NBA

3:36 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN A trio of return games for All-Star point guards Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker highlights the NBA’s full schedule release Friday afternoon. Westbrook will head back to Washington with the Los Angeles Lakers on March 19, about a week after the teams meet in Los Angeles on March

9:00 AM ET Who are the NBA free agents to watch in 2022 and 2023? Most of the league’s superstars have signed long-term extensions with their current teams, leading some league executives to call 2022 “The Offseason of the Rotational Players.” Still, superstars like Bradley Beal, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook could become

4:25 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LeBron James took to Twitter to react to ESPN’s offseason survey of 10 NBA scouts and executives leaving him without a single vote for the title of best player in the NBA. James responded to a tweet sarcastically saying he was washed-up as a player, then sent out a separate

4:20 PM ET ESPN News Services The Dallas Mavericks are hiring two-time WNBA champion Kristi Toliver as an assistant coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Toliver has previous NBA coaching experience. She spent parts of two seasons as an assistant on the Washington Wizards’ staff. Toliver is currently playing for the Los Angeles Sparks where

7:20 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The past two seasons have seen the NBA — like the rest of the world — deal with unprecedented circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused as much upheaval across the NBA as any sports league in North America and beyond, with the 2019-20 season ending in a bubble inside the

10:46 AM ET Longtime NBA journalist Jackie MacMullan will retire from ESPN on Aug. 31, ending a decade-long tenure with the company. MacMullan, who has been an NBA reporter for 40 years, joined ESPN in 2010 after a long career with The Boston Globe. She has appeared on every ESPN platform, as a senior writer

4:37 PM ET Kevin Durant and Draymond Green both blamed Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and team president/general manager Bob Myers for mishandling the fallout from the players’ argument that ultimately contributed to Durant leaving the team following the 2018-19 season. In an interview posted Wednesday on Bleacher Report, Durant and Green both said

7:26 AM ET Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid is finalizing a four-year, $196 million supermax contract extension, sources told ESPN. The extension keeps Embiid under contract with the Sixers through the 2026-27 season for a total of $261 million. The four-time All-Star already was set to make $65 million over the final two years

12:38 AM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Louis King slammed home a two-handed dunk with a little more than two minutes left in the third quarter of the NBA Summer League championship game, let out a monstrous roar and promptly flexed with authority. Fittingly, it was King who dominated for Sacramento and finished with

11:28 AM ET A showdown between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers will highlight the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In addition to the star-studded, cross-country clash, the Atlanta Hawks will travel to take on the New York Knicks. That game will be a rematch of a first-round playoff series

7:15 AM ET Tuesday’s Las Vegas Summer League championship game (9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN App) will feature the Boston Celtics and the Sacramento Kings — both undefeated coming into the finale. Boston’s run has been fueled by a pair of second-year players in Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith, a backcourt duo that has shined

7:59 PM ET Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has agreed to a four-year, $77 million contract extension, sources told ESPN. The extension — which begins with the 2022-23 season — is the maximum allowable off Smart’s $14.3 million salary for 2021-22. The deal does not include a player option. Smart has developed into one of

8:28 PM ET The LA Clippers are trading Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu to the Memphis Grizzlies for guard Eric Bledsoe, sources told ESPN on Sunday. The deal saves the Clippers $30 million in luxury tax and creates an $8.3 million traded-player exception that they will have a year to use. Bledsoe, 31,

10:11 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Udonis Haslem is officially back with the Miami Heat. Haslem signed another contract — the 10th of his career — with the Heat on Sunday, assuring that he will return for a 19th season with Miami. It is a one-year deal worth about $2.8 million. The 41-year-old would

9:41 PM ET Orlando Magic rookie Jalen Suggs, the No. 5 pick in last month’s NBA draft, has a left thumb sprain and will be sidelined for the remainder of NBA summer league as a precaution. Suggs suffered the injury in the first half of Thursday’s game against the Boston Celtics. The team said an

9:03 AM ET Thanasis Antetokounmpo has re-signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced on Friday. The length of the deal is two years, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Antetokounmpo, the older brother of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, played in 57 games during the Bucks’ championship season, averaging 2.9 points and 2.2

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders Which rookies and veterans have surprised the most after one week of summer league basketball? Who have been the biggest disappointments? Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs have had stellar performances in their summer league debuts, but are they worthy of being named the MVP of Vegas? Players like Payton Pritchard

11:40 PM ET Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green, the No. 2 overall draft pick in last month’s NBA draft, left Thursday’s 92-76 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Summer League with a sore hamstring. The Rockets don’t believe the hamstring is a “significant concern,” but he will undergo an MRI as a precaution,