LOS ANGELES — The speakers in the Lakers’ weight room have been blasting “Available,” a song off Justin Bieber’s newest album, “Changes.” The song is the work of the team’s center, JaVale McGee. Yes, he’s the one that grabbed the auxiliary cord to play the song. He’s also the only one on the team who […] More
Want more basketball in your inbox? Sign up for Marc Stein’s weekly N.B.A. newsletter here. Leon Rose, a prominent player agent, will take over as the Knicks’ team president on Sunday, according to two people familiar with the timetable. Rose verbally agreed to take the job in early February and spent the rest of the […] More
Want more basketball in your inbox? Sign up for Marc Stein’s weekly N.B.A. newsletter here. After the crash of a small plane killed the Yankees’ captain Thurman Munson on Aug. 2, 1979, his team played a home game the next day. The Yankees played on three consecutive days following Munson’s death, flew to his funeral […] More
LOS ANGELES — As a first-year guard with the Philadelphia 76ers a decade ago, Jrue Holiday was just hoping for playing time. But he can still remember the excitement he felt before his first games against luminaries like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal, whom Holiday found especially imposing in real life. “That was […] More
Monday was an eventful day for Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, as the star point guard spoke at the memorial service for Kobe and Gianna Bryant in Los Angeles before traveling north to record a triple-double in a win at Stanford. The presumed No. 1 over all pick in this year’s W.N.B.A. draft, Ionescu is looking increasingly […] More
With tears streaming down his face, Michael Jordan stood before an arena full of mourners Monday to reveal to the world that he and Kobe Bryant were “very close friends.” Public speaking engagements are rare for Jordan, but the Basketball Hall of Famer and owner of the Charlotte Hornets joined a star-studded lineup of eulogists […] More
LOS ANGELES — For the bulk of his career with the Lakers, Kobe Bryant turned Staples Center into his stage, fashioning basketball into performance art. He soared and scowled, endearing himself to fans who celebrated his competitive drive. It is not often that an athlete becomes synonymous with an arena, but Staples Center seemed to […] More
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. The last time I was in an N.B.A. arena with Kobe Bryant, I didn’t manage to speak with him. It was one of the few times in nearly a quarter-century of covering Bryant that we […] More
