2:03 PM ET Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone cited the “flexibility” provided by the historic haul of first-round draft picks the franchise received in the James Harden trade as the reason he chose to deal the perennial MVP candidate to the Brooklyn Nets over other offers. In the four-team trade officially finalized Saturday, Houston
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11:53 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Celtics star Kemba Walker will make his season debut Sunday afternoon in Boston against the New York Knicks. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Walker, who has been out since the end of last season as he underwent a strengthening program for his ailing left knee, will play about 20 minutes.
12:36 PM ET Associated Press Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has revealed that he received the COVID-19 vaccine and is encouraging others to consider doing the same. The Basketball Hall of Famer and the NBA’s all-time scoring leader has taped a short message that will be aired beginning Monday during broadcasts of games played on the Martin Luther
12:15 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN When Ja Morant sprained his left ankle against the Brooklyn Nets back on Dec. 28, he nearly willed himself back onto the court — despite suffering a grade 2 sprain that caused him to be ruled out for the next 3-to-5 weeks. So it came as little surprise to Morant,
6:08 PM ET Indiana Pacers wing Caris LeVert is out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a small mass on his left kidney, the team announced Saturday. The mass was found during a physical prior to the Pacers finalizing the trade to acquire LeVert. He will undergo further tests. “On behalf of my family and myself,
4:26 PM ET ESPN News Services Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden will start Saturday’s game against the Orlando Magic, according to coach Steve Nash. Harden had been listed as questionable to play while the players involved in the trade that sent him from Houston to Brooklyn this week awaited completion of their physicals. The Nets
2:24 AM ET The Los Angeles Lakers came into Friday with the third-best 3-point percentage in the league and were hot from the outside once again in their win over the New Orleans Pelicans, hitting 15 3s in their 112-95 win. LeBron James was responsible for two of them, going 2-for-6 from deep, which caused
10:18 PM ET After 17 years with rival Coca-Cola, pitching a variety of products, LeBron James is signing with rival PepsiCo, sources confirmed to ESPN. The Los Angeles Lakers star is expected to promote the Mountain Dew brand, which has developed into one of the NBA’s prime sponsors after PepsiCo took over as its official
11:46 PM ET Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic animatedly expressed his dismay that coach Rick Carlisle didn’t use the team’s final timeout during a critical possession in the final minute of a 112-109 road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. The possession, which occurred with the Mavs trailing by two points, ended with
2:19 AM ET After losing multiple double-digit leads throughout the game to eventually fall 127-125 in overtime to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan put it bluntly: His young team hasn’t figured out how to win yet. “This is a hard-working group. It’s a good group of guys. They want