the NBA level as other players start to learn those same skills. First, flash back to the beginning of this month, at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, day two. One of the later panels of
Here’s how you should set your FanDuel lineups for Saturday’s NBA games. Saturday’s FanDuel schedule 7 p.m. ET: Miami at Washington7:30 p.m. ET: Philadelphia at Atlanta8 p.m. ET: Utah at Chicago, Minnesota at Memphis8:30 p.m. ET: Dallas at Golden State10 p.m. ET: Detroit at Portland, Phoenix at Sacramento My favorite plays of the day can
5 best NBA Draft prospects in the NCAA Tournament by Ian Levy The best sports news to start your Tuesday off on the right foot, including Joe Thomas’ revenge body, Haloti Ngata goes out on top and Dirk passing Wilt. Joe Thomas is an inspiration to men of stature Joe Thomas went from 300-plus offensive
Wilt Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a game. Somehow, he still found the strength to hold up a piece of paper with “100” written on it, so the rest of us would know. Wilt Chamberlain once averaged 50.4 points over the course of an entire season, in which he played 80 games. This wasn’t
9:22 AM ET James Harden lit up the San Antonio Spurs for 61 points on Friday, matching his career high as well as the Houston Rockets‘ franchise record in a 111-105 victory. Harden also scored 61 on Jan. 23 against the New York Knicks. He joins Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan as the
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, we’re revisiting the same discussion. This time, with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
1:49 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After the Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs only five times in the first 65 years of the franchise’s existence, Friday’s 111-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets officially eliminated them from postseason contention for the sixth straight year. At 31-41, L.A. is now a game worse than it was