NBA

11:29 PM ET NBA Insiders Saturday’s play-in game (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC) between the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies is the rare NBA win-or-go-home contest, at least for the Grizzlies. If Memphis wins on Saturday, the rematch is Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), with the winner advancing to the NBA playoffs to face the

6:38 PM ET Vlade Divac has stepped down as general manager of the Sacramento Kings and Joe Dumars has assumed the role of the team’s interim executive vice president of basketball operations, the team announced Friday. Divac’s exit came a day after the Kings concluded bubble play with a 136-122 win against the Lakers. They

7:22 AM ET Here is one more batch of 10 things — actually, 12 things — I like and don’t like as we reach the end of seeding games during the strangest season in NBA history. 1. Michael Porter Jr. and math Porter has been the breakout star of the bubble, averaging 22 points on

11:00 AM ET All the scenarios, all the magic numbers, all the scoreboard watching — it’s all getting settled on Thursday. Here is where things stand as four teams battle for two spots in this weekend’s Western Conference play-in: Portland Trail Blazers: win and they’re in (as the No. 8 seed). Memphis Grizzlies: win and

2:07 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN For New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, it’s time to turn the page to next season and focus on getting better — with his game and his body. “I’ll talk to my coaches and see what I need to do better from their point of view,” Williamson said Thursday morning.

7:10 AM ET NBA Insiders Thursday is the biggest day of the NBA restart, as we reach the conclusion of the red-hot Western Conference play-in battle. The Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns will all be in action, and only two will advance to face off on Saturday. We asked

11:30 PM ET Before the NBA season restarted, the league decided that the 88 seeding games at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex would not count toward season-long awards voting this year. Then on Tuesday the league announced that it would name an MVP and All-NBA teams for the restart games before the playoffs begin.

5:28 PM ET ESPN News Services LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Giannis Antetokounmpo has been suspended for Milwaukee‘s final game of the regular season, handed a one-game penalty Wednesday for headbutting Washington‘s Moe Wagner. It’s unknown if Antetokounmpo would have played in Thursday’s game against Memphis anyway, given that the Bucks have already secured the

10:54 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – As the NBA prepares for the arrival of team guests into The Bubble for the start of the conference semifinals this month, the league is requiring players provide proof of “longstanding relationships” with non-family members, according to a memo obtained by ESPN. The NBA and National Basketball

10:19 PM ET The final spot in the Western Conference playoffs will come down to a weekend play-in, where the No. 9 seed will have to win two games against the No. 8 seed — Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC and, if necessary, Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET on ABC — to make

3:36 PM ET Associated Press LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — There will be an NBA Bubble MVP. The league announced that there will be an All-Seeding Games Team and a Player of the Seeding Games, honoring the best performers from the seeding games that started July 30 and will conclude Friday. The awards will be

7:25 AM ET In 2014, Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge got a single first-place vote for Executive of the Year and finished seventh. At the time, no one thought twice about it. The Celtics were at the start of a rebuild and went 25-57, missing the playoffs. But that was the season Ainge executed one

3:16 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Kyle Kuzma said not much, if anything, could have stopped him from taking the game-winning 3-pointer in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 124-121 victory Monday night — including a Denver Nuggets defender measuring 7-foot-2. “I think Jesus could be in front of me and I’ll probably still shoot,”

8:32 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Still perfect in the bubble and continuing their postseason push with a 128-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams says his team has to finish the job. “We haven’t accomplished anything,” Williams said after the Suns ran their record to

7:15 AM ET The playoff picture is beginning to take shape as the final week of seeding games begins. Three teams — the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings — have been eliminated from playoff contention, and a Western Conference play-in is officially happening. The Memphis Grizzlies‘ hold on the No. 8 seed

11:45 PM ET NBA Insiders Entering the final week of seeding games in the NBA restart, teams have only a few more opportunities to improve their place in the standings. There are still four teams pushing for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs, and it’s now guaranteed that there will be a play-in

11:00 AM ET When the New Orleans Pelicans were struggling defensively early in the season, a small change in December helped get them back on track. The Pelicans decided to drop their bigs on pick-and-rolls more, and the team immediately saw an improvement on the court. From Dec. 17 to Jan. 21, the Pelicans were

7:23 AM ET NBA Insiders Zion Williamson‘s rookie season might have only five days left in it. Even though they were 3.5 games back of the 8-seed in the West when the NBA season resumed last month, the New Orleans Pelicans were a popular choice to reach the postseason and set up a tantalizing first-round