NBA

8:17 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers will try to win their 17th world championship in Black Mamba fashion. The Lakers will wear their special “Black Mamba” uniforms which are styled in honor of the late Kobe Bryant. The Lakers were slated to wear the black alternative uniforms in Games 2 and 7 of the

3:19 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James woke up from his pregame nap on Tuesday and included two words in a text to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ group chat that said it all: Must win. “We see the message from our leader,” Anthony Davis said after the Lakers’ 102-96 Game 4 victory

1:08 AM ET The Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals by leaning on the thing that has defined their greatness all season: defense. The Lakers not only held the Miami Heat to 96 points, their lowest output of the postseason, but they also did so with a key tactical

6:42 PM ET On his way out of the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook wanted to show his appreciation for the housekeepers of the Grand Floridian hotel, and he did it with an $8,000 tip, according to the Dallas Morning News. “They took great care of us,” Westbrook told Bleacher

7:26 AM ET This is the third NBA Finals in six seasons in which injuries have either completely changed the series midstream or forced one team to game-plan for two different opponents. The Los Angeles Lakers, under at least a little pressure after the Miami Heat‘s rousing Game 3 win saw L.A.’s series lead tighten

6:50 AM ET Chris Herro didn’t want to send the text, didn’t even want to pick up the phone. But he was the father of a 19-year-old, worried and couldn’t stop himself. It was 11:30 on a summer night, and his son, Tyler Herro, had been drafted a few weeks earlier by the Miami Heat.

3:29 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN When Doc Rivers and the LA Clippers parted ways after seven years together last week, Rivers was expecting to take a break from coaching after spending 16 consecutive seasons patrolling NBA sidelines. But then, within a few hours of that news becoming public, he’d received a call from the Philadelphia

11:38 PM ET As insistent as the Miami Heat were that they would come into Game 3 of the NBA Finals squarely in the series, a pall descended over the team as it fell behind 2-0 in unimpressive form. They lost two key starters in Game 1 — defensive ace and offensive facilitator Bam Adebayo

9:57 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul dismissed the idea that being stuck on a rebuilding team in OKC next season will be a problem in an interview during Game 3 of the NBA Finals Sunday night. “I just love to hoop,” Paul said while watching

6:42 AM ET EARLY IN THE first quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers appeared lethargic, disjointed. Coach Frank Vogel called time, down 23-10, and made some substitutions. One of them, 34-year-old Rajon Rondo, who shot 41.8% in the regular season, surveyed the floor, noted the Miami Heat‘s

9:55 AM ET Before the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first official training camp practice, Frank Vogel and his staff gathered the team in their film room for a PowerPoint presentation on what their defense would look like. Vogel wanted them to be the league’s most physical team — echoes of the “smashmouth basketball” vision that guided

2:22 AM ET LeBron James has never seen a more “dominant duo” than Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. But nearly two decades after Shaq and Kobe dominated the early 2000s with their three consecutive titles, the Los Angeles Lakers might have the closest thing to that legendary tandem. James and Anthony Davis dominated the Miami

2:17 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Despite being in a 0-2 hole after being dominated by the Lakers for most of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat are holding onto a belief that they can find a way to win. Sure, they played Friday’s game without one of the team’s

10:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Friday night that it is unlikely the league will take a break next summer for the Olympic Games, a decision that could dramatically impact the tournament if it is able to be played. “We’ll consider it. I think it’s unlikely,

8:00 AM ET THE OTHER DAY in practice, Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala caught the ball on the wing, looked toward the corner and fired a pass to Derrick Jones Jr. under the basket for an easy dunk. It was not what he was supposed to do. The ball was moving and finding energy with

6:55 AM ET The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers have combined to play in nine of the past 15 NBA Finals series — including seven consecutive from 2008 to 2014 — without ever facing each other. That is, until Game 1 on Wednesday, the first time the two teams met on the NBA’s biggest

10:58 PM ET On Thursday, Doc Rivers snatched an opportunity to sculpt a young tandem — Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons — whose stardom would tantalize any coach, but who have yet to make good on their talent. Rivers enters a Philadelphia 76ers organization with title aspirations that believes an upgrade on the bench can

2:29 PM ET Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic and big man Bam Adebayo are both listed as doubtful for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, it was announced Thursday. Dragic has a plantar fascia tear in his left foot, while an MRI for Adebayo revealed a neck strain following Wednesday’s 116-98 loss to the Los