The Bahamas has never sent its men’s basketball team to the Olympics. The island nation is now one step closer to changing that.

Eric Gordon scored 27 points, Buddy Hield added 17 and Bahamas stunned Argentina 82-75 to win one of the five Olympic pre-qualifying tournaments that were wrapping up around the world Sunday.

The win sends Bahamas into another Olympic qualifying tournament in July 2024, one that will bring with it a chance to qualify for next summer’s Paris Games.

Deandre Ayton had 10 points and 21 rebounds for Bahamas in the win over Argentina.

Argentina, who took home Olympic gold in 2004, will miss the games for the first time since 2000.

Other pre-qualifying tournament winners Sunday included Cameroon, Bahrain, Croatia and Poland.

Next summer, Bahamas, Cameroon, Bahrain, Croatia and Poland will join 19 other teams — based on World Cup finish — in the final qualifying round. Those 24 nations will be split into four tournaments of six teams; the four winners go to the Paris Olympics.

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets will receive their championship rings and raise their title banner when the NBA tips off the regular season on October 24.

One night later, No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama will introduce himself to the league.

The NBA revealed an 80-game schedule for the 2023-24 season on Thursday. The final two games will be determined later based on how teams fare in the new In-Season Tournament.

The season begins with a doubleheader, with the Nuggets opening things up against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch from last season's Western Conference finals.

Opening night's second game features the Phoenix Suns visiting Golden State, a matchup that pits new Warrior Chris Paul against his former team.

The NBA debut of Wembanyama comes one night later, with the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Dallas Mavericks.

The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament begins on November 3, and concludes with the final four teams playing the semifinals and championship games in Las Vegas on December 7 and 9, respectively.

The traditional Christmas quintupleheader begins with the New York Knicks playing on December 25 for the 56th time, and they'll host the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Warriors then visit the Nuggets, followed by the Boston Celtics visiting the Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Miami Heat and concluding with the Mavericks at Phoenix.

In an effort to maximise player rest and have the league's brightest stars play in high-profile games, teams will not play back-to-backs on Christmas or during the In-Season Tournament.

While teams play on consecutive nights slightly more this season - up to 14.0 such instances from last year's rate of 13.3 per team - back-to-backs involving travel are down to 9.0 on average after being at 9.6 per team last season.

The league takes a break from February 16-21, except for the All-Star Game and its festivities, which will take place in Indianapolis.

All 30 teams will play on April 12 and again two days later on the final day of the regular season.

The play-in tournament is then set to start April 16, with the 2024 NBA playoffs beginning April 20.

Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield and Eric Gordon all starred as The Bahamas got a big win over hosts Argentina in their second group game at the FIBA Americas Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Wednesday.

The Bahamians overcame a 12-point deficit at the end of the first quarter to enter halftime with a 55-53 lead.

From there, they built on their advantage to lead 82-67 after the third quarter before completing a 101-89 win.

Ayton, the 25-year-old Phoenix Suns Center, shot 11-16 from the field on the way to a 22-point performance. The big man also recorded 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Eric Gordon, who will be Ayton’s teammate in Phoenix this upcoming NBA season, had a game-high 24 points while Indiana Pacers sharp-shooter, Buddy Hield hit four three-pointers on the way to a 23-point night while also getting six rebounds and three assists.

Travis Munnings also had himself an excellent game, shooting a perfect 8-8 from the field to finish with 20 points and four rebounds.

Nicolas Brussino led the way for the 2004 Olympic Gold medalists with 21 points and seven rebounds while Facundo Campazzo had a double-double with 18 points and assists.

The Bahamians are now through to the semi-finals of the tournament after winning their two group phase games.

The semifinals are Saturday and the finals are Sunday. Bahamas must win the tournament to advance to next year’s FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments July 2-7, 2024.

James Harden sure didn't mince his words when speaking about Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey.

In a video that went viral Monday, Harden blasted Morey at a promotional event in China.

"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of," Harden said at the event. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of."

Harden's comments were a response to the 76ers telling Harden's agent, Mike Silverman, that Morey was unable to find a trade for the 10-time All-Star and the franchise wouldn't deal him unless it could find a trade that would help the team contend for a championship. 

