Category: NBA Basketball

NBA Basketball News

Feds: Two breached players' social accounts

3:38 PM ET

Associated Press

A Louisiana man and a Florida man allegedly gained access to professional athletes’ social media accounts and either sold the information or used it to extort payments, according to federal criminal complaints released Wednesday.

Trevontae Washington and Ronnie Magrehbi each face wire fraud conspiracy and computer fraud conspiracy counts filed by the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey.

Washington, 21, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, allegedly obtained usernames and passwords for multiple NFL and NBA players’ accounts and sold access to the information.

Magrehbi, 20, of Orlando, Florida, allegedly obtained an NFL player’s email and Instagram account information and extorted money by publishing explicit photos of the player and threatening to publish more.

Washington and Magrehbi were scheduled to make initial court appearances Wednesday in their respective states. They were not alleged to have worked together on the scams.

AD shines in Finals debut but 'job is not done'

2:30 AM ET

The Miami Heat started the game sending a double-team at Anthony Davis, but it didn’t take long to discover that there wasn’t much they could do to slow down the Los Angeles Lakers‘ superstar big man.

In his NBA Finals debut, an animated Davis dominated, scoring 34 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking 3 shots to help the Lakers crush the Heat 116-98 on Wednesday and take Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

“It’s easy for AD,” Lakers power forward Markieff Morris said when asked about Davis’ first Finals game. “Like I’ve been saying since I got on this team, honestly, if you ask me … we got LeBron [James], but I think he’s the best player in the world.

“He [does] it on both ends, he’s doing it consistently every night, he gives you what you ask for

Sources: Rivers serious candidate for 76ers job

12:29 PM ET

After productive meetings with Philadelphia 76ers ownership and management on Wednesday, Doc Rivers has emerged as a serious candidate to become the franchise’s next coach, sources tell ESPN.

Rivers’ candidacy has gained momentum, although no offer has been extended to him, sources said.

Rivers was a late entry into a process that had become increasingly focused on former Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who still remains in consideration with the Sixers, sources tell ESPN.

Once the LA Clippers dismissed Rivers on Monday, the dynamic of the Sixers coaching search changed. Rivers has been intrigued enough with the roster, marketplace and organization to fly from the West Coast to sit down with Philadelphia’s hierarchy — owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, and general manager Elton Brand.

Rivers, 58, had two years left on his Clippers contract, sources said, so he remains owed a significant

Ainge: Walker 'definitely not himself' in bubble

12:51 PM ET

Tim BontempsESPN

Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge said star point guard Kemba Walker was “definitely not himself” during the team’s stay inside the NBA’s bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort.

“I wasn’t there [in the bubble],” Ainge said Thursday during his end-of-season conference call following the Celtics’ loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. “I was watching from here, but I could see, even when he was here before the bubble started, which is why he was shut down a little bit and doing strength training and trying to prepare himself for the playoff run and the intensity of the playoff run, but he was definitely not himself.

“In fairness to Kemba, he doesn’t want to say that. He doesn’t say that to our coaches. He doesn’t say that to you, the media. He doesn’t

My text chat with Jimmy Butler's agent while watching Game 1 of the Finals

By | October 1, 2020

During a very lopsided Game 1 of the NBA Finals, we texted back and forth with Jimmy Butler‘s agent Bernie Lee, who’s had a much better 2019-20 season than most following a rich contract for his main client in free agency and a big deal with a Canadian company.

Anyways, here’s the transcription of the conversation:

What’s the most nervous you’ve been watching a client play a game? Does this rank high?

Bernie Lee: You know what? In this case, the work is already done, so I’m good. I really believe in both Jimmy and this team’s work and ability to grind this out. Also this is nothing like watching Mike James on Chicago 10 days hoping he played his way into 10 more days or something like that. That’s gotta be the most nervous I’ve ever been.

Mike

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Chris Bosh watches Game 1 with LeBron, Heat on the mind

11:35 PM ET

It was early winter, pre-pandemic, with the NBA in full swing, and as Chris Bosh lounged courtside at the AmericanAirlines Arena enjoying the benefits of being a beloved retired Heat champion, he witnessed something that awakened an old, familiar pang.

