DENVER — Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook is expected to decline his $3.5 million player option and enter unrestricted free agency this offseason, a league source told The Denver Post on Friday, confirming a report by league insider Marc Stein.

Westbrook, 36, signed with Denver last summer at the veteran minimum for two years, with a player ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers are in the process of exploring every option available to secure an impact player in the upcoming NBA draft.

A source confirmed a HoopsHype report that the team reached out to the San Antonio Spurs about obtaining the second pick. This comes after league executives told The Philadelphia Inquirer they expected the ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky will not tank.

General manager Jeff Pagliocca made that clear in the wake of Courtney Vandersloot’s season-ending ACL tear Saturday against the Indiana Fever.

Things are dire in Chicago. At 2-6, the Sky have the third-worst record in the WNBA, ahead of only the Connecticut Sun (2-7) and Dallas Wings (1-9). And ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Matchups for the 2025-26 men’s basketball ACC-SEC Challenge have been set as the ACC seeks to improve on its dismal performance in last year’s event.

Duke will play at home for the second consecutive year in the event while North Carolina and N.C. State have road games and Wake Forest draws a home game.

Duke, coming off a...Read more

NEW YORK — The Knicks have entered the Kevin Durant sweepstakes — and there’s a chance they could win it outright.

The Durant in Phoenix era is coming to an end, and according to ESPN, the two sides have met “multiple times over the past week” to discuss trade scenarios following a disappointing season that ended without a playoff ...Read more

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown had surgery Wednesday to repair the knee injury that hindered him for the final several months of the 2024-25 Celtics season.

Brown underwent what the team called a “right knee arthroscopic debridement procedure” 3 1/2 weeks after Boston’s season ended with a second-round series loss to the New York Knicks. He “...Read more

NEW YORK — The Knicks have cast a wide net in their head coaching search following their Eastern Conference finals loss to the Indiana Pacers — a defeat that ultimately led to the decision to part ways with Tom Thibodeau after the franchise’s most successful season in a quartercentury.

As part of that process, league sources tell the New ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Drew Hirschman is unemployed and lives with his parents. But the recent college graduate is six wins away from a $270,761.40 payday.

Hirschman, 24, placed a $13 five-team futures parlay at DraftKings sportsbook before last year’s WNBA Finals. He needs the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Finals and the Edmonton Oilers to win...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — About eight years ago, Meleyen Tengben checked his Instagram direct messages and he saw a message from a freshman at Minnehaha Academy named Chet Holmgren.

Tengben is a barber who has started his own shop in Brooklyn Park (with a new location coming soon in Atlanta). He had been cutting the hair of Holmgren’s friend and ...Read more

MIAMI — Months after making a trade offer for Kevin Durant, the Heat again have interest in acquiring the 15-time All-Star forward, but only at the right price, a source with direct knowledge said Wednesday.

Confirmation of the Heat’s renewed interest in Durant came after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that the Heat and Suns ...Read more

NEW YORK — Can the Knicks really land Giannis Antetokounmpo?

It’s been the buzz around New York ever since a glimmer of hope cracked through the chaos in Milwaukee. With Damian Lillard sidelined indefinitely, the Bucks’ chances of contending for the 2026 title are fading fast. And with Jayson Tatum now expected to miss most, if not all, ...Read more

NEW YORK — The roar was audible — and quite atypical.

As the public address announcer introduced the starters for the visiting Chicago Sky, many within the Barclays Center crowd showered Angel Reese with the kinds of cheers normally reserved for the home team.

The warm welcome served as a testament to the immense starpower of Reese, one of...Read more

NEW YORK — The wins keep on rolling for the undefeated Liberty.

The defending champions continue to show no hangover after dominating the rebuilding Chicago Sky, 85-66, Tuesday night at Barclays Center.

And the win now puts New York 3-0 in Commissioner’s Cup standing with hopes of landing in the in-season title game for a third consecutive...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It screamed watershed moment, the forever luckless Clippers outfoxing the eternally exalted Lakers for the services of not one, but two superstars.

The news stunned the NBA: In a matter of hours, the Clippers had traded for Paul George and signed Kawhi Leonard.

Six years later, the deal for George is considered tragically ...Read more

The 2025 WNBA season was supposed to be a time of growth for Angel Reese.

After being selected No. 7 overall in the 2024 draft, the young star went on to represent the rebuilding Chicago Sky franchise in the WNBA All-Star Game and later got selected to the All-Rookie team.

With sights set on a push back into the postseason, the Sky brought in ...Read more

CHICAGO — Allie Quigley never meant to end her career with an Irish goodbye.

The longtime Chicago Sky star jokingly acknowledged her quiet exit in a Players Tribune column on Tuesday as she formally announced her retirement from the WNBA — nearly three years after playing her final game for the Sky in September 2022.

Quigley left the game ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The college basketball season is still five months away, but the preseason rankings are basically settled, and there’s a consensus regarding Kentucky’s place on the list.

Mark Pope’s Wildcats are viewed as a top-10ish team nationally and a legitimate Final Four contender, a group with a realistic shot at competing for a...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — For Philadelphia, whose only FBS football program is forever on life support, the biggest news from the House v. NCAA settlement appears to be that Big East member Villanova belongs to the conference whose men’s basketball programs are expected to have the most money at their disposal of any conference.

The settlement means ...Read more