NBA

5:18 PM ET After an offseason of major change for the Houston Rockets, the team’s new general manager and head coach emphasized that the franchise’s primary goal remains the same: Chase a championship with a roster that features perennial MVP candidate James Harden as the franchise centerpiece. “For the last eight years or so, our

11:00 PM ET ESPN Insiders The NBA season ended just under a month ago with uncertainty around when the 2020-21 season would begin. On Thursday night, the National Basketball Players Association player representatives completed a vote approving a Dec. 22 start date for a 72-game regular season. Per a report by Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA

11:17 PM ET The National Basketball Players Association’s formal player representatives vote has been completed Thursday night and they approved starting the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22 and playing a reduced 72-game schedule, a source told ESPN. The NBA/NBPA now will finish up financial terms on an amended collective bargaining agreement, which will take into

9:47 AM ET There hasn’t been a trade in the NBA for almost nine months! Do you have the shakes? Let’s take a look at the broader questions that will define the wild next month — and maybe the next few years. How does a pandemic offseason unfold when almost every team is trying to

4:20 PM ET The NBA’s Board of Governors and Players Association are holding separate meetings on Thursday expected to culminate with an agreement on starting the 2020-2021 season on Dec. 22 and playing a reduced 72-game schedule, sources tell ESPN. The NBPA is planning to take a formal vote of the team player representatives on

9:13 PM ET LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are reeling from the shooting death of Ericka Weems, the 37-year-old older sister of Cavs director of scouting Brandon Weems. James took to Twitter on Wednesday to make a plea for any information connected to the shooting. Weems was discovered Monday afternoon in the bedroom of

5:44 PM ET Eddie Johnson, the two-time All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks whose career was shortened by arrests which led to a ban from the NBA and life sentence in prison, has died. He was 65. Johnson passed away on Oct. 26. His death was confirmed Tuesday by Rocker-Cusack Mortuary in Leesburg, Florida. Johnson was

9:54 AM ET Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns detailed losing his mom to COVID-19 complications in an emotional video posted to his YouTube channel. Titled “THE TOUGHEST YEAR OF MY LIFE,” the 18-minute video showed a vulnerable Towns explaining having to be the one to “pull the plug” on his mother, Jackie Cruz-Towns, who died

8:42 PM ET On a conference call with the league’s general managers on Monday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the top team basketball executives that “time is running out” on the possibility of starting the 2020-21 season prior to Christmas Day and potentially salvaging hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, sources told ESPN. Discussions

5:13 PM ET The Golden State Warriors are honoring the “We Believe” era and the franchise’s Oakland days with new Nike City Edition uniforms. On Monday, the team unveiled its “Oakland Forever” jerseys, which are inspired by the franchise’s look from 1997 to 2010. The team moved to San Francisco after the 2018-19 season following

4:27 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Daryl Morey, speaking Monday for the first time as president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers, expressed excitement about the championship potential of a roster built around All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. “My goal is to win a championship, so whatever gets us there is what we’ll do,”

8:54 AM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers officially named Daryl Morey president of basketball operations and extended the contract of general manager Elton Brand on Monday. Morey stepped down as GM of the Houston Rockets this month after blockbuster moves that failed to lead the franchise to the NBA Finals. The Rockets

4:52 PM ET Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr cast his vote, then spent some time Saturday morning greeting others who visited the ballot drop-off location at Chase Center. Kerr handed out Warriors-themed blue “I Voted” stickers to match the one on his gray sweatshirt. “It’s an easy way to

9:48 AM ET Mike D’Antoni and is finalizing a deal to become an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets, reuniting him with his former MVP point guard, Nets coach Steve Nash, sources told ESPN. The Nets are hiring D’Antoni and well-regarded assistant Ime Udoka, who spent seven of the past eight seasons on Gregg Popovich’s

4:54 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors say they will cooperate fully with the NBA’s investigation of guard Terence Davis following his arrest in New York on charges including assault. The team made its first public comment on the case in a statement Friday. Davis faces several charges after police said he

11:17 PM ET After pushing back a deadline until next Friday that would allow for the NBA to serve notice on termination of the collective bargaining agreement in the wake of the pandemic, the league and the National Basketball Players Association are running short on time to agree on starting the NBA’s season before Christmas.

11:52 PM ET New details about the midnight phone call from the president of the National Basketball Players Association, Chris Paul, to the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, that helped save the NBA season have surfaced. Appearing as a guest on LeBron James‘ barbershop-themed talk show “The Shop,” which aired Friday on

7:00 AM ET Editor’s note: This is one in a series of six pieces that shows how professional sports owners in America contribute to political campaigns, why they spend millions in the space and what that financial power means as athletes across sports continue to embrace activism of their own. THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS faced