6:14 PM ET The NBA has completed a study with infectious disease specialists and testing manufacturers on the preseason antibody test results of 2,300 players and staff, citing further evidence of a need for booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines for league personnel, according to a copy of the study’s findings obtained by ESPN. The NBA’s
NBA
8:30 PM ET Orlando Magic rookie Jalen Suggs will not need surgery on his fractured right thumb and will be reevaluated every two weeks before a decision is made on his return to the court, the team said Tuesday. Per the Magic, Suggs’ return “will ultimately depend on the healing of the bone.” Suggs fractured
6:51 PM ET SACRAMENTO — LeBron James has entered the league’s health and safety protocols and will miss Tuesday’s game against the Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers announced. James has already missed 11 of the Lakers’ 22 games coming into Tuesday because of injuries and a suspension. L.A. is 7-4 with James this season and
3:54 PM ET ESPN News Services MILWAUKEE — Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expects DeMarcus Cousins to be available Wednesday night against the visiting Charlotte Hornets. The Bucks announced Tuesday they officially signed the veteran and four-time All-Star, who earned second-team All-NBA honors in 2015 and 2016. Cousins will attempt to boost a Bucks frontcourt that
3:41 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom said he would welcome the opportunity to speak to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James — who he has criticized, along with Nike, for hypocrisy due to not speaking out about human rights violations in China — and “educate” him on the
2:18 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN Jonas Valanciunas wasn’t exactly a marksman when he entered the NBA in 2012. In fact, in his first five seasons in the league, he went 1-of-4 from 3-point range. But those days are long gone. Valanciunas hit his first seven 3-pointers on Monday night — all in the first half
9:48 PM ET Orlando Magic rookie Jalen Suggs fractured his right thumb during Monday night’s 101-96 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers and will be out for an extended period, the team said. Suggs will travel back to Orlando, Florida, to get the thumb reevaluated before there’s a clear timetable on his return, but he is
3:37 PM ET NEW YORK — Falling completely out of the Brooklyn Nets‘ rotation was not something Blake Griffin saw coming. After starting 17 games this season, Griffin has sat the past two games after Steve Nash inserted LaMarcus Aldridge into the starting lineup. “No, I mean listen, [Aldridge] has been playing unbelievable,” Griffin said.
2:52 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters Monday afternoon that he is removing guard Kemba Walker from not only the team’s starting lineup but also the rotation as a whole, beginning with Tuesday’s showdown with the crosstown-rival Nets in Brooklyn. “It’s a tough decision to make, but you always
2:11 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris will undergo surgery on his injured left ankle and is expected to miss four to eight weeks, with optimism he can return on the shorter end of that timeline, Harris’ agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday. Nets head
11:54 AM ET Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will undergo a surgical procedure on his lower back Wednesday and miss an indefinite period, his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN on Monday. Porter is expected to make a full recovery, and a timetable for his return will come after surgery, Bartelstein said.
9:58 AM ET Associated Press Tony Brown usually isn’t that excited about being assigned a shift as one of the referees working in the NBA’s replay center. That is, until now. The longtime NBA ref — diagnosed earlier this year with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer — is going back to work Monday for the first
7:35 AM ET The battle for No. 1 in the NBA Power Rankings is on. The Golden State Warriors, winners of seven straight games, take their league-best 18-2 record into Tuesday night’s Western Conference showdown with the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix, meanwhile, hasn’t lost in over a month and is one win shy of matching the
9:27 PM ET Associated Press CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — Isaiah Thomas made sure USA Basketball’s road to the 2023 World Cup didn’t begin with a major upset. Thomas scored 21 points, including a sealing 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds left, and the Americans erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Cuba 95-90 on Sunday
8:38 PM ET Stephen Curry was angry at the officials during Sunday’s 105-90 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles, then made the other team pay for it. The Golden State Warriors star scored 13 of his team-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and caught fire with just over nine minutes left, after a
8:20 PM ET The Atlanta Hawks say Bogdan Bogdanovic will be out at least two weeks after an MRI on Sunday revealed a right ankle sprain. Bogdanovic had to be helped off the floor midway through the second quarter of the team’s 99-90 loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday because of the injury.
5:14 PM ET The Golden State Warriors assigned Klay Thompson and James Wiseman to their G League affiliate on Sunday, the team announced Sunday. The hope is that Thompson (left ACL/right Achilles) and Wiseman (meniscus) receive practice time at that level while they continue their respective rehabilitation programs. Thompson, 31, who was cleared for contact
6:44 PM ET Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant avoided a serious knee injury but is expected to miss at least a “couple of weeks,” coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Jenkins said Morant avoided any tears or ligament damage to his left knee but added that there was