Kyrie Irving calls himself a “beacon of light.” He described himself this way in Thursday’s contentious press conference at the Brooklyn Nets’ practice facility, and in a prepared statement released the previous night by the Nets, the Anti-Defamation League and Irving himself. He also described himself this way last season, first on Instagram Live on media day, then after a …

The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the New York Knicks at home on Friday looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. The Sixers will have to go to battle without James Harden who is currently out with a foot injury. On top of that, they will also be missing Joel Embiid in the …

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (2-5) look to extend their winning streak to three games when they host Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz (6-3) at 10:30 p.m. ET Friday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Lakers are coming off a 120-117 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Anthony Davis scored 20 points and pulled down 16 rebounds …

CLEVELAND (AP) Joel Embiid did plenty of damage on his own. The Cavaliers, though, felt the big man got some unwarranted help. Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff was highly critical of the officiating after Embiid scored 44 points – and made 20 trips to the free throw line – in Philadelphia’s 112-108 win over the Cavs on Sunday night. ”That game …

After several days of calls for the Brooklyn Nets to suspend Kyrie Irving for promoting a film filled with antisemitic tropes on his social media accounts, the franchise went through with it on Thursday, suspending the All-Star guard for a minimum of five games without pay. This came after giving Irving several attempts to apologize for promoting the film and …

As he addressed reporters Thursday, as Kyrie Irving again refused to show any contrition for his own behavior and be accountable for his actions and promoting a movie that contains verifiably false information about Jewish people, he deflected more than once. Asked if he was surprised that his actions hurt people, Irving replied, “I think I can ask a better …

Much of the Los Angeles Lakers’ hang-up to trade Russell Westbrook centers on a reluctance to part with their 2027 and/or 2029 first-round draft pick(s), which is understandable. Those picks are pretty much the only assets the Lakers have as a bridge to the post-LeBron era, which could be right around the corner. If they deal those picks, signaling a …

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to bounce back on Friday when they play host to the New York Knicks after they fell at home to the Washington Wizards. The Knicks are a tougher team and they will give Philadelphia their challenges, especially given how shorthanded the Sixers are at the moment. The game on Friday can be seen locally on …

The road to the 2023 NCAA Tournament starts Monday, as the men’s college basketball season eases in with mostly tune-up games. But it won’t be long before the best of the best start slugging it out and the battle to reach the Final Four in Houston next April intensifies. Before the end of the month, we’ll see preseason No. 7 …

The players on the Boston Celtics’ roster were in many ways as much in the dark as the fans regarding the unexpected suspension for head coach Ime Udoka for the entirety of the 2022-23 NBA season, as was evidenced by their comments in the immediate aftermath of the suspension’s announcement. Now several weeks removed from that tense media day, the …

Wyoming standout Graham Ike will miss a minimum of six to eight weeks with a lower leg injury. It’s a massive hit to the Cowboys as Ike was one of the two players Jeff Linder’s squad relied on the most last season. Linder said it was a “wear and tear” type of injury “There’s never good timing, but it’s one of …

Riding a four-game losing streak, the Golden State Warriors will close their nightmare road trip on the second leg of a back-to-back with a contest against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. With their final chance to secure a win on the road before heading back to the Bay Area, the Warriors will be without four starters against the …

Every year there are teams in college basketball that schedule aggressively in the nonconference. And, every year, there’s teams that do quite the opposite. Today, after highlighting the former earlier in the week, we’re going to highlight the latter.  Each of the five teams that qualified for our list are teams within the power conference structure. Because of that, they …

The Brooklyn Nets are in crisis mode as an organization so far this regular season, and Bleacher Report’s updated power rankings absolutely prove just how far the team has fallen. Basketball writer Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report ranked the Nets near the very bottom of the league, following a very slow start to the regular season. “As if the Brooklyn …

As the UNC basketball program preps for the 2022-23 season opener on Monday against UNCW, head coach Hubert Davis has provided an injury update on a few players. Davis revealed that guard R.J. Davis is back and forward Justin McKoy is healthy. But UNC could be without a key contributor. Forward Puff Johnson will be a game-time decision for the …

The Golden State suffered its fourth straight loss Thursday night, this one to Orlando 130-129, dropping them to 3-6 on the season. The Warriors are 26th in the league in defense, they can’t stop fouling — opponents are getting 29.6 free throw attempts a game, most in the league — and the youth movement they leaned into for depth this …

Getty Images The Golden State Warriors will not have Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green or Andrew Wiggins on Friday night when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans. All four players are being held out on the second night of a back-to-back despite the team’s current four-game losing streak. While the Warriors are using this as a load management …

Failed recruitment began animosity between Noah, Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago Before the landmark “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh formed with the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010, Joakim Noah attempted to lure that trio to the Chicago Bulls. That recruitment, Noah told JJ Redick and Tommy Alter in an appearance on …

The San Antonio Spurs (5-3) are coming off of their worst loss of the young NBA season but will try to bounce back at home against the Los Angeles Clippers (4-4) on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. San Antonio should expect a better performance on Friday night with the return of Devin Vassell (knee) and Keldon Johnson (calf), after …

The UNC basketball program tips off the 2022-23 season on Monday night at home against UNCW as we finally reach the start of what could be a special year in Chapel Hill. UNC enters this season returning four of five starters from a team that went to the national championship game. They have also added transfer Pete Nance plus more …

It seems that Boston Celtics reserve forward Sam Hauser is making himself right at home in the greater Boston community in one of the best ways possible — by giving his time and support for a new basketball court at the local Dorchester YMCA. The Virginia alum recently held a basketball clinic at the newly refurbished court and totally renovated …

EMAW Online Standings Mason reclaimed separation, while Alec claws back into the race Texas Tech at #7 TCU -9.5, 11:00 AM FOX Mason: A few weeks ago, I had high hopes for Texas Tech. But after their disappointing showing against Baylor last weekend, I am rethinking that. It isn’t out of the question that they could do something wild in …

The New Orleans Pelicans will take on the Golden State Warriors at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans is 4-3 overall and 1-1 at home, while Golden State is 3-6 overall and 0-5 on the road. The Pelicans limp into Friday’s contest having lost two of their last three games. The Warriors, meanwhile, have …

David Jenkins Jr. made a checklist for what he wanted on his final stop on a six-state basketball journey: face top competition, find a new challenge, play for a coach with an impeccable resume and experience something completely different. Purdue filled all of those desires and the Boilermakers are ready to start this season with a well-traveled 6-foot-1 guard. ”It …

The Boston Celtics are something of a ball club in limbo while the season-long suspension of head coach Ime Udoka plays out after the former Brooklyn Nets assistant had an improper relationship with alleged unwanted contact reportedly a mitigating factor for the length of the suspension. Now, in recent days, rumbles of the supremely dysfunctional Nets organization having an interest …