12:00 AM ET THE OTHER DAY Jeanie Buss sent a text to Phil Jackson, the previous coach to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a title. This was not an unusual occurrence. The two have remained friends and talk often. But the reason for this text was extraordinary. Buss’ team was on the verge of
NBA
10:04 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published on July 30, 2020 and has since been updated to reflect the Lakers winning the NBA championship. STANDING ACROSS FROM each other at center court, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James shook hands. The 2016 NBA All-Star Game was the first and only international All-Star Game
7:23 AM ET THE CLOSET INSIDE Buzz Williams’ office at the Bradley Center was, at most, 5 feet deep. He thinks it had a chair or a small couch inside. He’s pretty sure there was a light. But he’s not sure it would’ve mattered to Jimmy Butler either way. Butler just needed a space to
4:48 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The NBA upheld the two calls Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel took exception with in L.A.’s 111-108 Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals on Friday, however the league did find two other calls that should have gone the Lakers’ way. In
6:33 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis (right heel contusion) is listed as probable for Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on Sunday. Davis acknowledged on Friday after the Lakers’ Game 5 loss to the Heat that he originally suffered the injury during the Western Conference finals against
7:25 AM ET LeBron James has lived through many NBA Finals games in which he’s played great and lost. It’s one of the stories of his career. But the Game 5 duel James staged with Jimmy Butler in the Miami Heat‘s season-saving 111-108 victory Friday over the Los Angeles Lakers instantly goes in the pantheon
3:03 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — With less than 10 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers trailing by one, LeBron James appeared to be putting the final touches on a 40-point masterpiece to clinch his fourth NBA title. Draped by seemingly the entire Miami Heat defense, James, who led the league in
5:43 PM ET Kristaps Porzingis underwent surgery to address the lateral meniscus injury in his right knee suffered during the playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks announced Friday. According to the team’s statement, Porzingis will begin rehabilitation immediately with no set timetable to be cleared for basketball activities. Sources have told ESPN that the Mavs are optimistic
7:20 AM ET INSIDE THE NBA’S BUBBLE, there is a pathway around the residences — a nearly mile-long loop and a longer, 1.6-mile loop that encompasses the Coronado Springs resort, one of the Disney properties that has become a home away from home for the league. During the NBA Finals, it hasn’t been unusual to
6:40 PM ET It wasn’t long after LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 that murals popped up around town — only to be vandalized. It was presumed his prompt elevation to the “King of LA” had rubbed some in the loyal Lakers fan base the wrong way. Now one victory away
3:56 PM ET LA Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been honored with the NBA Executive of the Year Award, it was announced Thursday. Frank, who helped orchestrate the franchise’s biggest offseason by signing Kawhi Leonard as a free agent and trading for Paul George in July 2019, received 10 first-place votes and
6:47 AM ET With a win on Friday night against the Miami Heat, LeBron James would secure his fourth NBA championship and add yet another accolade to his already amazing resume. But while a potential Los Angeles Lakers title will undoubtedly awaken the take monsters in GOAT arguments about James vs. Michael Jordan, let’s leave
8:17 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers will try to win their 17th world championship in Black Mamba fashion. The Lakers will wear their special “Black Mamba” uniforms which are styled in honor of the late Kobe Bryant. The Lakers were slated to wear the black alternative uniforms in Games 2 and 7 of the
1:43 AM ET Miami Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler still believes his team can turn things around in the NBA Finals despite the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding 3-1 lead after a 102-96 Game 4 win on Tuesday night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Butler, who has praised his team’s mental
3:19 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James woke up from his pregame nap on Tuesday and included two words in a text to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ group chat that said it all: Must win. “We see the message from our leader,” Anthony Davis said after the Lakers’ 102-96 Game 4 victory
1:08 AM ET The Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals by leaning on the thing that has defined their greatness all season: defense. The Lakers not only held the Miami Heat to 96 points, their lowest output of the postseason, but they also did so with a key tactical
7:26 AM ET This is the third NBA Finals in six seasons in which injuries have either completely changed the series midstream or forced one team to game-plan for two different opponents. The Los Angeles Lakers, under at least a little pressure after the Miami Heat‘s rousing Game 3 win saw L.A.’s series lead tighten
6:50 AM ET Chris Herro didn’t want to send the text, didn’t even want to pick up the phone. But he was the father of a 19-year-old, worried and couldn’t stop himself. It was 11:30 on a summer night, and his son, Tyler Herro, had been drafted a few weeks earlier by the Miami Heat.