1:07 PM ET SAN ANTONIO — In pondering retirement from the NBA, Manu Ginobili consulted with family and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, but perhaps 8-year-old son Nico uttered the most compelling case for a return for a 17th season. Ginobili recalled asking his three children whether “they were excited that Dad is not gonna be

1:03 AM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — The U.S. is another step closer to qualifying for the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Frank Mason III scored 16 points, and the U.S. beat Uruguay 114-57 on Friday night in the Americans’ first game of the second round of qualifying for next year’s World Cup. The Americans

6:57 PM ET LeBron James‘ production company has landed another deal with NBC for a TV show called “Hoops” about a female coach of a men’s college basketball team. The deal, reported by Deadline and Variety, includes “a script commitment plus penalty” for the drama from veteran screenwriter Jennifer Cecil. The show will be produced

6:54 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee officer involved in the stun gun arrest of Bucks player Sterling Brown has been fired because of social media posts mocking the incident, the city’s police chief said Thursday. Police Chief Alfonso Morales said the firing decision was not tied to anything Erik Andrade did when

2:47 PM ET BOSTON — Eleven months removed from his gruesome opening-night ankle injury, Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward said Thursday that he’s essentially at full health and has been playing 5-on-5 games with teammates in advance of training camp later this month. Hayward even slipped into his No. 20 uniform after Thursday’s news conference,

4:03 PM ET ESPN News Services Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird strangled a woman at least a dozen times over a four-hour period last Friday, prosecutors alleged at an arraignment hearing Thursday. Celtics guard Jabari Bird was arrested Friday for alleged assault, strangling and kidnapping, according to Boston police. According to prosecutors, the woman told

7:16 PM ET Ralph Lawler, the voice of the LA Clippers for 40 years, is retiring at the end of the upcoming season, he announced. “It’s hard to imagine life without the Clippers, but this is the time to do it,” Lawler told the Los Angeles Times. Lawler, best known for his “Bingo!” catchphrase, has

3:44 PM ET Russell Westbrook underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday, a procedure that likely will force him to miss the entire preseason and could sideline him for the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s first few regular-season games. The OKC assistant and new Hall of Famer might be the only person in the NBA who

2:30 PM ET ESPN News Services Dirk Nowitzki, measuring his words so as to not put undue pressure on Luka Doncic, says the Dallas Mavericks‘ rookie guard is in many ways a better player than Nowitzki was when he entered the NBA 20 years ago. Doncic, a EuroLeague MVP from Slovenia, is only eight months

10:17 AM ET The cream of the crop of American high school basketball will congregate in Colorado Springs from Oct. 5-7, as USA Basketball unveils its newly expanded Junior National Team minicamp in collaboration with the NBA, NCAA and National Basketball Players Association. A combined 87 freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors are slated to attend