NBA

3:23 PM ET LOS ANGELES — When ABC announcer Mike Breen called the closing seconds of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ NBA Finals-clinching victory in October, he proclaimed, “Banner No. 17 will soon hang in the rafters.” He was right about the hanging part. What Breen didn’t know was that when the Lakers open up the

7:00 AM ET It seems like only 2½ months ago, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy as champions inside the Orlando bubble. Oh, wait. That’s exactly what happened. Yes, after only 72 days away, NBA basketball is back! Are the Lakers a lock for another title, or could

6:56 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN In a change from his past statements on the topic of expansion, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Monday afternoon that the league has looked at some of its analysis of the ramifications of expanding beyond the league’s 30 teams. “I think I’ve always said that it’s sort of the manifest

9:00 AM ET With the NBA season tipping off this week, here’s a look at the betting market around the country — including the teams attracting the most and least action, the biggest bets and some of the odds that have been on the move. Lots of Lakers love • The defending champion Los Angeles

7:30 AM ET IT WAS THE summer of 2000, and to New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, it felt about 104 degrees in the shade. He decided to move summer league workouts from his Westchester base to Fairfield University, home to an air-conditioned gym. He also decided to let assistant Tom Thibodeau run the

5:11 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma has agreed to a three-year, $40 million extension, including a player option prior to the 2023-24 season, sources tell ESPN. Kuzma, 25, finalized talks on his rookie extension on Sunday, sources said. In a rare non-max contract rookie extension that includes a player option, the deal

9:55 AM ET All-NBA big man Rudy Gobert will sign a five-year, $205 million contract extension with the Utah Jazz, he told ESPN after agreeing to the largest deal for a center in league history. “It means that they believe in me,” Gobert told ESPN. “They believe in what we’ve been building over the years

6:13 PM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has a mild muscle strain in his right foot and is doubtful for Tuesday night’s opener against the Brooklyn Nets. Green initially injured his foot during a scrimmage earlier in the week and had an MRI that came back clear, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said

12:04 AM ET Russell Westbrook drove the lane, found Thomas Bryant open for an easy dunk while the Washington Wizards‘ big man was fouled and then immediately ran to Bryant to scream his approval. In his first game with the Wizards, Westbrook only logged 17 first-half minutes in Washington’s 99-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

11:20 AM ET Months before he agreed to purchase the Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion, Ryan Smith, who was formally approved as owner by the NBA’s Board of Governors on Friday, said he was “really close” to making a bid to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves. Smith, who made his fortune as the co-founder of the

12:04 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving says he plans to burn sage before every game this season to honor his Native American heritage. Irving was seen burning sage on the court at TD Garden during warm-ups before his Nets beat the Boston Celtics 113-89 on Friday night in the

12:26 PM ET Marc Spears NBA free agent guard Jeremy Lin is expected to sign a deal to play with the Golden State Warriors‘ G-League team, a source told The Undefeated. Lin averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists in 480 games in the NBA from 2010-19. The former Harvard guard began his career with the

3:58 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Los Angeles Lakers will repeat as NBA champions, according to a survey of NBA general managers. That prediction was one of many takeaways from NBA.com’s annual survey of all 30 front offices prior to the start of the new season. The survery featured 33 questions, ranging from what player

7:28 PM ET The NBA is investigating allegations made against Jerry West and the LA Clippers involving the free-agency recruitment of Kawhi Leonard in 2019, a league source confirmed to ESPN. TMZ Sports reported this week that a man who claims to be close to Leonard filed a lawsuit against West and the Clippers, alleging

6:18 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Ramona Shelburne Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News The Houston Rockets are increasingly expanding trade discussions on All-NBA guard James Harden beyond his preferred destinations of

10:59 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN A new NBA season will tip off Tuesday, but the league’s mission to support empowerment for the Black community, as demonstrated in the Orlando bubble, hasn’t been forgotten. The NBA Board of Governors in early August announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the NBA Foundation, dedicated to creating

4:23 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Gordon Hayward‘s bad luck with injuries appears to have followed him to Charlotte. Hayward, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Hornets last month after spending the past three seasons with the Boston Celtics, suffered an avulsion fracture of the fifth metacarpal on his right (shooting) hand in

7:15 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN It was a normal Tuesday for Giannis Antetokounmpo, outside of inking a big business deal. He ate dinner with family, visited the Buy Buy Baby store in Wisconsin to shop for toys and clothes for his infant son, Liam, then went home and fell asleep, only to wake up for