Harden picked up his $35.6million player option for the 2023-24 season in late June, and then immediately requested a trade.

The 2017-18 NBA MVP could have declined the option and become a free agent, but was hoping by exercising his option it would facilitate a trade.

There were reportedly some discussions with the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, but those trade talks stalled.

Acquired in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022, Harden re-signed with the 76ers last summer on a two-year, $68.6million contract that included the opt-out clause, taking less money in order to remain with one of the Eastern Conference's top contenders.

Harden, who turns 34 later this month, was a solid complement to NBA MVP Joel Embiid, averaging 21.0 points and a league-leading 10.7 assists in the regular season to help the 76ers to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, however, he was maddeningly inconsistent.

He had a pair of 40-point performances but averaged just 15.1 points on 30.0 per cent shooting with 8.4 assists in his other nine games, and Philadelphia was knocked out in the conference semifinals for a second straight year after losing to the rival Boston Celtics in seven games.

Philadelphia fired head coach Doc Rivers following the playoff exit and replaced him with former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse.

The 76ers had no comment on Monday, and Harden seems unlikely to attend training camp, which begins in October.

For his career, Harden has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, seven assists and 1.5 steals in exactly 1,000 regular-season games.

If his playing days with the 76ers are done and he is traded, Harden would be joining his fourth team in four seasons.

The New York Knicks and swingman Josh Hart have agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension worth $81 million, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old Hart is now under contract through the 2027-28 season after he exercised his $12.96 million player option for the 2023-24 campaign on June 30.

New York acquired Hart from the Portland Trail Blazers on February 9 as part of a four-team trade. He averaged 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.36 steals while shooting 58.6 percent overall and 51.9 percent (27 of 52) from 3-point range in 25 games after joining the Knicks.

The Utah Jazz selected Hart in the first round (30th overall pick) in 2017 before sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers in a draft-night trade.

Hart played his first two NBA seasons with the Lakers before getting dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans in July 2019 as part of the trade that saw Los Angeles acquire Anthony Davis.

New Orleans sent Hart to Portland in February 2022.

Hart has averaged 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 372 career games, including 170 starts.

The Los Angeles Lakers and eight-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis have agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $186million, multiple media outlets reported Friday.

Davis, 30, has two seasons remaining on his original five-year, $190million deal and is now signed though the 2027-28 season.

After helping the Lakers win the 2020 NBA Finals, Davis has been considered a franchise cornerstone, but there had been some questions about his long-term future in Los Angeles with LeBron James entering the final season of his contract.

Last season, Davis averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting a career-best 56.3 percent from the field.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, Davis remains one of the NBA’s premier players when healthy but has struggled to stay on the court recently, missing 104 games over the last three seasons.

After the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference finals last season and a promising offseason, expectations are high in Los Angeles despite durability concerns plaguing Davis and James.

“We are trending in the right direction,” Davis said at the end of last season. "Obviously, the goal is to win championships, and we wanted to be not just knocking on the door but actually get it done, walk through the door. So that’s our goal. That’s our goal every time we step on the floor for training camp, and I’m 100-percent sure that will be the goal next year."

During 11 NBA seasons, Davis has averaged 24 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists, along with 2.31 blocks and 1.34 steals.

In 55 career playoff games, Davis has averaged 25.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 53.3 percent from the field.

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield and Charlotte Hornets forward Kai Jones have committed to play for their native Bahamas in upcoming Olympic qualifying action.

All four are on the roster for Bahamas for its Olympic qualifier in Santiago de Estero, Argentina, from Aug. 14-20.

Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also participating in hopes of qualifying for a spot in the 2024 Paris Games.

Bahamas must win this tournament to qualify for another Olympic qualifier next summer.

Bahamas has never competed in the Olympics in men’s basketball.

This Bahamian team is projected to be the strongest the country has ever had. Bahamas is coached by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.

The full roster is as follows:

Deandre Ayton, Dominick Bridgewater, Jaraun Burrows, Garvin Clarke, Kadeem Coleby, Rashad Davis, Buddy Hield, Sammy Hunter, Kai Jones, Danrad Knowles, Lourawls Nairn, Willis Mackey Jr, Franco Miller, Travis Munnings, Kentwan Smith, David Nesbitt, AJ Storr, Mychel Thompson

The Caribbean Basketball Academy are champions of the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase after a 52-50 overtime win over the Camperdown Giants in the final at the University of Technology on Saturday.

