NEW YORK — Even in Brooklyn, there was a loud crowd pop when LeBron James was introduced as part of the 76ers starting lineup. For the first time, James and the rest of the Sixers’ starting five — Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe — took the floor together.

While it’s only preseason, Thursday’s 114-108 loss to...Read more

NEW YORK — From 2021 through last season, the Knicks boasted an 18-2 record against their Eastern Conference counterpart Washington Wizards.

Thursday’s preseason meeting at Madison Square Garden painted a far different picture: The Wizards are no longer the laughingstock dwelling at the bottom of the NBA standings.

And games against them ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — It still doesn’t get old for A’ja Wilson. She’s done this five times now, further cementing herself as the greatest of all time.

The emotions are the same, if not a little more.

“They’ve always been special, but this one here, I cried a little bit harder,” she said.

The Las Vegas Aces’ superstar, with a diamond-...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Kristaps Porzingis has yet to be seen around the Warriors’ facilities, but the absence of his 7-foot-3 frame looms large as the regular season creeps ever closer.

Head coach Steve Kerr said after Thursday’s practice that he has texted Porzingis and that the Latvian big man “seems to be doing OK,” but that Kerr has no ...Read more

One of the perks of being a three-time champion is that you can say whatever arrogant things you want, and the basketball world will simply nod along.

When Aces coach Becky Hammon waved off a Game 1 beatdown by saying that her team played like “ass” and only lost by double digits, the basketball world bought the spin.

When she said that ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — For the third season in a row, a Lynx player finished as MVP runner-up to A’ja Wilson.

The WNBA announced Thursday that the Las Vegas Aces center had won her third consecutive Most Valuable Player award, extending her record-setting run to five MVPs in seven seasons.

Lynx point guard Olivia Miles, the unanimous selection for ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson has won her fifth WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, the league announced Thursday.

The Aces made the announcement official at a Thursday press conference.

It’s the third consecutive year Wilson has earned the honor and fourth in five years. No other player has won more than three total.

Wilson ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ask any player about their favorite or funniest publishable memory with a teammate and they often give similar answers.

A beach trip, golf outings, bowling or playing video games together.

Ven-Allen Lubin took a different approach Wednesday at the ACC Tipoff in Charlotte when asked about his new sophomore teammate Preston ...Read more

This is the spot the Liberty didn’t want to be in.

No team in WNBA history has come back from an 0-2 hole to win a best-of-five series.

Breanna Stewart played like she was well aware of that sobering fact. Still, her heroics in the first half weren't enough to avoid that dreaded hole.

They did, however, set up an opportunity for an unlikely...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The five Buss siblings who voted to sell the family's shares of the Lakers filed their formal opposition to team governor Jeanie Buss' attempts to block the sale on Wednesday, calling Jeanie's petition "legally and factually baseless" in a statement provided to The Los Angeles Times.

"While discussions among the siblings ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — From the first day of practice, the 76ers talked about how such a star-studded group was going to generate outside noise that the team has to put up with throughout the course of the season.

It has not taken long for that to boil up, with one of the first instances coming during Monday’s preseason win over the New York Knicks...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — You catch more teammates with honey than with vinegar. That’s how the saying goes, right?

For Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, that’s the plan.

The noted health-food advocate harvests honey from bees on his property, a hobby he has had for about five years. He has endured stings, including in the face. But the pain is worth...Read more

MIAMI — After years of looking inferior to its Western brethren, the NBA’s Eastern Conference is enjoying a renaissance, galvanized by a steady influx of talent and the relocation of star players to new teams.

The Knicks’ championship generally extinguished perceptions that the West had the two best teams (the Thunder and Spurs). But ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — It was one thing to hear Wolves players and head coach Chris Finch talk for the past week about good vibes that have permeated the offseason and training camp, as well as big plans for pushing the ball up and down the court with a more dynamic pace-based offense.

Seeing was believing in Monday’s preseason opener, a 116-97 win ...Read more

Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham caused a stir this summer by speaking out against transgender women participating in women's sports.

Now she seems to have expanded her message beyond sports — without saying a word.

On Saturday, Cunningham appeared at her alma mater Missouri's homecoming football game wearing a hat that read, "No Cis ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Olivia Miles didn’t know where she’d land in the 2026 WNBA draft. But she knew how she wanted to present herself. So, in the leadup to her big night, she reached out to an old friend: Meg Lee, former associate director of brand development and social media at Notre Dame.

“Bro, come work with me. Can you shoot my draft ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns said he and the Knicks remain separated in discussions regarding a contract extension to keep him in New York beyond this season.

“Simply put, I want to do something that can keep the team together and that can work with the Knicks, but also values me,” Towns said after morning shootaround...Read more

DENVER — Motivation arrived in the mail for Alpha Diallo. He was home in New York City for the summer, trying to figure out his next move. Despite a successful first season of professional basketball, he was a man without a team.

“I got a little check,” he told The Denver Post, “for a buyout from a team that I never played for. Never ...Read more