5:25 PM ET New Orleans Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor has a sprained right ankle and is expected to miss one to two weeks, the team said Tuesday. Okafor left Sunday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bulls late in the fourth quarter with the injury. He underwent an MRI on Monday that confirmed the nature of

10:00 AM ET In the moments after the Game 1 loss in the NBA Finals in May, a combination of rage, frustration and disappointment led LeBron James to explode in the visitors’ locker room in Oakland and punch a whiteboard, cracking a bone in his hand. James’ teammates and coaches had never seen James quite

11:02 PM ET LaMelo Ball was ejected from a game in Lithuania on Monday after sparking a brawl. Ball, the youngest brother of Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, was playing for a “USA” team made up of players from the Junior Basketball Association — the league started by his father, LaVar Ball — on

5:38 PM ET Brady HendersonESPN Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen says he’s recently learned that the non-Hodgkin lymphoma he was treated for in 2009 has returned. The 65-year-old Allen shared the news Monday, writing that his team of doctors has started treatment and that he plans on fighting the disease aggressively.

2:47 AM ET SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Lakers ‘ much-anticipated first preseason game opened with a bang as JaVale McGee tapped the opening tip toward LeBron James, who watched Rajon Rondo take the ball and throw an alley-oop to a twisting McGee from near halfcourt for the Lakers’ first points. The start to

11:52 PM ET SAN DIEGO — LeBron James‘ first game with his third franchise opened up with a pair of highlight-worthy plays in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ preseason debut against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. True to form, James’ first tally in the stat book as a Laker was an assist off a no-look, wraparound

4:58 PM ET TEMECULA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers have repeatedly praised Rajon Rondo for the level of communication he’s brought to training camp. At Sunday’s shootaround ahead of the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets, Rondo offered up praise of his own — rather than instruction — for L.A. forward Brandon Ingram.

2:31 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Tom Thibodeau’s summer from hell started in the back of a gym in Las Vegas. Long before Jimmy Butler demanded a trade from the Timberwolves, Thibodeau stood in a corner of the Cox Pavilion at the Vegas Summer League in mid-July answering questions from a small group of reporters.

12:23 AM ET DALLAS — Luka Doncic‘s performance in his preseason debut provided some glimpses of the unique skill that persuaded the Dallas Mavericks to trade up to draft the European teen star. Doncic, the No. 3 pick in the draft, scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 30 minutes during a 116-63 victory Saturday

5:20 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After just a couple of practices together, LeBron James says Lonzo Ball looks like someone who did not miss most of the summer due to a knee injury. “I didn’t know he was gonna be full go so fast,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers practice on