The streamer is now offering in-market streaming of NBC Sports Boston, a regional sports network that includes live Boston Celtics games and other local sports programming, through add-on subscriptions to Peacock Premium and Premium Plus Plans. In-market blackouts may apply to certain games based on user location consistent with television availability and league policies.
The network stream will be available around the clock to users within its television territory via the add-on subscription priced at $14.95 per month.
The Celtics are set for another deep postseason run as they aim for a second-straight championship. Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference at 49-19 with 14 games remaining in the regular season.
NBC Sports Boston’s live-game Celtics coverage includes comprehensive pregame and postgame shows. The network also offers New England Patriots programming and gameday shows, as well as live coverage of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and the NBA G League’s Maine Celtics.
NBC Sports Boston also provides sports news, analysis and commentary programming, such as “Early Edition” and “Boston Sports Tonight.”
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service featuring an extensive library of movies, shows and original content, offers more than 8,000 hours of live sports and entertainment programming, including NFL games and WWE events.
Peacock will also add additional NBA games beginning with the 2025-2026 season when an 11-year partnership between the league and NBC is set to begin. That will include 100 national games each regular season, with approximately 50 Peacock-exclusive national regular-season and postseason NBA games, including national Monday night games and doubleheaders.
Peacock’s in-market streaming add-on subscriptions for NBC’s regional sports markets are also available in respective television territories for NBC Sports Philadelphia ($24.95), NBC Sports Bay Area ($17.95 per month) and NBC Sports California ($17.95).
Disclaimer: NBC Sports Boston and Peacock are both owned by Comcast.
The Southeastern Conference shattered the record for most teams selected for the men’s NCAA tournament field on Sunday, with 14 of 16 schools going dancing. Why are we surprised? The SEC has been a slumbering basketball behemoth for most of the century. In 2016, it saw just three teams make the tournament, with Vanderbilt eliminated …
It was long before LeBron James went on national television to say he was taking his talents to South Beach. Long before Kobe Bryant announced his retirement in an essay published on The Players Tribune. Long before Luka Doncic broke social media when news of his trade was tweeted.
Long before the existence of Twitter and TikTok, before the daily use of websites and e-mails, before the reliance on iPhones and Wi-Fi, Michael Jordan sent a fax 30 years ago today.
The brevity of the two-word statement announcing his return to the Chicago Bulls after a 17-month retirement, and the now antiquated manner in which it was delivered, add to the legend of what transpired after the fax was sent. And, of course, after the confirmation page was received.
To active NBA players, the fax machine is as foreign as the peach basket.
And for kids out there who have never dialed anything other than the touch screen of an iPhone, Jordan is to LeBron what fax is to e-mail.
Jordan’s fax is perhaps the most famous in the device’s history. And the day after it was sent, he was back on the court in an NBA game.
Jordan had unexpectedly retired in October of 1993 at the age of 30, just months after he helped lead the Bulls to their third consecutive championship. Citing a lack of motivation — and still mourning the death of his father James, who was murdered that July — Jordan announced that he would pursue a baseball career.
Jordan went on to play 127 games with the Double-A Birmingham Barons, hitting .202 with three home runs and 51 RBIs.
Michael Jordan of the Birmingham Barons throws during an August 1994 game against the Memphis Chicks in Alabama. (Photo by Jim Gund/Getty Images)
The Bulls, in the first season of the post-Jordan era, won just two fewer games in the regular season than the year prior at 55-27. Scottie Pippen averaged a career-best 22.0 points per game, finishing third in MVP voting. The Bulls swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round and then pushed the New York Knicks to the limit in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with a Game 7 road loss signaling the end of their dynasty.
The following season, they were hovering around .500 in March when speculation of Jordan’s return intensified — practicing with his former team earlier that month was kind of a spoiler. The fax made it official.
It was sent on March 18, 1995.
To do so, a document was placed onto the fax machine, a phone number was dialed, the paper was scanned, the images were transmitted to its destination, a hard copy printed out for the recipient, a confirmation page was provided to the sender.
It has some similarities to e-mail, but the delivery process typically would take a few more minutes and require far more paper and patience — particularly if ink was low or if there was a dreaded paper jam. Still, at the time, it was the most efficient way to spread information.
Not much ink or paper was required for Jordan’s fax.
