LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Making their strongest statement yet in the fight against racial injustice, players from six NBA teams decided not to play postseason games on Wednesday in a boycott that quickly reverberated across other professional leagues.Also called off: Some games in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the three WNBA contests, as players across four leagues decided the best way to use their platform and demand change was to literally step off the playing surface.Players made the extraordinary decisions to protest the shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday of Jacob Blake, a Black man, apparently in the back while three of his children looked on.Kenosha is about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. That city’s NBA team, the Bucks, started the boycotts Wednesday by refusing to emerge from their locker room to play a playoff game against the Orlando Magic.“There has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” said Bucks guard Sterling Brown,... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.And the reverberations quickly moved into Major League Baseball and the WNBA. The Milwaukee Brewers' home game with the Cincinnati Reds was called off, by player decision, and other MLB teams were considering similar moves. WNBA players are not playing their three regular-season games scheduled for Wednesday in Bradenton, Florida.The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.And the reverberations quickly moved into Major League Baseball and the WNBA. The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds reportedly decided not to play as scheduled Wednesday and WNBA players also are not playing three regular season games in Bradenton, Florida.The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 p.m., with the Bucks needing a win to advance... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 p.m., with the Bucks needing a win to advance to the second round.Players had been discussing boycotting games in the bubble after the shooting of Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. More discussions among players on teams still in the bubble were scheduled Wednesday, presumably on how — or if — to go forward... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police officers of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 p.m., with the Bucks needing a win to advance to the second round.Players had been discussing boycotting games in the bubble after the shooting of Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. More discussions among players on teams still in the bubble were scheduled Wednesday, presumably on how —... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police officers of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 p.m., with the Bucks needing a win to advance to the second round.Players had been discussing boycotting games in the bubble after the shooting of Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. More discussions were scheduled Wednesday, but even before that the Bucks apparently decided they would act.“Some... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Meyers Leonard has a brother who served two tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines. He carries a military-themed backpack, wears combat boots and has a phone loaded with Navy SEALs who are his friends.He also makes this clear: “I absolutely believe Black Lives Matter,” he said.Still, Leonard simply could not bring himself to kneel for the national anthem.Wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt over a jersey that he ordered to say “Equality,” and as all other coaches and players around him knelt, Leonard stood for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Saturday before the Heat re-opened their season by facing the Denver Nuggets at Walt Disney World.“Some of the conversations I’ve had over the past three days, quite literally, have been the most difficult,” Leonard told The Associated Press prior to the game. “I am with the Black Lives Matter movement and I love and support the military and my brother and the people who have fought to defend our rights... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Meyers Leonard has a brother who served two tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines. He carries a military-themed backpack, wears combat boots and has a phone loaded with Navy SEALs who are his friends.He also makes this clear: “I absolutely believe Black Lives Matter,” he said.Still, Leonard simply could not bring himself to kneel for the national anthem.Wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt over a jersey that he ordered to say “Equality,” and as all other coaches and players around him knelt, Leonard stood for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Saturday before the Heat re-opened their season by facing the Denver Nuggets at Walt Disney World.“Some of the conversations I’ve had over the past three days, quite literally, have been the most difficult,” Leonard told The Associated Press prior to the game. “I am with the Black Lives Matter movement and I love and support the military and my brother and the people who have fought to defend our rights... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies will be without forward Justise Winslow for the rest of the NBA's restarted season because of an injured hip.The Grizzlies announced Tuesday that Winslow fell a day earlier after absorbing contact during an intrasquad scrimmage. Further evaluation revealed a hip injury that will keep him out the rest of this season. Winslow is expected to make a full recovery, the team said in a statement.The Grizzlies acquired Winslow in a February trade that sent Andre Iguodala to Miami. A back issue delayed Winslow's debut with Memphis, which was expected to be a road game in Portland in March until the NBA stopped play because of the coronavirus pandemic.Memphis currently holds the eighth spot in the Western Conference with a 3 1/2-game lead going into the NBA's seeding games. The Grizzlies' first opponent in a seeding game is the Trail Blazers on July 31.