NBA

3:16 AM ET SEATTLE — After waiting 476 days to return to NBA action, Kawhi Leonard needed only 15 seconds to launch and drill a 3-pointer again. In his first game in 15-plus months, Leonard began his return to the court by hitting his first shot from behind the arc before finishing with 11 points

12:14 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons made his long-awaited debut with his new team on Monday after almost a year and a half away from the game. After pushing for a trade out of Philadelphia while citing mental health concerns and then dealing with offseason back surgery, Simmons said he

5:01 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns was hospitalized last week with a throat infection that caused him trouble breathing and forced him to be on bed rest for days, sources told ESPN. Towns spoke to the media Monday for the first time since falling ill and said his weight was down to 231

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders Which NBA players are on the verge of a breakout season? Last year, it was third-year point guard Ja Morant, who increased his scoring to average to 27.4 points per game from 19.1 during his sophomore season and led the upstart Memphis Grizzlies to the league’s second-best record. Morant set

1:37 AM ET ESPN News Services The Phoenix Suns lost their preseason opener at home to a hot-shooting Adelaide 36ers team from Australia’s National Basketball League 134-124 on Sunday night. The Suns, whose last game at Footprint Center was a 33-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, became

6:28 PM ET Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro — the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year — has agreed to a four-year, $130 million contract extension, his agents, Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports, told ESPN on Sunday. After averaging 20.7 points a season ago, Herro, 22, lands an annual salary worth

5:19 PM ET Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams has agreed to a two-year, $25.2 million contract extension, tying him to the franchise through the 2024-2025 season, his agent, Darren Matsubara of Wasserman, told ESPN on Saturday. Adams, 29, was entering the final year of his deal, and now is under contract for three years and

5:57 PM ET TEMECULA, Calif. — The day after last season mercifully came to an end for the Los Angeles Lakers, Russell Westbrook was asked about LeBron James and Anthony Davis repeatedly stating over the course of the year their intent to “let Russ be Russ” in pursuit of team success. “Yeah,” Westbrook replied bluntly

12:49 PM ET New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. has agreed to a two-year, $21.6 million contract extension, his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN on Saturday. The extension, tying Nance to the franchise through the 2024-2025 season, allows him to join the Pelicans’ key players — including Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram

3:30 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant wants to move past an offseason that was consumed by his trade request and his future with the organization. “Can we move on past that at some point?” Durant said after Friday’s practice. “I know it’s an interesting story. I know that it

6:25 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — With the Los Angeles Lakers‘ preseason debut fast approaching, the first signs of new coach Darvin Ham’s impact on the team are beginning to reveal themselves. For starters, Ham said Friday that guard Kendrick Nunn and center Damian Jones have joined LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook

5:13 PM ET The independent law firm probe into Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka found that he used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman, an element that significantly factored into the severity of his one-year suspension, sources told ESPN. Those

8:00 AM ET The Brooklyn Nets gave the NBA offseason extended life. Every move the organization made — and didn’t — was examined; every whisper, every tweet broken down to the syllable as the league watched the turmoil unfold throughout the summer. Kevin Durant, who on June 30 requested a trade, then requested for general

5:10 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls expressed optimism on Thursday following guard Lonzo Ball‘s latest surgery to address the lingering discomfort in his left knee, but his timeline to return to the court remains uncertain. Bulls coach Billy Donovan met with director of athletic performance Chip Schaefer, who was in Los

1:59 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is confident that “anything’s possible,” for new teammate Ben Simmons now that the talented swingman has “peace around him” in his basketball life. Irving, like coach Steve Nash, is confident that Simmons will be able to fit in quickly to the framework of the

7:26 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — On the Los Angeles Lakers‘ road to the title in 2020, Anthony Davis showed the full versatility of his game, shooting close to 40% from 3 in the playoffs in the NBA bubble. Last season, Davis’ outside shot fell off a cliff, with his 3-point percentage plummeting to

3:14 PM ET NEW YORK — Coach Steve Nash says he doesn’t care if Ben Simmons “ever shoots a jump shot” for the Brooklyn Nets because of the versatility and unique skill set that he brings to the team. “Very unique,” Nash said of Simmons after the second full practice of training camp on Wednesday.

3:38 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Pelicans opened training camp on Tuesday with two practices, a morning session followed by one in the evening. By design, the morning session was lighter. The evening session had a scrimmage portion that was going to be the first intense 5-on-5 work for Zion