To advance to the showpiece event, CBA beat Hoop Factory Blues while Camperdown Giants beat Purple Power Basketball earlier on Saturday.

With both teams understandably tense due to what was at stake, CBA took a cagey first quarter 12-8.

They held a one-point lead with 1:13 to go in the first half before a Micah Swaine three-pointer gave the Giants a 16-14 lead. The Giants led 18-15 at the half.

A quick 4-0 start to the third quarter gave the Giants a seven-point lead and, with four minutes to go, they were up 26-16.

More solid play throughout the third saw them rewarded with a 32-20 lead entering the fourth quarter.

CBA cut the lead to eight with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter through a Jaiden Brown driving layup. The Giants were up 38-28 with 1:55 left before a quick 13-5 CBA run meant the lead was just two with 22 seconds left.

The Giants then hit a crucial layup which they thought sealed the game after putting them up four, however, this was not the case as Lebron Lewinson was fouled in the process of making a layup to cut the lead to two with 15 seconds left.

He ended up missing the freethrow but the ball ended up in the hands of Jaiden Brown who made a layup to tie the game at 45 with 11 seconds left.

CBA then forced the Giants into a turnover giving them the ball back with seven seconds left and a chance to win the game.

They ended up getting a good look with a Lewinson mid-range shot but it didn’t fall, meaning the champions would be decided in overtime.

In the end, CBA held their nerve to pull out a 52-50 victory and claim the trophy after losing in the final last year.

Lewinson was named MVP of the game with 16 points while Jaiden Brown led the champions in scoring with 18 points.

Micah Swaine, who was named MVP of the tournament, had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Giants.

“It means a lot,” said winning coach, Ludlow Barker, after the game.

“As I kept saying, we took the hardest route to get to the semi-finals and then the semi-final wasn’t that great but I told my guys that I prefer an ugly win over a pretty loss. I kept saying that from here, the only way we can go is up and that is exactly what we did,” he added.

He also lauded his team’s mental toughness to come back from down 10 with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“I’m speechless. We were dead and buried but they believed in each other, stuck it out and kept going. I said we were the best defensive team so we should use our defense and win this game and they did,” Barker said.

Losing coach, Nylon Hurd, said turnovers at key moments in the game cost his team the victory.

“I think we had some critical turnovers at critical times. We were able to hold Lebron (Lewinson) for most of the game before he hit two big time shots down the stretch. It is what it is. We will learn and move forward,” he said.

Hurd also said that, even though it was his team’s first year entering the competition, getting to the final wasn’t a surprise.

“For those who know, when we’re in competitions we’re always a quality team so it’s not new,” he said.

Jamaica’s Under-17 Men’s Basketball team ended group play with an 0-3 record at the FIBA Under-17 Centrobasket Championship in Belize after suffering a 43-76 defeat against Panama at the Belize City Civic Center on Friday.

D’Marley Elliott shot 6/13 from the field to finish with 13 points and six rebounds for Jamaica and he was supported by Ahmad Torrence (11 points) and Marcus McDonald (10 points).

It was a total team effort from the victors as they had five players scoring in double figures. Daniels Machore, Luis Poyatos and Lionel McDonald all scored 13 points while Hector Saavedra and Isaac Wright both had 12.

Panama also dominated the rebounding battle 55-43.

The Jamaicans had previously lost their first two games 54-102 to Puerto Rico and 68-93 to the hosts on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Puerto Rico and Belize advanced to the semi-finals from Group A while Mexico and the Dominican Republic advanced from Group B. Puerto Rico will face Mexico while Belize will tackle the Dominican Republic on Saturday.

Jamaica’s next game will also be on Saturday when they face Costa Rica for the right to advance to the fifth-place playoff. The loser will play in the 7^th place playoff against the loser of the game between El Salvador and Panama.

Camperdown Giants, Purple Power Basketball, Hoops Factory Blues and the Caribbean Basketball Academy will contest the semi-finals of the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase at UTECH on Saturday.

