GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Todd Golden has cashed in on the Gators’ national basketball championship to become one of nation’s top-paid coaches, with a compensation package in the same stratosphere as football coach Billy Napier.

Golden signed a 6-year, $40.5 million deal, an average salary of $6.75 million through 2031, UF announced...Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY — The noise inside Paycom Center assaults the senses. Thunder rolls. Thunder strikes.

In the middle of it stands Nikola Jokic, the man with scratches on his arms and fury in his belly. He turned Loud City into OK City. Ho-hum. Shrugged shoulders. Can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP voters hear him now?

In their most important ...Read more

MIAMI — Just when you thought it could not get any more sobering for the Miami Heat, a week after a 55-point loss, it has gotten more sobering.

Jimmy Butler plays on.

And the Cleveland Cavaliers are not the invincible colossus they appeared through their record-setting first-round sweep of the Heat.

Even while on the sideline, bad has ...Read more

When Luka Doncic flew to Los Angeles to be with his new team, the plane was a de facto time machine to 2020, ‘21 and ‘22.

He went to the Lakers, but in effect he is on his old Mavericks team.

In the biggest trade in NBA history, the real loser right now is Doncic. He went from a team that reached the NBA Finals in 2024, and is now on a ...Read more

The Los Angeles Clippers’ conundrum: They’re good, but they’re not good enough.

Start with James Harden. He carried them to the postseason – as the fifth seed in the hyper-competitive Western Conference, no less! He was the guy who shouldered the load for 79 games, leading the Clippers to a good season, a 50-win season, a better-than-...Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY — If the Nuggets are destined to be consumed by the best-rested team in the West, they’re at least going to resist like crazy.

Chet Holmgren missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, and Aaron Gordon buried a 3-pointer in the chaos that followed with 2.8 seconds remaining to steal a stunning 121-119 Game 1 win from...Read more

BOSTON — Midway through the third quarter Monday night, the Celtics appeared well on their way to another lopsided win over the overmatched New York Knicks.

Instead, their Atlantic Division rivals capitalized on one of Boston’s worst shooting performances of the season, overcame a 20-point second-half deficit and pulled off a stunning upset...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Clippers All-Star James Harden has been highly criticized for another dismal playoff performance against the Denver Nuggets, but he does have a supporter in the organization.

President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank views Harden as having done a “great job leading the way” while Kawhi Leonard sat out the first 34 ...Read more

The Golden State Warriors are already down 1-0 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their Western Conference Semifinal series.

Not literally, no. But practically? Absolutely.

You see, the Timberwolves did this funny thing when they went up 3-1 in their first-round series with the Lakers: They won Game 5.

As you might recall, the Warriors punted ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — As Daryl Morey expressed last month, the 76ers’ president of basketball operations has no regrets.

That’s because Morey was seen as turning a bad situation into a manageable one by agreeing to rid the Sixers of Al Horford’s contract on Nov. 18, 2020, the night of the 2020 NBA draft.

Morey agreed to send the 34th pick, a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — After the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a fourth consecutive game, to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 27, Anthony Edwards held court at his locker and tried to diagnose where the season was going wrong. That interview session was unlike any he has had in five seasons with the Wolves.

Edwards was an open book that night after the ...Read more

HOUSTON – With the season on the line, Golden State asked its veterans to carry the team against a foe that was on the verge of an incredible comeback.

They answered the call.

On the verge of an epic postseason collapse on Sunday night in Houston, the Warriors Hall of Fame veterans showed up.

Laden with championship experience, the Warriors...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Don't tell the Clippers they overachieved this season based on preseason NBA predictions that had them vying for a play-in spot in the uber-competitive Western Conference because Kawhi Leonard started the season dealing with right knee injury management and Paul George had bolted to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Don't tell the ...Read more

DENVER — Gags to riches.

With the world watching and everyone who matters playing, the Nuggets delivered confirmation of something that has been percolating for a month: They are back.

In a little over two hours Saturday night, they exorcised the demons of last spring’s 20-point Game 7 collapse against the Timberwolves and proved something...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — You didn’t have to engage in many conversations in the vicinity of First Avenue and North 6th Street this winter to hear a certain refrain.

I heard it from two Minnesota Timberwolves team broadcasters, one team executive and one team staffer. I never heard a player use these exact words, but they did echo the sentiment.

The ...Read more

DENVER — In all the years of Nikola Jokic, Denver has not witnessed a Nuggets season capable of rivaling the internal tension and turmoil of this one.

Seemingly bursting at the seams with frustration at the low points, their usually stoic superstar turned 30 and turned animated; their head coach and general manager waged philosophical war ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors felt they had solved the Houston Rockets after Game 4 of their first-round playoff series, when they took a formidable 3-1 series lead.

But here’s the thing: They didn’t.

In fact, the opposite might have proven true.

Here’s one thing that’s certain: The Warriors have another game to play.

...Read more

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — If the Lakers’ 2024-25 season didn’t end on Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, they would have likely had to play on without LeBron James for an extended period.

James suffered a Grade 2 medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain in his left knee during the fourth quarter of ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky’s preseason opener in Baton Rouge, La., will offer a rare return to the past for three of their youngest stars.

Forward Angel Reese and No. 11 pick Hailey Van Lith will be returning to their alma mater. And second-year center Kamilla Cardoso will face off against her former teammates on the Brazilian national team....Read more