Jordan had looked over drafts of a news release prepared by his agent David Falk.
“He didn’t like the feel of them,” Falk told ESPN. “He said, ‘I’ll do it myself.'”
The message was typed on Falk Associates Management Enterprises letterhead and opened with the agency’s standard press release introductory language:
WASHINGTON, DC. (March18, 1995) — The following statement was released today by Michael Jordan, through his personal attorney and business manager David B. Falk, Chairman of Falk Associates Management Enterprises, Inc. (“FAME”) located in Washington, D.C., in response to questions about his future career plans:
“I’m back.”
The following day, Jordan was back on an NBA court as the Bulls took on the Indiana Pacers, his first game since June of 1993. Indianapolis transformed into the chaotic center of the basketball world as national media and ticket scalpers descended upon the area.
“It was like David Stern (then the NBA commissioner) deciding the NBA championship would be a one-game playoff, and that one game is in your building and you’ve got 24 hours to prepare,” Pacers media relations staffer David Benner told the Indianapolis Star.
As Jordan took the floor with the Bulls starting lineup, he wore his familiar red Bulls jersey. Same name on the back, but different number. Jordan’s second chapter in the NBA began with him wearing not his familiar No. 23, but the No. 45 he wore on his baseball uniform.
#SICoverOTD: March 27, 1995: 'I'm Back' With a new number and the same theatrics Michael Jordan returns to the NBA after a brief retirement pic.twitter.com/Evboo2ulTH
As time passes, and reality fades to myth, it might be said that Jordan instantly returned to dominant form in his first game like a Hollywood movie. The truth is, his field goal percentage wasn’t much higher than his batting average.
Jordan’s first field goal wouldn’t come until just over four minutes remained in the second quarter and the Bulls trailed by 18. Chicago did come back to force overtime, tying the game on Pippen’s 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, but went on to lose 103-96.
Jordan finished just 7-for-28 from the field, recording 19 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals over 43 minutes.
Less than a week later, in the fourth game of his return, Jordan became Jordan. He hit a pull-up jumper at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 99-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks. In his following game, against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, he scored 55 points in what became known as the “double-nickel” game.
Jordan, over the 17 regular season games he played that season, averaged 26.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The Bulls would go on to advance to the conference semifinals, where they lost in six games to the Orlando Magic.
It was the last playoff series Jordan would lose in his career.
The following season, he led the Bulls to what was a then NBA record 72-win season and the first of three straight championships.
Following his second three-peat, Jordan retired in 1998 for the second time. And, once again, returned years later.
Having served as part owner and president of basketball operations of the Washington Wizards, Jordan revealed in 2001 than he would be resuming his playing career with the team at 38 years old.
This time, there would be no fax.
Michael Jordan in his first game as a player for the Washington Wizards in 2001. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images)
The formal announcement, which had been expected for weeks, ultimately was made just 13 days after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The Wizards released a statement saying Jordan had signed a two-year contract with the team and would be donating his $1 million salary for the upcoming season to relief and victim-assistance efforts.
“Although I am energized by my impending return to the court, I am deeply saddened by the recent tragic events and my heart goes out to the victims and their families,” Jordan said in the statement. “Out of deep respect for them, I will not participate in media interviews before the start of training camp on October 1.
“I am returning as a player to the game I love because during the last year and a half, as a member of Washington Wizards’ management, I enjoyed working with our players, and sharing my own experiences as a player. I feel there is no better way of teaching young players than to be on the court with them as a fellow player, not just in practice, but in actual NBA games. While nothing can take away from the past, I am firmly focused on the future and the competitive challenge ahead of me.”
Northern Iowa Panthers (20-12, 14-7 MVC) at SMU Mustangs (23-10, 14-8 ACC) Dallas; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: SMU and Northern Iowa meet in the National Invitation Tournament. The Mustangs' record in ACC play is 14-8, and their record is 9-2 against non-conference opponents.
George Mason's average of 6.9 made 3-pointers per game is 1.7 fewer made shots on average than the 8.6 per game Samford allows. Samford averages 10.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.1 more made shots on average than the 7.7 per game George Mason gives up. TOP PERFORMERS: Haynes is scoring 14.1 points per game with 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Patriots.
