4:42 PM ET As an official alumnus of the Lakers “family,” Pat Riley doesn’t qualify as merely a bystander when Earvin “Magic” Johnson plops himself down on the set of ESPN’s First Take and sends tremors throughout Los Angeles by confirming he was talking about former associate Rob Pelinka when he referenced the “backstabbing” that
NBA
2:54 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The sister of former NBA player Sebastian Telfair was accused on Monday of threatening a woman who testified against him at his New York City gun-possession trial. Octavia Telfair was charged in federal court in Brooklyn with transmitting an interstate threat. There was no immediate response to
3:11 PM ET Associated Press ATHENS, Greece — Greek NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has agreed to fund the construction of an indoor basketball court in a fire-ravaged area outside Athens where at least 100 people were killed last year. The mayor of the Rafina area where the fire occurred last July said on Monday the
9:00 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN CHICAGO — For months, the New Orleans Pelicans have had only one path forward: trade superstar Anthony Davis and hope the return is good enough to navigate a successful rebuild. After landing the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft consensus top prospect Zion Williamson, the Pelicans now
11:18 AM ET Using the word “betrayal,” Magic Johnson made it clear that general manager Rob Pelinka was the one “backstabbing” him, telling people that he wasn’t working hard and wanting to take his job with the Los Angeles Lakers. In an appearance on First Take on Monday morning, Johnson did not hold back, identifying
10:28 AM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Tim Connelly, the Denver Nuggets‘ president of basketball operations, has turned down an offer to run the Washington Wizards‘ front office, league sources told ESPN. Josh Kroenke, the Nuggets’ president and governor, made an aggressive and compelling case to Connelly over the weekend to keep him with the team, which
7:59 AM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Interim coach Ryan Saunders is finalizing a multi-year deal to become head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources told ESPN. The deal is expected to be completed soon, perhaps as soon as Monday, sources told ESPN. Saunders is working on a staff. New Timberwolves president of Basketball Operations Gersson
2:15 AM ET TORONTO — Nothing in the NBA playoffs goes off as planned. Lineup rotations can be tweaked and defensive coverages can be refined, but no matter how much preparation has been performed, the crucial minutes of a playoff game are nothing more than a desperate exercise in survival. Every possession is a fire
1:27 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN TORONTO — These are the nights when Giannis Antetokounmpo frets. Through the first three quarters of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, Antetokounmpo scored just six points and finished with 12 total. He missed two key free throws in the first overtime and fouled out less than one minute
1:02 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — So much of this season for Kawhi Leonard with the Toronto Raptors has been spent on the topic of load management. Well, load management went out the window Sunday night. With his team’s season on the line, Leonard played a career-high 52 minutes Sunday night — almost all