NBA

10:20 PM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers coach and former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups says he believes Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is “the most skilled player” ever to play the point guard position. “Kyrie is just, he’s a wizard, man,” Billups said before Monday’s game against the Nets. “He’s must-see TV.

3:25 PM ET The Orlando Magic have extended the contracts of president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond through the 2025-2026 season, sources told ESPN on Monday. Talks on new deals for Weltman and Hammond started at the end of last season, sources said. Both executives were headed into the final year of their

8:00 AM ET Klay Thompson returned after 941 days away from the court. The Golden State Warriors Splash Brother, who hadn’t played in an NBA game since the 2019 Finals due to ACL and Achilles injuries, made his much-anticipated season debut with 17 points in 20 minutes during the Warriors’ win over the Cleveland Cavaliers

11:03 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — As his name was introduced last in the starting lineup, Klay Thompson sat in his seat, stared ahead and soaked everything in. Chase Center delivered one of its loudest roars, 941 days in the making. After being out for nearly 31 months that have tested his physical and mental

5:43 PM ET After suffering a sprained left ankle, Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks is expected to miss a minimum of three-to-five weeks, and could remain sidelined through the mid-February All-Star break, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Brooks — the surging Grizzlies second-leading scorer at 18.4 points a game — injured the ankle in a

5:42 PM ET ESPN News Services Five-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA champion Klay Thompson will be available to play for the Golden State Warriors in Sunday night’s game vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Golden State star made it official with his own creative announcement on Instagram as he so loves to do. Thompson has

11:33 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON – After Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown produced the first triple-double of his career in Boston’s 99-75 victory over the New York Knicks here at TD Garden Saturday night, he shot down the idea that he and Jayson Tatum can’t have an effective long-term partnership. “I think we can

8:00 AM ET MAKING HIS WAY through the Golden State Warriors locker room following a preseason win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Zaza Pachulia heard the familiar sound of a ball bouncing on the organization’s practice floor. Pachulia assumed one of the Warriors’ young players was getting some extra shots in. What the longtime NBA

12:57 PM ET Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19. Kidd is the 13th NBA head coach to enter the protocols this season. Kidd tested positive Thursday night after the team traveled to Houston for the road game Friday against the Rockets. Assistant coach

12:16 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant said he hasn’t had any extra conversations with teammate Kyrie Irving about getting a COVID-19 vaccination that would allow him to play in every game this season, not just most of the road games. Irving, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, returned to the

6:57 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — Julius Randle apologized in a statement on his Instagram account on Friday, saying that his thumbs-down gesture to Knicks fans during Thursday’s win over the Boston Celtics as well as his postgame remarks were “an example of how sometimes you say things you regret to people you

8:00 AM ET When the Los Angeles Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night (10 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App), the team and the NBA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lakers’ 33-game winning streak in the 1971-72 season, regarded as one of the most unbreakable records in NBA history.

12:44 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — Despite helping his team engineer a remarkable comeback from 25 points down against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, star forward Julius Randle wasn’t happy. Midway through the fourth quarter, Randle made a layup and, as he ran back to the other end

8:00 AM ET FOR MOST OF Monty Williams’ tenure coaching the Phoenix Suns, the downs have followed the ups. An 8-0 record in the NBA bubble two seasons ago still resulted in missing the play-in game to qualify for the postseason. Last season, making the franchise’s first Western Conference finals in a decade was met

12:39 AM ET DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki watched and listened to two tribute videos and three high-profile speakers Wednesday night before he finally took his place behind the lectern, which featured “41 FOREVER” on the front and was set up in the center of the American Airlines Center court for a postgame ceremony in which

11:46 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will make his season debut Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers — but Nets coach Steve Nash didn’t want to reveal whether Irving would start or come off the bench. No matter what Nash decides to do, he is confident that Irving will play “a

8:00 AM ET Editor’s note: This story originally published on April 3, 2019. On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks will retire Dirk Nowitzki’s No. 41 jersey after their game against the Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Before stepping foot on American soil, 19-year-old Dirk Nowitzki played on a second-division team in his German

8:00 AM ET “Will Kyrie Irving play tonight?” is about to become a regular question throughout the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season. Irving, who is not vaccinated for COVID-19, hasn’t played because of the Brooklyn Nets‘ decision prior to the start of the regular season not to allow him to participate due to New