National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

Unlike most popular sports, the origin of basketball has a precise year and creator: it was invented in 1891 in the United States by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as an indoor sport for athletes at Springfield College during the winter, after the end of the football season. The sport quickly expanded beyond U.S. borders, being included in the Olympic Games in 1936 and achieving international popularity after the Second World War.

With at least 41 games in the books for every NBA team, let's take stock of what we've learned from the first half of a 2025-26 campaign already full of surprise contenders, historic performances and plenty of twists and turns. ( And one trade!) A pair of young teams -- the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the resurgent Detroit Pistons -- raced out to massive leads in both conferences.

PHILADELPHIA -- Not only did the 76ers find their way to a dramatic 128-122 victory over the Houston Rockets here at Xfinity Mobile Arena Thursday night, but on the two-year anniversary of Joel Embiid scoring 70 points here against the San Antonio Spurs, the superstar center put up a 32-point triple-double.

Before this season tipped off, it would have seemed equally unlikely that this late-January edition of Power Rankings would feature Nebraska in the top five or Miami (Ohio) at all. And yet, that's where things stand after two of the three remaining unbeatens survived another week without a loss. Looking purely at efficiency-based metrics, which tend to be more predictive than résumé-based metrics, neither team fits the bill on paper.

Kyshawn George has become one of the great draft picks for the Washington Wizards over the course of the team's rebuild, Landing in Washington No. 24 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Miami product has developed into one of the most versatile prospects on the team up to this point of the season. From a rookie season filled with flashes to a major leap throughout his sophomore campaign,

"I was definitely hyped," Allen told ESPN. "I had Paul Pierce in my ear telling me, 'Get ready! You stick me every day [in practice]. You should be ready. Let's go! That's Kobe Bryant!'" The No. 25 pick in the 2004 draft was trying to soak everything in and get himself in the right frame of mind for the 54th game of his young NBA career.

"We're not playing hard," Antetokounmpo said. "We aren't doing the right thing. We're not playing to win. We're not playing together. Our chemistry's not there. Guys are being selfish, trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team. Guys trying to do it on their own. "At times, I feel like when we're down 10, down 15, down 20, we try to make it up in one play, and it's not going to work."

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In 11 regular season games with the Herd, Smith averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals across 23.3 minutes per game. He shot 35.7 percent from the floor, 25.0 percent from 3-point range and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. Smith had four double-figure scoring games, including a 17-point outing against the Noblesville Boom (Pacers) on Nov. 30 and a 14-point, seven-rebound, six-assist night against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) on Dec. 22.

The Golden State Warriors are now at the center of that shift. Jimmy Butler III' s season-ending torn ACL comes just as Golden State had found momentum, winning 12 of its last 16 games and posting its best on-court plus-minus with Butler as the connective piece. His absence removes more than just scoring, stripping the team of structure, late-game decision-making and defensive stability.

Los Angeles Lakers star had one of his most impactful games of the season to propel his side to a comeback win against Denver Nuggets. Luka Doncic bagged a 38-point triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers staged a second-half rally to claim a 115-107 road victory over the Denver Nuggets in Colorado on Tuesday. The Lakers looked to be in trouble after an explosive first half from Denver, who surged into a 71-57 lead at the break thanks to 26 points from Jamal Murray.

The first time chants of "Let's go, La-kers" rang out in Ball Arena, Denver's rowdy home crowd booed the unwelcome slogan into silence. Minutes later when the game ended, there weren't enough home fans left to quiet the purple and gold faithful. The Lakers overcame a 16-point deficit in the third quarter to notch one of their most significant wins of the season, taking down the Denver Nuggets 115-107 on Tuesday. Luka Doncic recorded his fifth triple-double of the season with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while LeBron James had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

SAN FRANCISCO De'Anthony Melton heaved the ball over Moses Moody's head and out of bounds, Brandin Podziemski had his pocket picked by Gradey Dick and the Warriors watched as a desperation attempt missed the rim as the shot clock expired. Inside Chase Center, where there were more empty seats than usual, the crowd groaned. Three consecutive possessions in the second quarter said it all in the Warriors' first game without Jimmy Butler.