NBA News

Lakers star guard Austin Reaves made his preseason debut during Thursday’s matchup against the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Reaves sat out of the Lakers’ first two preseason games earlier in the week after hurting his ankle in practice. Advertisement The star guard, who re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180 million contract, was in the starting lineup alongside Luka …

With Austin Reaves back in the lineup, the Lakers picked up their second win over the Kings this preseason, winning 114-110 on Thursday. LA built up a big lead with the starters and regular rotation members on the floor, then saw it dwindle away in garbage time to make the score look much closer than the game ever was. Advertisement …

CLEVELAND — It’s been an up-and-down couple of months for Celtics guard Devin Carter. Carter, who drafted to the Sacramento Kings just two summers ago, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in June in a salary dump. Then, last month, Carter was waived. Advertisement Suddenly, a guy who was the 14th overall pick in 2024 found himself on the outskirts …

Preseason Bell Ringer rankings: Jaylen Brown – 1 It was the first game the starting five of LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid all played together, and there is a ton to be excited about. Jaylen Brown continued his strong preseason against the Nets, tallying 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He made up for a …

LeBron James said it’s “going to take some time” for his new team-mates to gel after suffering defeat on his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers in a pre-season game. The 41-year-old American joined the 76ers in July for what he says will be his final contract in the NBA following a glittering career. Advertisement James is the highest points scorer …

The bond between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is as real as it gets. And though it was just a preseason game Thursday night, Doncic and Reaves showed why they form one of the most dynamic offensive backcourts in the NBA. Advertisement The Lakers duo linked up on the very first play against the Sacramento Kings, with Reaves passing to …

Bruce Brown had a solid season last year in Denver. He averaged eight points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 24 minutes per game. He played all 82 games for the Nuggets and was a fixture of their rotation. He’s just 30 years old. Under previous collective bargaining agreements, a player of Brown’s archetype would get guaranteed money …

What does the preseason actually determine? Do the wins and losses matter? The answer to the second question is quite literally, no. The answer to the first is general improvements from individual players, and some idea of what the rotations could look like come the regular season. The San Antonio Spurs saw a little bit of both in their 123-116 …

After sitting out the first two exhibition contests, Austin Reaves will make his preseason debut against the Kings on Thursday. Head coach JJ Redick announced pregame that Reaves would return to the court, his first appearance since signing his big deal to return to the Lakers this summer. However, Reaves is not going to be joined by his teammates who …

‘Tis the preseason. The Brooklyn Nets began theirs on Tuesday night in Charlotte, putting on quite the performance, particularly at the offensive end, as they aerosol sprayed the “Hornets” en route to a 124-90 victory. Hornets is in parenthesis because Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, and Coby White all sat out. Thursday, it was the Philadelphia 76ers’ turn to be the …

It’s understandable if it’s still hard to believe, but the Sixers’ starting lineup of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid made its debut Thursday night in Brooklyn. It was just a preseason game, but it gave us a fun glimpse of what can be in the Sixers’ 114-108 loss to the Nets. Advertisement Brown led …

The Washington Wizards defeated the New York Knicks, 111-109 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The win gives Washington a 1-0 record in the preseason. As you might have expected, the Wizards started their Big Three of AJ Dybantsa, Trae Young and Anthony Davis. Washington even finished with a 30-29 lead. Dybantsa didn’t start out too hot, but he …

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers opened up the exhibition slate with a less-than-stellar 124-113 loss to a Boston Celtics team that didn’t bring their starting lineup. Still, there were some positives to take away from this one. Peyton Watson was the bright spot of this game. Advertisement Preseason basketball can be fool’s gold. You don’t have to look further than …

Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site that visit other …

The Cleveland Cavaliers took their first loss of the preseason in a 124-113 defeat to the Boston Celtics. Donovan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen started the game for Cleveland. James Harden was ruled out with ankle soreness. Advertisement Boston was without Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Peyton Pritchard, Mitchell Robinson, and Paul George. This was Cleveland’s …

The Cleveland Cavaliers opened their first of three preseason games with a loss to the Boston Celtics. We’re trying a new format for player grades this year. The goal is to separate players into categories and trim some fat from each game. We’ll be focusing more on the standouts (for better or worse) instead of grading every individual player. Advertisement …

In their return to the Garden for the first time since Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, the Knicks struggled to keep up with a young Washington Wizards core, losing by just two points, 111-109, for their second loss of the preseason. Here are some takeaways… — Just as in Monday’s 120-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, …

LeBron James made his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers. Sort of. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer suited up for the team’s preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Barclays Center and was in the starting lineup. Advertisement The crowd cheered enthusiastically as James did his pregame ritual, tossing chalk in the air, for the first time …

NEW YORK — LeBron James, just like always, walked to the scorer’s table. And, just like always, he picked up the bottle of talcum powder, dusted a tiny bit off to his right and left sides, and then he caked his right hand. It was the same chalk toss, the same staccato claps and the same strut toward center court. …

Do you know what the most annoying thing about the preseason is? Trying to figure out what the hell actually matters. And am I allowed to have an opinion on any of it? If you do and it’s perceived as negative, you’re a hater. If it’s positive, you’re a fan boy. What happened to watch, process, and report? I get …

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s unusual for an NBA coach to willingly use their first timeout in the opening minute of a game. But that’s exactly what Lakers coach JJ Redick did during his short-handed team’s 124-98 blowout loss to the Warriors on Tuesday night at Chase Center after an “insane” start to the game, as Redick put it. It didn’t …

In the spirit of overreacting to one preseason game, everyone is overreacting to Detroit’s preseason opening win against the Phoenix Suns. I am just as guilty as everyone else, but I think people are misdiagnosing the thing worth getting most excited about. Ausar Thompson, fresh off of signing a new five-year, $155 million deal to become a core member of …

The Lakers’ preseason stint continues on Thursday when they take on the visiting Sacramento Kings. This will serve as a rematch after the purple and gold absolutely demolished them in their preseason opener. Start time and TV schedule Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings Advertisement When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Oct 8 Where: Crypto.com Arena Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet, ESPN2 Just …

For the second straight preseason game, the Suns could not finish the job, falling 124-117 to the Bulls. They built a lead of as many as 15 points mid-second quarter, and had good defensive energy described by color commentator Rex Chapman as “it looks like the Suns are playing with eight players out there”. This intensity and focus did not sustain …

Forgive me for the early preview, but since this matchup between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks is tipping off at 7am CT, I figured it would be best to get this out there the day before. The game is starting at an ungodly hour for Central Time denizens because it’s taking place in Macau, China, at Venetian Arena. A …