basketball Page 25 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Draymond Green wins another personal battle — at Golden State's expense
Tuesday night’s Warriors-Timberwolves rematch was advertised as an In-season Tournament group play match. Instead, a Draymond Green slobberknocker broke out. Early in the first quarter, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got into a tussle, Rudy Gobert did what happens in 1,000 routine NBA fights, by ...

The 2023 Champions Classic was a tale of two games
CHICAGO — You know a game isn’t the most exciting when the biggest roar from the crowd in the first half occurs when Magic Johnson is shown on the video board. That was the story for Duke and Michigan State early on, Tuesday night. Kansas and Kentucky fans didn’t need the greatest point guard of all...

Is a Netflix docuseries enough to make you care about the NBA In-Season tournament?
Word on the street is that the NBA and Netflix could be partnering up on the new In-Season tournament. Maybe Netflix can get fans to care about this seemingly pointless tournament nobody asked for. It sounds like all the risk would be on Netflix while the NBA sits back and soaks up all the publicity...

Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma are the Kobe and Shaq of the Tanking Title
It’s never a good thing when your two superstars are trending on social media after another loss. That has become the norm for Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma. Their first run-in with infamy came when Poole lobbed an oop to Kuzma off the backboard while losing by 20. Together they’re the Bennifer of pro...

Oh, great, now Zion Williamson wants to take basketball seriously
While it’s great that Zion Williamson is finally ready to shed his life as an influencer for a career in professional basketball, no one wants to hear the frustrations of a player who hasn’t played in a single consequential NBA game. The New Orleans Pelicans’ forward doesn’t sound happy with his rol...

James Harden is the NBA’s worst clutch superstar
There are volumes that could be written about what’s wrong with the Los Angeles Clippers superteam. After all the ruckus James Harden started this summer, if you thought he’d arrive in tip-top shape, ready to make one last push at a title with the Clippers, then you’re as gullible as every other tea...

Wake me up when the NBA adds a Champions League or an FA cup
The first NBA in-season tournament kicked off Friday evening. If you were unaware, you’re less informed than most because the gimmick has only been beaten into our brains every day since the season tipped. It’s really a brilliant way to dress up a regular season game, and the courts are so obnoxious...

Zion Williamson is the NBA’s most polarizing talent
Zion Williamson is a series of contradictions. He’s a near-300-pound space mover who elevates like he’s in zero gravity. He’s both the mythic John Henry racing a machine and the steam-powered drill he beat in a race because it continuously broke down. Williamson has the build of a defensive end, but...

Emphasis on 82-game schedule won’t solve NBA’s biggest problem
In case the NBA has not made itself clear over the last few months, the league office is fed up with load management. There are 82 games on the schedule, and players are expected to play in every single game unless they are actually injured. The NBA is going so far now as to claim it has data that t...

The NBA is right about load management for the wrong reasons
OK, it’s time for Devil’s Advocate corner: The NBA’s stance on load management is a good thing, but not for the dumbass reasons Joe Dumars presented Wednesday. If you missed it, the executive vice president of basketball operations said there’s no proof that load management prevents injuries. Maybe,...

In a move that shocks no one, Kansas barely gets a slap on the wrist from the NCAA
Did anyone expect a different result? ...

Luka Dončić let the NBA down this week
The first-ever international exhibition on Sept. 8, 1978, is immortalized for the defending NBA champion Washington Bullets’ loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv by the score of 97-98. Since 2000, when the EuroLeague was founded, NBA teams are 75-17 against Europe’s top teams in exhibitions. Or 17-75 if you wan...

It took Dillon Brooks 5 minutes and a nut-punch to show the Rockets he's still Dillon Brooks
The brand is strong with Dillon Brooks. He helped turn the Memphis Grizzlies into a contender, and for his services, he got thrown out of a window like Axel Foley. ...

Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama are finishing what Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic started
If there’s anything the most recent NBA champions taught us, it’s that the center can still be the focal point of an offense. Sixty-six-million years ago, Michael Jordan’s arrival was a terraforming meteor that ended the age of the pivots and began the reign of guards. Prior to His Airness, NBA cham...

The Beard's ego has him stuck between a Rock(et) and a Harden place
James Harden is in limbo. Last season, he was all in on taking a pay cut in an effort to give the Philadelphia 76ers cap flexibility to sign glue guys who would put them over the edge come playoff time. A year later, he’s the acetone on their franchise continuity. His constant bellyaching stemming f...

Did Joel Embiid commit to Team USA just for the tampering?
Apparently, all it takes to convince American hoops players to represent their country is an insult or a loss at the FIBAs. Whether it was Noah Lyles, the B team’s fourth-place finish, or the human instinct to ape the cool kids, Team USA looks to be loaded for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. ...

Evan Neal learned quickly that fighting with fans will get him nowhere
It is not easy being Evan Neal. Yes, he is a young and wealthy starter for the New York Giants, a dream for many. However, search his name in Xwitter during a Giants game and it gets ugly....

Anthony Davis says he wants to play all 82 games this season — how long until he sits?
Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis is ready to rock and wants all the smoke with the defending NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets, and their MVP Nikola Jokić. Davis also claims to have a goal of playing 82 games this season. Neither of those things are likely to end well for the eight-time All-Star....

Kawhi Leonard thinks the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy is aimed at him
Kawhi Leonard is not happy about the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy. In fact, Leonard seemed to take it as a personal jab by the association when asked about it during the Clippers media day. The so-called “king” of Los Angeles is not impressed with the new rule and says it won’t help him pla...

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart are the WNBA’s Bird and Magic
There’s nothing worse than an ending that doesn’t offer a definite ending. Think The Sopranos cutting to black in the diner or Emmy-winning GLOW being canceled on a cliffhanger during the pandemic as the ‘94 MLB strike-shortened season of series finales. Last month, Winning Time ended with the Bosto...