1:53 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Winston Churchill once said of Russia, “It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” If there is an NBA equivalent to that quote, it is Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons. There might not be a more confounding player in the NBA than Simmons. He has the size
NBA
2:21 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green devoted almost the entirety of his postgame news conference Monday night to calling out the NBA’s treatment of its players, while citing various examples of double standards around the league. Green’s unprompted, three-minute tirade came on the heels of the Cleveland Cavaliers —
2:06 AM ET When James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in mid-January, the offensive standard he had in mind was Monday night’s 136-125 win over the Sacramento Kings. “This was the vision right here — this game itself,” Harden said. “From top to bottom, no matter when your number is called, you’ve got
12:55 AM ET For John Wall, returning to Washington D.C. for the first time since the Wizards traded him to the Houston Rockets brought with it the standard emotions, but it also brought something else: closure. “I think I spoke on it with The Athletic what I wanted to get off my chest and let
10:56 PM ET The New York Knicks won once again Monday night, getting a third straight win by beating the Atlanta Hawks behind 44 points from Julius Randle. By scoring more than 40 points, Randle broke a streak of 183 games where the Knicks did not have a 40-point scorer. That was the longest active
9:06 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid sat out of Monday night’s game against the league-leading Utah Jazz with back tightness. Embiid had been listed as questionable for Monday’s game during the day, but coach Doc Rivers said he was unaware of any issues with his superstar big man during his pregame
6:07 PM ET The NBA sent a memo to its teams Monday afternoon explaining its agreement with the National Basketball Players Association for health and safety protocols to govern the All-Star Break both for players participating in the festivities and those that are not. The memo, which was obtained by ESPN, states that players participating
2:31 PM ET The San Antonio Spurs‘ game against the Detroit Pistons scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed as the Spurs do not have the league-required eight available players needed to proceed with the contest, the NBA announced. The Spurs (16-11) had a positive COVID-19 test, and with subsequent contact tracing, the team does
5:02 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks after suffering a calf strain during Sunday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, a source told ESPN. Davis underwent an MRI on Monday which revealed an aggravation near his Achilles, the source said. The Lakers and Davis will be
3:50 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — The Suns have assigned rookie forward Jalen Smith to the NBA’s G League. The No. 10 overall draft pick out of Maryland hasn’t played much this season for the Suns, who have won six consecutive games and have a 17-9 record. The 20-year-old has appeared in eight games
2:06 PM ET Six-time All-Star forward Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons have agreed that he will be out of the lineup until the franchise and his representatives work through a resolution on his playing future, Pistons general manager Troy Weaver told ESPN. The Pistons will continue to pursue trade scenarios involving Griffin and talks
10:34 AM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books The Cleveland Cavaliers are no longer planning to play Andre Drummond as they work to trade
7:01 AM ET Not much can stop the Utah Jazz right now. The owners of the best record in the NBA have won 18 of their past 19 games heading into Monday’s heavyweight showdown with the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Speaking of the East, the Boston Celtics continue to slide both in the standings and
12:21 AM ET DALLAS — Luka Doncic, who is in the midst of the most prolific scoring run in Dallas Mavericks history, couldn’t have asked for a better look with the game on the line Sunday night. And he couldn’t believe he didn’t make it, clutching his temples with both hands and staring at the
12:08 AM ET Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis aggravated tendonosis in his right Achilles, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and was held out of the second half of Sunday’s 122-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Davis missed two games earlier this week with the injury. The Lakers officially termed it as
8:31 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was ruled out due to a left lower leg contusion for Sunday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Clippers started the first game of a home back-to-back without their two stars. Leonard joined Paul George (swollen right toe) on the sideline. George missed
8:01 PM ET Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant will miss at least the next two games with a mild left hamstring strain, the team announced Sunday. The Nets are scheduled to play the Sacramento Kings on Monday and the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Durant has missed nine of the Nets’ 28 games this season. Six
6:06 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN After the Boston Celtics suffered their worst loss of the season Sunday afternoon — a 104-91 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Wizards, who entered Sunday with the worst record in the Eastern Conference — star Kemba Walker had a simple diagnosis for his team’s malaise. “[We] just need