PHILADELPHIA — There were a few firsts at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday night.

Jaylen Brown faced his former team for the first time, even if most of the Boston Celtics starters, including Jayson Tatum, didn’t make the trip.

Friday was also the first time the home crowd got to hear the Sixers’ starting lineup with Brown and LeBron James...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. — On the eve of the biggest game of most of their lives, the Golden State Valkyries were calm, confident and a little bit restless.

The Valkyries have waited a week to start the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream after sweeping the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinal round. Now well-rested and raring to go, Golden State is ...Read more

Yes, defense wins championships.

But what happens when both teams have a championship-caliber defense?

That, folks, is what we call a double-negative, so we have to get back to basics:

Buckets.

Defense gets you to the dance. Offense will pay for the parade.

Don’t kid yourself about why the Golden State Valkyries are playing for a WNBA ...Read more

NEW YORK — Long before Mikel Brown Jr. pulled up from 28 feet in his preseason debut, Day’Ron Sharpe saw him get his first dunk.

Brown was 5-foot-3, maybe 5-foot-4, when Sharpe began following him in eighth grade. He watched the guard grow, score 40 points at Louisville and eventually become his Nets teammate.

“I already knew. I’ve ...Read more

NEW YORK — The NBA is banning some bets this season, including parlays on a player’s "under" statistics, the bet that turned up in the Jontay Porter and Terry Rozier cases.

The ban is in a league memo sent to sportsbooks Friday, ESPN reported.

“There’s a balance between ensuring that we are removing problematic bet types but also ...Read more

SEATTLE — NBA commissioner Adam Silver indicated that expansion in Seattle was “no longer a lock” at the board of governors meeting last month, according to a report from ESPN on Friday.

The report, which attributed the information to “multiple ownership sources,” comes as the NBA’s self-imposed end of year deadline ticks closer.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Lawyers for Janie and Joey Buss, two of the co-trustees of the Buss Family Trust that owns part of the Lakers, filed a response to Jeanie Buss' petition Friday with intention to move forward with the proposed sale of the family's remaining shares of the team.

While Jeanie is trying to block her five siblings from selling the ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Tom Izzo appreciates a good four-letter word as much as the next coach, if not more.

And though the Hall of Famer isn’t always discerning about when and where he uses them — ask any of Izzo’s players, or even some of his favorite Big Ten referees — there’s one he simply won’t abide these days.

“Entitlement...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — On an average night in Brooklyn, I don’t imagine it’s difficult to find a 32-year-old man who is ambling along on his way and who, though taller than most men, cannot dunk a basketball. Still, it was a bit surprising to find such a person last Thursday night, on the basketball court inside the Barclays Center of all places, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A former Philadelphia-based professional gambler pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to helping engineer two separate betting schemes: one in which he bribed players to underperform in the NCAA and Chinese professional league, the other in which he placed bets on NBA contests using inside information about player injuries ...Read more

NEW YORK — Opposing NBA general managers are bullish about Jalen Brunson, but not as much about the Knicks’ chances to repeat as NBA champions.

Only one of the other 29 general managers picked the Knicks to win the 2026-27 title, according to the NBA’s annual GM survey, which came out Thursday.

The San Antonio Spurs received 50% of the ...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — As time ran out on UConn’s 20-point win over Syracuse Tuesday, the first action of the men’s basketball season filmed before a live audience, there were some feelings of melancholia over days gone by.

Those were the days, when the Huskies and the Orange played at least once a year to decide something, a pivotal regular...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Last March, as Travis Ford contemplated a return to men’s college basketball coaching, the vacancy at Little Rock was not even on his radar.

“I wasn’t interested in (Little Rock) at all,” Ford said Tuesday morning in a phone call. “There (were) several other schools that were talking to me, (but) my agent (Evan ...Read more

MIAMI — As he barreled through the paint in transition in the first quarter, paying no heed to Day’Ron Sharpe standing between himself and the rim, Giannis Antetokounmpo made clear with that emphatic driving layup he is ready.

As he tumbled hard to the court in the second period while fouled by Moe Wagner on a failed dunk attempt, ...Read more

Kristaps Porzingis shared details Wednesday about his health struggles in his first public statement since being ruled out at the beginning of Warriors training camp.

“Hello people, I’m working with doctors and experts to figure out how to be fully back to good health asap,” Porzingis posted on his personal X/Twitter account.

“Honestly...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers don’t start the regular season for another week, but LeBron James is already getting his reps in and blocking shots off the court as well.

In a recent commercial skit for his Anthony Edwards 3 shoes with Adidas, Edwards, a Minnesota Timberwolves star, took jabs at players around the league, including James, fellow ...Read more

NEW YORK — After a whirlwind offseason, the ball is bouncing the Red Storm’s way.

St. John’s got good news Tuesday on two key players, including that the NCAA deemed touted point guard Quinn Ellis eligible for the 2026-27 season, the New York Daily News confirmed.

Meanwhile, a hearing Tuesday saw a Queens judge leave in place the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Jaden McDaniels, never shy about speaking his mind, proclaimed during Wolves media day a couple of weeks ago about teammate Anthony Edwards: “This is Year Seven. I think this could be the MVP season for him.”

Edwards, who has grown alongside McDaniels since they were rookies together in the 2020-21 season, returned the favor...Read more