In an unfortunate turn of events for the defending champions, Phase 1 Academy, they entered day two thinking they had two wins in the bank but, after it was found that they used an ineligible player in both those games on Thursday, those results were overturned to wins for Purple Power Basketball and Hoop Factory Blues, respectively.

The day’s play began with the Caribbean Basketball Academy attempting to rebound from a pair of day one defeats.

Last year’s beaten finalists did just that with a comprehensive 56-41 victory over Hoop Factory Blues.

CBA enjoyed an 11-point lead at the half before an avalanche in the third quarter saw them stretch it to 24 to lead 50-26 heading into the final quarter.

Jahidi Campbell had 16 points and nine rebounds while Jaiden Brown had 15 points, nine assists and four steals for CBA. Joel Ricketts also provided support with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Nathan Ricketts led the Blues with 12 points and five assists.

The second game of the day saw Purple Power Basketball get their second win of the showcase with a 31-29 win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.

Jacqwaine Freeman led Purple Power with 18 points and five rebounds while Yahvarr Fearon had 12 points for Blue Mahoe.

Next up was a clash between Phase 1 Academy and the Camperdown Giants.

In an exciting contest, Phase 1 came out 48-45 winners for their first official victory.

Derjean Royal had 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Phase 1 while Micah Swaine led the Giants with a game-high 24 points.

After the break, Hoop Factory Blues bounced back from their loss earlier to book their spot in the semis with a 36-30 win over Purple Power Basketball for their third win.

Nathan Ricketts, once again, led the Blues with 13 points and a pair of steals while Jordan James had seven points and 10 rebounds. Tyreke Tummings had nine points for Purple Power.

Camperdown Giants were next to book a spot in the last four after rebounding from their defeat to Phase 1 Academy earlier in the day with a 51-45 overtime win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.

Micah Swaine led the way for the giants with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Hubert Rodney had 14 points and nine rebounds for Blue Mahoe Basketball.

The day’s final game saw the Caribbean Basketball Academy pull out a hard-fought 43-41 win over Phase 1 Academy to book their spot in the semis. Both teams entered the contest knowing a win would see them advance to the last four.

CBA played an excellent first three quarters to go into the fourth and final period with a 36-28 lead before a ferocious Phase 1 fightback meant the teams were separated by just two points in the end.

Jaiden Brown had 21 points, five rebounds and three steals while Joel Ricketts had 13 points and 13 rebounds for CBA.

Romareo Mills had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the outgoing champions.

“We took the hardest route to get here,” said CBA coach Ludlow Barker after the game.

“Last night, we were really frank with each other. We had some heart to heart conversations and we came out today and did everything we needed to do,” he added

“One good thing about this tournament is you never know who is going to win,” Phase 1 Academy coach, Onecia Smellie, said after the game.

“Every single game, the boys came out and they played hard, win, lose or draw,” she added

The semis will see Camperdown Giants facing Purple Power while Hoops Factory Blues will oppose the Caribbean Basketball Academy before the two winners square off later on Saturday in the final.

Phase 1 Academy and Camperdown Giants were the only two teams to go unbeaten as the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase got underway at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology (UTECH) in Kingston on Thursday.

Defending champions, Phase 1 Academy, entered their first game with just five players but that didn’t seem to matter as they secured a comfortable 41-27 victory over Purple Power.

Derjean Royal led the way for Phase 1 with 20 points and five rebounds while Mordecai Clarke had 10 points and six rebounds for Purple Power.

Phase 1 Academy coach, Onecia Smellie, praised her team’s effort despite their lack of numbers.

“As you can see, we don’t really have numbers so the strategy was just to conserve on defense and push on offense. We have to play smarter because we don’t have numbers,” Smellie said before going into what they needed to address to be better in the coming games.

“We definitely have to brush up on defense. We gave away a lot of backdoor cuts. As we can see, my guys have been playing for a while but sometimes when the excitement of the game comes in, adrenaline kicks in and they just go. We definitely gave away some easy layups and we weren’t boxing out sometimes. If we work on those areas I think we should be fine,” she added.

