NBA

12:16 PM ET Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 James Harden indicated to the Houston Rockets before the beginning of training

2:14 AM ET Months ago, LeBron James bit his tongue when Kyrie Irving‘s comments on Kevin Durant‘s podcast seemed to disparage the Los Angeles Lakers star’s late-game abilities. Now James has opened up about his former teammate’s take on a podcast appearance of his own. James, appearing as a guest on the Road Trippin’ podcast

3:31 PM ET Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas referred to disgruntled superstar James Harden’s absence from training camp as a holdout on Monday and said there is “no timetable” he is aware of for the perennial All-Star guard to report. After Harden missed Houston’s first team workout Sunday, Silas cited the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols as

6:59 AM ET The league looks a little different since our last rundown of all 30 teams. Star guards Russell Westbrook and John Wall swapped teams. Jrue Holiday and Gordon Hayward changed uniforms. The Philadelphia 76ers got a new head coach and a new president of basketball operations. What about the Los Angeles Lakers? L.A.

7:05 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Zion Williamson will head into his second NBA season with “no restrictions,” the New Orleans Pelicans star said Sunday. Talking to reporters as the Pelicans opened their training camp, Williamson flashed the biggest smile of the day when asked about what limitations he might have this season. “Me and [Pelicans]

3:46 PM ET Disgruntled Houston Rockets star James Harden did not participate in the team’s first practice of training camp Sunday because of the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, coach Stephen Silas said. Silas said that Harden is expected to have an individual workout at the Toyota Center on Sunday evening, but the first-year coach said he

2:50 PM ET The NBA has warned teams that protocol violations that lead to coronavirus spread impacting opposing teams and causing schedule derailments could result in “fines, suspensions, adjustment or loss of draft choices and game forfeitures,” according to a memo obtained by ESPN. For players violating safety protocols this season, the league warns that

5:20 PM ET Russell Westbrook may be changing teams and jersey numbers, but the Washington Wizards‘ newest point guard said he isn’t going to change his demeanor on the court no matter what people think of him. Westbrook joined the Wizards on Saturday but did not practice due to paperwork from the trade having just

6:02 PM ET Michael Porter Jr. is ready to do more than just fill the void on the Denver Nuggets caused by the departures of key wing players like Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig. The second-year forward is prepared to not only be a full-time starter, but believes he’s ready to be the third star

3:07 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA released the first half of its regular-season schedule Friday, as it continues to adjust to the new reality placed upon it by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than what typically happens — the NBA announcing its full 82-game schedule — the league instead unveiled only half of its

10:35 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis said he signed the lengthiest contract he possibly could to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers — inking a five-year, $190 million pact Thursday — in part as an insurance policy should he suffer a career-threatening injury. “That could have been a two-year, three-year deal,” Davis told

4:21 PM ET The NBA schedule has been released for the first half of the 2020-21 season. The regular season tips off on Dec. 22, 72 days after the Los Angeles Lakers hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy inside the NBA’s Orlando bubble. Since then, we’ve had the NBA draft, a flurry of coaching changes and

5:52 PM ET Nikola Jokic pulled out his new wedding band to show reporters during his virtual media session Thursday. After a nail-biting run to the Western Conference finals, Jokic got married, and he now hopes to help the Nuggets take a step closer toward winning a championship ring this season even though the star

8:40 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis might have filled his bank account by signing a five-year, $190 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, but one of his teammates now wants him to fill his awards shelf, too. “I’m expecting AD to go for the MVP,” Lakers forward Jared Dudley said

5:26 PM ET First-year Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas has not been in regular contact with James Harden, saying he is giving the disgruntled face of the franchise “space” as the season nears. Harden has informed the Rockets that he wants to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets, according to sources, preferring a fresh

7:40 AM ET All-NBA forward Anthony Davis is finalizing a five-year, $190 million maximum contract to stay with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, Klutch Sports CEO and Founder Rich Paul told ESPN. The deal includes an early termination option prior to the fifth year of the deal in 2024-2025, Paul said. Davis, a free

8:02 PM ET The Houston Rockets have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a first-round draft pick, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Westbrook, as well as fellow Rockets star James Harden, had expressed concern about the direction of the Houston franchise in the wake of the departures of

1:06 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $85 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, his agent Rich Paul told ESPN and multiple outlets Wednesday. James was named the 2020 NBA Finals MVP after leading the Lakers past the Miami Heat in six games. He became the