3:43 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Atlanta Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan on Friday said his comments about the New York Knicks that led to a $25,000 fine were “taken out of context.” “We are excited about playoff basketball,” McMillan said Friday. “It’s an exciting time for the NBA. But unfortunately my comments were taken out
NBA
10:05 AM ET Two 6-foot-9 Florida twins ranked among the top 15 high school juniors in the country — Matt and Ryan Bewley — are signing two-year deals with the Overtime Elite professional league, sources told ESPN, marking the first prep underclassmen to sign contracts with an American professional basketball league. Matt, who is ranked
8:41 AM ET Despite years of injury setbacks since he burst onto the scene at the Texas Longhorns, Patriots BBC star Prince Ibeh is shining at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and fighting for a long-awaited NBA breakthrough. Ibeh, who was at Texas from 2012 to 2016, still has time on his side, but he
1:24 AM ET During an impassioned speech that took place in the middle of the season after a loss, Russell Westbrook told the Washington Wizards that they were going to make the playoffs despite all the injuries, a COVID-19 outbreak and losing streaks the team had to endure this season. On Thursday night, Westbrook delivered
7:46 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry are the finalists for this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player award. The top three vote-getters for each of the NBA’s major end-of-season awards — MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the
7:37 PM ET NEW YORK — New York City basketball fans are excited about playoff basketball returning to Madison Square Garden — and they’re buying the tickets to prove it. The New York Knicks announced Thursday they’ve sold out their reduced-capacity tickets for Games 1 and 2 of their series against the Atlanta Hawks. The
2:51 PM ET All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell practiced Thursday for the first time since spraining his right ankle more than a month ago and plans to play in the Utah Jazz‘s playoff opener. “That’s the goal,” Mitchell said. “Barring any setbacks, God forbid – knock on wood – that’s the goal. I’m just trying to
3:59 PM ET The NBA fined Atlanta Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan $25,000 on Thursday for making comments Wednesday “asserting bias by the NBA relating to the 2020-21 Playoffs,” the league announced. On Wednesday in a Zoom call with the media, McMillan, whose Hawks play the Knicks in the first round of the Eastern Conference
3:05 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Hawks forward Cam Reddish is expected to miss the opening round of the playoffs as he continues his extended recovery from an ailing right Achilles. The team said Thursday that Reddish has expanded his rehabilitation to include unrestricted individual workouts and limited participation in team practice. His status
7:08 PM ET All-Star guard Paul George says he is in a much better headspace as he enters his second postseason with the LA Clippers. Last year, George said that he had bouts of depression while being in the bubble and away from family and friends when the NBA resumed its season in isolation in