Where do the Warriors go from here?

Their champion core is now aged and embarrassed. Their young players are not good enough to protract the dynasty. The Warriors are stuck in between stations.

Add the NBA’s new, increasingly punitive (some could argue vindictive) luxury tax rules and a standard of excellence that won’t be compromised (not...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Zion Williamson will not be in uniform when the New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Sacramento Kings in a play-in tournament elimination game Friday at Smoothie King Center.

Williamson has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. The Pelicans said an MRI showed Williamson is suffering from a strained left hamstring. He ...Read more

NEW YORK — In an explosive ruling, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter for life after an investigation found he gambled on multiple games and limited his on-court availability for betting purposes, the league said Wednesday.

The probe came after a March 20 game in which Porter played only three minutes after a gambler wagered ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — If there is one thing we learned from Kentucky hiring Mark Pope as its next basketball coach, it is this:

X or Twitter isn’t reality.

Sorry Elon Musk, it just isn’t.

I say this as someone who is on X a lot. More than I should be. The social media app can be entertaining and informative and addictive all at the same time...Read more

The Kings wanted payback a year after the Golden State Warriors handed them a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of an unforgettable first-round playoff series.

They shared that moment with their home crowd Tuesday evening in Sacramento, ending Golden State’s season with a resounding victory in the NBA play-in tournament.

Keegan Murray scored 32 ...Read more

NEW ORLEANS — D’Angelo Russell walked to the bench in the first quarter, goading the New Orleans crowd to jeer.

The Lakers guard had just gotten tangled up with Pelicans’ fan favorite and All-NBA pest Jose Alvarado, the two players both being called for technical fouls.

The crowd loved it.

As Alvarado led a New Orleans second-half ...Read more

LeBron James has scored more points than anyone in NBA history.

The four-time champion and 20-time All-Star has been named league MVP and Finals MVP four times each.

He also has finished second in defensive player of the year voting twice.

Apparently that last part really bugs the Lakers superstar.

"I mean, that's the only award that I don't...Read more

NEW YORK — Team USA has selected 11 of the 12 players who will represent the country on the men’s national basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics — and Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson was not on the list.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, ...Read more

ATLANTA — Trae Young needs to be extraordinary for the Hawks to advance to the playoffs. It will take more than only that, but if Young isn’t great, then those things won’t matter. Young is the one who can make the parts add up to a greater whole and deliver two upset road victories in the play-in tournament, starting Wednesday in Chicago....Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s final player link to retired coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame era is saying goodbye to the Blue Devils.

Jeremy Roach, a starter the last three seasons, plans to enter his name in the NBA draft pool and will also enter the NCAA transfer portal to play elsewhere if he returns for his fifth season of college ...Read more

CHICAGO — It was a little over a month ago that Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan compared the team to an episode of “Dateline,” the news magazine that focuses on true crime mysteries.

In your typical “Dateline” episode, the big reveal comes at the end after plenty of twists and turns in the investigation. Ditto your typical Bulls’ ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It’s the same old song when it comes to Kawhi Leonard and his availability for the Clippers when they meet the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

It remains uncertain — a mystery even — if Leonard will play in the first game of the best-of-seven series.

He missed ...Read more

NEW YORK — High-flying six-time All-Star Blake Griffin announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday.

Griffin, who played 14 seasons with four NBA teams, was picked first overall by the Clippers out of Oklahoma in 2009. He missed the 2009 campaign after suffering a season-ending knee injury in preseason. He returned the following season ...Read more

MIAMI — Championship banners and expectations are raised to commensurate heights, and so it is a compliment to the Miami Heat — to this franchise’s pedigree of accomplishment — to say this team enters the playoffs after an ordinary-to-disappointing regular season and without much hope of a deep run.

Hmm. Sounds familiar. We thought that...Read more

CHICAGO — In this year’s SEC tournament championship game, South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso and LSU forward Angel Reese battled it out in the paint. Two of the game’s biggest stars, they have a history of fierce, physical competition dating to high school.

On Monday night, as the Nos. 3 and 7 picks in a historic WNBA draft class, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Caitlin Clark is worth millions.

She will make a fraction of that as a WNBA rookie.

Clark, the Iowa phenomenon who set the NCAA basketball scoring record and helped the women's March Madness tournament reach all-time highs in TV ratings, was the No. 1 overall pick for the Indiana Fever in Monday's WNBA draft.

Her jersey sales ...Read more

NEW ORLEANS — The Lakers are going to have to defend against CJ MCollum, the Pelicans guard who races into three-point shots from all angles on the court.

The Lakers are going to have to defend against forward Brandon Ingram, their former first-round draft pick, who has become one of the toughest shot-makers in the NBA.

The Lakers are going...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Timberwolves players have said and will continue to say all the right things about their upcoming playoff matchup, in part because they have to and in part because the world's elite athletes do not thing like you and I do.

The best of the best always believe they can win, and they pay far less attention to data and external ...Read more

NEW YORK — Moments before introducing the newest crop of superstars into the WNBA, commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her plan to have 16 teams for the start of the 2028 season. The commissioner said she’s pretty confident in the league adding four more franchises, which would create 48 more roster spots around the league.

“We’re ...Read more