SEATTLE — There are six names and faces on the side of the Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance in Interbay, a not-so-subtle clue to the team’s current core. They are listed, one by one, on vertical banners that hang above 16th Avenue:

— SKYLAR DIGGINS

— NNEKA OGWUMIKE

— EZI MAGBEGOR

— ERICA WHEELER

— GABBY WILLIAMS...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Golden State Valkyries are new to the postseason stage, but their veterans are not.

As the expansion team prepares for its first ever playoff game against the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, it will be leaning heavily on players who have been there before. The ones that know what it takes when the lights burn brighter.

“I think...Read more

Lindsay Whalen was sitting on a courtside chair as the Lynx players went through the informal warmup that started a couple of hours before Thursday’s tipoff against Golden State.

As always, assistant coach Whalen had her iPad and was ready to consult with players and provide video evidence of the talents and tendencies the evening’s ...Read more

The Knicks have reportedly signed veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract — but did so without any remaining space beneath the second apron to guarantee his deal if he earns a regular-season roster spot.

Which means the pressure is on Tyler Kolek.

The second-year guard spent most of his rookie season ...Read more

CHICAGO — The second-worst season in Chicago Sky history ended in protest Thursday night.

The Sky fell to the New York Liberty 91-86, their 34th and final loss of the season in front of a Wintrust Arena crowd filled to the brim with frustration. The team’s in-house camera operators struggled to highlight fans on the jumbotron without ...Read more

The Chicago Bulls are officially all-in on point guard Josh Giddey.

After a laborious 71-day period of negotiations, the Bulls finally came to terms with Giddey this week on a four-year, $100 million deal.

There was never any true concern about Giddey not returning to Chicago. It’s what both sides wanted — a long-term agreement to keep the...Read more

NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday pulled back the reins as allegations swirled about the Clippers circumventing the salary cap by orchestrating an endorsement deal for star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Silver, speaking to the media after a previously scheduled meeting of all 30 team owners in New York, said an NBA investigation would need to ...Read more

Former Nets center Jason Collins is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, his family announced Thursday in a statement released by the NBA.

“NBA Ambassador and 13-year NBA veteran Jason Collins is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor,” the NBA said in a statement. “Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and ...Read more

CHICAGO — Josh Giddey is staying in Chicago for the long term.

The Bulls have reached an agreement to re-sign the 22-year-old point guard to a four-year, $100 million contract, sources confirmed to the Tribune on Tuesday. ESPN first reported the deal.

The deal with Giddey, who was a restricted free agent, serves as the cornerstone of ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Toraya Reid, the 28-year-old sister of Timberwolves star Naz Reid, was shot and killed Saturday in New Jersey.

A New Jersey prosecutor charged Shaquille Green, whom the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said was in a relationship with Toraya, with her murder.

Green, 29, also was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. He...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut lawmakers are weighing in on the future of the Connecticut Sun after reports that the WNBA opposes a move to Hartford or Boston, and that it made what could be considered a “low-ball” offer to the Mohegan Tribe in an effort to move the franchise elsewhere.

The Mohegan Tribe reportedly reached an agreement in ...Read more

SEATTLE — When it comes to winning, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame saved its best for last.

On Saturday night, nine new inductees — five players, one executive, one coach, one referee and one entire team — were bestowed basketball’s biggest honor. They took turns telling stories and thanking loved ones from an overflowing ...Read more

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Their speeches were long enough, short enough, just right for the night. Their pitch was perfect, and most important, their themes were universal.

“Championship culture can be found not just in sports, but in all aspects of life,” Maya Moore told the crowd of 2,600 at Symphony Hall. “In our homes, our schools, our ...Read more

MIAMI — It is a prime Miami Heat drinking game, just how drunk over the course of a season one can grow as Erik Spoelstra turns some variation on “embrace the competition.”

At times, it can stand as pithy, when the opposition is far superior, as was the case in last season’s record-setting playoff-series humiliation at the hands of the ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – With training camp less than one month away, Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors have yet to find any resolution to their meandering free agency saga.

Kuminga has been linked to a number of contract offers from the Warriors, including a two-year, $45 million deal with a team option in the second year that was ...Read more

MIAMI — Miami Heat owner Micky Arison doesn’t make many public speeches. He prefers to remain in the background and keep the spotlight off himself.

But Arison couldn’t avoid the spotlight or a speech in front of a large audience this time, as he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class on ...Read more

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — On the biggest stage in the sport, Sue Bird delivered a lighthearted and surprisingly brief 13-minute speech before being inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The former Storm star began with a playful jab at her old UConn coach Geno Auriemma before thanking family, friends, former ...Read more

DENVER — Can’t we all just Melo out?

The feud between Nuggets fans and Carmelo Anthony celebrates its 15th anniversary early next year. Our favorite basketball beef’s growing facial hair now. It’s old enough to enroll in driver’s ed.

Time for the Nuggets to steer this narrative back to sanity.

Time to retire Anthony’s number. To ...Read more