NBA

8:00 AM ET The 2021-22 NBA season is here! Less than three months ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy after winning Game 6 of the NBA Finals over the Phoenix Suns. After somehow squeezing in the NBA draft, free agency, summer league and preseason into another truncated offseason,

6:22 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Monday that he would have “preferred” that the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association come to an agreement on a vaccine mandate, in part to avoid it becoming an “adversarial” issue for the league’s players, as it has for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving.

3:35 PM ET Talks between the Phoenix Suns and Deandre Ayton on an extension to his rookie contract have ended without a deal, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday. Ayton expected a maximum contract and owner Robert Sarver hasn’t offered it yet for the 2018 No. 1 overall pick. Ayton, a key part of

1:58 PM ET Associated Press CAMDEN, N.J. — Ben Simmons practiced with the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time this season Sunday, though no decision was made on his status for the season opener. “He was just one of the players,” coach Doc Rivers said. Simmons was a holdout for training camp and the early

3:33 PM ET Phoenix Suns guard/forward Mikal Bridges has agreed to a four-year, $90 million rookie contract extension, his agents, Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports, told ESPN on Sunday. Bridges’ deal — averaging $22.5 million per season — is fully guaranteed, the agents said, and starts with the 2022-23 season. Goldfeder and

4:45 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN THIBODAUX, La. — For roughly an hour, the New Orleans Pelicans mostly rode in silence as they traveled to Nicholls State University for an open practice. The drive from the practice facility in the suburb of Metairie out to the campus is among one of the hardest-hit areas of the

6:18 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Charlotte Hornets signed guard LiAngelo Ball to a non-guaranteed contract Thursday, paving the way for him to eventually sign with their G League team, a source confirmed to ESPN. Ball, who averaged 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 17.4 minutes across five games for the Hornets’ entry

2:21 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry looks primed for another run at the third MVP award of his career. The 33-year-old guard scored 41 points during Friday’s 119-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the final preseason game before Tuesday’s regular season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers at

5:15 PM ET ESPN News Services The Sacramento Kings are exercising the third-year option on guard Tyrese Haliburton, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. Haliburton averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 58 games last season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team. He suffered a season-ending knee injury

10:58 AM ET After architecting the franchise’s first NBA championship in 50 years, Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst has agreed to a long-term contract extension, he told ESPN on Friday. Horst had one year left on his contract, and his new deal — finalized Friday morning with his agent, Brian Elfus, and team officials

3:04 PM ET ESPN News Services Ben Simmons, who has cleared health and safety protocols and is eligible to rejoin the Philadelphia 76ers, will not play in Friday night’s preseason finale, the team announced. Simmons’ absence is listed by the team as “reconditioning” and he did not travel with the team to Detroit for the

11:48 PM ET Kevin Durant said he wishes “none of this stuff would happen” but he isn’t upset that Kyrie Irving is not with the Brooklyn Nets. Durant said he has not spoken to Irving since the Nets decided on Tuesday that their starting point guard will not practice or play with the team until

4:27 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will miss the start of the regular season because of a right foot injury that required offseason surgery, Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said on Thursday. Williamson received scans on Wednesday, and after reviewing the scans with Dr.

8:00 AM ET FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES before tipoff at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook take the court for a joint workout that Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy guides. “We’ve been tied at the hip, pretty much, since we made the acquisition,” James says of Westbrook at media day. “We’re

1:10 AM ET Kyrie Irving said Wednesday night he still hopes to return and play for the Brooklyn Nets but that “this is about my life and what I am choosing to do,” as he explained his decision to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Irving, speaking on Instagram Live, said he is neither pro-vaccine nor

3:33 PM ET Associated Press CAMDEN, N.J. — This much is known: Ben Simmons is back in Philadelphia. But there’s no clear sign yet the All-Star guard is set to rescind his trade request and actually play for the 76ers. Even coach Doc Rivers — publicly, at least — says he’s unsure of the status

8:00 AM ET Behold, the top 10 NBA teams in our 10th annual League Pass Rankings. Reminder: These are watchability scores, not power rankings! We score teams, 1-10, in five categories: ZEITGEIST: Do actual humans care about this team? STAR/HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL: Do you stick around games, at the expense of sleep and loved ones, because

2:52 AM ET Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Ben Simmons passed his physical and held a meeting with the team’s front office on Tuesday but remains ineligible to participate in team-related activities until Friday at the earliest due to NBA health and safety protocols, sources told ESPN. Simmons met with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl