PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid always says that his life is like a movie. Hopefully, we’re at the point of the film where the star athlete emerges as a new man after clearing his head on a long, thoughtful motorcycle ride along the coastline with a brooding ‘80s song playing in the background. No epic is complete without a look-in-the-mirror ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of the most heartening events on the Kansas City sports calendar is the WIN for KC Women’s Sports Awards banquet: an annual celebration of the Women’s Intersport Network for Kansas City’s mission to “ignite girls and women through advocating and promoting the lifetime value of sports and fitness, while providing ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — If you feel like you just lived through one of the best Kentucky basketball weeks in eons, it is because you did.

Last Tuesday night, the UK men turned in a gritty, late-game rally that carried the Wildcats to a 77-72 upset of then-No. 6 Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic in Atlanta.

In his third game as Kentucky’s...Read more

On a night when both sides were missing their top stars, the Magic (without All-Star Paolo Banchero) dominated the paint and shared the ball to hand the Kevin Durant-less Suns their fourth consecutive loss.

For Orlando, the 109-99 victory at Footprint Center is its sixth in a row, just its second on the road through the first 15 games and what ...Read more

NEW YORK — Suddenly, the Knicks are finding their rhythm, winning four of their last five games.

That streak could easily have been five straight if not for a controversial foul call on Josh Hart in the final seconds of a Nov. 13 game against the Chicago Bulls. Hart’s brush against Coby White’s afro on a desperate three-point attempt sent...Read more

BOSTON — The top team in the NBA will take the court Tuesday night at TD Garden. And it won’t be the Boston Celtics.

The Cleveland Cavaliers carry a flawless 15-0 record into the NBA Cup matchup on Causeway Street, setting the stage for a rare meeting between a reigning league champion and an opponent this hot.

It’s just the fourth time ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons' subpar offensive performance led to a 122-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons shot 42.9% from the field and 15-of-44 from behind the arc.

Fatigue might’ve been vital in their performance, given that the game marked the Pistons’ fifth back-to-back set of the ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Bill Self, who passed Phog Allen in men’s basketball coaching victories at tradition-rich Kansas last Tuesday, can claim yet another milestone victory a week after the Jayhawks’ 77-69 win over Michigan State in Atlanta.

Self, KU’s 22nd-year head coach, has compiled a 799-248 record in 32 seasons at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Not much is known about the next statue the Lakers plan to have erected outside Crypto.com Arena.

But it is almost certain that sculpture will be well-dressed and have impeccable hair.

The team announced Monday that Showtime-era coach Pat Riley will be the next Lakers legend to be honored with a statue on Star Plaza outside the...Read more

NEW YORK — Basketball’s leading studio show is heading to the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

“Inside the NBA,” the Emmy-dominating halftime and postgame program starring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal, will begin airing on ESPN and ABC next season, parent company Disney announced Monday.

The move comes ...Read more

CHICAGO — Tyler Marsh wasn’t sure if this would be the year.

Marsh had wanted to be a head coach for as long as he could remember. But he was happy with his role as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces — and with his mentorship under former WNBA Coach of the Year Becky Hammon.

So every call Marsh took from a WNBA team this offseason...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — After some gamesmanship from Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, the NBA retroactively upgraded Draymond Green’s take foul on Zach Edey from Friday night’s game to a Flagrant 1.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr agreed with the league’s decision.

“He grabbed him,” Kerr said after Golden State’s ...Read more

NEW YORK — Trendon Watford was cleared to play ahead of the Brooklyn Nets’ rematch against the Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, but Brooklyn was still without a healthy center and Karl-Anthony Towns was back on the court for New York after missing Friday’s interborough clash because of a knee injury.

Towns, 6-11, dominated the ...Read more

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Even without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray insisted, the team Denver brought on the road this week was a good one. Good enough that it should have won Friday night in New Orleans, at least.

With an opportunity to prove his point in a second consecutive game without the MVP center, the Nuggets fell behind by as many as 24 in a ...Read more

CLEVELAND — LaMelo Ball’s pockets got a little lighter on Sunday and the Charlotte Hornets’ star had a conversation with his head coach about expectations moving forward.

Ball was fined $100,000 by the NBA for “making an offensive and derogatory comment” in a postgame interview on Fan Dual Sports Southeast following the Hornets’ ...Read more

Paige Bueckers can start envisioning WNBA hoops in Texas after the conclusion of her career at UConn.

That future is almost a certainty after the ping pong balls worked in the Dallas Wings’ favor in the 2024 WNBA draft lottery. With guard Maddy Siegrist, the third overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, present as Sunday’s franchise ...Read more