11:28 PM ET In a move that could disrupt some types of betting on the Finals, the NBA plans to cut off unauthorized sportsbooks from accessing the league’s official data feed starting next week. Sportradar, an authorized data distributor for the NBA, sent a letter Thursday notifying sportsbook operators that the league was forcing it
NBA
6:47 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant said he is “doing better every day” but acknowledged that he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to return as he continues to recover from a strained right calf. Speaking to reporters for the first time since suffering the injury on May 8,
4:10 PM ET After tensions between referees and players led to a huge volume of technical fouls and a record for ejections in the first round of the NBA playoffs, tempers have cooled dramatically on both sides and the league has seen 11 consecutive playoff games without a player technical foul. There hasn’t been a
7:54 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — Eight months after NBA teams opened training camp ahead of the 2018-19 season, we know which two will be competing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. With the Toronto Raptors coming back from an 0-2 series deficit to take down the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, Toronto will face
3:29 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey has reached a contract extension that lengthens his deal through the 2023-24 season, the team announced Friday. Olshey has constructed a perennial Western Conference playoff team in his seven seasons, including consecutive years as a third seed and the franchise’s first
8:21 AM ET It has been a popular parlor game among league executives all season: How good will the Golden State Warriors be if Kevin Durant leaves? You can’t draw a direct line from the 73-win Warriors — the last pre-Durant version — to the theoretical 2019-20 team. Harrison Barnes is gone. Andre Iguodala, dunking
6:24 AM ET Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman has been accused of slapping a man at a bar in Delray Beach, Florida, according to a police report obtained by multiple outlets. No charges have been filed, but the man, Jeff Soulouque, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the incident was unprovoked. “It was
2:53 AM ET MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks had been shading Kawhi Leonard for days, taking away the largest, strongest and most decisive right hand in basketball. But with his Toronto Raptors trailing by a bucket inside of nine minutes remaining in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals that’s knotted at 2-2, Leonard got
2:20 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s faith in his team remained unshaken after Thursday night’s 105-99 loss in Game 5. Sure, the loss gave the Toronto Raptors a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Sure, the Bucks had never trailed in this series. But when Antetokounmpo was asked about whether
2:51 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN MILWAUKEE — In a quiet moment after the Toronto Raptors pulled off a 105-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to take a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven series and move within one win of the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals,