RALEIGH, N.C. — Of all the innumerable changes that have reshaped college athletics during the past several years there is at least one constant that continues to endure: In the Triangle and throughout North Carolina’s Great Beyond, basketball rules.

It has. It does. It will.

Sure, that other major college sport generates all the headlines...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In June, when Royce Lewis looked like he was incapable of hitting anything less than a grand slam with the game on the line, I ranked the four best major-sport young athletes in Minnesota.

My picks: The Wolves’ Anthony Edwards a half-step ahead of the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, followed by Lewis, then the Wild’s Kirill ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was just last week that the Los Angeles Clippers hosted the Phoenix Suns and only nine days later they were playing them again at the Intuit Dome.

Before the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said there weren’t a lot of advantages to playing a team like the Suns so soon again, especially a team with lethal weapons Kevin ...Read more

CLEVELAND — After undergoing further testing Thursday in Cleveland, Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been diagnosed with a torn right oblique, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman announced.

Banchero will be out indefinitely and his return to play will depend on how he responds to treatment, the team said. He will be re-evaluated ...Read more

SEATTLE — One day, and that day is feeling closer by the minute, we’re likely to see the Sonics return to Seattle. And if it happens, it may just be the most glorious reunion between city and franchise in sports history.

Seattle is a hooper town. The enthusiasm you see whenever an NBA preseason game comes here, the pandemonium that occurs ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Pelicans were even more short-handed than the Warriors, having CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray unavailable due to injuries.

Their skeleton crew couldn’t keep pace with the Warriors, even without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton for a second straight night. Especially with ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Hawks’ rematch against the Wizards on Wednesday at Capital One Arena did not go according to plan. With the absence of five of their nine key rotational players, the Hawks looked like they ran out of gas in the second half and fell to the Wizards, 133-120.

Prior to tipoff, the Hawks ruled out Bogdan Bogdanovic (right ...Read more

The Memphis Grizzlies basically gave the Brooklyn Nets a 2030 second-round pick to take on Ziaire Williams’ contract last offseason. The former lottery pick was reduced to a salary dump so the team could open up cap space to re-sign wing Luke Kennard.

Wednesday night inside FedExForum, in his first game back in Memphis since the trade, ...Read more

An Eastern Conference finals rematch Wednesday night in Indiana produced a result that series didn’t:

A Celtics loss.

Five months after sweeping the Pacers to reach the NBA Finals, Boston overcame a 24-point second-half deficit but couldn’t complete the comeback, losing 135-132 in overtime at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

A Pascal Siakam 3-...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers unsuccessfully tried to avoid Toronto 2.0.

That’s when the undermanned squad was supposed to defeat the struggling Toronto Raptors only to suffer an embarrassing loss. They faced a similar situation Wednesday when the winless Detroit Pistons visited the Wells Fargo Center.

“They play really physical,” Kelly ...Read more

MIAMI — Bam Adebayo stood in one of the Kaseya Center’s corridors, fresh off the Heat’s morning shootaround ahead of tipoff against the Knicks on Wednesday. These Knicks, Adebayo knew, weren’t just retooled for another deep playoff run — they were built for a title.

New York didn’t just trade five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges...Read more

CHICAGO — The Magic were hoping to start their five-game road trip off on the right foot.

That wasn’t the case Wednesday night at the United Center against Chicago.

Despite Paolo Banchero‘s game-high 31 points — and a 3-pointer that didn’t count with 0.1 left on the clock — the Magic fell 102-99 after battling back and forth late ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — N.C. State’s Final Four run is officially in the rearview mirror as the Wolfpack starts a new season, and the team is excited for another chance to say, “Why not us?”

That underdog mindset drove the Wolfpack through March and April, and the team plans to have that mentality as it enters the 2024-25 season.

N.C. State ...Read more

CLEVELAND — LeBron James, like he has countless times in this arena on this floor, planted his foot on the court and exploded for a one-handed slam — his signature play in the city where he once brought a championship.

It was his first points of the game — a night where he’d be celebrated by Cavaliers fans not only for his return back ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is the city of Brotherly Love, but Wednesday night, there were no signs of affection shown towards Tobias Harris. After six seasons playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Harris made his return to Wells Fargo Center as a member of the Detroit Pistons.

Nine hours before tipoff, Harris described his tenure with the ...Read more

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — While most of the Denver Nuggets were asleep or otherwise keeping to themselves during a long flight to Toronto last weekend, Russell Westbrook wandered to the back of the team’s plane and struck up a conversation with head coach Michael Malone.

There was talk of basketball, of Denver’s new-look second unit and its bumpy ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Knowing he had a supremely talented incoming freshman in Cooper Flagg, Duke coach Jon Scheyer rebuilt the Blue Devils last spring.

Now, the 6-foot-9 Flagg is in a Duke uniform. NBA scouts regularly attend Blue Devils practices to see the player many believe will be the No. 1 overall pick in next summer's NBA draft.

Around ...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — RJ Davis put aside pro basketball for another year to return to North Carolina, and knows what he wants out of his final college season.

“We want to be playing in the first week in April,” the UNC guard said.

That would be at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. That’s where the 2025 NCAA Final Four will be.

Davis ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Lindy Waters III has been one of the Warriors’ best players since the first day of training camp, according to Steve Kerr.

One of the best players, point blank.

Yet Waters began the season out of Kerr’s 12-man rotation, the victim of a cruel numbers game that a deep roster creates. Still, Waters got a chance four games ...Read more