NBA

1:58 AM ET The last time we saw the Los Angeles Lakers, nearly a week ago when they were finishing off the small-ball Houston Rockets in the second round of the playoffs, centers Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee had been relegated to socially distant cheerleaders on the bench. An important role in a mostly-empty, fanless

1:48 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens held a late-night hotel meeting with the team’s leaders on Thursday to talk through the frustration and emotions that spilled into the locker room after a Game 2 loss to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals, sources told ESPN. Stevens met with

7:05 AM ET THWACK!! Detroit Pistons defensive wizard Tayshaun Prince, all 215 pounds of him, smashed into an immovable, 7-foot-3, 260-pound object named Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Cleveland Cavaliers big man planted himself adjacent to Prince with the explicit purpose of preventing him from tracking a precocious 21-year-old LeBron James. Splat!! This time the culprit was

10:45 PM ET In the NBA postseason, there’s often a team that discovers its potential along the way. It learns who it is, banks on its strengths and builds confidence with each win. The Toronto Raptors accomplished that in the 2019 playoffs, and in the Year of the Bubble, the Miami Heat are that team.

9:05 PM ET After making NBA history on Tuesday completing a second straight 3-1 series comeback, the emotions are high for the Denver Nuggets. But coach Mike Malone is stressing the point: They can’t be satisfied with themselves, yet. “I think the biggest question aside from themes, plays, personnel, is are our guys satisfied,” Malone

7:20 AM ET I first started hearing versions of it from rival executives at the end of the 2014-15 season, when the Miami Heat traded two first-round picks for Goran Dragic on an expiring contract — and finished 37-45, one game short of the playoffs: If it wasn’t the Heat, we’d all be laughing at

3:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made history Wednesday when he was named to a 16th All-NBA team in his 17-year career, which snapped a tie with Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history. James was

9:47 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Having played JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard sparingly in the second round against the small ball-centric Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel acknowledged he’ll need to bring his bigs back into the fold against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Western Conference

7:02 AM ET Michael Malone and LeBron James experienced their first conference finals together 13 years ago: the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ stunning 2007 upset of the Detroit Pistons in which James was just 22 and Malone was an assistant coach. Their faces aren’t quite as smooth now and they have less hair, but their presence together

11:26 PM ET A balanced Miami Heat team came into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals with the No. 4 offense and No. 4 defense in the postseason. In the final 12 seconds of an overtime thriller on Tuesday, they executed two phenomenal, game-winning plays: one an offensive gem by their closer, Jimmy Butler;

3:42 PM ET Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has declared his intention to rely on Daryl Morey to lead the franchise’s coaching search, squashing speculation that Fertitta would also seek to make a change at general manager. “Daryl Morey’s job is safe, and I’m sure he’s going to pick the right head coach,” Fertitta said

6:38 AM ET Three players in the history of the NBA have recorded 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a Game 7 before the age of 25: Jerry West, Kobe Bryant and, as of last week, Jayson Tatum. The first guy is immortalized as the league logo, the second became one of the

7:22 AM ET The next chapter of the Boston Celtics–Miami Heat rivalry starts Tuesday — with new stars, new storylines and plenty of drama. Miami already knocked out reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks, while Boston overcame a seven-game fight with the defending champion Toronto Raptors. What’s in store with a trip

12:01 PM ET In a three-hour lunch meeting Friday in Milwaukee, Bucks co-owner and governor Marc Lasry made it clear to reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo that the franchise is willing to spend into the luxury tax to deliver him a championship supporting cast, sources told ESPN. The Bucks’ payroll will be close to the proposed

Sep 11, 2020 NBA Insiders The 2020 NBA playoffs pick up again Tuesday with the Eastern Conference finals, featuring a thrilling matchup of two teams that pulled upsets in the previous round: the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. (The East finals can be seen on ESPN and the ESPN App, including Game 1 on

2:04 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has informed the franchise that he’s becoming a coaching free agent and won’t return to the Rockets next season, D’Antoni told ESPN on Sunday. “It’s with tremendous sadness and gratitude that my wife Laurel and I announce that our incredible journey in

6:46 PM ET Doc Rivers cannot play the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year as his sixth man. When trying to comprehend how the LA Clippers have squandered a 3-1 series advantage over the Denver Nuggets — and in spectacular fashion, by losing a double-digit second-half lead for the second straight game in Denver’s 111-98

7:19 AM ET THEY WERE EMOTIONAL, tired and confused. The LA Clippers were gathered — all 15 players and head coach Doc Rivers — in the middle of the night on the eighth floor of Walt Disney World Resort’s Gran Destino Tower, trying to hold everything together. It was Aug. 26, and the NBA bubble