NBA

7:20 AM ET A lot of fans seem to hate watching James Harden play. I get it. There is a numbing effect to the thump-thump-thump of Harden dribbling 20 times while four teammates stand in places chosen by Harden. But I have a soft spot for the visual Harden experience. He inspires a chess match

11:44 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr.‘s status

2:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Newly hired Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said criticism that he “skipped the line” and got the opportunity to coach a presumed NBA championship contender was fair, but that his 18-season Hall of Fame career as a point guard positioned him to have success as a first-time head coach. “Well,

7:25 AM ET You’ve heard the maxim before: The NBA is a make or miss league. But it’s never been more true than in these playoffs. As the best basketball league in the world leans further and further into 3-point shooting, success from beyond the arc is increasingly deciding who wins the highest-stakes games to

9:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The scream sliced through a largely empty arena and put a dagger in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ season. Giannis Antetokounmpo had been on a tear to begin Game 4 of the Bucks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat, scoring 19 points in 11 minutes,

9:03 PM ET Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan won’t be returning to the Thunder next season, sources tell ESPN. Donovan’s contract expired at season’s end and the sides have decided against pursuing an extension. Discussions between OKC management and Donovan were described as collaborative and realistic. The reality of Oklahoma City’s eventual transition toward a

7:15 AM ET JAMES HARDEN CROUCHED, waiting for referee Ed Malloy to release the ball into the air. Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis stood three feet away across the center circle. The Houston Rockets‘ superstar is 6-foot-5. Porzingis is one of the tallest and longest players in the league, listed at 7-foot-3. Something didn’t add

12:00 AM ET Danny Ainge was no different than most other Boston Celtics fans in the waning seconds of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. With just 0.5 seconds until victory, his team poised to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Boston’s president of basketball operations hollered at his

2:33 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN There’s currently no update on the status of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for Game 5 after he reinjured his sprained right ankle in the first half of Game 4, but he certainly will try to suit up — if possible. The Milwaukee Bucks now trail 3-1 to the Miami Heat

6:56 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — For many reasons — primarily the loss of NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency — the Toronto Raptors entered the 2019-20 season as the least-heralded league champion since the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Bookmakers in Las Vegas set the line for Raptors wins at

4:30 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Milwaukee Bucks staved off elimination on Sunday, beating the Miami Heat 118-115 in overtime despite losing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to a right ankle sprain in the second quarter. After being fouled by Heat forward Andre Iguodala on a drive into the paint at the

7:00 AM ET Anthony OlivieriESPN.com HOUSTON ROCKETS GUARD James Harden receives an inbounds pass in the left corner, where the reaction to the mere threat of the NBA’s trendiest shot descends into the absurd. There are 54 seconds left before halftime in Game 3 of a 2019 first-round playoff series between the Rockets and the

7:17 AM ET The Milwaukee Bucks of fall and winter were a thing of basketball beauty. Giannis Antetokounmpo was once again building his MVP résumé, while Khris Middleton was continuing to establish himself as one of the NBA’s most versatile scorers, reliable from anywhere on the floor. Watching a fast break conducted by Antetokounmpo was

1:07 AM ET Throughout the course of this long season, the LA Clippers were darlings of sharp bettors and league intelligentsia, even as so many fans and even a healthy percentage of the Clippers’ peers sometimes wondered why. They encouraged injured players to take plenty of time to recover, harped on the long view as

6:33 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat with a right ankle sprain. The reigning MVP rolled the ankle during the first half of Game 3, but continued to push through it despite grimacing on some plays throughout the contest. Antetokounmpo refused to make

6:46 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA playoffs move in cycles. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. And sometimes it’s tough to tell what’s real and what’s not. On Friday night, the Houston Rockets walloped the Los Angeles Lakers, and might have exposed a bigger issue for LeBron James‘ team. And the Miami Heat continued

2:19 AM ET To those who have done battle with the Houston Rockets the past few seasons as they morphed into the purest form of positionless, small-ball basketball the NBA has ever seen, Friday’s 112-97 dismantling of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series does not come as a

5:02 PM ET LA Clippers power forward Montrezl Harrell has won the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year award, a source confirmed to ESPN. For the third consecutive year, the Clippers have the league’s top sixth man after Lou Williams won the award the previous two seasons. The Clippers now have had the Sixth Man