National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

Here is a photo of him interviewing Allen Iverson. Here he is with Julius Erving, sweat-soaked, after a practice in the 1970s. Michael Ray Richardson's autographed sneakers dangle next to his bed. The coat rack strains with press badges. The apartment's kitchen is a curio cabinet. Commemorative NBA glassware crowds the top of the fridge. Bobbleheads box out the coffeemaker. A program from longtime NBA commissioner David Stern's 2020 memorial service lies in the living room.

Not only do the Wizards find themselves at the bottom of the NBA standings, but they've been forced to watch bizarre starts for several players who entered the season with high hopes, including multiple young prospects who seemed destined to make a leap in the DMV. Despite that, the sophomore leaps of Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr have given the team and their fanbase reason to believe they were headed in the right direction.

A split has been in the cards for some time now. Thomas rejected a two-year, $30 million contract before turning down a one-year, $9.5 million deal that also included the waiving of his no-trade clause. A new contract would help further maximize Brooklyn's return. Instead, Thomas is on a one-year, $6 million deal that makes him a free agent this upcoming summer.

THE WIRELESS INTERNET worked well on the private plane Chris Paul flew from Atlanta to Los Angeles the morning after he was unceremoniously sent home and into an uncertain basketball future. Only a few hours had passed since LA Clippers president Lawrence Frank informed Paul that the organization was parting ways with the best player in franchise history -- just 21 games into what was supposed to be a karmically and narratively pleasing retirement tour.

Yeah, I think that looking back, I had a great conversation with Bobby when I was there this season. So, looking back, I think I have a better perspective on it than I did when I was there, naturally. But what I will say is I just felt like I saw the writing on the wall before everybody else. And that's not always a good thing.

On Tuesday, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported (subscription required) that the Toronto Raptors "hope to retain Jakob Poeltl as part of any in-season dealings they undertake rather than part with their long-tenured center." The context behind that was Fischer writing that the team does want to upgrade their frontcourt, and that they're interested in Domantas Sabonis (and Anthony Davis). The Raptors don't need to make a decision now on what they will do before the Feb. 5 deadline,

Toronto has finally had a well-deserved break after a tough four-game losing streak, which included being knocked out of the NBA Cup quarterfinals by the now-finals-bound New York Knicks on December 9. And it was during that game that a young Raptors player received a lot of criticism for his poor performance. Despite only playing eight minutes, Gradey Dick had two careless turnovers, adding to the ongoing criticism of the Raptors during what was already a rough night for Jakob Poeltl.

The sixth in-season edition of the men's AP Top 25 poll features little movement. Arizona retains its No. 1 position, with no changes in the top-10 other than Gonzaga and Houston swapping the No. 7 and 8 spots. And after three new entrants in last week's poll, only one new team cracks this week's top 25, with Georgia bumping UCLA. Let's run through statistical highlights and the next game for each of the Top 25 teams. All times Eastern. All stats courtesy of ESPN Research unless otherwise noted.

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Raptors announce that RJ Barrett will return to basketball activities this week after having a PRP injection a week ago. Barrett has been out of the lineup with a knee sprain since Nov. 24th.- Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) December 15, 2025 This probably means he will start practicing once again, and it looks like the return of Toronto's second-highest scorer is just around the corner, which is great for Toronto, as they have really struggled without Barrett to pick up wins.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards missed his second straight game on Sunday with soreness in his right foot. Edwards has been considered day-to-day with his availability. Coach Chris Finch said before the game the injury "hasn't calmed down to the point where he's able to go." Backup point guard Mike Conley was also sidelined for Minnesota's game against Sacramento, the 19-year veteran's second straight absence due to a right Achilles injury.

DeRozan now sits at 25,740 points, which means he is only one spot below Stephen Curry who sits at 25,919 points. DeRozan is one of 6 active NBA players who is in the top 25 in all time scoring along with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. DeRozan scored the majority of his career points with the Toronto Raptors, as Raptors fans watched night after night him sink countless mid-range jumpers over his 9 seasons with the team.

Oh, yeah, I'm pretty eager,

They tried going back to the zone defense. They tried moving Tyler Bilodeau back to center. Nothing the UCLA Bruins did to combat their lack of rim protection worked for more than a couple of possessions at a time. And so a coach known for defense had to watch his team get bludgeoned inside once again while giving up an unusually frightening number of easy baskets.

Two days ago, Steph Curry dropped a 49-piece on the San Antonio Spurs, tying Michael Jordan's NBA record of 40-point games after age 30 with 44. Hunched over the post-game presser mic, a reporter asked Curry to use a reference to make sense of his performance. The point guard paused for a moment, rubbing his hands all over his head. "I was Hayley Williams in Paramore tonight," he declared and then exited.

Michigan men's basketball came into Saturday night's game riding an impressive streak. The Wolverines had beaten six straight opponents by 25 points or more, and most of the teams they walloped were pretty decent! Four are currently in the Kenpom top 45 even after getting shellacked by the Wolverines. In the Players Era tournament in Vegas, they beat Kenpom No. 45 San Diego State by 40, No. 29 Auburn by 30, and No. 3 Gonzaga by 40.