PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Willard’s official introduction as Villanova’s men’s basketball coach had ended Wednesday, the administrators and boosters and former players dispersing, and in a quieter area inside the Finneran Pavilion, Eric Roedl started juggling. Ideas, not rubber balls or chain saws.

There is Villanova: the big-time Big East ...Read more

MIAMI — Typically after a season like this, whenever it ends, a major top-to-bottom review would be in order, over how a team can go from 10 games over .500 a year ago and from the NBA Finals two years ago to the depths of the Eastern Conference.

This time around, there will be no need.

Because the problem already is gone, or, better put, ...Read more

SEATTLE — Is it Brandon Roy? Jamal Crawford? Might Nate Robinson be in the mix?

If we’re talking about the best basketball player to come out of Seattle, those aren’t names you can ignore.

But if this question were asked five years from now, there might be a definitive answer. One Paolo Banchero. Have you seen what this guy is doing?

...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A national championship coach and collection of players exited the south end tunnel of the Swamp to reception befitting for a winner.

It had been a while in the place where, “Only Gators get out alive,” the slogan on the front of the T-shirt worn by Todd Golden.

On a day Billy Napier’s football program put on its ...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets players have teeth.

They smile. They laugh. They talk.

With Michael Malone’s paranoia gone and Calvin Booth’s pettiness absent, the Nuggets are enjoying basketball again.

The Nuggets divorced from their two highest-profile employees and were awarded custody of Rocky.

Everyone is taking ownership. Except ownership. ...Read more

BOSTON — After three seasons split between Boston and Maine, JD Davison has earned an official Celtics roster spot.

The Celtics on Saturday filled their final open 15-man roster slot — which had been left vacant for the entire season — by converting Davison’s two-way contract to a permanent NBA deal, his agent told ESPN’s Shams ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves were hopeful after Friday night’s win over Brooklyn that the technical foul Anthony Edwards received would be rescinded. If it wasn’t, Edwards was set to be suspended for Sunday’s regular-season finale against Utah, a game that carries major playoff implications for the Wolves.

Win and they guarantee ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was the humiliating snub that saved a season.

It was the most beautiful embarrassment in Lakers history.

Dan Hurley, thank you.

Thank you for turning down $70 million from the Lakers to stay at UConn. Thank you for walking away from Hollywood to hang out in Storrs. Thank you for doing the unthinkable to a team desperate for...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mark Pope has gone international to add another piece to the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball team.

On Saturday afternoon, UK got a commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 Croatian big man.

ESPN first reported Jelavic’s commitment to Kentucky.

Jelavic — a power forward who will turn 21 years old in May — is considered...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — It wasn’t perfect, but Mark Pope’s first season as Kentucky men’s basketball coach should be judged a success.

Now, it’s time to start contemplating what will need to happen for year two of UK’s Pope coaching era to also be deemed a triumph.

Prior to Pope’s debut season coaching at his college alma mater, there ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James moved gingerly to the bench, grabbing toward the inside of his left leg midway through the third quarter.

This, for the Los Angeles Lakers, was the worst-case scenario on a night where they could lock up their best-case scenario for the playoffs.

A win against the Rockets with Houston sitting 80% of its starting ...Read more

PORTLAND — With the specter of the dreaded play-in tournament looming over the Warriors, Golden State’s matchup in Portland on Friday night was a must-win game in everything but name.

So was there any doubt that the Golden State Warriors veterans – with their Hall of Fame legacies forged in games of the highest stakes – would take care ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The race for an automatic spot in the playoffs has kept the Los Angeles Clippers on high alert. The race to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament has kept them playing with purpose.

The Clippers know the stakes are high in the competitive Western Conference, each game more important than the last as they jockey for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves just had to avoid disaster Friday and get through the night with nothing jeopardizing their chances of reaching the No. 6 position in the Western Conference standings and securing a guaranteed playoff spot.

The Wolves did pick up the win Friday night over the Nets, 117-91, but they will now have to play Sunday�...Read more

BOSTON — The Celtics rode a dominant second half to their 60th victory of the season Friday night, blowing out the Charlotte Hornets 130-94 at TD Garden.

Derrick White led all Celtics starters with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with seven assists, three rebounds and four blocks. Jayson Tatum finished with 16 points, eight assists ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The NBA draft lottery is going to be interesting.

The Sixers secured the league’s fifth-worst record on Friday with a convincing 124-110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. With one game remaining, the Sixers (24-57) were 2 1/2 losses ahead of the league’s sixth-worst Brooklyn Nets, who played late Friday against the Minnesota ...Read more

NEW YORK — When the Knicks dropped Thursday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons — an early preview of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 playoff battle — the defeat felt understandable. New York had rested three key cogs in OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart, making the loss palatable.

So when the Cavaliers rolled into Madison Square Garden...Read more

NEW ORLEANS — The reality of a regular season that soured months ago hit home Friday night for the Miami Heat: They’ No. 10.

Despite a 153-104 victory Friday night over the injury-ravaged New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center — the highest-scoring game in the franchise’s 37 seasons — the Heat were locked into the No. 10 and ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons are locked into the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs following a 125-119 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with a game-high 36 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, scoring 21 points in the first half. He also accounted for four of Detroit's 10 turnovers. Jalen ...Read more