CHICAGO — General manager Jeff Pagliocca isn’t leaving the Chicago Sky’s future success up to lottery luck.

The Sky don’t own their first-round pick in the next two drafts thanks to separate deals with the Washington Mystics. Pagliocca included a pick swap in 2027 as part of last year’s trade for Ariel Atkins, a deal that also ...Read more

DETROIT — You can learn from watching, which is something Cade Cunningham was forced to do this spring, as the Pistons’ All-Star leader sat for nearly three weeks recovering from a partially collapsed lung he suffered in a game in mid-March.

But what you learn from watching often just reinforces what you already know. And in Cunningham’s ...Read more

SEATTLE — For all the excitement and buzz that’s been generated about the possibility of NBA expansion, it remains just that — a possibility. And while most of the conversation has focused on the potential of the SuperSonics returning, there is a world where all the talk falls flat and the NBA eventually comes back with the decision not to...Read more

PHOENIX – For a brief moment at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Friday, the Golden State Warriors looked like they would do it again.

They rallied from an 18-point first-quarter deficit to trail by just five at halftime against the Suns in the win-or-go-home play-in game.

When the Suns went back up by 16 after NorCal native Jalen Green...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and multiple players made it clear at shootaround Friday morning that Orlando wanted to set a physical tone from the jump in a win-or-go-home NBA play-in game against the Hornets inside Kia Center.

Facing elimination, the Magic steamrolled the Hornets and clinched their spot in the NBA playoffs for ...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Connecticut Sun general manager Morgan Tuck still remembers the first time she stepped on the court again All-Star center Brittney Griner during Tuck’s freshman season at UConn.

The Huskies would go on to win a national championship in 2012-13, but Griner’s Baylor squad delivered UConn its only nonconference loss of ...Read more

SEATTLE — Well, queer women around the world will be mourning Friday night.

This will forever be one of the moments where we ask each other, “Where were you on Friday, April 17, 2026, when Seattle sports power couple — hell, American culture power couple! — Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe announced via Instagram that they were breaking up?

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The elephant in the room for the Lakers as they enter the playoffs has been, and will continue to be, the status of their starting backcourt, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Both are out because of injuries — Doncic with a grade 2 left hamstring strain and Reaves with a grade 2 left oblique strain — and neither is expected to...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Nike has been refused a trademark for Bronny James' "b9" logo that appears on shoes have been worn in games by the second-year Lakers player and are being sold by the sports apparel giant.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office notified Nike of its decision with a letter of refusal earlier this week, citing "likelihood of ...Read more

SEATTLE — Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird have split up after nearly 10 years together, the pair announced Friday.

The Seattle sports power couple made a joint decision to separate “with so much love, respect, and care for each other,” according to an Instagram post.

“We are so grateful to this incredible community that has held us up, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The turn this Lakers' season took, it should go down as one of the franchise's great what-ifs, coulda-woulda-beens, we'll-never-knows …

Shared regret for a legion of Lakers fans who were, for the full 15-2 month of March, vibing with their team, screaming excitedly like 6-year-olds and riding hard on the MVP campaign trail for...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — Dan Hurley seemed bemused by the idea of a “season wrap-up” media availability. He mentioned it over and over on Tuesday, as state reporters gathered in the Werth Center, coincidently as a potential transfer was on the way to visit.

“You (start) with the mindset, ‘this is horrible, this is chaotic, this sport is out of...Read more

DALLAS — When you type in “Paige Bueckers” on Google, the second prompt is the word “Girlfriend.”

According to TikTok, the answer is Azzi Fudd, and they “officially confirmed their relationship, which has been widely celebrated and documented on social media, including matching jewelry and public support during events like the WNBA ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey was looking downright professorial. Maybe he was feeling it, too. Wearing black-framed glasses and a tasteful diamond necklace that classed up a plain T-shirt, the 76ers’ 25-year-old guard laughed as he looked back on how fast the years had gone. The last time Maxey prepared for a playoff series in Boston, he did ...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets’ alphabet soup TV playoff schedule is an ABCDEFU to fans.

When it popped up on social media on Tuesday night, there was a collective groan. At a time when the league should be uniting its audience, it traffics in fragmentation and causes frustration.

Want to fully appreciate Nikola Jokic’s pursuit of a second ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Julius Randle might have found a unique way to defend Denver center Nikola Jokic that the Timberwolves might not have tried.

“Probably gotta call God and talk to him for a little bit and ask him for a few favors,” Randle said.

Divine intervention is one tactic the Wolves haven’t called on over the years against the three-...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Good.

This is how it should be.

This is what the Orlando Magic deserve.

A single game. Forty-eight minutes. One night where everything is on the line and nothing is guaranteed. A win-or-go-home showdown Friday night at Kia Center with their entire season — and maybe more — teetering in the balance.

This is what they’...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Bright lights, big stage, same LeBron.

Unmoved by postseason pressure, superstar LeBron James said he doesn't plan to change his preparation ahead of the Lakers' playoff opener against the Houston Rockets on Saturday. Approaching his record-tying 19th postseason appearance, James has reason to believe in his well-established ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In the 13th game of the 2017 Eagles season, Carson Wentz, the team’s best player, blew out his knee in Los Angeles. At the end of that game the Birds were 11-2, and after Wentz’s backup won the next two games, they cruised into the playoffs with the No. 1 seed. From there, they won the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

Wentz�...Read more

Azzi Fudd touched down in Texas for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, just two days after going No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft to the Dallas Wings, but the UConn women’s basketball star had already secured cowboy boots in time for her introductory press conference Thursday.

Fudd arrived wearing monochrome black boots to complement her ...Read more