LOS ANGELES — Magic Johnson is pretty active on X.

The affable and well-liked Lakers legend often will give his observations on a variety of topics. Not surprisingly, NBA basketball and the Lakers are of particular interest to the Showtime-era icon.

Typically, Johnson's posts are of the extremely non-controversial variety. Here are a couple ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers are hopeful about the June 25-26 NBA draft and the free-agency period that begins on June 30.

But the May 12 draft lottery in Chicago could shape their approach to both, as ways to upgrade their roster.

The lottery will give them a better idea of where they’ll draft and how much money will be available to retain ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Despite being 1,200 miles away from TD Garden, Jayson Tatum heard familiar chants as he stepped to the foul line late in Sunday’s playoff game.

“MVP. MVP. MVP.”

The Celtics star delivered a performance worthy of those cheers, racking up 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals as Boston defeated the Magic ...Read more

DETROIT — It was a foul, by any definition. Everyone saw it, the referee blew it, the Pistons knew it. And in that brutal, bitter flash, it became something painfully familiar — another gut-punch in another gut-wrenching loss for a Detroit team.

Prepare to recount the gory details for years. With the Pistons trailing by one Sunday, Tim ...Read more

Value each possession. Move with purpose and speed over every inch of the court. Make the right pass. Hit the big shot. Do the right thing.

Over and over and over.

These are the demands that must be met to win in the playoffs, and when you're on the road in a building pulsating with energy such as the Minnesota Timberwolves' arena, the demands...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s Khaman Maluach, a relative newcomer to basketball who boosted his game greatly with NBA Academy experience, entered his name for the NBA draft before the 11:59 p.m. deadline Saturday night, he announced on social media on Sunday.

A 7-2 center from South Sudan who is still 18 years old, Maluach has been projected as a ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons suffered a disappointing 94-93 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena. Karl-Anthony Towns hit consecutive clutch 3-point field goals, preventing the Pistons from mounting a second-half comeback.

Towns finished with 27 points and nine rebounds. Cade Cunningham finished the ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — With a roster that’s nearly set for the 2025-26 college basketball season and the next group of Kentucky Wildcats just a few weeks away from joining forces in Lexington, what’s the outlook for Mark Pope’s second season in charge of the program?

Good enough that Pope making good on his promise to hang more banners in ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The UConn women’s basketball team became the first program to produce 50 WNBA draftees when three players were selected in the 2025 draft, and the Huskies have a league-leading 18 alumni participating in training camps this season.

UConn players will be represented on 11 of the WNBA’s 13 teams when camp begins on Sunday,...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Facing the league’s most physical and handsy defense without his fearless co-star, the Golden State Warriors asked 37-year-old Steph Curry to put the offense on his shoulders in the third game of Golden State’s Western Conference playoff series with the Houston Rockets.

He answered the call, scoring 36 points on 12-of-23 ...Read more

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The goal for the Clippers was to not give the Denver Nuggets any hope in Game 4 and in the process take complete control of the seven-game playoff series.

For any of this to happen, both teams had to maintain their composure, which both sides lost late in the second quarter, resulting in technical fouls being called on six...Read more

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Aaron Gordon wished he didn’t have to turn around. The sooner he got out of Intuit Dome, the better.

But he had to turn back for a replay review before he could sprint to the locker room, and he’ll have to return again next Thursday for Game 6, because his buzzer-beating dunk off a Nikola Jokic air-ball handed the ...Read more

MIAMI — Homecourt didn’t help. Not against this, an opponent able to lock down on defense, light up on offense. Instead, it was the worst playoff loss in franchise history.

And so, with Saturday’s 124-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center, the Heat return Monday night to the scene of Saturday’s game to again attempt to ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Travis Perry will always be part of an elite fraternity in Kentucky basketball history.

Since Wayland High School’s “King” Kelly Coleman was named the first Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 1956, the award signifying the commonwealth’s top senior in boys high school hoops has been awarded 70 times.

Perry, the former Lyon...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — After a midseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers coach JJ Redick and LeBron James sounded a bit of an alarm, both coach and leader saying the Lakers didn’t have the luxury to just be pretty good.

The Lakers, if they wanted to win tough games, needed to be great.

“It’s just, we don’t have a huge margin for ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic wanted to turn their first-round playoff series against the supremely talented Boston Celtics into a drag-out slugfest.

On Friday, they landed their first punch.

After taking Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden, Boston succumbed to Orlando’s physicality in Game 3, losing 95-93 at the Kia Center. Game 4 is Sunday ...Read more

MIAMI — The trash talk on the court, that’s cool, part of the playoffs, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro said Friday.

But making it personal on camera, that, Herro said, crosses a line.

In the wake of his Cleveland Cavaliers moving to a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series, Cavaliers guard Darius ...Read more