NBA

12:26 AM ET The 2023 NBA playoffs are almost here. The Golden State Warriors are the defending champions but are still battling to qualify for the postseason, in which 16 teams will face off in four rounds of action to determine the 2023 NBA champion. The top six teams in each conference automatically qualify for

2:57 AM ET DALLAS — ONCE AGAIN, the Dallas Mavericks changed plans during a bizarre final week of what Luka Doncic described as “a very disappointing season.” A few days after declaring he’d play so long as the Mavs had even the slimmest of postseason hopes, the franchise announced Doncic would sit out after playing

1:04 PM ET DALLAS – All-Star guard Kyrie Irving and four key Dallas Mavericks role players will sit out Friday night’s home game against the Chicago Bulls, a game the Mavericks must win to avoid being eliminated from the play-in scenario. The Mavs announced late Friday morning that Irving (right foot injury recovery), shooting guard

2:42 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said that Zion Williamson will not practice with the team on Saturday and would not play in any play-in tournament games next week if the Pelicans are still in the play-in. Griffin, speaking to local media

8:00 AM ET All of a sudden, Jaren Jackson Jr. found himself on an island. It was midway through the third quarter on March 18, and after Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry had used a pump fake to get Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks to fly by him on the right wing, Jackson was

2:05 PM ET DALLAS — The NBA denied the Dallas Mavericks‘ protest of their March 22 loss to the Golden State Warriors, the league announced Thursday. Dallas protested the 127-125 loss because of their claim that the officials did not properly administer an out-of-bounds call with approximately two minutes remaining in the third quarter, resulting

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN No player is more synonymous with the modern NBA’s offensive evolution than Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. He is the only player in NBA history to make more than 400 3-pointers in a single NBA season, and the only one to make more than 3,000 in his career. For

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN HOUSTON — Coming out of the All-Star break, the Houston Rockets knew they weren’t going to be in contention for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament. They were 13-45, had lost seven straight games heading into the break, and were two weeks removed from trading disgruntled veteran Eric Gordon

9:31 PM ET DALLAS — During an unscheduled pregame media availability Wednesday evening, Mavericks Governor Mark Cuban blamed Jalen Brunson‘s father for the point guard’s departure from Dallas and declared that re-signing Kyrie Irving would be the franchise’s top offseason priority despite the team’s lackluster results since the blockbuster trade to acquire the All-Star guard.

7:16 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) will miss Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, coach Mike Budenholzer announced prior to the game. Antetokounmpo was listed as probable on the injury report leading up to the game and took the court for a shortened version of his regular pregame

8:00 AM ET The bottom seven seeds in the Western Conference postseason picture are still a toss-up, but there is another serious NBA race that will be determined in the final week of the regular season. This year’s MVP race between Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be decided in the next few

1:06 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After watching Joel Embiid dismantle the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers was certain of only one thing. “We did so many things wrong,” Rivers said, “but what we did right was Joel Embiid. “The MVP race is over.” There are still five days

2:35 PM ET DALLAS — All-Star guard Luka Doncic declared that he would not consider being shut down for the season as long as the Dallas Mavericks have postseason hopes, no matter how long the odds. “I’m playing tomorrow,” Doncic said after Tuesday’s practice. “When there’s still a chance, I’m gonna play. So that’s not

11:46 PM ET HOUSTON — The Los Angeles Lakers‘ late-season surge, with Sunday’s victory over the Houston Rockets marking their 10th win in their past 14 games, has LeBron James talking about a hopeful title run once again. “We just want to put ourselves in position to be able to compete for a championship,” James

12:56 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is nearing a return to the team and is expected to be back early this week, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday. Wiggins, who has missed 22 consecutive games attending to a family matter, is expected to be back in the Bay Area

1:27 PM ET The NBA’s Western Conference playoff and play-in tournament races are more than what commissioner Adam Silver could have ever hoped. There are still eight teams that could end up in the West play-in tournament. The remaining teams battling for the playoffs are also battling for seeding — and the right to avoid

7:29 AM ET NBA insiders With the 2022-23 NBA season entering its final week, it’s time to take a look at the league’s major award races. While the contentious MVP race has garnered most of the attention, each of the league’s five major individual player awards has multiple worthy candidates. We asked our ESPN panel

8:01 PM ET The Portland Trail Blazers pulled off the largest NBA upset in 30 years on Sunday by knocking off the Minnesota Timberwolves as 19.5-point underdogs. The Trail Blazers were missing four starters, including star guard Damian Lillard, and had lost 11 of 12 games heading into the game. But Portland still managed to