NBA

6:37 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham opened up his team’s final stretch of the season after the All-Star break by stating Los Angeles’ goal loud and clear: The Lakers don’t want to just make the playoffs, they want to avoid the play-in tournament. “The goal is for us

7:04 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN PORTLAND, Ore. — Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson finds inspiration in a Kobe Bryant quote, “Greatness isn’t just on the court, it’s everything you do.” It has shaped Thompson as a creature of habit when it comes to his game preparation. He goes through the same warmup routine each

5:31 PM ET Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is “making good progress” after missing the past five games because of a lower left leg injury, the team said Wednesday. Curry has started individual on-court workouts and will be reevaluated again in one week, the team said. Curry suffered partial tears to his superior tibiofibular

7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN There has been little reason to take the Los Angeles Lakers seriously as a contending team this season. The Lakers sit 13th in the Western Conference, meaning they have to leapfrog at least three teams to get into the play-in tournament. But when LeBron James was asked whether his Lakers

11:21 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season, the team announced Tuesday morning, as Ball continues to experience discomfort during basketball activities despite arthroscopic knee surgery before the season. Ball did not appear in a game this season and has not played since

5:31 PM ET The Atlanta Hawks fired coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday, clearing the way for an immediate search that will start with leading candidate Quin Snyder, sources told ESPN. The Hawks made assistant Joe Prunty the interim coach of a team that’s 29-30 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but new general

10:19 AM ET Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn has agreed to an extension that is expected to keep him under contract through the 2026-27 season, sources told ESPN. The Nets announced the new deal Tuesday for Vaughn, who sources said had a team option on his 2023-24 deal, but did not disclose terms. Brooklyn has

7:01 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN On Dec. 30, the New Orleans Pelicans were 23-12 and tied for first place in the Western Conference. Just a month and a half later, heading out of the All-Star break, the Pelicans are 30-29 and in the thick of the middle of the West standings. What happened? Well, two

7:34 PM ET Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a sprained ligament in his right wrist, and he will undergo treatment with the expectation that he’ll be able to return to the lineup once the pain subsides, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday night. Antetokounmpo was examined in New York on Monday after playing

7:20 AM ET PARIS — IT’S LATE MORNING on a gray winter day just outside the French capital, and Victor Wembanyama hasn’t been awake very long. This makes several people in his life quite happy. The small arena located a little over 2 miles from the Arc de Triomphe that Wembanyama is calling his basketball

7:46 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Twenty years into his heralded time in the NBA, LeBron James didn’t mince words when asked about the challenge ahead for the Los Angeles Lakers in order to secure a postseason spot. “It’s 23 of the most important games of my career, for a regular season,” James said

11:10 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Team Giannis only had Giannis Antetokounmpo for one play because of his sprained right wrist. Team LeBron only had LeBron James for one half because of a right hand contusion and a plan to save the 20-year veteran’s legs for the Los Angeles Lakers‘ post-break playoff push. And

12:11 PM ET ESPN News Services Kevin Love plans to sign with the Miami Heat after clearing waivers, his agent, Jeff Schwartz, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Love’s expectation is that he can play a sizable role in the Heat’s frontcourt rotation as they push into the Eastern Conference playoffs. Love also talked with the Philadelphia

11:06 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN SALT LAKE CITY — As the final shots ticked down in Saturday’s 3-point contest for Damian Lillard, he thought he had to make them to tie Buddy Hield in order to win it. Then, when he looked up at the video board after knocking down his final few shots, he

11:08 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — It’s safe to say the people know who Mac McClung is now. Once the poster boy for the NBA’s slam dunk contest’s path toward irrelevance, sporting a field of obscure participants rather than the certified stars of the past, McClung stole the show. With only two games of

7:08 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN AMONG THE SELLOUT crowd packed into Chicago’s United Center for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, Nick Elam and Jon Mugar couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. The league had decided to make a radical change for the league’s midseason showcase, and the excitement was palpable as the fourth quarter played

6:33 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Gregg Popovich headline the list of finalists for the 2023 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Friday as part of NBA All-Star weekend. “I love the class,” Jerry Colangelo, chairman for the Hall of Fame,

4:30 PM ET ESPN Betting Insiders An action-packed NBA All-Star weekend begins Friday night and continues Saturday at 8 p.m. ET with the skills challenge, 3-point contest and slam dunk contest. Then on Sunday the 72nd NBA All-Star Game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET. So who are the players and teams to bet on