the-nba Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The NBA In-Season Tournament crowd sounded like the ones in the bubble
Adam Silver’s attempt to bring more excitement to the NBA’s regular season fell a little flat in its first attempt. It’s only the first In-Season Tournament, so there are sure to be kinks to work out, but maybe it wasn’t the best idea to have the final on a neutral court. ...

Ja Morant speaks for the first time about punching teen in face during pick-up game
He pulled up his shorts. That was how Ja Morant explained why he punched a teenager in the face during a game of pickup basketball at his Memphis home in July of 2022. Joshua Holloway, who was 17 at the time of the incident, is suing Morant for hitting him after a game of basketball turned violent, ...

Monday night's doubleheader was everything that is great about football
Part of football’s charm is its unpredictability. “Any given Sunday,” is more than a cliche. It is a phrase that accurately describes the sport as long as you’re not literal about the day of the week. There are a large number of moving parts attempting to work in unison while being slammed into by o...

The numbers don’t lie: Steph, Klay and Dray’s Golden State Gilded Age is over
Around 2017, I realized I was behind the curve by using free Pandora. I still kept my account for another few years out of an irrational attachment to it, long after everyone else had matriculated away from Pandora digital radio towards Spotify. That’s how it feels watching Golden State try to count...

These are the holiday films certain NBA fanbases need to watch this season
Christmas is the ultimate overlap of entertainment and sports. The year’s blockbusters are typically reserved for release on Christmas Day, with a slew of big-budget and indie hits releasing all month. Christmas Day sees the league’s best rivalries matched up for primetime holiday viewing. ...

The roast of LeBron James took place on social media following the NBA Cup championship game
There’s a saying in the social media world about the internet being undefeated. So, while Father Time chases after LeBron James, the internet takes pride in tackling the King to the ground every chance it gets. This time, they’ve captured him after James and the Lakers secured a victory Saturday nig...

LeBron James proved the Lakers still have life by winning the NBA’s early bird special tournament
The Los Angeles Lakers added another trophy to their overflowing stockpile, LeBron James added another accolade to his stuffed resume and all’s right with the world. After Shohei Ohtani joined the Dodgers, the City of Champions had even more reason to celebrate Saturday when the Lakers ran away with...

Just in time for the holiday: Athletes you didn't know had their own alcohol brands
There are so many celebrity alcohol brands these days that it’s hard to keep track of. There’s a shocking amount of athletes with their own line of booze. While there’s a handful you probably know, you’d be surprised just how many athletes are behind some of the labels at your local liquor store. Th...

This week in the NBA: Ime Udoka wrong to jaw with Lebron James; top 3 rookies are off to rough starts
Everyone who works for the NBA or one of its franchises should always behave in a professional manner. That being said, the head coach is supposed to be the person in charge of the team. A head coach is like the general manager of a store. That person may not own the place, but the person does need ...

Giannis and Zion sure sounded like they, too, didn’t take the In-Season Tournament seriously
The biggest questions facing the NBA’s In-Season Tournament were: Would people care? Would fans care? Would players care? Because if no one cares, then we’re back to square one of the Association’s conundrum and watching effortless (not the good kind) December basketball. ...

Give us more Charles Barkley insulting Stephen A. Smith
ESPN and TNT have combined their coverage of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, and as always, Charles Barkley kept things interesting....

'Haliburton time' doesn't quite have the same ring to it
The Pacers advanced to the championship game of the NBA in-season tournament last night after Tyrese Haliburton knocked down a 3-pointer late in the game to beat the Bucks....

If NBA teams can raise division-title banners, they should be able to raise a banner for the In-Season Cup
The inaugural In-Season Tournament is nearing its conclusion, which can only mean one thing: How can we find a new way to dump on it? Fortunately, a contrived controversy has been delivered on cue. The winner of this weekend’s In-Season Tournament will have to navigate the thorny situation over how ...

Why is no one screaming about the NBA’s MVP race yet?
There’s one unquestioned upside to the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. The endless promos and exhausting exposure to promote Adam Silver’s baby — and debate over if it’s working or if it matters — has overshadowed the usual topic de jour as we hit the quarter-season mark: The MVP race....

America is better at shooting people than basketballs
The United States set a record over the weekend. There were two mass shootings on Sunday, one in Texas and another thousands of miles to the northwest in Washington. Those were the 37th and 38th mass killings of 2023 — a new record. With 24 days left in the year the 2022 record of 36 has been surpas...

Anthony Edwards is salty about being called an All-Star
The next time you’re out and about and happen to run into Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, don’t dare refer to him as an All-Star. Even though he is indeed a one-time All-Star “selection,” he won’t acknowledge this fact. He doesn’t count it since he wasn’t a first-choice selection to the...

LeBron James wants to win the NBA Cup because Michael Jordan didn't
The NBA Cup/In-Season Tournament finally concludes in Las Vegas this week. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Phoenix Suns in a scrappy game Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals. James put on a show against Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, scoring 31 points, dishing 11 dimes, ...

The NBA’s top 3 rookies are tough to watch (for reasons outside of their control)
The 2023 NBA Draft was supposedly a three-team draft. The main prize was Victor Wembanyama, with Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson in the trail positions. Regardless of which guard, wing, or big you got, each could be a franchise cornerstone. The caveat is what exactly would they be holding up? ...

Selling the Mavs is a Faustian bargain for Mark Cuban
What do Donald Trump, casinos, the Holocaust, and the Dallas Mavericks have in common? The answer can be found in a comic book. In Art Spiegelman’s seminal tome on his family’s survival of the Holocaust, the graphic novel Maus, the underground comix writer analyzes the cyclical effect of trauma, not...

Tyrese Haliburton has the Pacers skipping the NBA waiting line
There are three tiers of NBA existence: Teams stuck in the mud, teams trying to fit through a championship window and future contenders waiting their turn. Prior to Tyrese Haliburton’s first full season as a Pacer, Indiana was rudderless and stuck on a road to nowhere. Aside from Haliburton, there w...