Danny Ainge acknowledged that trading Delonte West was one of the hardest decisions he's made as Boston's president of basketball operations, but three years later he's hoping West, like the players he was swapped for did in 2008, can help bring the team a championship.

WALTHAM, Mass. — When Shaquille O’Neal was much, much younger and a good deal smaller, too, he chose as a role model one of the most successful big men in NBA history. “When I came into the league, I wanted to compete with Bill Russell for titles,” O’Neal said Tuesday, with Russell’s 11 championship banners […]

It was arguably the ugliest game seven of an NBA Finals, but the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a poor shooting night by Kobe Bryant to win their 16th NBA title.