1:47 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Japanese basketball officials, fans and media hailed the selection of Rui Hachimura in the 2019 NBA draft, saying the move will usher in a new era for the sport in Japan. Hachimura became the first player from Japan to be chosen in the first round of the NBA
NBA
7:21 PM ET Associated Press AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dwane Casey had nothing but positive things to say about the fact that his former team just won the NBA title. Casey coached the Toronto Raptors for seven seasons but was fired last offseason — even though he’d just guided the Raptors to a team-record 59
5:29 PM ET ESPN News Services Former Duke teammates Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett are slated to make their NBA summer league debuts against each other. The NBA said Friday that Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans will face off against Barrett and the New York Knicks on July 5, the first day of the
5:21 PM ET Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6 center from UCF, will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics, a source told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Exhibit 10 contracts, introduced in the NBA’s most recent collective bargaining agreement, are one-year deals paying the minimum salary. They also can be used for two-way contracts. Fall was
8:07 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — The Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. Anthony Davis has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. And Zion Williamson has officially been drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans. With the 2019 NBA draft behind us, a long-awaited free agency is almost here. What are the biggest things
11:55 AM ET Nando De Colo — one of the EuroLeague’s top guards — is planning a return to the NBA and could command an ample free-agent market. “I have asked my agents to explore NBA opportunities over the coming weeks,” De Colo, 32, told ESPN. “I am excited for the next challenge in my
10:40 AM ET Naismith Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has turned down an offer to return as president and coach of Panathinaikos, the franchise he led to a Greek League championship this season, Pitino told ESPN on Friday. Pitino wants to return to a full-time pursuit of a job in the NBA — coaching,
2:30 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — An historic week for the New Orleans Pelicans came to a peak Thursday evening when general manager David Griffin and the front office chose Zion Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. “We had a rather eventful evening,” said Griffin, the team’s executive vice
1:30 AM ET Associated Press TUALATIN, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers selected North Carolina forward Nassir Little with the 25th pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night. Little, a 6-foot-7 wing, was one of the final players left in the green room in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday night, but he eventually found
2:26 AM ET ESPN News Services Bol Bol‘s fall in Thursday night’s NBA draft finally ended midway through the second round. The 7-foot-2 center out of Oregon, at one point considered a top-five pick, instead went 44th overall to the Miami Heat, who have agreed to trade the pick to the Denver Nuggets. Bol was