Dayton Flyers (22-10, 12-7 A-10) at Florida Atlantic Owls (18-15, 11-9 AAC) Boca Raton, Florida; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Florida Atlantic takes on Dayton in the National Invitation Tournament. The Owls' record in AAC games is 11-9, and their record is 7-6 in non-conference games.
North Carolina Tar Heels (22-13, 15-8 ACC) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (21-9, 14-7 MWC) Dayton, Ohio; Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tar Heels -4.5; over/under is 142.5 BOTTOM LINE: San Diego State faces North Carolina in the First Four round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs are 14-7 against MWC opponents and 7-2 in non-conference play.
SAN FRANCISCO – In the wake of the most disappointing loss as a member of the Warriors, Jimmy Butler III divulged what haunted him but didn’t cast blame and point fingers over what taunted him most. He didn’t have to.
The box score provided all necessary explanation. Faced with a prime opportunity to create space for themselves in the crowded Western Conference playoff race, the Warriors gave it away, donating 24 unearned points.
The Denver Nuggets took the gifts and ran out of Chase Center with a 114-105 victory even they could not have expected insofar as they were without three starters, including three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and his most productive sidekick Jamal Murray.
“All I asked of our guys, going into it, I said, ‘Just compete. Have each other’s backs, just compete,’” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And did they do that at such a high level.”
Denver outcompeted the sixth-place Warriors, who blew a chance to pull within 2.5 games of the third-place Nuggets but instead are now 4.5 games to the rear.
Being outhustled in defeat bothered every member of the Warriors, players and coaches, as it should. Butler, however, zeroed in one of his pet peeves. One he shares with Golden State coach Steve Kerr.
“Our care for the basketball,” Butler said. “We turned it over way too much. We were very loose with the basketball, careless with it. Got them into the open floor, and they saw the ball go in early and it never stopped.”
Denver’s B team, led by veterans Aaron Gordon (game-high 38 points) and Russell Westbrook (a 12-points, 16-assists, 12-rebounds triple-double), made a mockery of the Warriors’ lax defense, which too often was compromised by live-ball turnovers.
“It hurts me,” said Butler, who had two turnovers in 33 minutes. “I ain’t going to lie to you. I hate turning ball over. I hate when we turn the ball over. We’ve just got to be better at that. If we get shots on goal, we’re a very hard team to beat.
“But you ain’t going to beat many people in this league, no matter who’s on the floor, with 20 turnovers.”
The Warriors are 0-5 when they commit at least 20 turnovers. They are 2-7 when they give away 24 or more points off turnovers.
A high-turnover team in their dynastic seasons, these Warriors, with diminished overall talent, had managed their turnovers relatively well in the first 12 games with Butler on the roster. Over the last five, though, they have returned to an old habit, giving away 118 points off 101 turnovers.
Golden State’s most dangerous enemy is, as Butler implied, itself.
Stephen Curry, moving more carefully than usual due to back soreness, committed seven turnovers in 36 minutes. Draymond Green committed four in 33 minutes. Jonathan Kuminga and Gui Santos each committed three.
“Dumb plays all night,” Curry said.
The accuracy of that comment is pinpoint, which can’t be said of many of the passes the Warriors flung around Chase Center. The kind of passes that sabotaged Golden State’s fourth-quarter comeback.
“It’s hard to win an NBA game when you throw the ball to the other team 10 times,” Kerr said. “That’s what we were facing tonight.”
Trailing by eight with 2:35 remaining, Green hurled a 60-foot pass that was intercepted. Two possessions later, trailing by six, Curry’s underhand lob for Kuminga sailed wide – and led to a Denver bucket that pretty much sealed the outcome.
“I didn’t play great at all,” said Curry, who scored 20 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the field, including 4 of 13 from deep. “Whenever we have the amount of turnovers that we did – and not even the amount but type – that can’t happen. And obviously that starts with me.”
No need for Butler to point fingers. The story of this game was told in black and white. Curry knew it and didn’t try to hide his guilt.
The Milwaukee Bucks are up next, Tuesday night at Chase. A dangerous team, to be sure, but that’s true of any Warriors opponent when they conspire against themselves.
Steve Kerr has led the Golden State Warriors to four NBA titles [Getty Images]
Coach Steve Kerr said the Golden State Warriors were "awful" as their seven-game winning run came to an end against the Denver Nuggets in San Francisco.
Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 38 points in a 105-114 win for the Nuggets, who were without star centre Nikola Jokic.