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Grizzlies are expecting forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to return from an injured left knee within the next week along with Justise Winslow also making his debut with Memphis in that same time span.Memphis gave an injury update Monday. Jackson hurt his knee Feb. 21 in a road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Grizzlies originally said the No. 4 overall pick of the 2018 draft would be out at least two weeks before updating his status. The Grizzlies acquired Winslow on Feb. 6 in a deal sending Andre Iguodala to Miami, knowing he wouldn't be available immediately because of back soreness that limited him to 11 games this season. Winslow spent his first five seasons in the NBA with Miami, missing most of his second with an injured shoulder. Memphis also said rookie Brandon Clarke is progressing well in his recovery and is expected to return this season. Clarke strained his right quadriceps Feb. 24 in a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies currently sit in the eighth spot in the Western Conference with a four-game lead over New Orleans and Sacramento with 18 games remaining this season. ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Dion Waiters for their postseason push.The Western Conference-leading Lakers made the move Friday before they hosted the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks.Waiters is an eight-year NBA veteran who had been a free agent since Memphis waived him last month, three days after acquiring him from Miami in the three-team trade that landed Andre Iguodala with the Heat.Waiters played in just three games and served three suspensions this season for the Heat. He missed Miami's road game against the Lakers in November and was subsequently suspended for 10 games after having a drug-related panic attack on the team plane.But Waiters is a talented veteran and an excellent 3-point shooter who could contribute to the Lakers as they move toward their first playoff run since 2013. He also played with LeBron James in Cleveland during the 2014-15 season.Waiters began his career with three seasons in Cleveland, followed by two in Oklahoma City. He never played for the Grizzlies after he was traded from Miami to Memphis midway through his fourth season with the Heat.The Lakers waived Troy Daniels on March 1 to open the roster spot filled by Waiters, who impressed the team in a recent workout. Daniels struggled for consistent playing time in Los Angeles.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas usually know what they’re talking about.But even they get things wrong from time to time, and this season in the NBA there have been a few notable misses from all those preseason prognostications — specifically, ones made in relation to the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.The Grizzlies have already topped most preseason projections for their win total. The sports books had them around 27 wins, and the Ja Morant-led club already has 28 wins and is holding down the Western Conference’s No. 8 playoff spot with 28 games left.“We are just young, very athletic and just get out and run,” said Morant, a clear Rookie of the Year front-runner and probably the favorite at this point. “I feel like we all have something to prove. We just go out with this chip on our shoulder. We keep proving people wrong. But we go out every night and play together.”And the Thunder, who were expected to freefall after losing Paul George, were slotted by most books as a 32-win... [More]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies' rebuilding plan is ahead of even the most optimistic schedule,They have won more games before the All-Star break than predicted and currently hold the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings.“We had high hopes for what this group could become, and I think it's fair to say that this group has already exceeded I think any realistic expectations that anyone had internally or externally,” Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman said Monday. Kleiman talked to reporters Monday for the first time since the trade deadline. The Grizzlies are 3-1 in February and have won 14 of their last 18 and are 27-26 overall — a game above what most sports books expected this season.It's a quick turnaround from just over a year ago when Memphis was breaking up the final pieces of a group that set a franchise record with seven straight playoff appearances that ended in 2017.The Grizzlies traded center Marc Gasol to Toronto. Then controlling owner Robert Pera shook... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — In deciding whether to pursue a trade for Andre Iguodala, the Miami Heat went all-in on research. They talked to people who knew Iguodala. They watched what he did last season. They took a deep dive into the analytics.And they came to a determination.“He’s elite,” Heat President Pat Riley said.Simple as that. That’s why Iguodala is now in Heat colors, and a team that wasn’t even good enough to make the playoffs last season is thinking big as it gears up for a run at the 2020 postseason. Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill all joined the team for a game-day shootaround practice in Sacramento on Friday to get their first taste of what life with the Heat is like.“He's an elite defender, an elite team defender, elite assist-to-turnover percentage, he ranks up into the top of those areas that are real tangible,” Riley said. “You don't lose that in seven months. And probably it was a blessing in disguise that he didn't play for seven months.Iguodala last played an NBA game in... