NBA News

AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick last June, will officially make his NBA debut Wednesday night in Cleveland. Dybantsa, 19, missed the Wizards’ first four games this season due to a sprained left ankle suffered late in training camp. He steps into a Wizards offense already loaded with firepower, including Trae Young and Anthony Davis, the latter of whom has …

Washington Wizards rookie AJ Dybantsa will make his long-awaited NBA regular-season debut Wednesday on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team announced. Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft, did not play in Washington’s first four games after suffering an ankle injury in the team’s preseason finale on Oct. 16. He was listed as questionable heading into …

It’s been a week and a half of injury hell to start the NBA season and the bodies keep dropping. What hurts more is the caliber of players falling victim to unfortunate circumstances. Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero, Kawhi Leonard, Jalen Duren, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cason Wallace, Jalen Suggs and Ivica Zubac are all out — with a handful …

I had already typed “Celtics win” into my notes when Mikel Brown Jr. made me a liar. Mitchell Robinson had missed two free throws with four seconds left and Boston ahead by three. Fans had already begun filing toward the exits. Across press row, laptop screens flipped from live notes to the opening paragraphs of stories explaining how the Celtics …

It’s way, way too early in the NBA season to be handing out report cards. Not that it’s going to stop me, but think of this more like the grades on a pop quiz some annoying teachers surprise students with the first week of class. It’s a small-sample-size theater, but here are the early grades for some standouts from the …

It’s clearly been an exciting start overall to the 2026-27 season for the Sixers, but we got our first taste of a loss for this team on Sunday. On the second night of a back-to-back, with Joel Embiid out and a host of injuries to the backup center rotation, the Sixers lost to the Pistons, 106-93. The Sixers shot just …

Teammates admit to sometimes getting lulled into ball-watching when Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are at the controls of the Lakers’ offense. The highest scoring duo in the NBA is just that dynamic. But Tuesday’s 136-129 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers reinforced that even one of the best offensive backcourts in the league can totally compensate for a championship-winning …

For the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic, this was supposed to be their first real test. While the Raptors previously finished fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and the Magic were stuck in play-in purgatory, only one game separated the franchises. Despite pundits refusing to give them a fighter’s chance in the first round of the playoffs, both Toronto and …

Go ahead and build out your top-10 players in the league. You could start with scoring champs like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Perhaps dominant bigs suit your fancy like Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama and Joel Embiid. Maybe go with chess grandmasters like LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s even before we get to ruthless bucket-getters …

The San Antonio Spurs were shooting just 31.2% from the three-point line before their game against the Sacramento Kings. That percentage will increase after the Spurs shot 17-for-37 from three in a dominant 130-103 win over the Kings. The Spurs were led by their sharpshooting wing, Julian Champagnie, who had 26 points, hitting 8 of his 13 threes. Champagnie hit …

After Houston’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, we finally got a long-awaited update on Steven Adams’s availability. In the post-game press conference, Ime Udoka said: “Marcus is day-to-day, game-to-game. We’re hoping to have him back, possibly next game. Steven will be out for at least a week or two.” This means that Adams would return sometime between the Celtics game …

The Hawks are 2-2. It’s a slightly disappointing turn of events after dismantling the Charlotte Hornets to a franchise-best game margin two games in. The hope is that the Houston Rockets turn out to be a great team this season to make the recent sweep at their hands look less dispiriting in time. Advertisement But there are still 78 games …

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Celtics were 38-15 under head coach Joe Mazzulla. And thanks to Jayson Tatum’s game winner in overtime to beat the Nets 125-124, that’s now 39 wins. Mazzulla would later say after the game that when the team hits the film room tomorrow, they’ll treat it as a loss after another turnover-plagued game …

The NBA season is young – we’re one week into it, and no team has played five games yet – yet injuries have already made a massive impact. The names are significant, from Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, to Thunder star Jalen Williams, to Magic forward Paolo Banchero, these issues are certain to impact the immediate futures of their teams. And …

Former Blue Devil and current Chief Basketball Officer for Duke Basketball Jayson Tatum has had an interesting time of it lately. Boston shockingly traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, a move that some people seem to hold Tatum responsible for. Advertisement And when he recently spoke out on this, saying that he had no role in the trade, that …

Knicks coach Mike Brown called out Karl-Anthony Towns. And Towns responded. Pistons center Paul Reed, starting in place of the injured Jalen Duren, had 15 points and five rebounds at halftime of the Knicks’ 111-97 win over the Pistons on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. He was winning his matchup against Towns. Advertisement Brown let Towns know at halftime. …

There are games where Steph Curry drops 50 and the building shakes, and then there are games like Monday night in Denver, where he barely shot in the first half and still walked out of Ball Arena with the cleanest stat line of his career. Curry made all eight of his field-goal attempts, went a perfect 3-of-3 from deep, and …

CLEVELAND — It takes a certain level of confidence to proudly proclaim to a room full of Cleveland media members that you’ll unashamedly be rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Then again, nothing about what Meleek Thomas does on and off the court lacks confidence. The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a frustrating start to their season. They’ve simultaneously shown …

Through the early parts of 2026-27, the Lakers had cobbled together enough strong defensive moments that allowed their league-best offense to carry them to three straight wins. Those moments didn’t come often enough against the Trail Blazers Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, leading to the Lakers losing their first game of the season. Advertisement Despite Luka Doncic picking up where …

Yaxelmania is beginning Dub Nation. The rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is fresh off of winning a national championship at Michigan, taking Summer League MVP in Vegas, and stealing the show in Denver on a night he shared the court with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Stephen Curry. His 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists helped the Golden State Warriors get …

On Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks played the Miami Heat, and recorded a 113-109 victory over the winless Heat. Cooper Flagg showed signs of growth in this game. He racked up a tremendous stat line, with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. Advertisement For a guy who is now reportedly 6-10 1/2, Flagg, who is …

LOS ANGELES — The highs of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 3-0 start — Luka Dončić’s high-scoring nights, Walker Kessler’s historic statistics, Austin Reaves’ incredible selflessness — mostly delayed what became their inevitable undoing in Tuesday’s 136-129 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Defense. Advertisement The Blazers have personnel that can match Los Angeles’ scoring output on any night. The first …

And just like that, the Lakers’ attempt to go 82-0 flies out the window. It was always going to be tough for LA to go undefeated this season, particularly with a defense as porous as the one they showed on Tuesday. In a game where they shot 56.3% from the field and 39.5% from three, the Lakers allowed Portland to …

After taking their lumps early, the San Antonio Spurs have responded with two blowout victories over sub-.500 teams. San Antonio will look to make it three in a row as the Spurs travel to Salt Lake City to face the struggling Utah Jazz in the second game of a back-to-back. San Antonio has seemingly gotten its groove back, especially on …

Sometimes fans should consider thinking before they speak. Especially when you’re going to call out a future Hall of Famer like LeBron James. During an intermission segment at a Clippers game, a fan called out James’ age before he began a shooting contest at Intuit Dome. Advertisement “I feel good and I’m gonna show LeBron how a 40-year-old is supposed …