NBA

7:00 AM ET ON THAT MONUMENTAL day, the only thing Kobe Bryant carried with him was a basketball. It was early June 1996, on the morning of his now-legendary pre-draft workout in Los Angeles, when a skinny, smiley Bryant, then 17, stepped out of the swanky Shutters on the Beach resort in Santa Monica, California,

6:40 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN THERE ARE TWO versions of the Boston Celtics. One is led by two under-25 All-Stars and carries the expectations of having reached the conference finals in three of the past four seasons. The other has eight players in their first or second year in the NBA, most of whom have

1:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN Last Saturday following a disappointing loss to the San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson told reporters he felt like his team was close to what it wanted to be. The Pelicans had just played two tough games with losses to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Spurs, but

1:15 AM ET After James Harden recorded his seventh triple-double since joining the Brooklyn Nets in a 124-113 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, his teammate Kyrie Irving didn’t bat an eyelash. “We have to implement the phrase ‘get used to it,'” Irving said with a smile. It didn’t faze Irving

4:50 PM ET The Atlanta Hawks have dismissed Lloyd Pierce as their coach. “We would like to thank Lloyd for his work and commitment to not only the Hawks organization but the city of Atlanta. He and his wife, Melissa, are tremendous people who have made a positive impact throughout the city,” Hawks president of

7:00 AM ET If the season ended today, the New York Knicks would be hosting a first-round playoff series. Backed by three straight wins, the Knicks are one of only four Eastern Conference teams — the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks being the others — with records greater than .500. But the Miami

10:10 PM ET With 24 seconds left in a 1-point game, the Milwaukee Bucks came out of a timeout and passed the ball five times, moving it around until it returned to Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s hands. With the LA Clippers defense in full scramble mode and leaving the paint as wide open as a runway, Antetokounmpo

11:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Two days after the Toronto Raptors beat the Houston Rockets with several coaches — including head coach Nick Nurse — and star forward Pascal Siakam sitting out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Raptors had their scheduled game Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls postponed because they

1:04 AM ET Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has inspired comparisons to legends such as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson less than 2½ seasons into his NBA career. Among active superstars, Doncic’s game might be most similar to that of perennial MVP candidate James Harden, who acknowledged Saturday night that he considers those comparisons legitimate.

10:06 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets‘ Kevin Durant will still serve as an All-Star captain despite a hamstring injury that will keep him from participating in the game. Durant, alongside LeBron James, will draft a roster out of the pool of selected All-Stars. The All-Star draft will air on TNT on March 4.

3:07 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will miss Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks for what the team has said is “right shoulder injury recovery.” The Nets were already without Kevin Durant, who has been ruled out through the All-Star break as he rehabs a hamstring strain. Irving had surgery

11:27 AM ET Zlatan Ibrahimovic has courted controversy throughout his career. MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic criticized LeBron James and others on Thursday for their activism in what the former LA Galaxy star called “politics.” Speaking in an interview for UEFA for Discovery+ in Sweden on Thursday, the outspoken striker said

10:02 PM ET Despite leading the Atlanta Hawks by eight going into the halftime break on Friday, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a drastic second-half adjustment: They completely changed uniforms. Because of a breakdown in the uniform selection and approval process, the Thunder and Hawks played the first half wearing extremely similar colors, the Hawks

3:48 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant will remain out until after the All-Star break due to a left hamstring strain he suffered earlier this month, the team announced Friday. After a follow-up MRI, the Nets determined Durant “will require an additional recovery period” that will keep him out through the

6:44 PM ET The Utah Jazz are cooperating with an NBA investigation into former guard Elijah Millsap’s allegation that executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey made bigoted comments during a 2015 end-of-season meeting, the team announced Thursday. The probe will include the sharing of detailed notes taken in the April 2015 meeting that

6:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 games without pay in the wake of pleading guilty to a felony count of threats of violence as a result of an incident last September, the NBA announced Thursday evening. “As an organization, we fully support today’s decision by the

11:39 AM ET When you think of teams with multiple All-Stars, you think of dominance — the Jazz, the Lakers, the Nets. The Celtics have two All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but after Wednesday night’s blowout loss to the Hawks, Boston is in last place in the Atlantic Division. Team president Danny Ainge

3:09 AM ET As if the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t already struggling enough, down two starters heading into Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz, a blowout 114-89 loss only highlighted the rut the defending champions are in. With Anthony Davis (right leg) and Dennis Schroder (health and safety protocols) sidelined, the Jazz jumped all over