Basketball

10:56 AM ET Any unvaccinated NBA player with temporary visa status who leaves the country will be unable to reenter the United States, according to a memo obtained by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday. For example, a player who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 would be unable to reenter the United States after playing in

7:20 AM ET The two best teams in the NBA met twice last week, splitting the series. Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns shut down Stephen Curry on Tuesday in Phoenix, but the Golden State Warriors bounced back on their home floor on Friday. They both start the week at a league-best 19-4, but which

1:31 AM ET NEW YORK — With DeMar DeRozan drawing James Harden and Kevin Durant with him on a drive into the paint, Lonzo Ball was all alone on the right wing as he launched a 3, crouched in anticipation and then turned toward courtside to the fans behind him after drilling a late dagger

9:57 AM ET ESPN News Services The Charlotte Hornets have had four players — LaMelo Ball, Jalen McDaniels, Mason Plumlee and Terry Rozier — enter into the NBA’s health and safety protocols, it was announced Saturday. The Hornets have sent players and staff home from their practice facility as there’s concern of possible positive COVID-19

12:14 PM ET The Portland Trail Blazers have fired general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey following an investigation into workplace misconduct, the team announced Friday. “Following the conclusion of the independent review of concerns and complaints around our workplace environment at the practice facility, the Portland Trail Blazers organization has decided to

2:41 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN METAIRIE, La. — Zion Williamson‘s return to the NBA floor has been delayed because of soreness in his surgically repaired right foot, the New Orleans Pelicans announced Thursday afternoon. Williamson was supposed to participate in his first full practice on Thursday but was held out because of the soreness he

3:20 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Miami Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo will undergo surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, the team announced Wednesday. Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Adebayo is expected to be out for four to six weeks, which would cause him to miss between 15 to

3:41 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom said he would welcome the opportunity to speak to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James — who he has criticized, along with Nike, for hypocrisy due to not speaking out about human rights violations in China — and “educate” him on the

7:35 AM ET The battle for No. 1 in the NBA Power Rankings is on. The Golden State Warriors, winners of seven straight games, take their league-best 18-2 record into Tuesday night’s Western Conference showdown with the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix, meanwhile, hasn’t lost in over a month and is one win shy of matching the

4:45 PM ET The Milwaukee Bucks are signing four-time All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Cousins, 31, will sign a non-guaranteed deal to join the defending NBA champions, sources said. Teams must guarantee contracts for the balance of the season by January 7. The Bucks have been without center Brook Lopez with

3:53 PM ET Houston Rockets guard John Wall has expressed his hopes to the organization that he can resume playing for the team in the near future, sources tell ESPN. Wall and the Rockets had agreed on him sitting out until a trade could be found, but the five-time All-Star guard talked to Houston general

1:01 PM ET Houston Rockets rookie guard Jalen Green will miss at least one week because of a strained left hamstring, coach Stephen Silas told reporters Friday. Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft, exited Wednesday’s 118-113 win over the Chicago Bulls in the second quarter because of the injury. Silas said

1:53 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James was napping in the city that never sleeps on Monday when the NBA announced that the Los Angeles Lakers star would be suspended for the first time in his 19-year career and have to miss Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks. “Rob [Pelinka] called me. I missed

1:11 AM ET NEW YORK — Russell Westbrook was tremendous in the second half of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 106-100 loss to the New York Knicks, scoring 25 of his game-high 31 points after the break to help get his team back into a game in which it trailed by as many as 25 points

6:11 PM ET ESPN News Services Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been suspended one game for “recklessly hitting” Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart in the face during their altercation in Sunday’s game, the NBA announced on Monday. Stewart has been suspended two games for “escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing”

8:03 PM ET DETROIT — LeBron James was ejected from the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday for striking Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart in the face while jostling for rebounding position. The hit led to a stoppage in action while Stewart, with blood coming down his face, had to be

1:05 PM ET The Sacramento Kings fired coach Luke Walton on Sunday, sources told ESPN. The Kings have lost seven of eight games and dropped to 6-11 on season — leaving them 12th in the Western Conference. Kings associate head coach Alvin Gentry — a five-time head coach in the NBA — is expected to

8:16 PM ET Jamal Collier MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said the organization would “continue to fight for better” in the aftermath of a jury’s verdict Friday that Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men and wounded another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, was acquitted of all charges. The Bucks performed