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Scottie Barnes claimed Rookie of the Year honors after a draft-day surprise at No. 4 overall, Evan Mobley announced his arrival as a game-changing defensive force, Franz Wagner showcased his versatile playmaking as a foundational piece in Orlando, Herb Jones blossomed as an All-Defensive caliber wing stopper and Jonathan Kuminga showed flashes of star potential for the Warriors. The bar may be high but this year’s rookie class flexes some serious muscle at the forward spot starting with the potential No....

But there is still time for LeBron James to pick up the pieces. As the Warriors evened up the series, 2-2, in Game 4, James and the Cavaliers looked physically and mentally exhausted. But they had two days off as the series returned to Oakland, and the sense of desperation that buoyed them in Game 2, after Kyrie Irving’s injury, surely has returned. MORE: LeBron’s greatest Finals games ever | Must-see photos from the NBA Finals...

Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers point guard, was fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating, the league announced Saturday. MORE: Paul: ‘It was about a bad call’ | Deconstructing the trading block Paul made his comments following the Clippers’ 105-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 5. While the National Basketball Referees Association felt that Paul’s comments were out of line, the National Basketball Players Association backed Paul on Friday night....

There are at least five looking at Russell in free agency, according to The Athletic: The Jazz, Pacers, Timberwolves and Magic all have interest in picking up Russell. The Nets obviously want to bring him back as well. Russell is coming off of a career year with the Nets in which he made his first All-Star team and averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds. His performance helped lead the Nets back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2014-15 season....

According to a report from SNY, which cites sources familiar with the Nets, if the current Celtics guard does decide to play for Brooklyn, it is highly unlikely Russell returns. It was reported earlier this year that some believe the two players could coexist in the backcourt together, but it would appear they will not get that chance. Russell has constantly said he would like to return to Brooklyn where he made his first All-Star team after posting a career year with the Nets last season, but he also said he understands if he isn’t able to make that happen....

The former Indiana Fever star is considered one of the best to ever play the women’s game, period. She’s a championship winner, MVP and five-time Defensive Player of the Year. It’s a testament to her on-court production that her upbringing as a girl with hearing impairment in both ears who moved across the country in sixth grade after her parents divorced is largely overshadowed by her basketball resume. Catchings’ appearance in Sunday’s NBA HORSE Challenge, then, is another celebration of what she’s accomplished with the ball in her hands....

MORE: Which player lands Madden 17 cover? The series finally relaunched with NBA Live 14 on the new generation of consoles. It was a tremendous failure and caused the few who decided to give it a chance to essentially abandon the franchise for good. Sales for NBA Live 15 and NBA Live 16 have been shockingly low, accounting for only about 1 percent of the basketball video game market. Live 16 sold around 8,000 copies last September which is hard to fathom, compared to NBA 2K16 moving more than 1 million copies during the same stretch....

The beneficiaries of the ping pong ball madness inspired by the league’s lottery reform and flattened odds were the Pelicans, Grizzlies and Lakers. We’ll save the conversations about the effectiveness of lottery reform on combating tanking for another day. For now, we have more pressing issues. NBA DRAFT BIG BOARD:Ranking the top 50 players in 2019 class With the order finalized, here’s a first look at how June’s draft might shake out....

While it’s way too early to truly project how prospects may shake out following next season, our 2023 NBA Mock Draft is here to give you an idea of which top players you can look forward to watching next year as they prepare to take the step to the next level. The 2023 NBA Draft is headlined by a generational talent in French prospect Victor Wembanyama, but other prospects like G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson have already proved he can hold his own against NBA-caliber players in his first professional season this past year....

In a surprising Thursday night deal, the Rockets acquired the 2017 NBA MVP and sent Chris Paul plus multiple draft picks and pick swaps to the Thunder. Oklahoma City has now piled up eight first-rounders since draft night, an incredible haul for general manager Sam Presti. It’s possible the Thunder aren’t done yet, as Paul could be flipped to another team prior to the start of the 2019-20 season....

The top contenders in the Eastern Conference quickly took care of business in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs. The Raptors, Celtics and Heat each swept their opponents, and the Bucks only needed five games to eliminate the Magic. Over in the Western Conference, though, there was plenty of drama with three of the four first-round series going at least six games. Now the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Rockets will battle for the chance to compete in the conference finals....

DEVENEY: Time for Celtics to let Jaylen Brown loose The 23-year-old Wizards guard was a McDonald’s All-American and one-and-done lottery pick out of Florida. This past season, he averaged 23.1 points while shooting 48.2 percent from the field, both career highs, while helping John Wall and the rest of his teammates advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs, where they were defeated in seven games by the Celtics....

If their on-court tussles have been limited, that doesn’t change the fact that they have been on a collision course since training camp opened, with the Spurs (61 wins) running second to Golden State (67 wins) for almost the entire season. Not surprisingly, the Warriors and Spurs have been 1-2 in margin of victory throughout the year, too. MORE: Spurs knew they wouldn’t need Kawhi Leonard vs. Rockets Golden State arrives in the conference finals for the third straight year, but having used up as little stress as possible in the process, winning eight straight games by an average margin of 16....

In case you missed it, the basics are these: With 7:55 to go in the third quarter and San Antonio leading by 21, Leonard went up for a shot in the left corner. Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia went out to challenge the shot, got a hand in the face of Leonard and had his foot come down in the vicinity of Leonard’s landing spot. Leonard landed on Pachulia’s foot, turned his ankle and missed the rest of the game....

Below you’ll find everything to know about watching the 2019 NBA playoffs, including postseason matchups and series-by-series TV schedules. MORE: Watch the NBA playoffs live & on demand with fuboTV (7-day trial) NBA playoffs today: Live score for Bucks vs. Raptors Here’s the schedule for today’s NBA playoff games, scores and how to watch every game live. Check out SN’s live scoreboard for stats and more. Saturday, May 25 results NBA FINALS PREVIEW:Predicting Warriors vs....

The 2016 version with LaVine and Gordon is arguably the greatest dunking showcase… ever. But fans of the game were quick to bring up the legendary battle between Wilkins and MJ. MORE: Best photos from the dunk contest | How to make every dunk contest memorable Rather than argue over which one was better, the NBA took it a step further and created a video mashup of both dunk contests and it’s even more glorious than you imagined....

What began as a two-man race with Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley leading the way has turned into a sprint that includes Cade Cunningham and the likes of Franz Wagner and Josh Giddey entering the conversation. Here is where it stands the day after Christmas. NBA League Pass: Sign up to unlock live out-of-market games (7-day free trial) NBA Rookie Ladder Scottie Barnes, Raptors Barnes is still the front-runner for ROY this season — right now....

MORE: Charlotte native’s open letter to N.C. governor over anti-LGBT law “I’d say there is absolutely strong interest in trying to work something out,” Silver said (via USA Today). “Both sides of the issue recognize, however heartfelt their views are, that the current state of being is causing enormous economic damage to the state. I think they realize that we very much would like to play next year’s All-Star Game in North Carolina, as I’ve said before....

“I’m not gay,” Howard, the subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit by a man who claimed they had a romantic relationship, said on Fair Game with Kristine Leahy. “It’s a lot of people who are and they have to hide, and there’s people who have mental issues and they have to hide. There’s people who have different problems in life and they have to hide. They have to put on the mask every day, and it’s like, I don’t wanna wear no mask, I just wanna be....

The Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves have won all their three games and have locked down five of the eight postseason spots, but another nine teams are in contention for the three remaining playoff berths. The New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets are all 2-1, as are the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs....