6:47 PM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Riding the momentum of a return to the NBA playoffs, the leaders of the Minnesota Timberwolves are determined to further elevate a franchise long mired among the dregs of the league. Tim Connelly is the first big catch. They’re counting on others to follow. “There’s a reason these
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12:40 PM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers are hiring Luke Walton as an assistant coach, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Walton joins coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s staff after spending the past five-plus seasons as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. Walton — who played parts of his final two seasons as a player
1:35 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Boston Celtics are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in more than a decade, but first-year coach Ime Udoka said that is no cause for celebration. “We’re not hanging a banner [for that] here,” Udoka said, referring to winning the Eastern Conference. “It’s
2:19 PM ET Golden State’s Stephen Curry has never won an NBA Finals MVP award, but oddsmakers believe this is his year. Curry is the consensus favorite to be named MVP of the Finals between the Warriors and Boston Celtics at sportsbooks around the nation. He’s the even-money favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. Boston’s Jayson Tatum
11:40 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Philadelphia 76ers announced Tuesday morning that Joel Embiid spent his Memorial Day undergoing surgery to repair the sprained right thumb he injured during Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series, and that he also had a procedure done to repair an injury to his left index finger. Neither issue is supposed to
1:28 PM ET Associated Press New Orleans guard and National Basketball Players Association president CJ McCollum has added another title to his busy schedule — NBA analyst for ESPN. The network announced Monday that they have signed the Pelicans star to a multiplatform deal. He will make his ESPN debut on Thursday during “NBA Finals:
3:15 AM ET MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra’s eyes traced the shot as it left Jimmy Butler‘s hands. The arc looked good. It was rotating perfectly. The emotions swelled in the Miami Heat coach’s chest as he instinctively kicked out his legs in the final moments of Sunday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals inside
8:00 AM ET After three rounds of upsets, thrillers, blowouts and everything in between, the NBA Finals are here — and it’s a series that will pin some familiar faces against a group with zero experience on the league’s biggest stage. The Golden State Warriors, led by three-time champions Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay
11:22 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN MIAMI — Nothing about this Boston Celtics season has been easy. So, it stands to reason, making it to the NBA Finals wouldn’t be, either. But, at the end of a grueling seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, that is exactly where the Celtics have
2:05 AM ET MIAMI — As the Miami Heat digest a “heartbreaking” 100-96 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Erik Spoelstra and his staff believe that a momentum-changing overturned call in the third quarter will provide a “case study” for the NBA as far as replay reviews go