Thursday offers just two games, but both feature championship storylines and MVP star power. Out East, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Indiana Pacers in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals. Indiana begins life without Tyrese Haliburton, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks to continue his MVP pace.

You can win more by with NBA parlay bets, but there’s more risk for every bet you add. Learn how to make smarter NBA parlay bets with Covers.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver this week called expansion "a very deliberate process, and it’s something that the league, working with our teams, continues to consider and discuss," during an interview with Sports Illustrated. The decision ultimately rests with the league's 30 team owners.

NEW YORK -Chauncey Billups, an NBA Hall of Fame player and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier, a guard with the Miami Heat, are among more than 30 people charged on Thursday in connection with two separate but related federal gambling investigations that involved the league and organized crime.

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier have been charged in an alleged gambling probe, according to the BBC's partner CBS News.

ESPN's fantasy basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you set your lineups for that night's games. Here you'll read our best advice for the night, including a selection of players you can stream as well as game-by-game injury reports.