NBA

9:59 PM ET In theory, you could pull it off without a hitch: about 1,500 people test negative for the coronavirus — several times — before entering the NBA’s proposed “bubble” at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, they interact with almost no one else, and the league emerges three months later

7:28 AM ET What will happen in the 2020 NBA draft lottery, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 25? This will be the second lottery since the NBA flattened the odds, which introduced more uncertainty at the top of the draft order. Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers all jumped from

12:44 AM ET When San Antonio Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV cut his signature hairstyle this week, he was parting with more than just several inches off the top. Walker said he was attempting to free himself of painful memories. Walker, 21, revealed on Instagram on Thursday that he started to grow out his hair

6:16 PM ET As the NBA firms up its 22-team Orlando restart schedule, 14 of the teams will be eliminated within 53 days of arriving — and only four teams will remain after 67 days, sources said. The NBA has been working to make clear to players that the actual commitment of time for most

6:59 AM ET Bobby Marks Who are the upcoming NBA free agents to watch? Nearly half the league hit free agency in 2019. Plenty of stars changed teams, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker. The 2020 class won’t have the same star power or the same amount of cap

6:49 AM ET Nine NBA teams will head to the Orlando bubble in Florida looking to make a final push for a playoff spot. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that some players on non-title-contending teams are hesitant to restart. Rosters might be tweaked as a result, but the potential for a surprise postseason run

9:03 PM ET Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni was like everyone else in the NBA whose world was rocked by the abrupt halt to the season on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. He cycled through emotions of shock, frustration, acceptance, then adjustment to the “new normal” as he prepared for a potential resumption

1:47 PM ET NBA team personnel are expected to be asked to submit personal medical histories to a panel of physicians who would review the individual risk of serious illness due to any spread of the coronavirus in the NBA’s bubble environment in Orlando, Florida, sources told ESPN. It is unclear what authority, if any,

7:29 AM ET NBA Insiders Who are the favorites in the new NBA playoff races, and which team will win it all? The NBA is planning to restart with 22 teams in Orlando on July 31, featuring an eight-game regular season, a potential play-in series for the No. 8 seeds and then the playoffs. A

7:31 AM ET With the NBA schedule determined for the coming months, the league’s annual coaching carousel is once again firing up. The New York Knicks are reportedly ready to begin the process of finding their next head coach. Other teams that held off because of the optics of handing out a pink slip during

7:00 AM ET ESPN national recruiting director Paul Biancardi scouted LeBron James in the early 2000s, back when Biancardi was a college assistant at Ohio State and LeBron was a high school sophomore. Biancardi has more recently had several opportunities to scout James’ son, Bronny James, who is about to enter his sophomore season at

8:00 AM ET Villanova sophomore forward Saddiq Bey — a potential lottery pick — is staying in the 2020 NBA draft, he told ESPN. Bey, No. 18 in ESPN’s Best Available players, is signing with Excel Sports Management for his professional representation, he said. Bey is 6-foot-8 and considered one of the most NBA-ready players

3:24 PM ET San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the remainder of the NBA season after having surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced Monday. The procedure was performed on April 24. Aldridge initially injured the shoulder during a game against Utah on Feb. 21. He played in the Spurs’ next game,

12:55 PM ET Charlotte Hornets guard Malik Monk has been reinstated following his suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program. Monk’s suspension began Feb. 26 and was set to continue until he was determined to be in full compliance with the program. “That’s been a while now,” Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Monday of

7:22 AM ET The NBA is back. Last week, the league’s board of governors and the players’ union both approved plans — a 22-team, 8-game wrap-up to the regular season followed by a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed and playoffs — to resume the 2019-20 season on July 31 inside Walt Disney World’s

5:31 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN As the NBA continues to prepare for its return to the court next month in Orlando, it has determined that the order in the standings will be determined by winning percentage, league sources told ESPN. That decision could play a pivotal role in how the race to take part in

8:08 PM ET The NBA is working on the mechanisms that will be used to replace participants in this season’s resumption in the event of positive coronavirus tests or serious injuries in the Orlando bubble environment. Sources told ESPN that the league and teams are already discussing how teams will be able to utilize players

5:33 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — The NBA plans to go to Disney World next month to finish the season, with a schedule calling for the 22 remaining teams to play more than 150 more games and for the league to eventually crown a champion. Coaches are seeing potentially a bigger purpose as well.