Category: NBA Basketball

Skip Bayless explains why he would not put now-Denver Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook in his Hall of Fame.

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Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterJul 26, 2024, 03:59 PM ET

CloseOhm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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Russell Westbrook was in Denver on Friday to sign a two-year, $6.8 million deal with the Nuggets, a league source confirmed to ESPN.

Westbrook was expected to join the Nuggets after he was traded by the LA Clippers to the Utah Jazz last week in a sign-and-trade deal for guard Kris Dunn. That trade, which included a second-round pick swap, was made to pave the way for the former MVP to sign with

Kalan Hooks, ESPNJul 25, 2024, 10:29 PM ET

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As the countdown continues for Team USA men’s basketball’s quest for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the intensity during their practices is reaching new heights.

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On Thursday, the Minnesota Timberwolves posted a photo on social media of guard Anthony Edwards welcoming Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant to the court with a poster during a scrimmage.

friendly fire. 👀 pic.twitter.com/QlhXdNi7U9

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 25, 2024

The viral post has received 232,000 views and counting.

Durant, who sat out of Team USA’s five USA Basketball showcase exhibitions due to a calf injury during training camp, returned to the hardwood Wednesday where he met Edwards at the rim.

After the post circulated on social media, Durant responded to the dunk by quoting an August 2018 tweet from New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum when

Mark Fainaru-Wada, ESPN Staff WriterJul 26, 2024, 07:00 AM ET

CloseInvestigative reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit since 2007 Co-author of New York Times best-selling books “League of Denial” and “Game of Shadows” Co-winner, 2004 George Polk AwardOpen Extended Reactions

KIGALI, Rwanda — In the summer of 2018, inside a national arena that felt more like a small-college gym, the NBA commissioner shot free throws with the president of Rwanda.

It was a meeting of disparate men with complementary motives.

Adam Silver, a lawyer and NBA lifer who grew up in a wealthy New York suburb before presiding over one of the most progressive leagues in sports, was in Rwanda to build on a mission to extend the NBA’s reach to every corner of the world.

The NBA, Rwanda & Sportswashing

Investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada examines the partnership between the NBA and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in an ESPN special

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Russell Westbrook is signing a two-year, $6.8 million deal with the Denver Nuggets after being bought out by the Utah Jazz, per Shams Charania. Westbrook was originally dealt by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Jazz as part of a sign-and-trade deal that sent Kris Dunn to the Clippers. Dunn will officially head to the Clippers on a three-year, $17 million deal as part of the sign-and-trade, per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. The Clippers also sent a second-round pick swap and cash to the Jazz.

Westbrook opted into the final year of his deal earlier this summer, which was worth a little over $4 million. But that never meant he would stay in L.A. for next season. Westbrook and the Nuggets had previously been rumored to have mutual interest in each other, and now he’ll be joining the

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Jul 26, 2024, 02:17 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions

The most interesting potential free agent target in the NBA might be a 61-year-old who retired nearly 25 years ago.

TNT Sports analyst Charles Barkley told The Athletic on Friday that he would listen to NBA partners ESPN, NBC and Amazon if the remainder of his current 10-year contract with the cable network is not honored. TNT Sports lost out on the NBA in the league’s recently announced 11-year, $76 billion rights agreement.

“My deal is 10 years, $210 million,” Barkley told The Athletic. “[TNT Sports] has to come to me ASAP and they have to guarantee my whole thing or they can offer me a pay cut, which there is no chance of that happening and I’ll be [a] free agent.

“My thing was, ‘Wait, y’all f—ed up, I didn’t f— up, why do I have to take a pay cut?'”

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The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are here, and as usual, basketball will be one of the sports that generates great excitement from fans and bettors. 

After failing to medal at last year’s FIBA World Cup, Team USA will look to bounce back in a big way. 

The USA has won four consecutive Olympic gold medals and seven of the last eight, dating back to 1992. 

This year’s Olympic roster has a combined 13 NBA titles and eight NBA MVP awards, and is headlined by LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, among others.

exhibition game against South Sudan. In a game in which the Americans were favored by 41.5 points, they narrowly escaped, 101-100.

LeBron led the team with 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

The close call helped South Sudan’s gold medal odds climb up the board to +25000 from +40000.

Team USA’s odds stayed put at -500, despite the near miss.

One debate that has prevailed among bettors and basketball junkies leading up to Paris is whether the current team could have defeated the 1992 Dream Team.

FOX Sports betting analyst Sam “Sammy P” Panayotovich spoke to an oddsmaker who explained how he’d hypothetically handicap a Dream Team vs. USA 2024 Team matchup.

“The easy answer is to make it a pick ‘em,” longtime Vegas bookmaker turned media personality Dave Sharapan told Sammy P. “Ain’t no way in hell we’re making Michael Jordan a ‘dog. So you go out to Dream Team -3.”

On a recent episode of “The Carton Show,” FOX Sports basketball reporter John Fanta said that “there is cause for concern” for Team USA.

“It just feels like they’re disjointed watching them. It’s not team basketball all the time. The rest of the world — these teams play at a very high, fundamental way.”

So are you backing Team USA to win the gold medal in Paris?

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Baxter Holmes, ESPN Senior WriterJul 26, 2024, 01:59 PM ET

CloseBaxter Holmes (@Baxter) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He has covered the Lakers, the Celtics and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times.Open Extended Reactions

Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against the NBA on Friday, alleging that the league breached its contract by declining its offer for a new media rights deal and instead signing Amazon.

The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court, and a summons obtained by ESPN stated that the NBA has 20 days to respond.

“Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” TNT Sports said in a statement Friday. “We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our