NBA

1:22 AM ET NEW YORK — One day after posting on social media that he would like to see the NBA logo changed from Jerry West’s silhouette to Kobe Bryant’s, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving reaffirmed his stance and said he’s OK if he’s a leader of the conversation. “We want to set a standard

6:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 games without pay in the wake of pleading guilty to a felony count of threats of violence as a result of an incident last September, the NBA announced Thursday evening. “As an organization, we fully support today’s decision by the

11:39 AM ET When you think of teams with multiple All-Stars, you think of dominance — the Jazz, the Lakers, the Nets. The Celtics have two All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but after Wednesday night’s blowout loss to the Hawks, Boston is in last place in the Atlantic Division. Team president Danny Ainge

7:09 AM ET ONE MONTH INTO the NBA season, Steve Kerr had seen enough to make a rather grand declaration about the Utah Jazz. The Jazz had just dismissed Kerr’s Golden State Warriors, leading by 36 points after three quarters and cruising to a 127-108 victory on Jan. 23. It was Utah’s eighth straight win,

7:00 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was selected Wednesday to replace injured Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis in the NBA All-Star Game. Commissioner Adam Silver chose Booker to take Davis’ spot a day after Booker was snubbed by the league’s head coaches for a reserve spot

7:09 AM ET ONE OF TRAE YOUNG‘S favorite moves is simple. He gets the ball, calls for a screen and turns the corner, putting his defender on his hip as the help comes over to corral the drive. Once he feels his defender behind, he brake-checks, pulling up into a quick shot. A little old

3:01 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Paul George has been motivated and fueled by “all the noise” surrounding him all season long, and earning an All-Star spot he says is another “milestone” in his bounce-back season. The LA Clippers guard was named one of the All-Star reserves selected from the Western Conference on Tuesday, joining

7:21 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA announced the reserve selections for next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta Tuesday night, a list headlined by Brooklyn Nets star James Harden, as well as center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell from the league-leading Utah Jazz. Harden, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2018, is representing Brooklyn

9:26 AM ET The Houston Rockets will waive DeMarcus Cousins, a source confirmed to ESPN. Cousins, whos is coming back from multiple significant injuries, is averaging career lows of 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game in his first season with Houston. A four-time All-Star, the 6-foot-10 big man has bounced around the league the

3:06 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After logging 40-plus minutes for the fourth time this month only to see the Los Angeles Lakers lose 127-124 in overtime to the Washington Wizards on Monday night, LeBron James insisted he can handle the workload that’s being asked of him. “I think this whole narrative of ‘LeBron needs

7:50 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The “diverse experience” of newly hired Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is what intrigued president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to make the move. During Monday’s introductory news conference, Rosas welcomed the former Toronto Raptors assistant to try to turn things around after firing Ryan Saunders following Sunday’s loss in

7:04 AM ET Though the Western Conference standings look like a three-team race between the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers, the rising Phoenix Suns aren’t far behind. Chris Paul, Devin Booker & Co. have won 11 of their past 13 games. In the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets just keep winning. After

9:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN When he was coaching the New England Patriots, Bill Parcells uttered what has become a famous maxim in sports: “You are what your record says you are.” After the Boston Celtics, dropped to 15-15 thanks to a horrific collapse in the Big Easy Sunday afternoon, losing 120-115 to the New

3:12 PM ET Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is likely to continue rehabilitating his left calf strain through the March 5-10 All-Star break with hopes of returning to the lineup for the start of the season’s second half, sources told ESPN. Smart, working to fully recover from the injury, which occurred on Jan. 30, resumed

2:56 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers have hit their first true challenge of their title defense, with Saturday’s 96-94 loss to the Miami Heat marking the third defeat in their past four games since Anthony Davis aggravated his Achilles tendinosis and suffered a calf strain in his right leg. A question

2:56 AM ET In the Washington Wizards locker room, coach Scott Brooks stood at the front of the room, acknowledging players for their impact on a big win in Portland. He started with Isaac Bonga, who played only five minutes, but was a plus-five in the box score. “Those five minutes were huge,” Brooks said.

2:48 PM ET Kevin Durant will miss his fourth consecutive game on Sunday, sitting out against the Los Angeles Clippers as he continues to get treatment on a strained left hamstring. Steve Nash said on Saturday that the plan was for Durant to continue to do strengthening exercises while being monitored for any inflammation. Nash

10:25 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN In a season full of dominant performances for Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, none have been more dominant than the display he put forth Friday night against the Chicago Bulls. Embiid finished with a career-high 50 points to go along with 17 rebounds, five assists, two steals, four blocks and