NBA

3:40 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors have a long-standing history of small-ball lineups. During the first championship run of their dynastic era, their small lineup was so lethal it was dubbed the “death lineup.” It has gone through a few different renditions since then, but as the Warriors embark

4:00 PM ET The 2022 NBA playoffs have finally arrived! After an unprecedented regular season, featuring some of the closes races in recent memory, Saturday marks the beginning of what each of these 16 teams hope will be a two-month march to the NBA championship. In the Western Conference, Donovan Mitchell and the No. 5

11:35 AM ET After running and shooting without back pain for over a week, Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons is expected to take the next step on the floor in the coming week and begin practicing against teammates on the court, sources told ESPN on Saturday. His continued progress is fostering hope that Simmons could

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA playoffs are here with four first-round games taking place on Saturday and Sunday. In the East, all eyes will be on the Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets series as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving look to upset the No. 2 seed Celtics, who are without injured center Robert

1:07 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN For the New Orleans Pelicans, all seemed lost in the third quarter Friday night in Los Angeles. The team that started the season 1-12 and was 14-32 at its lowest point had fought its way back to 36-46 and grabbed the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

12:37 PM ET LA Clippers star Paul George has entered health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 and will miss Friday night’s play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps. The winner of Friday’s game earns the No. 8 seed and a first-round meeting with the

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN THE LINE WAS wrapped around the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. It was July 5, 2019, and the debut of Zion Williamson was here. After waiting through the first three games, fans were eager to see the main event: Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans taking on the

1:01 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are back in the playoffs for the first time in two years. And unlike the last time they were in the postseason — and the four times before that — there aren’t many expectations surrounding them. Sure, they are expected to make it

4:38 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry participated in the team’s scrimmage Thursday, marking another benchmark in his return from a left foot strain that has kept him out since March 16. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said both he and Curry are optimistic that the guard will be

11:02 PM ET Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges struck a young fan with his mouthpiece after he was ejected from the team’s 132-103 play-in loss to the host Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, later calling his actions as he exited the court “unacceptable.” With Atlanta up big in the second half and Charlotte’s season winding

12:24 AM ET ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan took some heat from his coaching staff — as well as some fans on social media — for having starters on the court with just over five minutes left in Wednesday night’s 132-103 play-in victory over the Charlotte Hornets. “The coaches were yelling and screaming

7:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN ON THE FINAL night of the All-Star break, New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, forward Brandon Ingram and coach Willie Green went out for a small, private dinner at FLINT by Baltaire in Phoenix. The Pelicans had gone 1-4 since the Feb. 8 trade that sent Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky,

3:23 AM ET MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards and Patrick Beverley stood on the Target Center scorer’s table, screaming and celebrating in an ode to an iconic moment in Minnesota Timberwolves franchise history when Kevin Garnett stood on the table and celebrated in the 2004 playoffs. Not long after jumping off the table, Beverley sat on

12:38 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant has been in the league long enough to know that it’s not wise to give a playoff opponent any extra motivation before a series begins. So when Durant heard Nets guard Bruce Brown‘s critique of the Boston Celtics, saying that the Nets can

3:09 PM ET Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams — architect of the NBA’s best regular-season team — has been voted the National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year for a second consecutive time. The award, named in honor of the late NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is based on a vote of the

8:24 PM ET DALLAS — An MRI on Monday confirmed that Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic suffered a left calf strain in the team’s regular-season finale, a source told ESPN. The source said no timetable has been set for Doncic’s return. Asked if he could be ruled out for Game 1 of the team’s first-round

10:43 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — With Frank Vogel removed as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the day, Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook opened up about the disconnect that existed between the two of them in his first season in L.A. “I think it’s unfortunate, to be honest, because I’ve never

2:08 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Frank Vogel on Monday, the team announced. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Frank both on and off the court,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Frank is a great coach and a good