Coach Orville Bennett from Purple Power was critical of his team’s ability to play together but says more experience will do them well.

“More games will solve that. It’s a mix of my younger players and my more senior Under-19s so they need to learn to play as a team and not individuals.”

“I guess it’s because of the bright lights of the tournament, everybody wants to show what they have so with more games under their belt, that will go away.”

“Our opponents will be bigger, stronger and more seasoned then my young team so we’ll go back to the drawing board and come better.”

The day’s second game was an absolute treat as the Hoop Factory Blues pull out a dramatic 44-41 win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.

Blue Mahoe played a solid first half to go into the halftime interval with a 14-12 lead before Hoop Factory turned the game on its head to lead 26-20 after the third quarter.

Blue Mahoe retook a 38-37 lead with 1:27 left in the game before, with the teams tied at 41 with 10 seconds left, Dakari Nicolson hit a game-winning three-point shot with two seconds left to secure the win for Hoop Factory.

Kymani Phillips had a solid all-round game for the Blues with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists and was supported well by Nathan Ricketts with 12 points, five steals and three assists. Hubert Rodney had 13 points and seven rebounds for Blue Mahoe.

Hoop Factory coach, Lennox Lindo, was happy with the win despite his team almost blowing a 10-point lead with very little time left in the contest.

“I was nervous a bit but also a bit disappointed too. We had a 10-point lead with about three minutes to go then we changed up our defense and it almost cost us the game but we got a really good shot in the last couple of seconds.”

Blue Mahoe coach, Lynford Brown, was proud of his team despite the defeat and pointed to an inability to hold on to the ball as his team’s downfall.

“To be honest, I’m really proud of my boys. They’re a fairly inexperienced and young team. There were some key moments for us where we committed some unforced turnovers which led to us losing. Nonetheless, I’m very proud.

The third game of the day saw the Camperdown Giants score an impressive 54-35 win over last year’s finalists, the Caribbean Basketball Academy (CBA).

The Giants produced an excellent defensive display to lead 30-15 at the start of the fourth quarter, including a third quarter where they held CBA to just four points.

Micah Swaine had 15 points, three steals and two assists and Mark McGowan had nine points and eight rebounds for the giants while Jaiden Brown had 12 points for CBA.

CBA coach Ludlow Barker, thought the Giants deserved to win.

“First I’d have to congratulate the Giants on getting their first win of the competition. It’s the first time they’re in it,” he said.

“I thought we played a very indiscipline game and fell behind and then we struggled throughout. I thought we were too relaxed before the game and they came out and wanted it more so they deserved to win,” he added.

Giants coach, Nylon Hurd, was happy with the win.

 “Any coach would be happy with a win. Both defensively and offensively, it worked out well for us,” he said.

“Based on the start, we got ahead of them and stuck to it. We only got a bit indiscipline in the third quarter and that’s when they made a little run but then we got back disciplined and that was the game,” he added.

After a break, play returned with Phase 1 Academy facing Hoop Factory Blues, with each team searching for their second win of the day.

Phase 1, with six players this time, were able to come out 51-40 winners.

Derjean Royal had his second great game of day one with 26 points and eight rebounds for Phase 1 while Nathan Ricketts had 14 points for the Blues.

The day’s fifth game saw Blue Mahoe hand Caribbean Basketball Academy their second loss of the day by a score of 45-44.

Akeem Pusey and Hubert Rodney both had 14 points for Blue Mahoe while pulling down seven and eleven rebounds, respectively. Joel Ricketts had 13 points and five rebounds for CBA.

The day’s final game proved to be another nail-biter as Camperdown Giants beat Purple Power 34-29 for their second win of the day.

The Giants led 8-5 after a cagey first quarter before Power turned things around slightly to lead 18-16 at the half. It was a one-point game in favor of the Giants entering the final quarter where they held their nerve to pull out the win after the two teams exchanged the lead multiple times.

Micah Swaine scored 13 points while Mark McGowan had six points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Giants. Jacqwaine Freeman had 11 points for Purple Power.

Bronny James has been discharged from the hospital three days after he went into cardiac arrest.

Dr. Merije Chukumerije, a consulting cardiologist for LeBron James' oldest son, said in a statement issued by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday that the 18-year-old was "successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest.

