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Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Hailey Van Lith made the Sky's 12-player roster. But why are there so few spots on WNBA teams?

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky made their last three roster cuts Sunday, finalizing the 2025 roster less than a week ahead of the team’s season opener against the Indiana Fever.

No. 11 overall pick Hailey Van Lith and second-round pick Maddy Westbeld earned the final two openings after the Sky waived Jessika Carter, Morgan Bertsch and Ally ...Read more

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America/TNS

Timberwolves go up 3-1 after 117-110 win over Warriors in Game 4 of Western Conference semifinals

Sports / Basketball /

SAN FRANCISCO – Even though the Wolves had won Games 2 and 3, it rarely felt over those two games like they reached their peak potential in this series against the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors.

They did that in the third quarter of Game 4 Monday, and that carried the Wolves to a 117-110 victory over the Warriors for a 3-1 series ...Read more

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Celtics' Jayson Tatum suffers apparent leg injury in Game 4 loss vs. Knicks

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum was leading his defending champion Boston Celtics squad to a late comeback in hopes to tie the series with the New York Knicks at 2-2.

Then Boston’s repeat title hopes went up in flames as the superstar suffered an apparent non-contact right leg injury with 3:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. The injury took place ...Read more

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Jayson Tatum injured as Knicks win Game 4, push Celtics to brink

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — The Boston Celtics bid for back-to-back NBA titles officially is on life support after yet another second-half nosedive.

Looking to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games apiece, Boston instead squandered a 14-point third-quarter lead and a standout performance from Jayson Tatum in a 121-113 loss to the New York Knicks...Read more

Jason Getz/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Hawks to pick 13th in next month's NBA draft

Sports / Basketball /

The results are in, and the Atlanta Hawks officially will make their pick in next month’s NBA draft at No. 13.

After choosing forward Zaccharie Risacher No. 1 overall in last year’s draft, the Hawks will have two first-round choices in 2025. They will also pick at No. 22.

The Dallas Mavericks won Monday night’s NBA draft lottery in ...Read more

Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald/TNS

Hornets secure fourth pick in 2025 NBA draft after Mavericks win lottery

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — Chalk up yet another disappointing night for the Charlotte Hornets.

Armed with the top odds — along with Utah and Washington — to land the No. 1 overall pick, the Hornets failed to win the 2025 NBA draft lottery on Monday night at McCormick Place, foiling the opportunity to secure a potentially franchise-altering player in Duke ...Read more

Sarah Stier/Getty Images North America/TNS

Nets land No. 8 overall pick in 2025 NBA draft

Sports / Basketball /

The Brooklyn Nets, represented by head coach Jordi Fernandez at the 41st annual NBA draft lottery in Chicago, secured the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft on Monday.

Brooklyn entered the night with the sixth-best odds, holding a 37.2% chance of picking in the Top 4 and a 9.0% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.

The Dallas ...Read more

Sixers land No. 3 pick in 2025 NBA draft, keeping top-six protected selection away from Thunder

Sports / Basketball /

Finally free of months of suspense, the 76ers can start to put things in motion.

They can also celebrate this thing over which they had no control, but that wound up meaning so much to them. They can grin and laugh and embrace now that the results of Monday’s NBA draft lottery are finalized.

The Sixers will select third in June‘s draft. ...Read more

Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Bulls stay put in NBA draft lottery and will have the No. 12 pick in the 1st round

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — Luck was not in the Chicago Bulls’ favor Monday night.

The Bulls didn’t improve their positioning in the NBA draft lottery at McCormick Place and will have the No. 12 pick in the first round. The Dallas Mavericks won the No. 1 pick — despite the fourth-worst odds at 1.8% — and almost certainly will select Duke superstar ...Read more

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Michael Jordan to join NBC's team for NBA broadcasts during the 2025-26 season

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — The G.O.A.T. is headed to the broadcast studio.

NBC Universal announced Monday that six-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan will join the studio’s coverage of the NBA this fall.

The Chicago Bulls legend will be a “special contributor” to NBC broadcasts beginning in October. NBC made the announcement during an ...Read more

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David Murphy: The real math says the Sixers won't land Cooper Flagg. But what about the conspiracy math?

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Do I think the Sixers are going to end up drafting Cooper Flagg?

No, I don’t.

The math says they have only a 10.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in Monday night’s NBA draft lottery. But maybe you don’t believe the math. Maybe you think that the NBA Deep State decides which teams draft where. Maybe you think ...Read more

Harry How/Getty Images North America/TNS

Bill Plaschke: A painful truth: Lakers must trade Austin Reaves

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — I love him like you love him.

But it's time.

Austin Reaves is the Lakers' breath of fresh air, a sharpshooting respite from all the drama and dirge, a stirring journey from undrafted to indefatigable. My favorite, everybody's favorite.

But it's time.

If the Lakers are going to get where they need to be, they'll have to get ...Read more

Cindy Ord/Getty Images North America/TNS

WNBA motherhood: The balancing act between career and kids

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Even on Mother’s Day — the day dedicated to relaxation and pampering for moms — the Sparks took the hardwood in Torrance, sweating through defensive sets, refining footwork and hitting jumpers.

It’ was a shortened practice, but practice nonetheless. There’s no time to pause. The WNBA season opener is less than a week ...Read more

Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times/TNS

How UCLA's Andy Hill spawned the plus-minus stat, an ode to team play and John Wooden

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — The basketball coaches at Santa Monica College had this kid.

A wisp of a player at 5 feet 3, he wasn't a particularly strong shooter and didn't score much. What he lacked in skill he more than compensated for by diving on the court, taking charges, stripping the ball from the guy he was defending.

The basketball coaches at ...Read more

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post/TNS

Troy Renck: Nuggets were not a no-show; they were a no-shoot in ugly Game 4 loss

Sports / Basketball /

DENVER — The Nuggets delivered a performance only a mother could love.

Pass out the Capri-Suns and orange slices. They won the participation trophy. They tried really hard.

But in the biggest game of the Western Conference semifinals, where results matter more than energy and effort, the Nuggets shot like the rim was a moving target.

...Read more

Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America/TNS

Could the Bulls still land Cooper Flagg? Here's how the NBA draft lottery will work.

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls will be anxiously awaiting the results of a handful of ping-pong balls alongside 13 other teams on Monday night.

This year’s NBA draft lottery is one of the most highly anticipated iterations of the event in recent history as teams jockey for a chance to take Duke standout Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick...Read more

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post/TNS

Nuggets go cold at wrong time, drop Game 4 to Thunder at home

Sports / Basketball /

DENVER — If the Nuggets do indeed thrive on the adrenaline of a thrilling playoff game or series, then a 3-1 lead over the Thunder might’ve been too simple for them.

Instead, they’ll have to find a way to win two of the last three games to upset the top seed in the Western Conference — with two of those three situated in Oklahoma City ...Read more

Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Why WNBA veteran Kayla Thornton is built to lead expansion Valkyries

Sports / Basketball /

SAN FRANCISCO — Off the floor, Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton is as laid back as one could be.

She seemingly always has a smile on her face, and on the right day, you might catch her singing through the hallways of the Valkyries’ practice facility in Oakland.

But on the floor, everything about the El Paso, Texas, native is ...Read more

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Ira Winderman: Better as betas? Riley has a Heat decision on Adebayo-Herro.

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — For as cogent as Pat Riley was on a variety of subjects in his emotional, forthright, candid conversation at Friday’s state-of-the-Heat address at Kaseya Center, not all was clearly spelled out by the franchise patriarch.

And in one respect, it came off as alpha-beta soup.

Are Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo the cornerstones?

Is the ...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Sky have green light to 'let it fly' from 3-point range. Can they keep up with the competition?

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky refuse to take the fewest 3-pointers in the WNBA again.

The Sky tried to get by without taking 3s last season, attempting a league-low 14.9 per game and averaging only 4.8 makes. It simply didn’t work. Abandoning the arc allowed defenses to smother the paint, leaving then-rookies Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese ...Read more