8:26 AM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Order restored. After losing for the first time in nearly 13 years two days earlier, the United States rebounded to outclass Canada 84-68 in a pre-World Cup exhibition basketball game Monday. At the same arena where the Americans won Olympic gold at the Sydney 2000 Games the U.S.
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2:00 PM ET Let’s have a real conversation about Team USA. It has played five exhibition games ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and there are some warning lights going off. The Americans are low on star power and international experience. Their big men can be suspect, their shooters are inconsistent and their lack
7:22 AM ET Which players should be the favorites for NBA MVP in 2019-20? In the latest edition of the ESPN summer forecast, our panel predicted 2018-19 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo as having the best chance to win the award. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry finished second, with Curry and Giannis getting more than half of the
10:55 PM ET Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert has agreed to a three-year, $52.5 million contract extension, league sources told ESPN. LeVert, who turned 25 on Sunday, was eligible for his rookie extension as a member of the NBA’s draft class of 2016. His new deal will begin with the 2020-21 season. No better feeling
7:28 PM ET At five home games this year, the Portland Trail Blazers will wear red jerseys with “blazers” in lowercase letters written vertically down the chest. The jerseys resemble those the team wore during the 1976-77 season, when they won the NBA title. Bill Walton, the center on that team, helped the Blazers unveil
6:22 PM ET HOUSTON — James Harden isn’t just playing around in pickup games when he launches the one-legged, stepback 3-pointers seen in viral videos shot during open runs this summer. Harden, the Houston Rockets‘ superstar who led the NBA in scoring the last two seasons, is searching for ways he can continue to improve
10:41 AM ET Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers will not play for Team USA in the upcoming FIBA World Cup after it was determined that his left ankle injury would prevent him from participating, USA Basketball announced Saturday. With the loss of Kuzma, the USA Basketball roster is now finalized with 12 players.
2:47 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. men’s basketball team lost for the first time in nearly 13 years, falling to Australia 98-94 in a pre-World Cup exhibition game Saturday. Patty Mills scored 30 points for Australia, which rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half. It was the first loss
7:48 PM ET Dwight Howard is on his way back to the Los Angeles Lakers, after agreeing to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies. While the move wasn’t a surprise given recent developments — specifically the Lakers losing DeMarcus Cousins to a torn ACL and the Grizzlies having little interest in keeping Howard on the
5:21 PM ET After completing a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies, Dwight Howard will sign a non-guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Lakers that comes with a clear message, league sources told ESPN: Disrupt this team — and you’ll be gone. In meetings with Lakers management, coaches and teammates — including Anthony Davis —