For years, LeBron James has been not only the highest-rated small forward, but the highest-rated player in the game overall. As The King enters his 20th (!) NBA season, at age 37, will he fall off from his top spot as the best small forward in NBA 2K23? When NBA 2K22’s ratings updates closed, James (96 OVR) was still the top-rated player at his position. Kawhi Leonard remained a 95 overall throughout the season despite missing the entire year with an injury, while Jimmy Butler jumped up to a 92 overall following an impressive playoff run....

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — For Paul Arizin, December 29, 1958, started out like any other working day for one of the four-score athletes who make a livelihood by playing in the National Basketball Association But since Arizin, the high-scoring forward of the Philadelphia Warriors, is one of the premier basketball players in the world, events of the day were far from commonplace. In fact, they were of such significance as to give added stature to his position....

What makes this so easy to figure out is the fact that the best team in the East, the Atlanta Hawks, is not represented among the All-Star starters, with John Wall, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol rounding out the list. We predict three Atlanta Hawks to make the East roster, with stars from the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat closing out the reserves. Guard 1: Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers: One of the NBA’s most electrifying young guards, Irving took home the All-Star MVP last season and was expected to make a big jump this year alongside LeBron James and Kevin Love on the Cleveland Cavaliers....

While the task of getting the ball rolling at the NBA’s annual extravaganza technically falls to the All-Star Celebrity Game, the Rising Stars is the first competitive event—a term used very loosely with the All-Star Weekend. As is often the case with this sort of event, those seeking playoffs-like intensity and an ultra-competitive environment may be better off looking elsewhere on Friday. At the same time, there are plenty of reasons to expect that the Rising Stars game, now in its 26th iteration, will provide plenty of talking points and entertainment....

While the Cavaliers remain on top of the odds board as the favorite to win the 2014-15 title, the Warriors have narrowed the gap over the last week. Cleveland is 9-3 in the month of March and has gotten better as the season has gone on. Golden State owns the best record in basketball and has won nine of its last 10 games ahead of Monday night’s contest against the Wizards....

The worst three teams, then, have a combined 42 percent shot at the top pick. That’s down from 60.5 percent. MORE: How will draft lottery odds change in 2019? Problem is, this addressed the wrong kind of tanking. As we’ve seen over the past five years, franchises can engage in two types of intentional losing — the long bomb and the quick fix. The long bomb is what we saw in Philadelphia with Dr....

“It means a lot me,” Duncan said. “We had some hard times the last few years. Guys like him and Sean (Elliott), they stuck with us through all of it.” MORE: Spurs win fifth title | Leonard is Finals MVP | Spurs gear | Finals photos As much as this championship was about the emergence of 22-year-old small forward Kawhi Leonard — the Finals MVP, who dominated the final three games of the series — it was also about Duncan, his legacy and status as the greatest power forward in league history....

Irving lavished praise on King James after the Cavaliers fell to the Warriors in five games Monday night. “He left it all out there on the floor, and to average a triple-double in the freaking Finals, man, add that to the LeBron long list that everyone keeps forgetting,” he said. MORE: Three narratives that could follow Cavs into offseason And, Irving says, LeBron isn’t done doing work. “Whether you want to believe in him or not, he’s still coming,” he said....

After the Raptors defeated the Warriors on Thursday night to take a 1-0 series lead, Golden State forward Draymond Green passed by the rapper on his way back toward the locker room. Drake was in a playful mood, but Green wasn’t ready to deal with his antics. GAME 1 RECAP: Pascal Siakam powers Raptors to 1-0 series lead Stephen Curry separated the two with a smile, but Drake appeared to call the Warriors “trash” when Green was still within earshot....

Golden State topped the Clippers and Rockets in the first two rounds of the playoffs before advancing to the finals with a sweep of the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals. The Raptors, meanwhile, easily defeated the Magic in their opener and followed that by topping the 76ers and Bucks in seven and six games, respectively. Warriors star Kevin Durant has not played since straining his calf in Golden State’s Game 5 win over the Rockets in the second round....

New York recently finished one of its worst seasons in franchise history, recording a 17-65 record. But, it has a chance to turn it around this summer, as it will have a top draft choice and plenty of cap space. Knicks general manager Scott Perry said he’s confident the team can appeal to top free agents in the offseason. “This is New York City," Perry told the New York Post....

The 76ers could make a big play for Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon this summer, according to a report from the Journal Times. Especially if sharpshooter JJ Redick leaves Philadelphia as an unrestricted free agent in 2019. Brogdon, 26, has just finished the third year of his first NBA contract — a three-year deal worth just less than $4 million. However the 2017 Rookie of the Year could be approaching a big pay raise....

The Rockets are signing 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, according to a report from The Athletic, which cites unidentified league sources. The 26-year-old forward was initially selected by Cleveland, where he played 52 games. Bennett and then-teammate Andrew Wiggins, who was drafted in 2014, were dealt to the Timberwolves in a three-team trade that brought Kevin Love to the Cavaliers the following season....

Each of the 22 teams that were invited to resume the NBA season after four-plus months away from the court is scheduled to play eight seeding games before the playoffs begin in mid-August. That means the NBA had to pack up to six games per day over the span of a couple weeks — a beautiful sight for basketball fans. MORE: Watch select NBA games live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)...

One of the greatest basketball players in the history of the sport has been one of the main figures to get the NBA playoffs back on track after a brief stint of protests. The NBA postponed playoff games Wednesday and Thursday as its players want to protest the recent shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot multiple times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Jordan, a Hall of Fame player, six-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, is the owner for the Charlotte Hornets and the only Black majority owner of any NBA team....

Fertitta not only owns the Houston Rockets of the NBA, his $4.8 billion portfolio also includes ownership of the Golden Nugget Casinos and a vast amount of restaurants. According to Forbes magazine, Fertitta is the No. 414 among the richest people in the world, and was ranked No. 140 on the Forbes 400 in 2019. The 62-year-old billionaire, who also owns Texas-based Landry’s Seafood House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Saltgrass Steak House, told Fox News guest host Brian Kilmeade that he has been through financial difficulties before, and that laying off employees was for the betterment of the employees themselves....

The messages, ranging from “Black Lives Matter” and “Power to the People,” to “Say Their Names” and “I Can’t Breathe,” will replace the player’s name on the back of their shirt for the first four days of play. “I just think the NBA, we lead,” said Lakers player Jared Dudley, who is in full support of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s decision. “Adam Silver, to me, is the best. He’s trying to make it right, trying to bring awareness front and center,” he told The Los Angeles Times....

And while the games were all exciting for us, for five teams it ended in defeat. The Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors all saw their postseason come to a close. MORE: Raptors outpaced expectations | Randolph in shock at suspension | Playoff images The Hawks, the first team to lose a Game 7 this year, made an offer of condolence to this weekend's other losers....

CHICAGO — Playoff appearances were rare enough for the Washington Wizards let alone series victories. Never mind all that now. John Wall finished with 24 points, Nene scored 20, and the Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 75-69 on Tuesday night to clinch their first-round series in five games. Bradley Beal scored 17 points, and the fifth-seeded Wizards advanced in the postseason for just the third time since the 1970s. PHOTOS: Must-see playoff images They will meet Indiana or Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinals....