NBA

11:10 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets center LaMarcus Aldridge announced on Thursday that he is retiring from the NBA after 15 seasons. “For 15 years I’ve put basketball first,” Aldridge wrote. “And now, it is time to put my health and family first.” Aldridge said that he experienced an irregular heartbeat during the

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders What will happen in the key NBA standings races in the final weeks of the regular season? What are the biggest storylines and teams to watch? We polled the ESPN Forecast panel of experts — including NBA writers, editors and analysts — for their predictions now that we are two-thirds

7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Two months ago, this year’s race for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award looked as competitive as any in recent memory. But injuries have laid waste to the deep field of contenders, leaving Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic clearly standing above the rest of the field. Jokic, who has not

1:25 AM ET In the midst of one of the hottest streaks of his brilliant 12-year career, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry had to chuckle when asked if he’d like the NBA single-game 3-point record back from his longtime teammate Klay Thompson. “Absolutely,” Curry said after scoring 42 points during Wednesday’s 147-109 win over

1:59 AM ET Luka Doncic doesn’t recall getting a glimpse of the rim before he let the shot go. He was off balance, stumbling as he split a pair of Memphis Grizzlies‘ defenders after catching the inbounds pass on the left wing with 1.8 seconds remaining, and he released the runner from inches behind the

10:21 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Before the Philadelphia 76ers squared off with the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night to see who would end up atop the Eastern Conference at the end of the night, Sixers coach Doc Rivers was asked whether he has made getting the top seed in the East a priority for his team

10:06 PM ET Golden State Warriors rookie center James Wiseman will have surgery Thursday in Los Angeles to repair a meniscus injury in his right knee, coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday. “We won’t know the extent of what we’re looking at until after the surgery,” Kerr said, prior to the Warriors taking on the Thunder

9:54 PM ET Michael Malone says Jamal Murray is “devastated” after the Denver Nuggets point guard was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Speaking for the first time since the Nuggets announced they will be without their star point guard indefinitely, Malone said the team could see Murray’s anguish over

6:44 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Serge Ibaka and Patrick Beverley are all out for the LA Clippers for their game against the Pistons on Wednesday night. Leonard is out with a sore right foot, Ibaka has lower back tightness, Beverley has a broken left hand, and the Clippers said

6:08 PM ET Several NBA general managers and team health officials say the unorthodox and compressed schedule, attempting to make up games postponed due to COVID-related issues, has led to a rash of injuries around the league, with several teams fearing player health has reached a boiling point. These concerns have been voiced in interviews

Who is trending up? Which rotations are changing? And what’s the latest with the notable injuries around the NBA? Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have won seven of their past eight games and Bogdan Bogdanovic in particular is thriving under interim coach Nate McMillian. Bogdanovic, one of the Hawks’ big offseason additions who struggled through injuries

3:41 PM ET In the wake of Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry setting a franchise record for points — and passing Wilt Chamberlain in the process — forward Draymond Green treated his longtime teammate to dinner Tuesday night in Oklahoma City to celebrate the two-time league MVP’s latest achievement. Making the meal even

2:26 PM ET The Brooklyn Nets continue to be undermanned. They announced that Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge are out Wednesday night against the 76ers, and that’s on top of star James Harden remaining sidelined. The good news for Brooklyn is that Kyrie Irving is available to play after missing Tuesday’s game against

7:03 AM ET LUKA DONCIC HITS the brakes, changes directions with a behind-the-back dribble, then picks up the ball and steps back to his left before launching a 3-pointer. It’s March 31 inside Boston’s TD Garden, and Celtics guard Marcus Smart, one of the NBA’s premier on-ball defenders, has just gone from within breathing distance

3:14 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said Tuesday night that he is still dealing with the after-effects of contracting for COVID-19 three months ago and has been using an inhaler before games as a means to combat them. “Close,” he said, after scoring 32 points, along with nine rebounds and five

1:26 AM ET The Los Angeles Lakers‘ 101-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets gave L.A. — still without superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis — a 4-3 record to finish a seven-game road trip, but something was missing in the middle. Andre Drummond, picked up off the buyout market last month, scored just four points

12:19 AM ET Paul George‘s throbbing toe was not only limiting his performance on the court recently, but the LA Clippers guard could feel it dragging him down mentally. So the All-Star reset his mentality, and the result has been the best week-plus stretch of the season for him and the Clippers. “The injury allowed

6:58 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors announced Tuesday that Brandon Schneider will become the president and C.O.O. at the end of the season. Schneider, 41, will replace Hall of Famer Rick Welts, who is transitioning to an advisory role within the organization. As a Bay Area native and lifelong Warriors fan,