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Paul George hyperextends his left knee in Sixers' preseason win at Hawks

Sports / Basketball /

ATLANTA — Joel Embiid remains sidelined for the Philadelphia 76ers’ preseason.

Now, splashy newcomer Paul George is, too.

George, the perennial All-Star and the Sixers’ prime free-agency addition, hyperextended his left knee in the first half of Monday’s 104-89 exhibition victory over the Hawks at State Farm Arena, the team said. He ...Read more

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Warriors' Lindy Waters III's contributions to Native American community extend beyond court

Sports / Basketball /

SAN FRANCISCO – The body of Lindy Waters III serves to capture the multitudes of his culture, of his history.

On the right side of his chest is a portrait of Lindy Waters, his grandfather who was renowned for his preaching and an athlete in his own right. Waters’ right leg features a portrait of Olympian Jim Thorpe, a member of the Sac & ...Read more

Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Lakers' LeBron James: Team USA with Warriors' Steph Curry was 'everything and more'

Sports / Basketball /

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After being teammates this summer with Team USA, Lakers star forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors star guard Steph Curry will return to a more familiar setting on Tuesday night: being on opposite teams.

The Lakers’ preseason slate continues when they host the Warriors at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, marking ...Read more

Charles Fox/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Villanova star Eric Dixon suspended one game for participation in pre-draft event

Sports / Basketball /

When Eric Dixon participated in the Portsmouth Invitational in April, the plan at that time was for the Villanova forward to forgo his final season of college basketball eligibility and head to professional basketball.

Participation in the event, which is against NCAA guidelines, is meant for college seniors who are heading off to the ...Read more

Glen Stubbe/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

New Timberwolves Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle have emotional trip to New York

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — At shootaround Sunday morning before the Wolves’ 115-110 preseason loss to the Knicks, Julius Randle said rookie Rob Dillingham came up to him with some starry-eyed observations about the floor at Madison Square Garden.

“Rob came in and said these lights are different. This court is different,” Randle said. “I’m just like...Read more

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Joel Embiid and Paul George will not play 'many back-to-backs, if any' for the Sixers this season

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid has battled injuries for most of his NBA tenure, including the 2023-24 season when a knee injury sidelined him for two months and stunted the 76ers’ playoffs hopes. But the Sixers appear to have a wide-ranging plan to get Embiid to the finish line.

On Sunday, Nick Nurse announced Embiid would not play in the ...Read more

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America/TNS

Kings trade Jalen McDaniels to Spurs in possible precursor to a bigger deal

Sports / Basketball /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings made a trade Monday that could be a precursor to a bigger deal as they prepare for the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.

A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings are trading Jalen McDaniels, their 2031 second-round draft pick and cash considerations to the San Antonio Spurs, confirming a report from ESPN...Read more

Breanna Stewart vs. Napheesa Collier duel is star attraction in WNBA Finals

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier have known each other for nearly a decade, going back to when Stewart hosted a high school-age Collier on a recruiting visit at Connecticut.

They won a college championship together in 2016, and Olympic golds in 2016 and this year. They’re business partners in the new Unrivaled women’s three...Read more

Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America/TNS

Kansas ranked No. 1 in AP men's basketball poll ... again

Sports / Basketball /

Kansas men’s basketball will open the 2024-25 season as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 for a second straight season and fifth time in poll history.

The Jayhawks on Monday received 30 of a possible 60 first-place votes from an AP panel. Alabama came in second with 14 first-place votes, while UConn, Houston and Iowa State ...Read more

Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images North America/TNS

Doug Collins puts bow on wide-ranging basketball career with Hall of Fame enshrinement: 'I feel like I belong here'

Sports / Basketball /

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Doug Collins brought a basketball onstage, a physical representation of why they all had gathered Sunday night at Symphony Hall.

“Eight pounds of air,” Collins said, “and what it’s done for all of our lives.”

That is how Collins began a heartfelt, candid and entertaining speech to commemorate his enshrinement ...Read more

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America/TNS

Danny Emerman: Steph Curry isn't the best point guard in the NBA anymore. Should Warriors fans care?

