ESPN Daily

A little more than three years ago, inside a shiny new arena in Rwanda’s capital, the Basketball Africa League launched its inaugural season. It was a milestone for the continent and for America’s National Basketball Association, which was a driving force behind the venture. But among human rights experts, the NBA’s deal with Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame has raised questions since the very beginning. Today, our Mark Fainaru-Wada takes us inside his 18-month investigation into a partnership that formed the foundation for Africa’s new league and provides a clear-eyed examination of the complexities and ethical challenges of engaging in business with an authoritarian regime. Find more details from Mark's story in his article and video report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Olympic games are officially underway, and for the USWNT the chase for gold begins tonight against Zambia. But this isn’t the same team that we’re used to seeing. The names have changed, and with America’s worst finish in a major international tournament EVER in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the playing field is stronger than ever. So today, ESPN global correspondent Sam Borden explains what’s changed. Who stands between the ladies and a gold medal on the pitch? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2024 Olympics are just about ready to get started in Paris. And that means that from sea-to-shining-sea, American fans are preparing to see the men’s Olympic basketball team bring home gold. But, as we’ve seen in recent years, the talent gap between Team USA and the rest of the world has been closing on the hardwood. So today, ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps tells us if the most talented international team we’ve ever sent to the games can capture the gold against the most talented field in the history of the Olympic games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a minute since breakdancing hit mainstream culture in the early 1980s, but this summer, it’s evolving to another level with breaking, a competitive version of this art form, making its Olympic debut at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. 16 men and 16 women will compete for the first-ever breaking medals on August 9th and 10th. Today, Clover Gold introduces us to one of America’s top B-girls, Sunny Choi, and reflects on what breakdancing’s rise to the Olympics says about the impact and evolution of hip hop culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last Thursday, we kicked off an examination of ESPN’s rankings of the greatest athletes of the 21st century. And though we found a lot to disagree with, we also uncovered a lot of insights about the state of the sports world in 2024. So today, we bring you part two of this conversation between Emily Kaplan, Kevin Clark and guest host Jeremy Schaap. Does Kobe deserve to be higher than Tim Duncan? Why is Aaron Rodgers so low? Did international stars get a fair shake? What does this list tell us about the modern relationship between athlete and fan? We get into all that and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WNBA All-Star Weekend is upon us, with the STARRY 3-Point Contest and the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge airing on Friday night at 9 pm eastern on ESPN. And the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game itself tipping off on tomorrow at 830 PM on ABC So today, ESPN women’s basketball reporter Alexa Philippou, takes us through what the weekend has in store. She previews the faceoff between Team USA and Team WNBA, and dives into the most riveting Rookie of the Year race in the history of the league. Before explaining just how the W can capitalize on the momentum that it’s seeing right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ESPN has released its rankings of the greatest athletes of the 21st century so far, and we’ve got some bones to pick! That is, after all, the point of these things –– it’s fun to argue about. So that’s exactly what we’ll do today. Emily Kaplan and Kevin Clark join guest host Jeremy Schaap to examine why the players missing from the list may be more telling than those actually on it (no Breanna Stewart?!), why the term “GOAT” may be losing its meaning, and why Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Tom Brady and beyond are all more deserving of the top slot than Michael Phelps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten years ago, during a skydiving accident, Emma Carey and her instructor plummeted some 14,000 feet into an empty cow pasture in Switzerland. Miraculously, both survived the more than two-mile fall. Our own Ryan Hockensmith had the chance to speak with Emma about that experience. And to find out how she overcame the nightmare, processed her recovery, came to terms with the miracle — and used her story to inspire others, without letting it define her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Midsummer Classic is upon us once again. And once again, there are more questions than answers in Major League Baseball. What will the Pirates do with Paul Skenes, their rookie phenom? How can we get players interested in the All-Star Game again? How should we honor the late legend Willie Mays? And with a couple weeks left until the trade deadline, what should the powerhouse teams on both coasts do to make sure they are more than ready for October baseball? Today, Buster Olney sits side-by-side with Clinton Yates in Texas to answer all these questions and more on the eve of the 2024 MLB All-Star Game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no greater pain than seeing a child suffer through an illness. But also, there is no greater joy than seeing that child smile.That full spectrum of emotions is at the heart of ESPN’s annual My Wish series that debuts this week. An elite slate of athletes will meet with several children to bond over their shared love of the game and a belief that hope, passion and a good team are the recipe for victory in whatever challenge they face. So today, our very own Chris Connelly reflects on the legacy of this program and shares what his experience has been like having a front-row seat to every My Wish ever granted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Players scrapping with fans in the stands, continental championships up for grabs on both sides of “the pond,” and US Men's Soccer is once again searching for a new manager. There’s a ton going on in