MINNEAPOLIS — This was more than 90 minutes before the Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks would have a noon tipoff at Target Center. The WNBA game was scheduled to be televised nationally on CBS.

There were 15 girls, maybe ages 10 to 13, ready to make a left turn from the skyway to the arena entry. The youngsters were wearing T-shirts saluting ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Saturday afternoon at Target Center was supposed to be a celebration of Seimone Augustus’ Hall of Fame career, the legacy of four WNBA titles, the joy of success past and a bright future.

But Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sat down 90 minutes before her team’s nationally televised game with the Los Angeles Sparks, in a quiet room, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The more I watch VJ Edgecombe, the more I think that the Sixers shouldn’t be looking to trade down.

Trade up? Sure. But that’s probably not going to happen. Not with a prospect like Dylan Harper on the board. Most years, he’d be the unquestioned No. 1 overall pick. He isn’t a surefire generational talent like Cooper ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors’ brand of basketball, once revolutionary, appears downright antiquated compared to the breathtaking hoops being played in the NBA Finals.

The Pacers and Thunder look light years ahead of Golden State as young, flexible and tactically modern rosters zoom up and down the court.

Athleticism, overt defensive ...Read more

DENVER — Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook is expected to decline his $3.5 million player option and enter unrestricted free agency this offseason, a league source told The Denver Post on Friday, confirming a report by league insider Marc Stein.

Westbrook, 36, signed with Denver last summer at the veteran minimum for two years, with a player ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers are in the process of exploring every option available to secure an impact player in the upcoming NBA draft.

A source confirmed a HoopsHype report that the team reached out to the San Antonio Spurs about obtaining the second pick. This comes after league executives told The Philadelphia Inquirer they expected the ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky will not tank.

General manager Jeff Pagliocca made that clear in the wake of Courtney Vandersloot’s season-ending ACL tear Saturday against the Indiana Fever.

Things are dire in Chicago. At 2-6, the Sky have the third-worst record in the WNBA, ahead of only the Connecticut Sun (2-7) and Dallas Wings (1-9). And ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Matchups for the 2025-26 men’s basketball ACC-SEC Challenge have been set as the ACC seeks to improve on its dismal performance in last year’s event.

Duke will play at home for the second consecutive year in the event while North Carolina and N.C. State have road games and Wake Forest draws a home game.

Duke, coming off a...Read more

NEW YORK — The Knicks have entered the Kevin Durant sweepstakes — and there’s a chance they could win it outright.

The Durant in Phoenix era is coming to an end, and according to ESPN, the two sides have met “multiple times over the past week” to discuss trade scenarios following a disappointing season that ended without a playoff ...Read more

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown had surgery Wednesday to repair the knee injury that hindered him for the final several months of the 2024-25 Celtics season.

Brown underwent what the team called a “right knee arthroscopic debridement procedure” 3 1/2 weeks after Boston’s season ended with a second-round series loss to the New York Knicks. He “...Read more

NEW YORK — The Knicks have cast a wide net in their head coaching search following their Eastern Conference finals loss to the Indiana Pacers — a defeat that ultimately led to the decision to part ways with Tom Thibodeau after the franchise’s most successful season in a quartercentury.

As part of that process, league sources tell the New ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Drew Hirschman is unemployed and lives with his parents. But the recent college graduate is six wins away from a $270,761.40 payday.

Hirschman, 24, placed a $13 five-team futures parlay at DraftKings sportsbook before last year’s WNBA Finals. He needs the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Finals and the Edmonton Oilers to win...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — About eight years ago, Meleyen Tengben checked his Instagram direct messages and he saw a message from a freshman at Minnehaha Academy named Chet Holmgren.

Tengben is a barber who has started his own shop in Brooklyn Park (with a new location coming soon in Atlanta). He had been cutting the hair of Holmgren’s friend and ...Read more

MIAMI — Months after making a trade offer for Kevin Durant, the Heat again have interest in acquiring the 15-time All-Star forward, but only at the right price, a source with direct knowledge said Wednesday.

Confirmation of the Heat’s renewed interest in Durant came after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that the Heat and Suns ...Read more