Sports / Basketball /

The results are in: Steph Curry is no longer the best point guard in the NBA.

Both Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranked ahead of Curry according to the 30 general managers polled in the league’s annual survey.

The poll isn’t just a bunch of randos on social media or even reporter-class pundits. It’s the league’s top decision-...Read more

Dustin Satloff/Getty Images North America/TNS

Liberty's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton delivers clutch performance in WNBA Finals Game 2 win despite knee injury

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is not 100% healthy.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello acknowledged as much Sunday ahead of Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

But less than three months after she underwent right knee surgery, Laney-Hamilton came up big.

Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting in the Liberty’s 80-66 win over the ...Read more

Dustin Satloff/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jim Souhan: Lynx need more from Kayla McBride in Game 3 of WNBA Finals

Sports / Basketball /

Some years, Kayla McBride earns MVP votes.

Some years, she earns votes for no awards at all.

Some years, she is an All-Star. Other years, she doesn’t come close.

The veteran Minnesota Lynx guard is capable of being a skilled, gritty, two-way dynamo with a quick-release three-point shot.

She’s also capable of receding into the background ...Read more

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Sixers rule out center Joel Embiid for the remainder of the preseason

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Fans looking to see how Joel Embiid meshes with Paul George and Tyrese Maxey this preseason are out of luck.

The 76ers announced Sunday that the 2023 MVP will miss the team's remaining preseason games as he continues his cautious ramp-up to the season.

The Sixers (1-2) have only three games remaining this preseason. They face ...Read more

Dustin Satloff/Getty Images North America/TNS

Liberty bounce back with Game 2 win in WNBA Finals as stars step up vs. Lynx

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — The Liberty have life.

They have their stars to thank.

Bounce-back performances by Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu and a postseason-best effort by Betjinah Laney-Hamilton led the Liberty to an 80-66 win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, evening the best-of-five series at 1-1 after losing an all-time stunner...Read more

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Madness ushers in a new era of UK basketball. 'There is no place like Kentucky, baby!'

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mark Pope is 2-0 as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena.

And his team hasn’t played a game yet.

Nearly six months to the day after Pope made a triumphant return to the building he once called his basketball home, the new UK coach presided over his first Big Blue Madness.

That introductory press ...Read more

Evan Bernstein/Getty Images North America/TNS

Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns still adjusting to life in New York: 'Still in shock'

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — The Knicks are building something new, but like any major construction project, it takes time for all the pieces to fit.

The blockbuster trade sending Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns marked a seismic shift at Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks are still laying the ...Read more

Candice Ward/Getty Images North America/TNS

Who is #41? The winning way Quincy Olivari introduced himself to Lakers nation.

Sports / Basketball /

MILWAUKEE — All you can ask of someone like Lakers rookie Quincy Olivari is for him to be ready, for him to not run when the opportunity to do something great presents itself, for him to step into opportunity ready to capitalize.

That happened Thursday night in Milwaukee, as he ignited a 20-0 run to give the Lakers and JJ Redick their first ...Read more

David Purdy/Getty Images North America/TNS

Sixers lose to Timberwolves, fail to deliver fairy-tale ending in Nick Nurse's Iowa return

Sports / Basketball /

DES MOINES, Iowa — Before anyone became acquainted with Nick Nurse, he was a kid from Carroll, Iowa.

That little boy grew up to be an NBA champion coach. And on Friday, his 76ers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in front of a sold-out crowd that included family members and friends in the “triple digits.”

Nurse didn’t get his fairy-tale...Read more

Rick Pitino returns to Rupp Arena for Big Blue Madness. 'I am so happy to be back.'

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The past four days were filled with speculation that it might actually happen.

Even with that advance warning, when it actually did happen, the scene was surreal.

Toward the end of Big Blue Madness on Friday night — the first of the Mark Pope era — famous figures from UK basketball’s past poured onto the Rupp Arena ...Read more