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Most of the top NBA playoff contenders stayed out of the down-to-the-wire frenzy at the trade deadline.Miami and the Los Angeles Clippers beefed up instead.And a slew of other teams — including the Golden State Warriors — made moves with short-term finances and long-term ramifications in mind.The NBA’s 3 p.m. EST deadline Thursday for trades to be consummated did not arrive quietly, with a flurry of deals getting struck in the final hour and at least one other notable move falling apart before reaching the finish line. Deals that included at least 41 players and 15 future draft picks were struck on either Wednesday or Thursday — the biggest move likely being the one Thursday that saw Andrew Wiggins going from Minnesota to the Warriors so D’Angelo Russell could leave Golden State finally be paired with his good friend Karl-Anthony Towns with the Timberwolves.Here's how busy the Timberwolves were at trade-deadline time: They announced the jersey numbers of eight new players Thursday... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Most of the top NBA playoff contenders stayed out of the down-to-the-wire frenzy at the trade deadline.Miami and the Los Angeles Clippers beefed up instead.And a slew of other teams — including the Golden State Warriors — made moves with short-term finances and long-term ramifications in mind.The NBA’s 3 p.m. EST deadline Thursday for trades to be consummated did not arrive quietly, with a flurry of deals getting struck in the final hour and at least one other notable move falling apart before reaching the finish line. Deals that included at least 41 players and 15 future draft picks were struck on either Wednesday or Thursday — the biggest move likely being the one Thursday that saw Andrew Wiggins going from Minnesota to the Warriors so D’Angelo Russell could leave Golden State finally be paired with his good friend Karl-Anthony Towns with the Timberwolves.Here's how busy the Timberwolves were at trade-deadline time: They announced the jersey numbers of eight new players Thursday... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Each of the last nine NBA Finals have included either the Miami Heat or Andre Iguodala.They’d like to go there together now.Iguodala is about to get back on the floor, and the Heat are hoping that they’re closer to becoming legitimate contenders again. The trade sending Iguodala to Miami is official, finally getting completed on Thursday with league approval one day after the Heat struck a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies to land the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.“He won, what, three championship rings?” Heat guard Goran Dragic said in Los Angeles after the deal was agreed upon. “Happy to have him. Can't wait to pick his brain. He's going to do great things for us.”It ended up as a three-team deal: Miami sent Justise Winslow, James Johnson and Dion Waiters to Memphis, with the Grizzlies sending Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill to the Heat. The Grizzlies then flipped Johnson to Minnesota for Gorgui Dieng. The Grizzlies were also working on either waiving or buying out Waiters.Before... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Most of the top NBA playoff contenders stayed out of the down-to-the-wire frenzy at the trade deadline.Miami and the Los Angeles Clippers beefed up instead.And a slew of other teams — including the Golden State Warriors — made moves with short-term finances and long-term ramifications in mind.The NBA’s 3 p.m. EST deadline Thursday for trades to be consummated did not arrive quietly, with a flurry of deals getting struck in the final hour and at least one other notable move falling apart before reaching the finish line. Deals that included at least 41 players and 15 future draft picks were struck on either Wednesday or Thursday — the biggest move likely being the one Thursday that saw Andrew Wiggins going from Minnesota to the Warriors so D’Angelo Russell could leave Golden State finally be paired with his good friend Karl-Anthony Towns with the Timberwolves.Marcus Morris leaves New York for Los Angeles, going from the woebegone Knicks to the title-hoping Clippers — who added... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Andre Iguodala's trade to Miami was getting closer to the finish line Thursday after the Heat and Memphis Grizzlies agreed to terms on a six-player trade, according to two people with direct knowledge of the terms.The portion of the trade involving Iguodala was agreed upon Wednesday night, as was the 2015 NBA Finals MVP agreeing to a two-year extension with Miami that will be formalized when the totality of the deal actually gets approved by the league sometime Thursday.Justise Winslow knew he was leaving Miami for Memphis on Wednesday night, as evidenced by some social-media posts and a late-night visit to his now-former locker room to pack up his belongings and wish a security guard well. Also in the deal: Dion Waiters and James Johnson leaving Miami for Memphis, with Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill leaving the Grizzlies for the Heat.Miami and Memphis were also working on a third component, that being adding Oklahoma City in what could have brought Danilo Gallinari to the Heat.... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations says Andre Iguodala is headed to Miami after the Heat and Memphis Grizzlies agreed Wednesday night on his long-awaited trade.As part of the deal, Iguodala agreed to a two-year extension, with the second of those years being a team option, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been finalized.The person also said Miami and Memphis were still working to complete terms of what the Heat are giving up in the deal, and that a third team — Oklahoma City, in a package that would include Danilo Gallinari potentially headed to the Heat — was still in play. Oft-injured forward Justise Winslow said he was part of the deal and was headed to Memphis, the former Heat starter reaching out to fellow former Duke players Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen with a message.Jones and Allen are both members of the Grizzlies. Winslow has missed much of this season with a bone bruise in his back.Iguodala,... [More]