basketball Page 117 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Hear me out: Ben Simmons for Kyrie, straight up
Ben Simmons has attempted 34 three-pointers in his four-year NBA career, which is about how many shots from downtown Kyrie Irving attempts in five games. As point guards go, the two former No. 1 overall picks could hardly have more different games....

Didn’t see LeBron James on the Manningcast? Here’s what you missed
Lebron James (King James to his minion) took a detour on his way to Lakers training camp to make an appearance on Peyton’s and Eli’s Manningcast. In about five minutes, the trio covered everything from James considering an NFL career to him breaking down a Cowboys scoring play. Lebron even carved ou...

Sue Bird shouldn’t retire, but WNBA would survive — and thrive — after she's gone
The Phoenix Mercury had just beaten Seattle 85-80 OT in the WNBA playoffs late Sunday afternoon when ESPN’s Holly Rowe brought Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi together on the court for the post-game interview. These two have been teammates and rivals for more than 20 years, and Bird quipped to Rowe that ...

The narcissism of Kyrie Irving and NBA anti-vaxxers is inhumane
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Quite frankly, it’s mind-boggling that we’re even here. And by here, I mean this moment in which the beginning of the world’s most popular sports league’s 75th season is being sabotaged by anti-vaxxers — after some of those very same men proved that safely playing bas...

You really stepped in it this time, Doc
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers is being put through the wringer over the Ben Simmons trade situation. Rivers is learning firsthand why coach-speak exists, and why most coaches tend to adhere to this terminology when addressing the on-court product, whether positive or negative....

Read 'em and weep: Here are the worst droughts in modern sports, non-title edition
The White Sox have won their first division title since 2008, which doesn’t really feel right, because they’ve only had two truly awful seasons in the last decade and a half, and power in the Central is rarely concentrated anywhere for too long, but it’s true. It would be a weird thing to lie about....

The NBA is NOT with stupid
The NBA, not being run by complete morons, rightly denied Andrew Wiggins’ request for religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine, and the former No. 1 pick (and recently inaugurated mayor of Stupid Town) won’t be able to play in any home games until he gets the jab....

Stupid is as stupid doesn’t do
Andrew Wiggins’ refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine — as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, and backed by ESPN’s reporting — is a near-perfect intersection of inanity....

The NBA needs to follow the WNBA’s lead on vaccination rates
As NBA training camps open next week, while most of the sports world is focused on college football and the NFL, the leading story around the league has centered on the drama in Philadelphia with Ben Simmons. However, there’s something else people should still be discussing — COVID-19....

The Ben Simmons soap opera continues with Doc Rivers pleading for him to stay
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers is trying to do more damage control than Olivia Pope....

Kawhi Leonard looks like he’d rather be anywhere but this arena groundbreaking ceremony
The LA Clippers will finally have their own arena in Inglewood within the next few years, free from the taunting glare of those 17 Lakers championship banners hanging from the rafters of Staples Center. Even with all the money and resources Steve Ballmer is pouring into this franchise, it will never...

Joe Johnson is wrong: Ben Simmons’ shot <i>desperately</i> needs an overhaul
If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it....

Or just give Robbie Ray the damn Cy Young already…
Slow night for news last night, so we’ll jump around a bit this morning. ...

Deadspin asks: Does Aaron Gordon’s new deal hurt Nerlens Noel in his lawsuit against Rich Paul?
“Yesterday’s price is not today’s price” — Fat Joe....

Free Connor McDavid (and other stars)
Simply by the numbers, Connor McDavid had one of the more incredible seasons in NHL history last year. 105 points in just 56 games, which would have averaged out to 154 points over a full, 82-game season. His 1.87 points-per-game was the best rate seen in 25 years. It came with the caveat of the uni...

Between Chris Webber and Michigan AD Warde Manuel — someone is lying
A once-inconceivable happy ending was finally in sight — even though it was still a few miles away. And just as it seemed like the divide between the University of Michigan, Chris Webber, and the Fab Five was inching closer to reconciliation, it was hit with another roadblock just days before Webber...

A nod to Toni Kukoč and all of the 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame inductees getting their dues today
We’ve feted Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Bill Russell, Rick Adelman, Jay Wright, Lauren Jackson, Yolanda Griffith, Chris Bosh, and Chris Webber this week for their induction into the hoops Hall of Fame....

Chris Webber, one of the NBA’s great enigmas, deserves his Hall of Fame honors
Chris Webber produced two very underrated Nas songs....

Chris Bosh brought evolution to the game, but was robbed of seeing it through
There’s a chance Chris Bosh could still be an active NBA player right now....

A salute to Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson, who enter the Hall of Fame this weekend
If you’ve been following the WNBA since it’s first season in 1997, Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson may be two of the stars you remember from the league’s very early incarnations. ...