"He arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center fully conscious, neurologically intact and stable. Mr. James was cared for promptly by highly-trained staff and has been discharged home, where he is resting. Although his workup will be ongoing, we are hopeful for his continued progress and are encouraged by his response, resilience, and his family and community support.”

The news of his discharge came hours after LeBron took to social media for the first time since Bronny went into cardiac arrest on Monday, saying his family is "safe and healthy."

"I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers," LeBron James wrote. "We feel you and I'm so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we're ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!"

Bronny, whose name is LeBron James Jr., was hospitalised after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California on Monday.

A family spokesperson said on Tuesday that he was in stable condition and out of the intensive care unit.

His brief stay in the ICU is considered a positive sign in his road to recovery.

Few other details have been reported about Bronny's health after he collapsed on the basketball court.

Considered one of the top high school recruits in the United States, the younger James made the decision in May to stay close to his dad and family in Los Angeles and play college basketball at USC over Ohio State and Oregon.

The 38-year-old LeBron has said previously that he would like to play in the NBA along with Bronny, and announced two weeks ago that he will return for his 21st pro season and sixth with the Lakers.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time league MVP is coming off another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

LeBron James took to social media for the first time since his oldest son, Bronny, went into cardiac arrest on Monday, saying his family is "safe and healthy."

"I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers," LeBron James wrote Thursday. "We feel you and I'm so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we're ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!"

The 18-year-old Bronny was hospitalised after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California on Monday.

A family spokesperson said on Tuesday that he was in stable condition and out of the intensive care unit.

His brief stay in the ICU is considered a positive sign in his road to recovery.

Few other details have been reported about Bronny's health after he collapsed on the basketball court.

Bronny, whose name is LeBron James Jr., was reportedly unconscious when the ambulance arrived at USC's Galen Center, and rushed to the hospital where he was treated by the medical staff.

Considered one of the top high school recruits in the United States, the younger James made the decision in May to stay close to his dad and family in Los Angeles and play college basketball at USC over Ohio State and Oregon.

The 38-year-old LeBron has said previously that he would like to play in the NBA along with Bronny, and announced two weeks ago that he will return for his 21st pro season and sixth with the Lakers.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time league MVP is coming off another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

Bronny James, the 18-year-old son of LeBron James, was hospitalised after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California, according to a family spokesperson.

The spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday he is now in stable condition and out of the intensive care unit.

The incident occurred Monday morning, when he collapsed on the basketball court, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Bronny, whose name is LeBron James Jr., was reportedly unconscious when the ambulance arrived at USC's Galen Center, and rushed to the hospital where he was treated by the medical staff.

"We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information," the statement said.

Considered one of the top high school recruits in the United States, the younger James made the decision in May to play college basketball at USC over Ohio State and Oregon.

The 38-year-old LeBron has said previously that he would like to play in the NBA along with his oldest son Bronny, and announced two weeks ago that he will return for his 21st pro season and sixth with the Lakers.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time league MVP is coming off another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

Jaylen Brown may not even be considered the best player on his own team, but he is now the highest-paid player in NBA history.

Brown agreed to terms on a five-year supermax contract worth up to $304million with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

The deal, which is fully guaranteed and includes a trade kicker that would further increase Brown's salary if he's traded, surpasses the $264million contract signed by two-time league MVP and NBA champion Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets last summer.

Brown is a two-time All-Star and was named to the All-NBA second team this past season - his first such honour.

He averaged career highs of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists - ranking second on the Celtics in all of those categories to Jayson Tatum, who was named to his second consecutive All-NBA first team following this past season.

The Celtics have reached the conference finals in five of Brown's seven pro seasons - including a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals in which they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

Brown averaged 24.6 points on 54.1 per cent shooting and 47.1 per cent from 3-point range in Boston's first two playoff series this past season, but struggled with his shot in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat and the Celtics were eliminated in seven games.

Against the Heat, he averaged 19 points on 41.8 per cent shooting and connected on just 16.3 per cent of 43 3-point attempts. He misfired on 8 of 9 3-pointers in Game 7.

The third overall pick by Boston in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown has career averages of 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.