NBA News

Prior to Wednesday’s fourth quarter, Walker Kessler was sitting on five points, three rebounds and two steals — far lesser production than he’d proven capable of thus far in this season. Then, he exploded for a 10-point, five-rebound, four-block, one-steal final frame to finish with 15 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and one steal. Those are numbers much more in …

Bronny James made the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2026-27 opening night roster, securing a spot while his draft classmate, first-round pick Dalton Knecht, was waived. Except, after James averaged only 2.4 minutes in five appearances over the Lakers’ 7-2 start, the team announced Thursday that it’s assigned the 2024 second-round pick to the G League’s Coachella Valley Lakers. Advertisement Fellow guard …

The Houston Rockets are off to their best start since their franchise record-setting 2017-18 season. That season, of course, featured Chris Paul and the Rockets’ second-best player in franchise history, James Harden. The Rockets won a franchise-best 65 games that season, and it was also the last time they made the Western Conference Finals. The Rockets have gone through a …

Bronny James is headed east to California’s Coachella Valley, as the Lakers have assigned the third-year player to its G League affiliate. The team announced the move Thursday, and the 22-year-old, along with teammate Cameron Carr, will suit up for the Coachella Valley Lakers, which begin their season on Friday. This follows the Los Angeles Lakers’ 116-103 win over the …

After yet another double-digit loss on Wednesday night, this time to the Portland Trail Blazers (again), the Phoenix Suns find themselves at 1-5. They are a team desperately searching for an identity. Players are trying to establish defined roles, while the coaching staff continues experimenting with combinations in hopes of finding something that can ultimately translate into success. When you …

It’s like déjà vu all over again: Luka Dončić scored at least 40 points and the Los Angeles Lakers rode a vibrant offensive attack to victory. For the fifth time in six games, Dončić eclipsed the 40-point barrier during Los Angeles’ 116-103 win over the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night. The one “hiccup” amid this stretch was a 37-point outing against …

The Nets cried Wolf. This time, he was telling the truth. Despite selecting a historic slew of first-round picks in 2025, the Nets had seen just two of those rookies, Egor Demin and Nolan Traore, crack Jordi Fernández’s rotation through the first seven games. Advertisement Injuries mounted alongside Brooklyn’s losses. Entering Wednesday night with a 1-6 record and coming off …

For 24 minutes on Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks looked like a team with more questions than answers. For the next 24 minutes, though, they looked like a team that had found a winning formula against the reigning Western Conference champs. Despite rallying back from being down 19 points in the second half to take a late three-point lead, the …

When you see the video of the play, it didn’t look out of the ordinary for an NBA game. Portland’s Vit Krejci was trying to get in front of Phoenix’s Miles Bridges and draw a foul in transition, they collided, and Krejci went to the ground grabbing his left ankle. After the game, Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori said Krejci …

New York was so good on Wednesday that the Knicks made me hate them for effectively finishing my 2-hour night plan in 20 minutes. I’m cool with the 4-1 in the last five, but let’s make it a bit more competitive for entertainment’s sake, please and thank you (I know I’m in the minority here. Alas) Advertisement Here’s everything said …

Not great. Some people would pick less euphemistic words, but I’m trying to be nice. I’ll admit I didn’t envision this happening. I never expected the Suns to be world beaters, but I also didn’t expect them to be a punching bag as they stumbled out of the gate. The most glaring deficiency with the Suns through the first six …

The Sixers avenged their only loss of the young season with a 112-106 win over the Pistons in Detroit Wednesday. It was essentially a wire-to-wire win, though it did get a bit dicey at the end. Still, the Sixers’ resiliency in closing out close games remains impressive. They now have the best record in the NBA at 8-1. Advertisement Though …

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — “The guys earned their ice. We haven’t really earned our ice many times.” That’s how Heat coach Erik Spoelstra described his team’s effort in a 117-116 win over the Clippers Wednesday night. As the Heat stumbled out of the gate to a 2-5 start this season, the headlines focused on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo playing next …

For the second straight game, head coach JJ Redick praised his team’s defensive performance following a sluggish start. In the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Miami Heat on Monday, Redick complimented their second-half showing, when they limited Miami to 45 points and a 95.7 defensive rating. On Wednesday, he was pleased with how they responded after the Sacramento Kings …

The loaded 2026 NBA Draft class is more than two weeks into its first season and early returns suggest there may be even more top-end talent than anticipated. Top picks AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson have all flashed star potential during encouraging starts, but perhaps the biggest revelation in the NBA thus far is Yaxel Lendeborg’s rapid emergence …

We’re only a little over two weeks into the NBA regular season. It may seem a bit early to check in on this year’s collection of rookies, but if we are being honest … this group of talent is that good. To me, the early part of the season is all about curiosity. Teams don’t have all of their “go-tos” …

The Boston Celtics avoided another potential collapse of a 20-point lead last night, regaining their composure down the stretch to secure a 109–102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks  Paul George and Derrick White spearheaded the effort, particularly in the closing minutes, while Neemias Queta also proved instrumental in the game’s decisive moments. However, one player whose contributions I felt were …

Subscribe to The Kevin O’Connor Show Kevin O’Connor breaks down the biggest action from Wednesday night’s NBA games including Victor Wembanyama’s historic performance vs. the Mavericks, Luka’s continued dominance for the Lakers and Jaylen Brown’s defense against the Pistons. Plus, is it already time to panic for the Charlotte Hornets and Houston Rockets? Advertisement Later, Kevin O’Connor and Sam Vecenie …

Sometimes you look at a Victor Wembanyama stat line and you have to do a double take. After doing just that while observing Wednesday’s astonishing 52-point, 24-rebound performance in a win over the Dallas Mavericks, we had to rub our eyes and make sure it was all real. The San Antonio Spurs’ All-Star not only dropped 52 points and 24 …

When the notification hit that Jayson Tatum would be resting Wednesday’s game against the Bucks, I couldn’t have been less moved. Milwaukee is bad. The Celtics shouldn’t have any problem taking care of business, right? Advertisement Well… Ultimately, they managed to get across the finish line, but the path there wasn’t as pretty as many would’ve hoped. The Cs found …

As the second quarter started last night between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden, Josh Giddey was bringing the ball up for the team from the Windy City. He tried to maneuver through a high pick-and-roll when all of a sudden a large human named OG Anunoby appeared in his path. The Australian must …

When Paul George was traded to the Boston Celtics back in July, it became a “summer of discontent.” Obviously, it was because they traded George for Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers, but even the most optimistic Bostonian would tell you there were so many different outcomes when it came to the potential of George’s play for the Celtics. …

Through his first five games as a member of the Miami Heat, Klay Thompson was going through it. The longtime sharpshooter just couldn’t find the range in his new home, missing more than two-thirds of his triple tries while struggling to keep up on defense for a Heat club that opened the season scuffling despite the offseason arrival of superstar …

Call it a learning experience. An education. School. The Wizards entered last night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks having played the NBA’s easiest schedule so far. Their opponents had an average scoring differential of -9.83 per game. The Hawks — a middle-of-the-pack team missing their best player — were a step up. Advertisement The Wizards weren’t bad in this measuring …

When you’re going through it, it feels like absolutely nothing can go right. For every good thing that happens, two bad things seem to follow. In the context of basketball, where five players are supposed to operate as one cohesive unit, that kind of dysfunction becomes maddening to witness. Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Suns weren’t taking …