LeBron James hits the Summer Sixteen stage, plays Drake's hype man Drake introduces LeBron James at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) How would you celebrate putting pen to paper on a $100 million contract that makes you the highest-paid player in the NBA and sets you up to have the highest single-season salary in NBA history? Well, if you’re LeBron … [Read more...]

Michael Jordan gives amazing gift to fan who played pickup in full MJ uniform Jeffrey Harrison smiles as he opens the gifts Michael Jordan sent him. (Photo via @DarnayTripp) Over Fourth of July weekend, footage of a man taking the court for a pickup game in a full-on Michael Jordan uniform — jersey, shorts, sweatband on the arm, sleeve on the calf, the kicks, the works — went viral: [Follow … [Read more...]

Celtics' Isaiah Thomas: 'NBA knows we're going to be pretty good' 2:10 AM ET Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas says he thinks the schedule makers got it right by scheduling Boston for 22 national-television appearances during the 2016-17 season. "The NBA knows we're going to be pretty good," Thomas told reporters Saturday morning at his youth basketball camp in … [Read more...]

Despite struggles, U.S. men still odds-on faves 3:49 PM ET RIO DE JANEIRO - Two sluggish performances for the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team have not hurt its chances to win a gold medal in the eyes of Las Vegas oddsmakers. Despite a harrowing 94-91 escape Friday night against Serbia, which followed a 98-88 struggle two nights earlier against Australia, Team USA remains a 1-to-20 overwhelming … [Read more...]

Michael Jordan impersonator gets gifts, phone call from MJ 1:27 PM ET ESPN.com Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email print comment Remember the pickup basketball player who became an Internet sensation by wearing a full Michael Jordan uniform? Well, he's got some new gear to wear -- courtesy of MJ himself. Michael Jordan sent two boxes of gear to Jeffrey Harrison after seeing video of him playing … [Read more...]

U.S. men's hoops team escapes another close call in Rio DeMarcus Cousins set a physical tone early with a spin and dunk around Milos Teodosic in the first quarter. But the experienced Serbs stuck to their half-court game and took Team USA down to the final seconds.  11:16 PM ET RIO DE JANEIRO -- Some at-the-buzzer instant analysis from press row at the Carioca Arena 1 after Team USA … [Read more...]

Jeremy Lin on esports - "It's the unique talent of the players that is the draw" NBA player Jeremy Lin attends Dota 2's The International 6 tournament in Seattle. Lin is a big Dota fan and longtime player.  12:19 AM ET Jeremy Lin never got a chance to play basketball at the KeyArena. The Seattle SuperSonics left to become the Oklahoma City Thunder two years before Lin made his debut in the … [Read more...]

Team USA survives Serbia in three-point win 8:56 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO -- Written in Portuguese on one wall above center court at Carioca Arena is the phrase "Um mundo novo." Translation: a new world. It didn't seem that way in men's basketball to start the Rio Games, but it's getting closer. Turnovers and miscommunications once again plagued Team USA, this time against … [Read more...]

The Numbers Game: Across-the-Board Contributors In a recent podcast with Mike Gallagher we discussed players who contribute all-around fantasy value, such as Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol and Kent Bazemore. I wondered if there was a way to quantify such players and arrive at an objective list of 'across the board' contributors. As a result, I went back to my end-of-season fantasy ranks and eliminated … [Read more...]

Rotoworld Podcasts: Fantasy Mailbag Pod for Aug 12 Friday, August 12, 2016 We had a lot of good questions in this edition. A lot of keeper questions to go with some pick ‘em kind of picks. There were also some strategy questions and of course some tangents. Here’s the podcast: Mike Gallagher has covered fantasy hoops for eight years and this season is his second with Rotoworld. You can … [Read more...]