Who was added to the list of Slam Dunk Contest champions? We found out Saturday night in New Orleans. MORE: How to ensure every dunk contest is as good as 2016’s Pacers forward Glenn Robinson III defeated Suns rookie Derrick Jones Jr. in the championship round to capture the Slam Dunk Contest title. Aaron Gordon was unable to find the magic from his 2016 performance in which he lost in an instant classic to LaVine....
For starters, there are four teams with only one loss on their ledger: Warriors (8-to-1), Rockets (16-to-1), Raptors (25-to-1), and Grizzlies (25-to-1). Each of those four teams saw their odds shrink from last week, but the Rockets and Warriors saw significant movement from their respective 30-to-1 and 20-to-1 prices. The fact that the Warriors are good isn’t a surprise, but the fact that they’re establishing themselves as a legitimate title contender may have caught some people off guard....
Both ideas have been discussed informally, but there has been zero movement to make them real things, league senior vice president Tim Frank said Tuesday. Frank was responding to questions by ESPN.com of league executives Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe about the possibilities. MORE: Cuban happier with Silver, not Stern, calling shots "No one at the NBA, nor the competition committee, has had any serious conversations about increasing the size of the floor or adding a 4-point line," Frank said from the league's Twitter account....
The following is a running list of players who have officially announced their decision to leave school and enter the 2014 NBA Draft. The NCAA deadline for early entry withdrawl is April 15, and the NBA's early entry eligibillity deadline is April 27. The official list of early entry draft candidates will be released by the NBA on May 2. MORE: Latest mock draft | Meet the early entrants | Way too early Top 25 | Withdrawl deadline problem...
It’s also a great time to evaluate how far many of 2018’s top NBA prospects have come. March is essentially a month-long sprint for front offices to get a final look at college basketball players in game environments. NBA DRAFT 2018: Latest stock watch for top prospects As such, we thought it would a good time to update our rankings of the top prospects eligible for the 2018 NBA Draft....
He was eventually selected by the Heat with the 44th overall pick and then reportedly traded to the Nuggets. Bol was projected as a preseason top-five pick and one of just 20 players invited to the Green Room but his draft stock took a hit thanks to a season-ending injury. Bol showed off his offensive ability in his only season at Oregon. He averaged 21 points and 9.6 rebounds as a Duck and shot 52% from 3-point range but his presence on defense can be a cause of concern....
During the athletic testing phase of the Chicago predraft combine on Friday, a pair of forwards—Arizona’s Aaron Gordon and Indiana’s Noah Vonleh—wowed scouts and front-office executives here, firming up their status as Top-10 picks. MORE: Vonleh has really, really big hands | Measurements ‘potentially disastrous’ for McDermott That, combined with the measurements and testing results of Julius Randle—who was not spectacular, but did nothing to hurt his stock over these two days—leaves the possibility that we could see five big guys in the Top 10 of the draft for the first time since 2007....
The Celtics captured the No. 1 overall pick at the annual event Tuesday night just one day after earning a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. The Lakers retained their selection — much to the delight of team president of basketball operations Magic Johnson — and could potentially keep Lonzo Ball in California with the No. 2 pick. NBA DRAFT: Looking back at draft lottery wins that changed the league...
For the 10 teams that didn’t move up into the top four at Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery, that sale came with a strict no-refunds policy. And for the Magic, Thunder, Rockets and Kings, maybe all of those losses were worth it. Here’s how the lottery shaped out: Who were the biggest winners and losers from the night? The Kings, Thunder and Magic all moved up in the draft. The Trail Blazers and Pacers moved down one spot....
You’ll notice from the lists below, though, that a few big names are missing. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, the centers topping most draft boards, have decided to stay home for the Chicago function. The same is true for the top three overseas products: point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, shooting guard Mario Hezonja and power forward Kristaps Porzingis. MORE: Latest NBA Mock Draft | Early-entry list | Biggest busts in draft history...
Here’s a look at what some of those prospects — in particular, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, Chuma Okeke and Carsen Edwards — showed in their second weekend games. NBA DRAFT 2019: Latest odds for top pick RJ Barrett | Wing | Duke Barrett has turned into one of the draft’s most divisive prospects. On the one hand are those who buy into the 18-year-old’s youth, competitive spirit and known work ethic....
Pick-and-rolls with Curry and Durant are unstoppable for obvious reasons. With an average of 0.92 points per possession, Curry is one of the best pick-and-roll scorers in the NBA. He’s an elite finisher at the rim and can create any shot for himself off the dribble, which puts a tremendous amount of pressure on his defender to fight through screens. He can also be used as the “roller” by setting a screen on the ball handler and popping to the perimeter because he’s equally dominant scoring off screens with an average of 1....
But in Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals, Splitter finally got that revenge, rejecting Dwyane Wade late in the third quarter. MORE: Live scoreboard | NBA Finals photos | Manu takes flight After trailing by 16 in the first quarter, the Spurs put their foot down and dismantled the Heat in the second and third quarters.
If, after eight trips to the NBA Finals, you still were waiting for LeBron James to deliver a basket that will be remembered when he has long since been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, he threw it down Wednesday night in Game 3 of his ninth Finals. Stranded near the foul line with no inviting options to pass available and the shot clock lapsing, and with 6-11 JaVale McGee dissuading him from shooting a jump shot, James twisted underneath McGee’s arm to find room for what looked like a desperate shot....
Durant suffered a leg injury in the second quarter of Game 5 in the 2019 NBA Finals. Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he was “devastated” for Durant, and other members of the organization also spoke about the injury, including president of basketball operations Bob Myers. “It’s an Achilles injury. I don’t know the extent of it,” Myers said while close to tears at a press conference after the Warriors’ 106-105 win....
Pascal Siakam was fantastic and Kawhi Leonard was good even if he wasn’t at his best. Toronto now leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled to tip off Sunday. Here are three takeaways from the Raptors’ Game 1 win Golden State forgot about Pascal Siakam Every single team in the NBA knows who Kawhi Leonard is and what he can do. And in every series Leonard has played in this postseason, opponents have schemed in every way possible to slow him down....
The Raptors, making their first appearance in a Finals series, claimed a 118-109 win over the two-time defending champions at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. Leonard has starred in previous postseason series, but it was Pascal Siakam who inspired the Raptors, scoring a team-high 32 points. Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with a 34-point haul, while Klay Thompson finished with 21. And Leonard believes the Raptors’ fearless display has proved the Warriors’ players aren’t invincible....
Playing on their home floor, the Celtics held on for a 116-100 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Boston was able to withstand a Golden State comeback in the third quarter and found their composure in the final frame by outscoring the Dubs 23-11 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Celtics got big time performances from their stars as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined to score 53 points....
The 2022 NBA Finals victory is the Warriors’ fourth in the past eight seasons and sees them break a tie with the Chicago Bulls to move into third all-time behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. MORE: Full list of NBA Finals MVP winners In 2020, the Lakers tied the rival Celtics with an NBA-leading 17th title. The two franchises have combined to win 34 championships. Add in the Warriors, Bulls and Spurs, and a total of five NBA franchises will have combined to win 52 of the league’s 75 titles....
From Fox Sports’ Sam Amico: MORE: James coming home | NBA scrambling in response | Fans react | Cavs title favorites | FA tracker Amico also reported that Allen would put off retirement to play with James again, and that the Heat are also talking with Andersen, with an eye toward keeping him away from the Cavs. UPDATE: Miller may be the first to sign. Amico again:
