NBA

6:30 AM ET NBA Insiders In early July, a couple of days before the Los Angeles Lakers boarded a plane for Orlando, Florida, hoping their trip would extend to the NBA Finals in October, Jared Dudley made a prescient remark. “[LeBron James] is ready for this moment, you can tell,” Dudley said. “You can see

9:35 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Boston Celtics lost forward Gordon Hayward to a right ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of their 109-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. “Sprained ankle,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said afterward. “Don’t know the severity, but he’s clearly in pain, and it looked like

3:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The NBA announced the results of its draft tiebreakers on Monday, setting the order for both the draft lottery on Thursday night as well as the order of picks 15-60 for the NBA draft itself, which is scheduled for Oct. 16. The Sacramento Kings earned

6:48 AM ET SECONDS BEFORE ENTERING the Serbian gym, Mike D’Antoni casually mentioned to Steve Kerr that this stop on their European scouting trip was essentially pointless. It was the spring of 2004, just after Kerr joined the Phoenix Suns as a front-office consultant. D’Antoni was entering his first full season as head coach and

Aug 14, 2020 After 66 scrimmages, 88 seeding games, one Play-In — and plenty of fishing — the matchups for the 2020 NBA playoffs are finally set. And in an unprecedented atmosphere that could negate the benefits of home-court advantage, we could be in for another wild two months inside Disney’s ESPN Wide World of

12:35 PM ET Jimmy Butler is apparently a budding barista. And by the looks of it, the Miami Heat star might have a successful business on his hands inside the NBA bubble. According to the menu outside his Walt Disney World hotel room, Butler’s offerings include a latte, a cappuccino, a macchiato and more. A

7:15 AM ET The good news for the Los Angeles Lakers is they are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the first time they’ve earned pole position in a decade and an honorable accomplishment after a traumatic season. The bad news is they appear to have won the least valuable No. 1

6:03 PM ET Attention is the utmost compliment in public life, and Damian Lillard has received plenty of it over the past week. In his Portland Trail Blazers‘ win-or-go-home squeaker on Thursday night, the Brooklyn Nets threw two bodies at Lillard before he even crossed half court. It seemed the most sensible strategy after Lillard

12:28 PM ET The New Orleans Pelicans dismissed coach Alvin Gentry, sources told ESPN on Saturday morning. After a disappointing performance in the NBA’s Orlando restart, the franchise moved quickly on Gentry’s removal. Gentry had one year left on his contract. The Pelicans move into the coaching marketplace with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls.

6:38 PM ET Vlade Divac has stepped down as general manager of the Sacramento Kings and Joe Dumars has assumed the role of the team’s interim executive vice president of basketball operations, the team announced Friday. Divac’s exit came a day after the Kings concluded bubble play with a 136-122 win against the Lakers. They

11:29 PM ET NBA Insiders Saturday’s play-in game (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC) between the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies is the rare NBA win-or-go-home contest, at least for the Grizzlies. If Memphis wins on Saturday, the rematch is Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), with the winner advancing to the NBA playoffs to face the

6:57 AM ET After 66 scrimmages and more than 80 seeding games — and plenty of fishing — the matchups for the 2020 NBA playoffs are finally set. And in an unprecedented atmosphere that could negate the benefits of home-court advantage, we could be in for another wild two months inside Disney’s ESPN Wide World

11:00 AM ET All the scenarios, all the magic numbers, all the scoreboard watching — it’s all getting settled on Thursday. Here is where things stand as four teams battle for two spots in this weekend’s Western Conference play-in: Portland Trail Blazers: win and they’re in (as the No. 8 seed). Memphis Grizzlies: win and

10:38 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Puff Daddy and Mase topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts with their smash song “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” the last time the San Antonio Spurs missed the NBA playoffs. That’s how long it’s been — way back in the 1996-1997 season. The final buzzer sounded Thursday night with the

7:10 AM ET NBA Insiders Thursday is the biggest day of the NBA restart, as we reach the conclusion of the red-hot Western Conference play-in battle. The Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns will all be in action, and only two will advance to face off on Saturday. We asked

11:30 PM ET Before the NBA season restarted, the league decided that the 88 seeding games at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex would not count toward season-long awards voting this year. Then on Tuesday the league announced that it would name an MVP and All-NBA teams for the restart games before the playoffs begin.

5:28 PM ET ESPN News Services LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Giannis Antetokounmpo has been suspended for Milwaukee‘s final game of the regular season, handed a one-game penalty Wednesday for headbutting Washington‘s Moe Wagner. It’s unknown if Antetokounmpo would have played in Thursday’s game against Memphis anyway, given that the Bucks have already secured the

6:00 AM ET As we approach the 2020 postseason, the NBA title remains fully up for grabs. No one should be considered a clear favorite to win it all, and given the quirks of the bubble environment, more teams than ever are heading to the playoffs with visions of triumph. But one reason there’s no