MIAMI — To call this vindication would be way too simplistic, considering how it ended for his own team.

So leave to others whether Miami Heat president Pat Riley got his joy back on Wednesday night when Jimmy Butler was eliminated from the playoffs with his Golden State Warriors.

And yet, as with almost everything in the NBA, ultimate ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Like the rest of his Warriors teammates, Jonathan Kuminga sat down with general manager Mike Dunleavy and coach Steve Kerr on Thursday in the wake of their elimination from the NBA playoffs and talked about where he fit on their roster heading into the summer.

These exit interviews are typically routine. But Kuminga’s ...Read more

DENVER — Jamal Murray interrupted himself.

Running on autopilot, he had tripped over his words. The cost of a confident instinct. “It sucks,” he was saying after the Nuggets lost a painful Game 5 in Oklahoma City, pushing them to the brink of elimination. “It’s sports, man. But the greatest thing is, in a day and a half, we get to ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s the question that will keep Stephen Curry up at night this summer.

“It’s the great ‘What if?’ ” Curry pondered Thursday morning inside the Warriors’ home arena, where the only signs of life were the WNBA’s Valkyries getting ready for their season opener. The Warriors’ season came to an end Wednesday ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings are too smart to publicly announce it, but one playoff berth altered the direction of this franchise in a way that it can only guess what might have happened.

By making the playoffs in ‘23, which ended in a semifinals sweep, it kicked them out of the WNBA’s lottery in 2024, and the chance to pick ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — I don’t know how good Kentucky basketball will be next season. Neither do you. Neither do the so-called experts churning out their way-too-early Top 25 rankings for the 2025-26 campaign, which doesn’t officially begin for another six months.

ESPN has Kentucky at No. 10 in its latest rankings. “Kentucky is absolutely ...Read more

Kelsey Plum gets it.

Ideally, the management of her new team will get it as well.

Plum, 30, is a former No. 1 draft pick, a three-time All-Star, a two-time WNBA champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist (in 3-on-3 competition in 2021 in Tokyo and with the full U.S. women’s team in 2024 in Paris) and the former NCAA career scoring leader ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — There are moments in the life cycle of every NBA franchise when courage must overcome comfort and when boldness must break the bonds of the slow, careful grind of development.

For the Orlando Magic, that moment may be now.

The Magic, fresh off another first-round exit in the postseason and still in search of playoff relevance...Read more

For the first time in the Anthony Edwards era, the Timberwolves had an opportunity to close out a playoff series in Target Center.

The pressure and the emotion of the moment in games like this can weigh on a team, especially one that hasn’t been in this position before. But despite some hairy moments in the fourth quarter, the Wolves allowed ...Read more

BOSTON — Forty-eight hours after losing their centerpiece superstar to a potentially career-altering Achilles injury, the Celtics delivered an emphatic message to the New York Knicks:

Even without Jayson Tatum, they’re still the defending champs. And they’re not dead yet.

Facing elimination on its home floor, Boston steamrolled the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mere months ago, it would have been difficult to envision the Indiana Pacers in this position.

When the calendar turned to 2025, the Pacers were just 16-18 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Tyrese Haliburton had endured an uneven start to the season.

Aaron Nesmith was two months into a left ankle sprain that ...Read more

Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry has been cleared for light on-court workouts in his recovery from a Grade 1 hamstring strain during the team’s series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The team announced his updated status after re-evaluating him Wednesday morning. Curry partook in low-speed shooting drills while also rebounding for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS – Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will have to pay a hefty fine for gambling-related comments made during Game 3 of the team’s second-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The NBA announced it is fining Green $50,000 after he was seen telling teammates during a television broadcast that the point spread ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Former UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen has been waived by the Golden State Valkyries, the team announced Wednesday.

The move was made as WNBA teams look to trim their rosters down to 12 for the start of the season. Golden State also waived four other players: Laeticia Amihere, Chloe Bibby, Elissa Cunane and Migna Touré. They had ...Read more

ATLANTA — I have always believed NBA teams should go all-in to acquire superstar players in those rare instances when they become available. Send away good players for an all-time great player. Sacrifice the potential of future draft picks for the certainty of getting an MVP-level player on the roster now.

That’s where I’m at with the ...Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY — Deep in tornado alley, Lu Dort brought the Thunder to Denver’s season.

The Nuggets haven’t quite been struck by lightning yet, but they are on the brink of elimination after a 112-105 Game 5 loss Tuesday in Oklahoma City, where Dort’s 3-point barrage ignited a comeback by the top-seeded hosts. Denver led by as many as 12...Read more

Julius Randle had just scored 31 points, his career high in the playoffs.

He was a game removed from his first postseason triple-double.

After his team's Game 4 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, Randle was asked about how he's been able to finally shake his reputation as a player who fades during the playoffs. Much of the ...Read more

CHICAGO — With the draft order now set for the top 14 picks, the NBA turned its attention toward the court at Wintrust Arena on Tuesday to begin analyzing the measurements and skill sets of the 2025 prospects.

Cooper Flagg headlined yet another day of predraft festivities, but the first day of the combine also offered an opportunity for non-...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — This is that time of year for bitter sweetness. Graduation ceremonies and parties are everywhere, with their hugs, tears, excitement, pride and vows of forever friendship when, deep down, we know we are saying goodbye.

There may be a lot of that around the Mohegan Sun Arena this summer. The rapid, recent growth of the WNBA...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Connecticut Sun spent much of the last year emphatically denying that Mohegan Tribe ownership group was considering selling the franchise, but that narrative changed dramatically on Monday when it was reported that the team’s owners hired investment bank Allen & Company to explore a sale.

Team president Jennifer ...Read more