It is Gordon's highest points haul since joining the Nuggets from the Orlando Magic in 2021.
"We played poorly out of the gate and never found rhythm and they played great," said Kerr.
"The right team won. We didn't deserve anything. We were awful."
Russell Westbrook, the NBA's all-time leader in triple-doubles, secured his 203rd by scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds and 16 assists.
Jimmy Butler III scored 23 points and Stephen Curry 20 in reply for the Warriors, who lost for just the second time in 14 matches.
Denver remain fourth in the Western Conference, with Golden State occupying the final play-off place in sixth.
The Los Angeles Lakers, still without the injured LeBron James, are just behind the Nuggets in fourth after beating the San Antonio Spurs 125-109.
Austin Reaves top-scored with 30 points for the Lakers, with Luka Doncic adding 21 points with nine rebounds and 14 assists.
The Houston Rockets overturned a 25-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 144-137 in overtime and stay second in the Western Conference.
The Minnesota Timberwolves also needed overtime to beat the Indiana Pacers 132-130, with Obi Toppin scoring 34 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
The New York Knicks won 116-95 against the Miami Heat to stay third in the East, while the Detroit Pistons are sixth after beating the New Orleans Pelican 127-81.
As things continue to get sillier and sillier across the league, it is easy to get lost as a fantasy manager. There are already enough headaches managing back-to-backs and injuries throughout the season, but now during the playoffs, teams are playing their stars less minutes and less games. It’s easy to get frustrated, but these players can help you come out on top in your leagues despite not having your key pieces.
PG/SG Jared Butler (11% rostered in Yahoo! leagues), Philadelphia 76ers
Feel free to take a dart throw on anybody that is healthy in Philly, but Butler feels like the safest option to me. He has averaged 13.2 points, three rebounds, six assists, one steal and 1.8 threes over the 76ers’ last five games and scored 21 points on Monday. He ranks just outside the top-100 in nine-cat leagues during this five-game stretch as a starter, and it is unlikely that he will relinquish the starting point guard role over the final month of the season.
PG Tre Jones (25%), Chicago Bulls
Jones continues to start for Chicago and has provided top-50 value over the past two weeks with averages of 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He recorded an 18/4/12/3 line in Monday’s win over Utah. If you’re looking for dimes without sacrificing efficiency, Jones is the perfect pickup.
SG/SF Kevin Huerter (11%), Chicago Bulls
Huerter is newer to the starting lineup than Jones, but he has also been productive. He has started their last three games and averaged 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, three assists and 2.7 threes per game. He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and five three-pointers against the Jazz.
SG Jordan Hawkins (5%), New Orleans Pelicans
Hawkins hasn’t been productive, but this is more about opportunity. Trey Murphy (shoulder) is done for the year, making Hawkins a candidate to take on even more minutes on the perimeter. When he’s been at his best, he has been a viable source of three-pointers. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened consistently this season.
SG/SF Gary Payton II (5%), Golden State Warriors
I’m not a huge fan of GP2 in fantasy basketball, but he’s playing too well to ignore. He has provided fifth-round value over the last two weeks in nine-cat leagues, and he tallied an 18/3/1/3/1 line with two triples on Monday. Plus, Stephen Curry may get a rest night on Tuesday, which only raises Payton II’s ceiling. Again, I don’t typically trust him, but he has been playing well.
PG/SG Jordan Goodwin (1%), Los Angeles Lakers
Head coach JJ Redick has raved about Goodwin recently, and it showed up in the box score on Monday, He finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, one block and three three-pointers in a big win over the Spurs. Goodwin should continue to start until LeBron James returns, which means that he should be a solid option for at least a few more games.
SG AJ Johnson (less than 1%), Washington Wizards
The rookie started for the first time in his career on Monday, and while the numbers weren’t great (8/7/4), it shows that Brian Keefe wants to see what Johnson can do. It may not be pretty all the time, but Johnson should continue to play a large role for Washington moving forward.
SG/SF Matisse Thybulle (less than 1%), Portland Trail Blazers
Thybulle had five steals and a block in 22 minutes on Monday after having two steals and a block in six minutes on Sunday, which was his season debut. It was a long injury layoff, but Thybulle has nine “stocks” in 28 minutes so far this season. If you’re desperate for some defensive stats, he’s a fun dart throw.
