NBA

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN HOUSTON — Coming out of the All-Star break, the Houston Rockets knew they weren’t going to be in contention for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament. They were 13-45, had lost seven straight games heading into the break, and were two weeks removed from trading disgruntled veteran Eric Gordon

9:31 PM ET DALLAS — During an unscheduled pregame media availability Wednesday evening, Mavericks Governor Mark Cuban blamed Jalen Brunson‘s father for the point guard’s departure from Dallas and declared that re-signing Kyrie Irving would be the franchise’s top offseason priority despite the team’s lackluster results since the blockbuster trade to acquire the All-Star guard.

7:16 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) will miss Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, coach Mike Budenholzer announced prior to the game. Antetokounmpo was listed as probable on the injury report leading up to the game and took the court for a shortened version of his regular pregame

8:00 AM ET The bottom seven seeds in the Western Conference postseason picture are still a toss-up, but there is another serious NBA race that will be determined in the final week of the regular season. This year’s MVP race between Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be decided in the next few

1:06 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After watching Joel Embiid dismantle the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers was certain of only one thing. “We did so many things wrong,” Rivers said, “but what we did right was Joel Embiid. “The MVP race is over.” There are still five days

2:35 PM ET DALLAS — All-Star guard Luka Doncic declared that he would not consider being shut down for the season as long as the Dallas Mavericks have postseason hopes, no matter how long the odds. “I’m playing tomorrow,” Doncic said after Tuesday’s practice. “When there’s still a chance, I’m gonna play. So that’s not

12:56 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is nearing a return to the team and is expected to be back early this week, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday. Wiggins, who has missed 22 consecutive games attending to a family matter, is expected to be back in the Bay Area

1:27 PM ET The NBA’s Western Conference playoff and play-in tournament races are more than what commissioner Adam Silver could have ever hoped. There are still eight teams that could end up in the West play-in tournament. The remaining teams battling for the playoffs are also battling for seeding — and the right to avoid

7:29 AM ET NBA insiders With the 2022-23 NBA season entering its final week, it’s time to take a look at the league’s major award races. While the contentious MVP race has garnered most of the attention, each of the league’s five major individual player awards has multiple worthy candidates. We asked our ESPN panel

11:46 PM ET HOUSTON — The Los Angeles Lakers‘ late-season surge, with Sunday’s victory over the Houston Rockets marking their 10th win in their past 14 games, has LeBron James talking about a hopeful title run once again. “We just want to put ourselves in position to be able to compete for a championship,” James

8:01 PM ET The Portland Trail Blazers pulled off the largest NBA upset in 30 years on Sunday by knocking off the Minnesota Timberwolves as 19.5-point underdogs. The Trail Blazers were missing four starters, including star guard Damian Lillard, and had lost 11 of 12 games heading into the game. But Portland still managed to

9:59 AM ET Kentucky freshman Cason Wallace, a projected lottery pick, will forgo his remaining college eligibility and enter the 2023 NBA draft, he told ESPN on Saturday. “I’m all in,” Wallace said. “This season was fun. It had its ups and downs but the best part was having my brothers with me. We stuck

11:31 AM ET Associated Press Tony Parker and Pau Gasol played for him. Becky Hammon coached alongside him. Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade waged battles against him. He is San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. And he, finally, is a Hall of Famer. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame made it official Saturday, with

2:05 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has been suspended one game without pay for head-butting Celtics forward Blake Griffin on Thursday night. Antetokounmpo was ejected from the game after the incident, which occurred with 1:25 remaining in the Bucks’ 140-99 blowout loss. Antetokounmpo will serve his suspension Sunday when the

7:05 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges is on the verge of completing a statistically perfect season that makes analytics pushers shudder and teammates smile all at once. Bridges, who started the 2022-23 NBA season with the Phoenix Suns before a midseason trade to the Nets, is on track to play

2:50 AM ET The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have agreed on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement, clearing the way for labor peace through this decade, sources told ESPN on Friday night. The deal, which starts with the 2023-24 season, includes a mutual opt-out after the sixth year, sources said. The agreement landed

2:28 PM ET Discussions on lowering the minimum age to enter the NBA draft are no longer a part of the league’s labor talks with the National Basketball Players Association, clearing the way for the “one-and-done” era to continue into the foreseeable future, sources told ESPN on Friday. Talks on lowering the minimum age limit

1:22 PM ET CLEVELAND — The New York Knicks feel terrible that All-Star forward Julius Randle is out for at least two weeks because of a left ankle injury, but as a group they remain steadfast in the belief that they can keep winning in the short term without their talented big man. “Feel for