NBA

7:00 AM ET NICOLAS BATUM FELT the doubt creeping in. He hadn’t played a minute of NBA basketball since Jan. 24, 2020, when the Charlotte Hornets decided to embrace a youth movement and send their 31-year-old, $120 million veteran permanently to the bench. That March, he publicly apologized to Hornets fans for not being able

9:00 PM ET NEW YORK — Kevin Durant, as part of his first public comments since injuring his hamstring in February, on Thursday addressed a feud between himself and actor Michael Rapaport that had been made public this week. Rapaport posted private messages that he said Durant had sent him — which included threatening language

7:28 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Dave McMenamin Close ESPN Staff Writer Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09. There is optimism

11:24 PM ET NBA Insiders With the NBA season nearly two-thirds complete, teams are now reconfiguring their depth charts and expectations after a wild flurry of trade deadline moves and buyout signings. While big names such as Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball didn’t change rosters, former All-Stars Victor Oladipo and LaMarcus Aldridge now find themselves

12:05 AM ET Members of the Utah Jazz feared for their lives after the team’s charter plane collided with a flock of birds shortly after takeoff Tuesday, causing an engine fire and failure and forcing an emergency landing. “For a good 10 or 15 minutes, I think all of us on that flight were questioning

3:07 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN JJ Redick criticized the New Orleans Pelicans front office for how it handled his trade to the Dallas Mavericks at last week’s deadline, saying that Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin “did not honor his word” to help put Redick in a favorable situation where he would

6:59 PM ET NEW YORK — After agreeing to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets over the weekend, LaMarcus Aldridge has begun to settle in and participated in the team’s practice on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters for the first time since he arrived on the East Coast, Aldridge said that he is no longer interested

6:46 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Andre Drummond will make his Lakers debut Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks and start at center in place of Marc Gasol, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “I think the level of excitement for me is at an all-time high,” Drummond told reporters Tuesday over a videoconference call following his

5:50 PM ET ESPN News Services The Utah Jazz‘s team charter plane had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff on Tuesday after striking a flock of birds that resulted in an engine issue. The Jazz were en route to Memphis, where they are scheduled to play the Grizzlies on Wednesday evening. No injuries

7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA’s trade deadline is officially in the rearview mirror and most of the top players to hit the post-deadline buyout market have already landed with their new teams. That means the league’s collective attention shifts from player movement to movement in the standings, and how the key races will

7:42 PM ET As the defending NBA champions have watched a superteam on the East Coast load up and stack former All-Stars to its roster, Los Angeles Lakers CEO and governor Jeanie Buss views what the Brooklyn Nets have done in a simple way: “Bring it on.” “It brings out the best in us,” Buss

7:00 AM ET Which teams will make the 2021 NBA playoffs and the play-in round? Now that the trade deadline has passed, most rosters are set heading into this final stretch of the season. How will the additions of Aaron Gordon (Denver Nuggets), Victor Oladipo (Miami Heat) and Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls) change the playoff

The NBA trade deadline is in the books. How big of an impact did it have on our latest Power Rankings update? What does it all mean ahead of Week 15? Here’s where our panel sees all 30 teams right now. Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez,

Mar 27, 2021 Center Andre Drummond cleared waivers and he has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced on Sunday. “Andre Drummond gives us powerful, anchor-point skills on both ends of the court,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “We feel extremely fortunate to add a player of his caliber

8:13 PM ET Andre Drummond intends to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers once he clears waivers at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management tells ESPN. The Lakers’ star players and front office have been recruiting the center hard, selling him on the opportunity to step into the defending

8:13 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as strong front-runners to sign center Andre Drummond, sources told ESPN on Saturday night. Drummond clears waivers on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET but could finalize a commitment to join the Lakers earlier this weekend, sources said. The Lakers’ star players and front office have been

6:14 PM ET Free-agent veteran LaMarcus Aldridge will sign with the Brooklyn Nets, agent Jeff Schwartz told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday. The Nets, loading up for a title run, have now secured Aldridge and Blake Griffin in the buyout market. Aldridge is expected to see a significant amount of his minutes at center for

10:23 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that the thinking behind the moves the team made prior to Thursday’s NBA trade deadline — and specifically acquiring Evan Fournier in a deal with the Orlando Magic — was to give a team lacking in confidence a reason to have