LEXINGTON, Ky. — Rick Pitino raised eyebrows last week with comments about the status of traditional blue blood programs in the current landscape of men’s college basketball.

Essentially, Pitino suggested the “blue bloods” are almost as passé as compact discs.

“The blue bloods no longer control basketball any longer,” the St. John...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Draymond Green has made a Hall of Fame career out of playing taller than his 6-foot-7 frame for the Warriors.

Reserve teammate Nate Williams may stand just 6-5, but he has carved out a spot in the NBA by playing with a similar level of verve and energy.

Their heart, that desire, collective fearlessness was never in doubt on ...Read more

The Nuggets had already clinched an eighth consecutive playoff berth by the time they tipped off Wednesday in Utah, thanks to Phoenix’s latest loss. That means the results from now on are all about seeding in the Western Conference bracket, where they’ll finish somewhere between third and sixth.

They remained in fourth with a 130-117 ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The long-awaited return of Franz Wagner provided the Magic with a boost both emotionally and on the court Wednesday night, but it wasn’t nearly enough in a 130-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back at Kia Center after taking down the Suns less than 24 hours earlier, the Magic were ...Read more

The Celtics’ superstar duo showed out Wednesday night in Miami.

Jayson Tatum recorded his first triple-double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals) since his return from Achilles surgery less than a month earlier, and Jaylen Brown poured in 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting as Boston blew out the Heat, 147-129, at the Kaseya Center.

...Read more

With one second left in the third quarter of Wednesday’s road matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Knicks ran an after-timeout (ATO) inbounds play that in many ways encapsulated their entire season under coach Mike Brown: Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns cut to the same place outside the 3-point line, Tyler Kolek was a second late ...Read more

Tom Izzo has been a Michigan State Spartan his entire head coaching career, but a year ago he nearly went pro.

On the Dan Patrick Show, Izzo said Wednesday that he “talked seriously” about taking a job as head coach for the Phoenix Suns last season, the same NBA team owned by former player and MSU donor Mat Ishbia. He turned it down and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic, with the eyes of five defenders fixed on him in the paint, faked a lob pass. He threatened to wrap a pass around Cleveland center Thomas Bryant's back. Instead, the Lakers superstar pulled up straight over the top of Bryant's outstretched arm, dropping a fadeaway jumper softly through the net.

Doncic smiled toward ...Read more

HOUSTON — David Mirković could feel himself on the edge of tears as Illinois began to inch away from Iowa in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on Saturday night.

He fought it until the final moments, when Keaton Wagler dribbled slowly down the court, raising his right arm up and down to the cheers of the orange-clad fans at the Toyota Center. ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — Tarris Reed Jr. needed the fire and intensity that comes with playing for a coach like Dan Hurley and a program like UConn.

And the Huskies, never more than during this NCAA Tournament run, needed Tarris Reed Jr. at his best.

The elephant in the room — addressed numerous times down the stretch of this season — was that ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Bill Self, head men’s basketball coach at Kansas the past 23 seasons and a Class of 2017 inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has decided to return to KU for a 24th season in 2026-27.

Self who led KU to a pair of NCAA titles (2008, 2022), four Final Fours (2008, 2012, 2018, 2022), 17 Big 12 regular-...Read more

The Michigan basketball team’s Final Four sendoff in Ann Arbor on Wednesday was briefly delayed due to a medical issue.

Shortly after the team boarded the bus to travel to Indianapolis, point guard Elliot Cadeau was removed and transported on a gurney to a nearby ambulance after he suffered an apparent allergic reaction.

“Before the team ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The tests kept coming in the month of March for the Los Angeles Lakers and they responded with the same resounding answer: We're ready.

Yet, even though the Lakers posted a 15-2 record last month, even though they beat some of the best teams in the NBA, they still have another big test on the horizon that will further show ...Read more

MIAMI — The final week of Terry Rozier’s tenure is now at hand, with the Miami Heat within the next week having to waive the veteran guard in order to be able to sign a roster replacement, a replacement likely to be one of the team’s three current two-way players being upgraded to a standard contract.

While players can be signed until the...Read more

PHOENIX — Mark Davis doesn’t want to discuss his interest in a Las Vegas expansion team in the NBA just yet.

He’d rather relish the success he’s seen with the three-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.

In an interview with the Review-Journal during NFL meetings at the Arizona Biltmore resort, the Aces and Las Vegas Raiders majority owner...Read more

WASHINGTON — Joel Embiid will miss the 76ers’ game at the Wizards on Wednesday with an illness, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey confirmed to The Philadelphia Inquirer Wednesday afternoon.

Morey’s confirmation when reached by The Inquirer came after Embiid took to social media to refute the team’s official designation that...Read more

CHICAGO — Workers were tearing down the court at the near-empty United Center late Sunday afternoon after Michigan’s win over Tennessee when a roar erupted from the nearby media workroom.

It was the same sound heard in bars, restaurants and living rooms across America after UConn freshman Braylon Mullins sank the game-winning 3-pointer with...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — First, let’s acknowledge, and applaud, the obvious:

Hiring Chris Mack as the men’s basketball coach at USF is a potential game-changer.

And it’s not just because he arrives with as many NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach — that would be nine — as the previous seven USF basketball hires had combined.

(...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic, with the eyes of five defenders fixed on him in the paint, faked a lob pass. He threatened to wrap a pass around Cleveland center Thomas Bryant’s back. Instead, the Lakers superstar pulled up straight over the top of Bryant’s outstretched arm, dropping a fadeaway jumper softly through the net.

Doncic smiled ...Read more

Forget about the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed. The Knicks are closer to falling out of the East’s top-three than they are to catching the Boston Celtics — or the top-seeded Detroit Pistons — in the standings.

And that’s bad news, because the way this team is playing in the tail end of a season littered with championship ...Read more