NEW YORK — Moments before introducing the newest crop of superstars into the WNBA, commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her plan to have 16 teams for the start of the 2028 season. The commissioner said she’s pretty confident in the league adding four more franchises, which would create 48 more roster spots around the league.

“We’re ...Read more

For the first time in franchise history, the Sparks were fortunate to have two of the top four picks in the WNBA draft, and the team chose Stanford center Cameron Brink at No. 2, then University of Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson at No. 4 on Monday evening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Brink was selected Pac-12 player of the year after ...Read more

The Chicago Sky ushered in a new era for the franchise Monday, selecting a pair of national champion frontcourt stars in the first seven picks of the WNBA draft.

The Sky took South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso with the No. 3 pick and added LSU forward Angel Reese at No. 7. The 6-foot-7 Cardoso is fresh off a star-making performance in the ...Read more

The Chicago Sky selected South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso with the No. 3 pick in the WNBA draft, the next step in a new era for the franchise.

Few players bring the dominant presence in the paint of Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 Brazilian native. Cardoso averaged 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in her first year as the primary option for the national ...Read more

Zvonimir Ivisic is the first Kentucky basketball player to follow former UK head coach John Calipari to Arkansas.

On Monday night, Ivisic committed to Calipari and the Razorbacks out of the NCAA transfer portal. Ivisic, a 7-foot-2 player from Croatia, entered his name into the portal Saturday, one day before Kentucky formally introduced new ...Read more

The No. 1 overall selection in this year’s WNBA Draft was never in doubt. On Monday night, it became official.

The Indiana Fever selected sharp-shooting Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark with the first pick in Monday night’s draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music a little over a week after Clark’s record-setting collegiate career ended with a ...Read more

Former five-star Kentucky men’s basketball recruit Aaron Bradshaw has a new college home after spending one season in Lexington.

On Monday afternoon, Bradshaw — who averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game last season at Kentucky — committed to play at Ohio State for Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler.

Bradshaw committed to the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Nurse shied away from saying it was definitive. Instead, he uttered the word hopeful.

The 76ers coach said he’s hopeful Joel Embiid will play against the Miami Heat in Wednesday’s NBA Play-In Tournament.

“Yeah, hopefully,” he said. “Not sure on anybody, but I’m hopeful.”

After Embiid tweaked his left knee ...Read more

No Kawhi Leonard.

No Paul George.

No James Harden.

No way of helping or hurting their playoff status.

Already locked into the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Clippers gave their stars the day off during the regular-season finale against the Houston Rockets on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

But a former Clipper gave the fans ...Read more

As expected, D.J. Wagner is likely to be a one-and-done player at the University of Kentucky.

Wagner — the Wildcats’ starting point guard during the 2023-24 season — jumped into the transfer portal Monday morning, less than 24 hours after Mark Pope was introduced as UK’s new men’s basketball coach and nearly a week removed from John ...Read more

NEW YORK — DeMar DeRozan got what he wanted — away from OG Anunoby.

It’s overtime of the regular-season finale at Madison Square Garden — a game with zero implications for a Play-In Tournament-bound Chicago Bulls team and direct consequences for the East’s No. 2-seeded Knicks — and DeRozan, the NBA’s reigning Mr. Clutch, has the ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings didn’t encounter much resistance in their regular-season finale against the injury depleted Portland Trail Blazers, but their path to the playoffs won’t be so easy.

De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Kings to a 121-82 victory over the Blazers on Sunday before a sellout crowd at ...Read more

NEW ORLEANS — Your eyes would tell you quickly.

The Lakers, at their very best this season, have received the kind of all-around dominance from L eBron James that made him the best player in the league — a surefire ticket to the end when winning mattered most.

But with 39 years on his bones and 21 seasons worth of mileage on his legs, ...Read more

To close their worst season in franchise history, the Detroit Pistons turned in a performance so forgettable that it might actually be hard to forget.

One game after their biggest margin of victory this year — and against a Spurs team that was tied for the worst record in the West and playing without Rookie of the Year front-runner Victor ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors sat both Steph Curry and Draymond Green, and still beat the lottery-bound Utah Jazz.

Klay Thompson dropped 19 in the first half and 25 in 20 minutes overall. The Warriors limited his and the other veterans’ minutes and let their deep bench ride in the second half.

No one in the Warriors’ playoff rotation ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard sat on the Clippers bench Sunday once again dressed in a sweatsuit, right next to Paul George, who was next to James Harden, the team’s three stars not playing in the final regular-season game before the team begins the playoffs.

The big mystery surrounds Leonard and his status for the Clippers’ first-round ...Read more

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As he so often does, Michael Malone captured the feeling of the entire Nuggets fanbase.

“I’m kind of all over the place right now,” he said at noon MT, while countless fans were surely talking themselves through all the NBA playoff scenarios one last time before Game 82.

Malone was acutely aware of the most likely ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The worst-case scenario played out for the Timberwolves on Sunday.

Entering a day when they could have moved up to the No. 1 seed with some help, or guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed with a victory, the Wolves fell to the Suns 125-106 to end the regular season, dropping to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

To make ...Read more

MIAMI — The Miami Heat needed a win and some help on the final day of the regular season to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament.

The Heat got the win, cruising to a 118-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors (25-57) on Sunday afternoon at Kaseya Center to close the regular season at 46-36.

But the Heat didn’t get the help it needed, as the ...Read more

NEW YORK — What better way to end the regular season than to treat the season finale like Game 7 of a playoff series?

While all other Eastern Conference games on the last day of the calendar resulted in blowout decisions, a Chicago Bulls team with nothing to gain and a Knicks team with something to lose needed an extra period to settle the ...Read more