Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was named league MVP over Houston’s James Harden and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard. MORE: 2017 NBA Draft grades The Bucks, Thunder and Warriors had successful nights, as all three franchises were honored with multiple awards. The most powerful moment of the night was when former NBA player and coach Monty Williams received the Craig Sager Strong Award. Here’s a list of the award finalists, with the winners highlighted in bold....

Please note that there are some top options that aren’t listed in the Playbook. They are in play, but I wanted to provide options across all salary ranges if applicable as opposed to just the top plays. I tried to list most players off their FD positions, but note that they may be eligible at other positions on the other sites. Position wise, I feel that the FanDuel PF and C spots are stacked, with center also being stacked on DraftKings, but the SG spot is wide open there....

Payne has risen from that thin freshman who averaged 2.5 points in 9.0 minutes to a star as a senior for Michigan State, and in doing so, has earned a firm place on the draft boards of many NBA teams. Just how high up on those boards Payne registers is open to interpretation—as a senior, some teams hold his age against him, and in our mock draft, Payne comes in at No....

Ripken, of course, had Hall of Fame talent in his sport. But more than that, he was known for his consistency, having played 2,632 consecutive games over more than 16 seasons, one of the most untouchable records in sports. That had been an inspiration to Allen. MORE: 2014 NBA mock draft | NBA teams to clinch playoff spot | Worst Lakers team ever? “I had the opportunity to tell him that he was one of the reasons behind, when I came into the NBA, why I wanted to be reliable,” Allen said....

A number of other organizations will be content with a run to the playoffs. In some cases, that’s the end goal of a successful season. In a few, it will also serve as a sign of continued growth or potential future promise. But as always, much of the league will lag behind. They’ll be forced to set their sights on the 2019 NBA Draft as a beacon of hope for the future....

McGary, who missed all of last season with a back injury, has improved in health but has not progressed enough to compete in drills and testing at the combine, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com. MORE: NBA Draft early entrants | Milwaukee could buck trend, pick Wiggins Sure lottery picks Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins also will sit out of the combine in favor of focusing on private workouts....

The answer was yes. Smith put up 18.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. He’s the first freshman in the last quarter-century to reach those marks, and he even did it on a relatively efficient 56.3 true shooting percentage. So why isn’t Smith higher up draft boards? Let’s take a deep dive into his prospects. NBA TRADE RUMORS: Tracking all the latest moves ahead of the NBA Draft...

Basketball fans on the social media platform went crazy after ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news Tuesday that Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons intends to never play for the team again. Simmons and the 76ers have feuded all offseason, after coach Doc Rivers and franchise forward Joel Embiid laid into the embattled point guard after their season-ending loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals....

Led by chief James Capers, the three-person crew also features veteran NBA officials, Kane Fitzgerald and Eric Lewis. The trio of Capers, Fitzgerald and Foster have made a combined 21 NBA Finals appearances. Game 4 of the NBA Finals marks the 14th NBA Finals game that Capers has officiated in his career, while this will be Fitzgerald’s fourth NBA Finals game and Lewis’ sixth NBA Finals game. MORE: Three things to watch in Game 4 of the NBA Finals...

NBA FREE AGENCY 2017: Ranking the best players (and finding out who’s actually available) Western Conference teams are leveling up to try and compete with the Warriors’ all-star quartet of former MVP’s Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, 3-point champion Klay Thompson and newly-minted Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green. The Timberwolves added three-time all-star Jimmy Butler to go along with 2015 and 2016 Rookie of the Year winners Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns....

According to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, the All-Star forward was set to sign with Boston. The Celtics, Heat and Jazz all coveted Hayward and took their best shots at wooing him during the free-agency moratorium period, but it appeared Boston made the biggest impression. FREE AGENCY TRACKER: Latest news, signings of top available players Now, there are conflicting reports on Hayward’s decision. While Haynes, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and USA Today’s Sam Amick initially confirmed Hayward planned to sign with the Celtics, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, NBA....

The NBA first introduced the format last year when the coronavirus pandemic shortened its regular season and has retained the system in place for the current season, which was played across 72 games as opposed to the traditional 82. While the tournament adds a new layer of intrigue to the postseason, it has already gathered an illustrious list of critics, with four-time NBA champion LeBron James, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Mavs owner Mark Cuban all scathing of the format....

The model has gone 15-0-1 (100% win) on four-star and higher NBA bets of $100 in the past three days, so be sure to see what it is on tonight! BetQL subscribers can see more betting trends and all of our best bets with star ratings for every pick. Take advantage of BetQL’s free trial and see all of today’s best NBA bets, including player props, plus what the model is projecting for every football game this week!...

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the NBA is hoping to launch a tournament featuring some of its brightest stars challenging each other at NBA2K, arguably the world’s most popular basketball video game franchise. Three years ago, the league launched an eSports league around the NBA2K franchise, but the soon-to-be-introduced event will only feature NBA players instead of professional e-gamers. The 16-player tournament is expected to run for 10 days and games will be broadcast on ESPN, Haynes added....

Sterling wasn't there to witness the 113-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, and he won't be at future games. The Clippers' stirring victory at energized Staples Center came hours after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life, fined him $2.5 million and called on NBA owners to force him to sell the team for making racist comments. PHOTOS: Surreal scenes in L.A. | Playoff images...

It’s hard to believe the Celtics — a team that relies heavily on Thomas to carry them offensively — could survive an important game at home without their star getting his usual numbers, but it makes sense when you look at the impact Thomas had in other areas of the game. With the Wizards throwing multiple defenders at him whenever he had the ball in his hands, Thomas used his gravity in a similar fashion to Stephen Curry to open up shots for his teammates in the half court....

Green had played just five minutes in the first two games of this series, missing two shots and knocking down a free throw. But coach Brad Stevens’ decision to insert Green into the starting five has helped awaken the top-seeded Celtics after a disastrous opening to the first round of the postseason. But there is a twist to Green’s Celtics revival: It almost didn’t happen. Green, team and league sources told Sporting News, was all but signed by another team — the Clippers — last July before the Celtics came calling....

Leonard reportedly wanted to play, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose to hold out his star player to ensure his health for a potential Game 7 in San Antonio, and for the rest of the playoffs. And there will be a rest of the playoffs after the underdog Spurs (+8.5) routed the Rockets 114-75 in Houston on Thursday night. SN has all the stats from Game 6, and the highlights from the contest are below....

Detroit center Andre Drummond gave Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo a two-handed shove during a shot attempt in the third quarter. Drummond was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game. Pistons star Blake Griffin, who sat out due to an injury, received a technical from the bench for approaching officials after the call. Drummond did record a double-double though, totaling 12 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes....