7:15 AM ET The good news for the Los Angeles Lakers is they are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the first time they’ve earned pole position in a decade and an honorable accomplishment after a traumatic season. The bad news is they appear to have won the least valuable No. 1

5:56 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Sixers coach Brett Brown said Sunday afternoon that he’s contemplating inserting rookie wing Matisse Thybulle into the starting lineup for Game 1 Monday night. “We’re talking a

Aug 15, 2020 Editor’s note: This story was originally published June 9, but has been updated with the latest news and vacancies. The NBA’s annual coaching carousel is once again firing up. On Friday, the Chicago Bulls parted with coach Jim Boylen after two seasons, then Saturday, the New Orleans Pelicans moved on from Alvin

6:03 PM ET Attention is the utmost compliment in public life, and Damian Lillard has received plenty of it over the past week. In his Portland Trail Blazers‘ win-or-go-home squeaker Thursday night, the Brooklyn Nets threw two bodies at Lillard before he even crossed half court. It seemed the most sensible strategy after Lillard drained

Aug 14, 2020 After 66 scrimmages, 88 seeding games, one Play-In — and plenty of fishing — the matchups for the 2020 NBA playoffs are finally set. And in an unprecedented atmosphere that could negate the benefits of home-court advantage, we could be in for another wild two months inside Disney’s ESPN Wide World of

6:38 PM ET A day after finishing the NBA seeding round 3-5 and missing the postseason for the 14th straight year as a franchise, Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac stepped down, the team announced Friday. Joe Dumars, the 2002-03 NBA Executive of the Year with the Detroit Pistons, has been named interim executive vice

11:29 PM ET NBA Insiders Saturday’s play-in game (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC) between the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies is the rare NBA win-or-go-home contest, at least for the Grizzlies. If Memphis wins on Saturday, the rematch is Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), with the winner advancing to the NBA playoffs to face the

4:24 PM ET Associated Press LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Mo Bamba will not play for the Orlando Magic in this season’s playoffs after leaving the bubble for testing related to his previous bout with coronavirus, the team announced Friday. Bamba was diagnosed with COVID-19 on June 11. The 22-year-old appeared in 62 games with

10:38 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Puff Daddy and Mase topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts with their smash song “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” the last time the San Antonio Spurs missed the NBA playoffs. That’s how long it’s been — way back in the 1996-97 season. The final buzzer sounded Thursday night with the

6:47 PM ET The Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies will face off in the play-in round Saturday night. The way in which they went about it on Thursday were wildly different. The Grizzlies punched their ticket to the play-in with a big win over a Milwaukee Bucks team playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo. The