Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley used a mix of athleticism, shooting ability, ambidextrousness and the advantage of his indoor gym to get past Zach LaVine in the final of the NBA HORSE Challenge. Conley took just two letters in defeating LaVine, who had overwhelmed his first two opponents with […]
Basketball
WNBA Draft Odds: Ionescu Locked in at No. 1, But Who’s Going Next?
There is virtually no doubt that the New York Liberty will draft Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu with the first pick of the WNBA Draft on Friday night. But the second pick and beyond should provide some drama when teams announce the names of the players they want on their rosters. […]
Emoni Bates First Sophomore Named High School Player of the Year
Emoni Bates made history by becoming the first sophomore to earn High School Player of the Year honors. Bates, the star player at Lincoln High in Ypsilanti, Michigan, won the 2020 Gatorade National Player of the Year. Bates, a 6-foot-9 point-forward, is only 16 years old and still has two […]
2020 NBA Draft: Leandro Bolmaro (Argentina) Projected Late First-Round Pick
Scouts project that Argentina’s Leandro Bolmaro, who played for Barcelona in Spain’s top league, will be drafted late in the opening round of the 2020 NBA Draft. Bolmaro, 19, played for FC Barcelona for the past two seasons. He spent his first season with Barcelona in the third division. This […]
Going Pro: Duke Big Man Vernon Carey Declares for NBA Draft
Vernon Carey led Duke in scoring as a freshman and now the 6-foot-10 center is officially a “one-and-done” player after declaring himself eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. Carey averaged 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks this season at Duke. He also shot 57.7% from the floor. Carey earned […]
2020 NBA Draft Prospect: PG Killian Hayes (France)
Killian Hayes, a point guard prospect from France, declared himself eligible for the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft. Several mock drafts project Hayes as a late, first-round pick. Hayes, 18, already played pro ball in France and Germany. The 6-foot-5, left-handed point guard currently plays for Ratiopharm Ulm in the top […]
2 Suns, 1 Champ: Devin Booker Defeats Deandre Ayton in NBA 2K Tournament
Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, teammates on the Phoenix Suns, met each other in the championship of the 16-team “players only” NBA 2K tournament hosted on Xbox One. Booker defeated Ayton by winning Games 1 and 2 in the best-of-three championship series. “I said in the beginning that it was […]
NBA HORSE Challenge: Quigley, Billups, Conley, LaVine Reach Semis of Awkwardly Filmed Contest
The NBA HORSE Challenge kicked off with four quarterfinal matchups on Sunday night, featuring a mix of awkward pauses, rusty shooters, and some entertaining interaction between the eight NBA and WNBA players taking part in the contest. Each of the eight competitors took part from their own home courts, ranging […]
Rudy Tomjanovich Heading to Basketball Hall of Fame
Rudy Tomjanovich, a five-time NBA All-Star player and a two-time NBA champion as head coach of the Houston Rockets, earned an induction into the 2020 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Tomjanovich won two NBA titles in the mid-1990s with Hakeem Olajuwon. Tomjanovich spent 34 seasons with the Rockets as a […]
Field of Eight NBA, WNBA Players Set for Televised HORSE Challenge
Eight current and former NBA and WNBA players will take part in a classic basketball competition from the safety of their homes when ESPN broadcasts the NBA HORSE Challenge beginning on Sunday, April 12. The tournament will benefit charity, with State Farm donating more than $200,000 to coronavirus response efforts […]
NBA 2K Players Tournament Odds: Devin Booker and Patrick Beverly Favorites
The NBA 2K players-only tournament continues with eight NBA players remaining and the quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday. Trae Young, Deandre Ayton, Patrick Beverly, Andre Drummond, Montrezl Harrell, Rui Hachimura, Devin Booker, and Derrick Jones, Jr. all won their first-round matches and advanced to the second round. Beverly (+225) and Booker […]
Sabrina Ionescu and Obi Toppin Named Wooden Award Winners
The John R. Wooden Award recognizes the top player in college basketball. Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon) and Obi Toppin (Dayton) both won the 2020 Wooden Award as the premier women’s and men’s college basketball players. Ionescu won the Wooden Award in consecutive years. She joined an elite group of five other […]
French Star Theo Maledon Declares for NBA Draft
Theo Maledon, a point guard from France, made himself eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. Maledon plays on the French national team and he has been playing pro basketball with ASVEL. Maledon, who will turn 19-years old in mid-June, has been regarded as the top young player in France for […]
Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey Named to Basketball Hall of Fame
Kim Mulkey, a standout college basketball player with Louisiana Tech in the 1980s and current coach of the Baylor Lady Bears, earned a nod into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Mulkey won three NCAA women’s basketball championships as the head coach of Baylor. She also earned a championship as a […]
H-O-R-S-E: NBA Discussing ‘HORSE’ Competition with ESPN
With pro basketball sidelined in North America due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA is exploring various ideas to help entertain its fans and players during quarantine. One idea under consideration is based on HORSE (or H-O-R-S-E), a fun playground or backyard game, but involving self-quarantined NBA players challenging each […]
Nevada Allows Betting on Virtual NASCAR iRacing
The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced on Friday that sportsbooks can accept bets on the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series starting this weekend. Now that Nevada has paved the way for betting on NASCAR’s virtual races, other states and eSports may follow. The outbreak of the coronavirus has left […]
WNBA Delaying Training Camps, Start of Regular Season
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Friday that the league is pushing back the start of its 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the league is delaying most activities, the WNBA will still hold its draft on April 17, though it will use a virtual format with players participating […]
Tyus Edney Buzzer Beater Propels UCLA to 1995 March Madness Title
It’s been 25 years since UCLA point guard, Tyus Edney, went coast-to-coast with 4.8 seconds remaining to defeat Missouri 75-74 on a buzzer-beater shot in the second round of the 1995 March Madness tournament. That sensational, last-second victory propelled #1 UCLA into the Sweet 16 as the Bruins ran the […]
NBA 2K Players-Only Tournament, Kevin Durant and Trae Young Top Seeds
Ready for some NBA eSports action with real NBA players? The NBA and NBA 2K are hosting a special, 16-player, heads-up tournament on XBox One with a $100,000 first-place prize that will be donated to coronavirus charities and relief efforts. Kevin Durant and Trae Young are the top-two seeds, with […]
Basketball Movies: ‘Hoosiers’ (1986) with Gene Hackman
“Hoosiers” features Gene Hackman as Norman Dale, a former college basketball coach with a shady past who finds himself on the road to redemption in rural Indiana. Dale accepts the head coaching job in Hickory, Indiana and convinces Hickory’s best player, Jimmy Chitwood, to re-join the team after he quit […]