NBA

8:36 PM ET Lawrence Tanter had read through the plans dozens of times before he got into his car, put on John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and drove to Staples Center on Jan. 31. The Los Angeles Lakers were going to play their first game since the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and

9:42 AM ET The fifth-place Philadelphia 76ers are underperforming, and the spiciest take surrounding the team right now is that its two young superstars can’t play together. But is that true? A quick look at recent Sixers history reveals that Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid can be an awesome duo. During 1,306 minutes with both

1:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After putting up 39 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid declared he is the best player in the world, and that the aggression with which he played against Brooklyn was a carryover from the way

Field Goal % BKN31.8 45.0PHI Three Point % BKN37.5 16.7PHI Turnovers Rebounds Full Team Stats Wells Fargo Center Coverage: TNT Philadelphia, PA Line: PHI -6.5 Over/Under: 214 Capacity: 20,155 Referees: Ed Malloy, Mark Lindsay, Jacyn Goble Win %:80.7 0.0 – 1st End of the 1st Quarter End of the 1st Quarter Josh Richardson defensive rebound

1:27 PM ET The media company owned by Lakers All-Star LeBron James is being sued by a Maryland youth group over its use of the “More Than An Athlete” phrase. The suit, filed in federal court on Tuesday, also names ESPN, Nike and the maker of the NBA 2K video game for using the phrase

7:46 PM ET It is a “good assumption” the NBA will use a target score to end next season’s All-Star Game after experimenting with the concept for the first time on Sunday, Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president of league operations, told ESPN Wednesday in New York. That is not set in stone yet, as league

5:43 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns will remain sidelined indefinitely as he continues to recover from a left wrist injury. Coach Ryan Saunders told reporters that the team held Towns out of its first practice after the All-Star break on Wednesday. Saunders said Towns will miss upcoming games, but the coach did not

8:59 AM ET SERGE IBAKA WANTS everyone to know that the scarf — yes, that scarf — is not absurd. It is not over the top or ridiculous, even though it is so long that it nearly touches the floor when worn by the Toronto Raptors‘ 7-foot center. Ibaka didn’t set out to be an

8:06 AM ET NBA Insiders Can LeBron James catch Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA MVP race? Who is the favorite to win the NBA Finals? Does Zion Williamson have any chance in the Rookie of the Year race against Ja Morant? We polled the ESPN Forecast panel of experts for their predictions now that we

10:02 PM ET After a brief and tumultuous tenure, John Beilein is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers as coach, league sources tell ESPN. The Cavaliers are promoting associate head coach JB Bickerstaff to become the full-time head coach, and he’ll run his first practice on Wednesday evening, league sources said. Beilein, 67, is expected to say

8:37 AM ET Jorge Sedano PAT RILEY DOESN’T have many regrets over the course of his career. But one sticks with him: Dwyane Wade‘s departure from the Miami Heat in 2016. “I was really disturbed by him leaving, and I take full responsibility for that, putting him in a position we should not have put

5:40 PM ET NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving continues to struggle with the shoulder injury that caused him to miss 26 games earlier this season and is scheduled to see another specialist this week, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That’s about all I can tell you,” Atkinson said. “His shoulder continues to bother him. That’s

12:05 PM ET High school prospect Makur Maker will be eligible for the 2020 NBA draft if he applies as an early-entry candidate, according to a memo distributed to NBA teams by the league office. The memo also included a revised agreement to the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players

6:38 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 The Houston Rockets are doubling-down on small ball, planning to use their

3:54 PM ET Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been elected as a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association. Irving replaces Pau Gasol on the NBPA executive committee. Gasol’s three-year term expired. “This was the right time for me to run for a leadership position in the NBPA,” Irving said. “I have been

8:46 AM ET The 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend is in the books, and the second half of the NBA season is upon us. The teams with the two best records were represented by All-Star captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Of the teams without a representative in Chicago, some were taking advantage of much-needed down

12:52 AM ET CHICAGO — Perhaps no one in recent history cared more about winning the All-Star Game than Kobe Bryant. The format changes and his memory combined to create a game Sunday night at the United Center that would’ve made Bryant proud. Technically, the winner was Team LeBron over Team Giannis 157-155, and charity,

8:42 PM ET CHICAGO — The tributes to the late Kobe Bryant began well before Sunday night’s All-Star Game at the United Center. Before the players were announced and the game tipped off, the lights went down and Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson took center court to make a speech honoring Bryant. During Johnson’s