the-nba Page 19 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

NBA doing everything it can to marginally disrupt player empowerment
The NBA league office prolonged the current stalemate between the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat over a deal for Damian Lillard. A memo was circulated to all 30 franchises Friday saying that any player, or agent, who makes public comments about an unwillingness to “fully perform the services ...

This is what an Ohio pro sports renaissance looks like: Joe Burrow carted off the field
At some point on Thursday, before seeing the news that Joe Burrow was carted off the practice field, I was running over some story ideas in my head as one does in late July when very few sports are in season. The half-baked concept I was playing around with was: Are we in the middle of an Ohio pro s...

NBA needs to up the ante with its international game slate
What happens when a seventh seed and a 13th seed meet on a basketball court in a country that doesn’t have an NBA franchise? Who knows, but we’re going to find out....

Expectations for Victor Wembanyama continue to pile up according to oddsmakers
Unless you’ve been hibernating under a rock in the back of a cave for the past few months, you’re likely aware of the name Victor Wembanyama and the hype around him entering the NBA. Even those who aren’t necessarily “fans” have heard the name, especially after his Britney Spears encounter earlier t...

Lionel Messi’s quick start for Inter Miami has MLS’ detractors quiet
The shouts about Major League Soccer at large from other parts of the sports world get repetitive. Stating it’s a retirement league was always a jaded view. Perhaps it was the league with the most publicity that was willing to take big names past their prime. And while a lack of promotion and relega...

Tracy McGrady seems perplexed by James Harden trade request
Over the past 20 years, the marker that separates great from all-time great in the NBA has become more about how many rings an elite player wins than almost anything else. You see it in other sports like football, but the ring conversation is always most prominent with fans, media, and even players ...

His disastrous ownership tenure is over — it’s time Michael Jordan fix his relationship with Charles Barkley
His best friend told the truth about him, and he “took that personally.”...

Saudi Arabia poaching NBA talent is possible, but unlikely
In a jocular response to the Saudi Public Investment Fund offering a record $1.1 billion to PSG and Kylian Mbappé for the French icon to play one season in Saudi Arabia, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo offered up his services to the Al Hilal club. ...

Jaylen Brown and the volatility of a $304 million contract
It’s difficult to contextualize what just happened with Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics. The team’s second-best player, who’s got the handles of a wing with two left hands, landed the largest contract in NBA history, signing a five-year, $304 million supermax extension. That’s a lot of money, an...

The NFL is all in on betting, just not for players
Five years after states won the right to regulate a sports betting market, American consumers are starting to get it. With sports shows adopting the language of wagering, and professional leagues partnering with fantasy and betting outfitters, those campaigns to “educate” a sports fan base where bet...

Bronny James collapses at USC practice
LeBron James’ oldest son, freshman USC Trojans point guard Bronny James, suffered cardiac arrest while practicing Monday and collapsed on the court. The positive news is that according to a statement by a James family spokesman, Bronny was evaluated and treated in the ICU and ultimately released. Ho...

This might be Trey’s last dance in San Francisco
Trey Lance is entering year three in San Francisco and has suited up for eight games and started just half of them. Multiple injuries coupled with the emergence of Brock Purdy during the second half of last season has built some doubt around the former No. 3 overall pick. With Purdy’s status up in t...

Draymond Green is public enemy No. 1 on NBA social media platforms
Nearly a year after the punch heard around the NBA was landed when Draymond Green took off on former Golden State Warriors teammate Jordan Poole in practice, we’re still talking about the incident, and some people are tired of reliving the ordeal. One of those people is Poole’s father, Anthony, who ...

Las Vegas Aces are the solution to the Oppenheimer-Barbie conundrum
The WNBA’s All-Star Break provided the Las Vegas Ace’s “Core 4” with a showcase for 80 percent of a historically stacked starting lineup to strut their stuff in an exhibition. On the downside, it also cracked open a conduit for the cranks to spew their usual bile. ...

'Vacating' wins is the dumbest punishment of all time — do better, NCAA
The kids might not realize it, but in 1997 the movie of the summer was Men In Black. In the ‘90s, Will Smith was the king of summer blockbusters, especially if they opened July 4th weekend — or included aliens. One of the best parts of the MiB franchise was the Neuralyzers, a device that was used to...

NCAA treating violations with the leniency of a Boulder beat cop on 4/20
The University of Tennessee was hit with an $8 million fine, among other penalties, on Friday for “hundreds” of NCAA violations. Former coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff committed north of 200 infractions, and while pretty much all of them weren’t a huge deal individually, when you rattle them off i...

Sports are awesome, but the business is fascinating
Something about summer in America will always feel more like the true transition of the year as opposed to New Year’s Day. The holiday has so much pomp and circumstance that it’s difficult to take the time to truly reflect on the year, and it is also very cold in much of the country. During the summ...

How about some real stakes for the NBA In-Season Tourney?
If the NBA’s goal with its in-season tournament is to simply further pad its upcoming national television rights deals, that’s fine. A few more nationally televised contests will always increase the package, and the players on the floor for these games will compete. However, stars won’t change their...

Robert Kraft would be crazy to pick Mac Jones over Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick on the hot seat sounds like sci-fi fiction, but according to the Boston Globe, Robert Kraft might be losing his patience. There are truths, lies, and somewhere in between that sandwich are juicy, salacious rumors....