NBA

7:39 AM ET MICHELE ROBERTS CAN’T remember when she first heard about the “bubble,” the idea of isolating NBA players in a hotel so the league could resume its season amid the coronavirus pandemic. But she remembers her reaction to it vividly. “When that one was first floated,” said Roberts, the executive director of the

10:06 AM ET IN “THE LAST DANCE,” Michael Jordan professes his love for Scottie Pippen, anoints him the best teammate he ever had and acknowledges he couldn’t have reached pro basketball’s zenith without him. But Pippen has been notably silent since the documentary began its run last month, and those close to him say he’s

6:20 PM ET NBA commissioner Adam Silver and National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts will host a call for all players on Friday, sources told ESPN. That’s the same day the league has permitted teams to reopen practice facilities for voluntary, social-distanced workouts in areas where that has been permitted by local public

7:57 AM ET ESPN’s 10-part documentary “The Last Dance,” which chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, continues Sunday with Episodes 7 and 8. All 10 episodes will air on ESPN and the ESPN App in the United States and can be streamed outside the U.S. on Netflix. Jordan and the Bulls allowed NBA

7:30 AM ET Michael Jordan stood under the basket, looking out over the 250 or so campers sitting before him. He needed a volunteer. Nearly everyone in the gym, including me, stretched their arms to the ceiling in hopes of being the one Jordan chose. It was the summer of 1989, long before Jordan’s six

7:00 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN From overly built high-tops to space-age heat-molded constructions to the phone-syncing sneakers of today, NBA players have laced up more collective design, technology and innovation than any other association. The league has long fueled the footwear industry throughout its history, with iconic on-court moments giving life to off-court trends, all

7:00 AM ET Bottom 10 Inspirational Thought of the Week “And now the matador shall dance with the blind shoemaker!” — Jean Girard, “Talladega Nights” Here at ESPN’s Bottom 10 headquarters, located in the dumpster behind the warehouse where Mike Golic Jr. stores his sneaker collection, we have always been obsessed with footwear. We have

6:20 PM ET Utah Jazz executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey expressed optimism about the continued partnership of franchise cornerstones Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in the wake of their rift following their positive tests for the coronavirus. Gobert and Mitchell did not speak to each other for a month after Gobert’s positive

7:00 AM ET Bottom 10 Inspirational Thought of the Week As we got on the floor, was embarrassing, trust meThe saleswoman walk me straight over to HuskyI still got stonewashed denim, Bobby Brown patent leatherMembers Only jacket, ain’t nobody fresher than me I said I got on my good clothes — “Good Clothes” by Little

7:00 AM ET “You’re actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it.” This famous line from “Seinfeld” might have been intended to mock sports fandom, but when it comes to uniform appreciation, it’s actually appropriate. In this case, we are rooting for the clothes — the best clothes in NBA history,

12:37 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Michael Jordan addressed one of the most famous quotes of his career — “Republicans buy sneakers, too” — in the fifth episode of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” on Sunday. Jordan, who has largely stayed away from any political commentary throughout his public life, didn’t back away from the statement —

May 2, 2020 ESPN’s 10-part documentary series “The Last Dance,” which chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, continued on Sunday with Episodes 5 and 6. Jordan and the Bulls allowed NBA Entertainment to follow them throughout the season and document their final championship together. The series features never-before-seen footage, as well as interviews

1:15 PM ET As the NBA seeks solutions to return to action during the coronavirus pandemic, teams are weighing scenarios for potential games with only essential personnel present. Perhaps a key factor in such decisions, beyond titles or responsibilities, is the health and age of those staffers, NBA general managers told ESPN. One NBA general

7:00 AM ET FOR YEARS, MICHAEL JORDAN and Kobe Bryant had been protective of their relationship. Jordan would call Bryant his “little brother,” Bryant would call Jordan his “big brother,” and they’d praise each other’s work ethic and accomplishments. But rarely would either volunteer much more, each man knowing all too well that any glimpse

4:55 PM ET As ownership support grows for the idea, commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA board of governors continued discussions Friday about delaying the start of the 2020-2021 season until December, sources told ESPN. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA’s thinking and planning has progressed on the idea independent of whether the 2019-2020 season

3:11 PM ET Jeremy Lin says he was surprised, humbled and ultimately grateful after the New York Knicks reached out to propose taking a week on MSG Network to showcase interviews and 2012 games related to the brief but memorable phenomenon that was “Linsanity.” In an interview with Rachel Nichols for ESPN’s The Jump that

2:58 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN In the early hours of Sunday, April 26, after an extensive process of reviewing candidates, Arturas Karnisovas decided on the Chicago Bulls‘ new general manager, Marc Eversley. ESPN was re-airing the third and fourth episodes of “The Last Dance” docuseries chronicling Chicago’s last NBA championship team, and Eversley was watching

7:02 AM ET AS THE INDIANA PACERS sat at their lockers in Chicago moments before Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, Larry Bird, in his first year as coach, strode to the center of the room to address them. Bird was not big on speeches. The Pacers had done their work in practices