“It was Bam Adebayo, bringing the ball up,” Bosh said. “I had to give Spo a hard time. When I played, he got upset with me when I did that. I called him on it. He just smiled and said, ‘Hey, man, we’re just trying to get better.'”

Nearly nine months later, Adebayo is an NBA sensation in a carefully constricted bubble, an absurdly athletic, rim-running big man with a crafty basketball IQ who can attack off the dribble, dish like a veteran point guard, set bone-crunching screens, suffocate elite perimeter shooters and reject offerings from future superstars into the seats. The Miami Heat

Kobe Bryant, Shaq and Phil Jackson stories from the Lakers dynasty with author Jeff Pearlman

By | October 1, 2020

On this episode of the HoopsHype podcast, Michael Scotto is joined by New York Times best-selling author Jeff Pearlman. Scotto and Pearlman discuss behind the scenes stories from Pearlman’s new book, Three-Ring Circus. Topics included the relationship between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry Stackhouse and Kobe’s infamous one-on-one game, and how an Adidas shoe deal influenced Bryant to go to the NBA out of high school. The pair also discussed who Phil Jackson was as a person, Isaiah Rider’s crazy reasons for missing practices, the reason for the breakup of the dynasty in 2004, and Jeanie Buss’ thoughts on the dynasty.

0:49 Toughest challenge writing the book, including interviewing Kobe

2:03 Who had the best insight into Kobe as a person?

Pearlman: “There’s a difference between knowing someone casually and knowing someone deeply. He’s a guy, who when

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2020 Finals is producing the most repeated matchups in 50 years

By | September 30, 2020

After the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 5 victory over the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat’s Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics, the 2020 NBA Finals are now set: Lakers-Heat for the first time ever, in a series that will be filled with fascinating storylines and elite players going at it.

One of the more underrated storylines coming up involves LeBron James and Andre Iguodala, two players with Finals MVP on their resumes who have a ton of history in the postseason.

As members of the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, James and Iguodala faced off in the Finals four straight years, from 2015 through 2018, with Golden State coming out on top in three of those showdowns.

Now, as members of the Heat and Lakers, James and Iguodala will face off for a record fifth time in the

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NBA Best Bet of the Day: Heat cover Game 1 vs. Lakers

By | September 30, 2020

Game 1 of the first-ever NBA Finals meeting between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat tips off, Wednesday, at 9 p.m. ET in the Orlando bubble.

LeBron James is making his ninth Finals appearance in 10 years, and 10th overall, against his former team. The 2019-20 Miami Heat is yet another masterful creation from all-time NBA legend Pat Riley.

Piece-by-piece the Heat were assembled via free agency, drafting and trade deadline acquisitions and armed Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra with the arsenal he needs to take down LeBron and co.

Series Price: Lakers (-358) | Heat (+300)

BetMGM Sportsbook has NBA odds and NBA props for all NBA games, so we’re bringing you locks throughout the NBA playoffs.

Heat +4.5 (-110) vs. Lakers 

There’s been an accurate narrative over this century about the Western Conference being

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Kings won't renew G League GM's contract

By | September 30, 2020

The Sacramento Kings won’t renew the contract of Stockton Kings general manager Anthony McClish, league sources told HoopsHype.

McClish spent seven seasons with the Kings in various roles, including salary cap management and scouting.

McClish spent the last three seasons as general manager of Sacramento’s G League affiliate and had several players receive two-way contracts, including Gabe Vincent, Wenyen Gabriel and DaQuan Jeffries. Under McClish’s reign, Kalin Lucas, Aaron Harrison, Reggie Hearn, David Stockton, Cody Demps, Cameron Reynolds and Eric Mika also received call-ups to the NBA.

Before joining Sacramento, McClish spent the 2012-13 season with the San Antonio Spurs as a basketball operations intern.

MORE: Michael Scotto and Sam Amick on NBA coaching rumors and the Kings

You can follow Michael Scotto on Twitter: @MikeAScotto

, Kings

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