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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa officially declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, he announced Thursday on Instagram. Dybantsa will likely be a top-three pick in a loaded draft and could go No. 1. He was one of the faces of college basketball’s dominant freshmen class, along with Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer, who make…

Welcome to the mud. The old saw is that the game slows down and offense becomes less efficient in the postseason. While that’s generally true historically, the trend has been more emphatic in some years than others. This year it’s been quite emphatic, indeed. With 14 playoff games in the books through Tuesday, the NBA…

The Bounce Newsletter  | This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. During last night’s Pistons-Magic broadcast, Richard Jefferson was talking about his Nets being up 3-2 in a series against Ben Wallace’s Detroit before losing the final two. Detroit went on to win the NBA Finals.…

OKLAHOMA CITY — At his best, Jalen Williams siphons soul into Paycom Center. When his vicious fast-break slams trigger an opponent’s timeouts, he stomps his way to his bench. When he can beckon a deafening crowd. When he can howl to the heavens, veins bulging from his neck, saliva flying around. Like Wednesday night. Advertisement…

OKLAHOMA CITY — The frustration had been building for Devin Booker. Late Wednesday night, the Phoenix Suns guard finally let it out. Following a 120-107 loss to Oklahoma City in Game 2 of this Western Conference first-round series, Booker was asked if he had received an explanation for a technical foul he received in the…

On a cool January night in Houston, three Minnesota Timberwolves strolled into Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen the eve of an important game against the Rockets. It had become something of a ritual for Jaden McDaniels, Donte DiVincenzo and player development coach James “Flight” White to break bread on the road. It was their way of unplugging…

The NFL Draft is here, with a three-day extravaganza beginning Thursday. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is widely expected to be chosen No. 1 by the Las Vegas Raiders. The last quarterback selected No. 1 by the Raiders was JaMarcus Russell in 2007. He went on to make 25 starts across three seasons. Hopefully for Raiders…

BOSTON — In a similar situation one year ago, Joe Mazzulla used sarcasm to express his point of view. At the time, the Boston Celtics were coming off a stunning Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks. In that second-round game, the Celtics missed a pile of open shots while the Knicks made enough…

NEW YORK — CJ McCollum answered a question with a question. The Atlanta Hawks guard had just led a miraculous comeback in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks. With two minutes remaining, he lofted in a floater to give the Hawks, who trailed by double digits earlier in the…

DETROIT — Can you imagine, after Cade Cunningham’s first two postseason games this year, if he still wasn’t eligible for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, or for any of the All-NBA teams? Cunningham has become every bit the franchise player the Detroit Pistons dreamed he’d be almost five years ago, when they took him…