NBA

1:10 AM ET Kyrie Irving said Wednesday night he still hopes to return and play for the Brooklyn Nets but that “this is about my life and what I am choosing to do,” as he explained his decision to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Irving, speaking on Instagram Live, said he is neither pro-vaccine nor

3:33 PM ET Associated Press CAMDEN, N.J. — This much is known: Ben Simmons is back in Philadelphia. But there’s no clear sign yet the All-Star guard is set to rescind his trade request and actually play for the 76ers. Even coach Doc Rivers — publicly, at least — says he’s unsure of the status

8:00 AM ET Behold, the top 10 NBA teams in our 10th annual League Pass Rankings. Reminder: These are watchability scores, not power rankings! We score teams, 1-10, in five categories: ZEITGEIST: Do actual humans care about this team? STAR/HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL: Do you stick around games, at the expense of sleep and loved ones, because

7:04 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — The Boston Celtics say center Al Horford has tested positive for COVID-19. Horford is currently in isolation and didn’t travel with the team for its two-game exhibition road trip to Florida, which includes games in Orlando on Wednesday and Miami on Friday. He is the second Celtics player

11:12 AM ET Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the Brooklyn Nets until he is eligible to become a full participant under local COVID-19 vaccination requirements, general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday. “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to

8:00 AM ET It’s time for our dumbest NBA preseason tradition: League Pass Rankings! These rankings turn 10 today. I can’t believe I continue to trick publications into running them. These are not power rankings! They are watchability scores, derived from an ancient formula Bill Simmons claims appeared before him when he ingested too many

10:21 PM ET After staying away for the first two weeks of the preseason, 76ers All-Star guard Ben Simmons reported to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Monday night, sources told ESPN. As the Sixers played the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons took a COVID-19 test in the arena, sources said. The initial test starts several

8:00 AM ET SAN DIEGO — Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap and Joe Harris were all trying their best, but this was not their night. On the plush, manicured lawn of Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai’s picturesque La Jolla, California, home, the Nets’ four veterans were no match for Tsai’s two sons at bocce

3:58 AM ET LOS ANGELES — As preseason losses have piled up, while the Lakers‘ revamped roster hasn’t even showcased all its stars in the same game yet, Anthony Davis admitted Sunday that Los Angeles’ disjointed dawn could seep into the regular season. But he isn’t sweating it. “We want to be good, but we

5:06 PM ET Kyrie Irving returned to practice Sunday, but the Brooklyn Nets sound like a team coming to grips with the realization that its starting point guard will not play in home games for the foreseeable future. While the situation around Irving’s availability for home games due to New York City’s COVID-19 protocols could

2:11 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Udonis Haslem and Bam Adebayo were yelling at each other during practice Sunday, which was a critical step for the Heat. It meant things were normal again. Their captain is back. Haslem — the NBA’s oldest active player at 41– returned to practice Sunday, joining his team for

4:38 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has long been an admirer of LeBron James, but he added an extra layer of praise to his famous foe’s accolades in advance of Friday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers. When asked what it’s been like to play against James for

1:57 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN DETROIT, Mich. — Ben Wallace is an NBA Hall of Famer, NBA champion and four-time Defensive Player of the Year. Now the 47-year-old can add basketball operations and team engagement advisor for the Detroit Pistons to his resume. The Pistons announced Friday that Wallace has been hired in this role

8:00 AM ET With less than two weeks until the start of the regular season, the uncertainty around Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving continues to swirl. The Nets listed Irving, 29, as ineligible to play in Friday’s preseason game against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. New York City’s COVID-19 protocols allow only NBA players with

7:00 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving will be able to practice at the team’s facility in Brooklyn, sources confirmed to ESPN, but still won’t be able to play in home games due to the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The change in Irving’s status is due to the city determining that the

12:03 PM ET Associated Press GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former NBA guard J.R. Smith is set to make his debut next week as a golfer for North Carolina A&T. The school announced that Smith will play his first collegiate tournament Monday and Tuesday at the Phoenix Invitational hosted by Elon. The tournament will take place at

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders Which NBA teams and players could disrupt the races for home-court advantage and awards during the 2021-22 season? After the New York Knicks‘ surprising run to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference last season, could head coach Tom Thibodeau’s crew pull off that feat again in an improved East?

10:56 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Eighteen former NBA players have been charged with defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan out of about $4 million, according to an indictment Thursday in New York. Federal prosecutors planned a news conference for noon ET Thursday to describe the case that was brought in