the international soccer world, so today Luis Miguel Echegaray helps us break it all down, and lets us know who he thinks will capture the crown in Europe and the Americas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 22 years, Wyc Grousbeck and his family announced they’ll be selling their controlling stake in the Boston Celtics. The announcement marks a seismic moment not just for the Celtics, but for the NBA. Our own Tim Bontemps is here to talk about how the sale of one of the most iconic franchises in the world connects to greater trends in sports team ownership worldwide, and to explain who or what entity could be Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown’s new boss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gamers of a certain age have fond memories of building dynasties with their favorite schools in the NCAA College Football video game series. But - because of a lawsuit filed by former UCLA Bruin Ed O’Bannon over name, image, and likeness violations - it’s been more than a decade since EA Sports released the game. That wait is almost over, as the game returns next week. Today, ESPN staff writer, Michael Rothstein, who broke the news of the game’s return in 2021, and has been covering the journey ever since, explains why college sports video games were shelved, and tells us just how EA Sports worked to return gamers’ holy grail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 13 seasons as a splash brother with the Warriors, Klay Thompson is trading in the boats in the Bay for cowboy boots in Dallas, Texas. And it feels like the end of the most recent dynasty in the NBA. But how exactly did it all come to an end? Today, ESPN senior NBA writer Ramona Shelburne explains what forced Klay’s hand, and details how he ended up choosing to moor his boat to the Mavericks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NBA has been busy since the Celtics locked down their 18th championship. In Los Angeles, JJ Redick has traded in his microphone for a clipboard, becoming the new coach of the Lakers. And one of the first moves on his watch? Drafting Bronny James, fulfilling a father and son moment that the world has been waiting on. Meanwhile, Paul George says goodbye to the Clippers and heads over to Philly, while DeMar DeRozan pulled back up to the west coast, heading from Chicago to Sacramento. So today we talk with ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps about which teams look like chevy hitters. And explore which moves could lead to the beginning of the next NBA dynasty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, we learned that the rivalry between legendary competitive eaters, Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi and America’s Joey Chestnut, would be renewed this Labor Day. It will be their first head-to-head, hot-dog-eating-showdown in 14 years. A dispute with the organizers of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest, a July 4th tradition, had forced Kobayashi out of the competition in 2010. A similar dispute this year for Chestnut set the stage for a long awaited rematch between two men who had accounted for 22 of the last 23 Nathan’s Famous titles. So today, we bring you an interview with Takeru Kobayashi himself, exploring what drove him to rethink and revolutionize the sport of eating in the early 2000s, why his rivalry with Chestnut wasn’t as fun as it looked, the false reports of his retirement, and what we should expect to see when these two finally meet again on Labor Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that we are heading to the midpoint of the 2024 MLB season, it’s time to take the temperature of the league. Can the surprising Cleveland Guardians stay hot and catch pennant fever? Will the Orioles’s arms stay healthy enough to take down the Yankees? Are the Phillies and Dodgers simply inevitable in the National League? Or will Grimace continue to hold court in Queens and somehow bring the Mets to the table? To get the answers to all this and more we once again turn to our friend ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan as he breaks down what stood out to him over the first few months and tells us how things might shape up down the stretch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are two absolutely gigantic continental soccer tournaments happening side by side across the globe. In the western hemisphere Copa America features the United States, the Caribbean, and the best of South America on the pitch. Giving Uruguay a spotlight to shine. While across the pond the UEFA European Championship, better known as the Euros, are giving us all of the traditional national rivalries we’re used to seeing. Of course, it wouldn’t be soccer on a global stage, if the USMNT didn’t have some sort of controversy going on, and following their upsetting loss to Panama last week, the questions about Gregg Berhalter’s fitness to lead the team are starting to swirl. So today, Luis Miguel Echegaray is here to: Get us set for tonight’s U.S. vs Uruguay matchup, breakdown everything he’s been seeing in both tournaments, and to let us know who he likes to take home championships on both sides of the Atlantic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a big week for the UFC. Out in Vegas, the premier combat sports company is celebrating International Fight Week, and on Thursday night, inducted its latest class to the Hall of Fame. Saturday night, the festivities culminate in UFC 303. But the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, won’t be there, after pulling out of the main event due to injury, and forcing UFC to scramble and find other fighters to carry the card. So today, our Andreas Hale explains why McGregor’s three year absence has proven detrimental for him on all fronts, and why another delayed return has everyone wondering if Mr. Notorious will ever step into the Octagon again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three years ago, a positive marijuana test forced Sha’Carri Richardson off of team USA, robbing her and her country of a chance at an all-time Olympic moment. But in the years since, with a style reminiscent of the great Florence Griffith Joyner, Richardson has more than made her mark on the sport. So with 100-meter qualifications complete and the 200-meter on the horizon this weekend, our Coley Harvey explains how Richardson bounced back and why the Summer Games could make her one of the biggest stars on the planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices