A jersey photo-matched to seven games in Kobe Bryant's 1996-97 rookie season for the Los Angeles Lakers -- including his preseason debut on Oct. 16, 1996; his regular-season debut on Nov. 3, 1996; and his NBA media day -- sold for $7 million at Sotheby's on Thursday. The jersey last sold for $115,242 at auction in 2012.

It set a new record for any Bryant sports collectible, eclipsing the $5,849,700 spent on a game-worn, signed jersey from the 2007-08 season in which Bryant won his lone MVP award.

"Debut games are truly one-of-a-kind moments in an athlete's career," said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's head of modern collectibles, in a statement. "They mark the nascency of an extraordinary journey, and for iconic athletes like Kobe Bryant, these milestones hold even more significance as they represent a singular moment in time that can never be replicated."

The $7 million Bryant jersey is the fourth-most-expensive game-worn sports jersey of all time behind the $24 million Babe Ruth "called shot" jersey, Michael Jordan's $10.1 million "Last Dance" jersey and Diego Maradona's $9.3 million "Hand of God" Argentina jersey from the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Bryant went 0-1 from the field with 0 points, 1 rebound and 1 block in 6 minutes, 22 seconds off the bench in his regular-season NBA debut, but was an All-Star and runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year the following season, averaging 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals.

Sotheby's has brokered the five most expensive game-worn NBA jersey sales of all time: Jordan's $10.1 million "Last Dance" jersey; the $7 million Bryant debut jersey sold Thursday; the $5.8 million Bryant MVP season jersey; a $4.9 million Wilt Chamberlain jersey worn in the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers' first title run; and a jersey Jordan wore in 17 Chicago Bulls games during the 1996-97 NBA season that sold for $4.7 million in November.

Evan Mobley was a big winner in more ways than one Thursday night.

For starters, the fourth-year forward was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, after taking a significant individual leap this season as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers' ascension to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

But, by winning that honor, Mobley -- who also is expected to be an All-NBA selection sometime over the next couple of weeks -- also ensured that the max rookie contract extension he signed last summer will go up by roughly $45 million over the next five years, turning it into a five-year, $269 million pact.

"I mean, it definitely was a goal of mine coming into this year, I put all the work in, so it's a big day," Mobley said after Wednesday night's victory over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of Cleveland's first-round series. "But I'm trying to be as focused as I can on the playoffs."

Mobley, the first Cavalier to win this award, has been focused all season for Cleveland, averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks for the Cavaliers in helping Cleveland be the wire-to-wire leaders of the East. In addition, Mobley's impressive array of defensive skills, particularly as a help defender, continued to push forward a Cavaliers team that hopes to return to true championship aspirations for the first time since LeBron James led them to four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018.

"It feels great," Mobley said of winning the award on TNT's "Inside The NBA" Thursday night. "My feet and my movement at this size I feel like unordinary but it just feels amazing to finally get this award."

He was able to celebrate with his teammates upon winning the award, as the Cavaliers had just arrived in Miami ahead of Game 3 of the series.

Mobley was one of three finalists for the award, alongside Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Mobley finished with 35 of 100 first-place votes, along with 30 second-place votes and 20 third-place votes, for 285 total points and finishing on 85 out of 100 ballots. Daniels was second with 25 first-place, 17 second-place and 21 third-place votes, while Green was third with 15 first-place, 20 second-place and 19 third-place votes.

Defensive Player of the Year was one of the most wide-open awards races this season -- at least, that is, from the All-Star Break onward, after the massive favorite to claim the honor, San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, was ruled out for the season with a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder.

From that point, several players were seen as potential contenders for the award, including the three finalists, LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson. That was felt in the way the voting played out, with seven players getting at least one first-place vote and 13 receiving at least one vote overall.

Behind Mobley, Daniels and Green were the following: Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Portland Trail Blazers guard Toumani Camara, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Boston Celtics guard Derrick White and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who won the award last year.

Defensive Player of the Year was the third of the league's seven major individual awards to be handed out, with Celtics guard Payton Pritchard winning the league's Sixth Man of the Year award Tuesday night and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson being named the league's Clutch Player of the Year on Wednesday night.

The NBA will also announce the Hustle Award winner Friday, while the rest of the major honors -- Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams -- will be announced over the next few weeks.

Jimmy Butler underwent an MRI that revealed no structural damage, but the Golden State Warriors star is in serious jeopardy of missing Game 3 with a deep glute muscle contusion, league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Warriors and Butler have two days off before hosting the Houston Rockets on Saturday at Chase Center with the first-round series tied at 1-1. Considering that the MRI showed no fracture after Butler took a scary fall in the first quarter of Game 2 on Wednesday night, the Warriors got a best-case scenario result, sources told Charania.

Butler will use the time before the 5:30PM pacific time tip to do everything he can to play. His return will likely be determined by how his body responds to treatment in the next two days.

Butler went up high to grab a defensive rebound off Houston's Amen Thompson's missed shot when Thompson undercut Butler. Butler came crashing down on his tailbone area and was in immediate pain. The Warriors would later rule Butler out in the second quarter with a pelvis contusion.

Without Butler, the Warriors fought but were handled by the Rockets, 109-94, in Game 2. If the Warriors have to play Game 3 without Butler, it's will be a blow. Butler has turned the Warriors' season around as Golden State has gone 25-9, including regular season, play-in and postseason, since Butler made his Warriors debut on Feb. 8 in Chicago.

Butler has been the star that Stephen Curry has needed beside him to alleviate the offensive burden while also managing the crucial non-Curry minutes. He also has helped Draymond Green lift the Warriors defense to first in the league since his Feb. 8 debut in Chicago.

"I mean if Jimmy's out, we have to rethink everything," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Game 2. "Like rotations, who starts and the best combinations and all that stuff."

Jonathan Kuminga could be an option for a bigger role if Butler is unable to play in Game 3. Kuminga played 26 minutes and scored 11 points but shot 4-for-12 from the field in his first game of the posteason. Kuminga had fallen out of the rotation since the regular-season finale.

Butler has lifted his game a notch to "Playoff Jimmy" form since the regular season finale when he had 30 points and nine assists in an overtime loss to the Clippers. He followed that up with 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a play-in win over Memphis. And then in helping Golden State steal Game 1 in Houston, Butler poured in 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals on Sunday.

Curry has dealt with tailbone injuries in the past, including a pelvic contusion he suffered on March 20. Curry would miss two games after that but said when he returned that he was not at risk of worsening his injury barring another hard fall on the injured area.

"The last one I had was just a contusion and that is just a pain tolerance thing," Curry said of his recent pelvic contusion injury. "Hopefully it's just a contusion, you could play through that eventually."

MEMPHIS -- Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant exited Thursday's Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a hip injury sustained during a hard fall with 3:15 remaining in the second quarter.

Morant crashed to the court after Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort fouled him on a high-flying attempt to finish on a fast break.

After a review, the officiating crew determined that the play did not merit a flagrant foul.

After being helped to his feet, Morant limped to the line to take his free throws, missing both. He immediately checked out of the game and hobbled to the locker room, removing his jersey as he entered the tunnel.

If Morant hadn't attempted the free throws, he would have been automatically ruled out of the game.

The Grizzlies ruled Morant out for the rest of the game as the second half started.

They led by 29 when he exited. He had 15 points and 5 assists in 16 minutes before getting injured.

Morant was limited to 50 games during the regular season, missing time because of a variety of injuries.

Morant suffered his most serious injury this season -- a posterior hip subluxation along with associated pelvic muscle strains -- when he took a hard fall after a midair collision in a Nov. 6 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He missed the next eight games.

PHOENIX -- The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie outfielder Jake Mangum on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain Thursday.

Mangum was injured trying to run out a groundout in the fourth inning of the Rays' 7-6 win over Arizona on Wednesday night. Imaging conducted Thursday morning confirmed the strain.

"I feel for Jake, because he was doing a lot of good things," Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters before Thursday night's games against the Diamondbacks. "Plays with a unique intensity that I think makes his teammates better. We get excited when he does things, and to see him now going to have to miss some time is frustrating."

Mangum is hitting .338 with seven RBIs and an American League-best eight steals in 21 games this season. He spent three seasons at Triple-A Durham and was called up after right fielder Josh Lowe went down with a right oblique strain on Opening Day.

The New York Mets activated former batting champion Jeff McNeil from the 10-day injured list Thursday night.

The two-time All-Star second baseman hasn't played for the Mets this season because of a right oblique strain. He batted .393 with two homers in eight rehab games across three minor league levels.

McNeil, 33, batted just .238 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs in 129 games for New York last season. That was well below his .326 mark that won the 2022 National League batting crown.

Overall, McNeil has a .289 career average, 68 homers and 313 RBIs in 801 games over six seasons.

New York also optioned infielder Brett Baty and catcher Hayden Senger to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday. The Mets are expected to activate catcher Francisco Alvarez prior to Friday's game against the Washington Nationals.

Alvarez, 23, also has missed the entire season after fracturing his left hand March 8 during batting practice. He batted .179 with one homer in seven rehab games across three minor league affiliates.

Alvarez was a standout as a rookie in 2023 when he had 25 homers and 63 RBIs in 123 games. Last season, he regressed with just 11 homers and 47 RBIs in 100 games.

Baty, 25, has batted .204 with one homer and four RBIs in 19 games this season. Senger, 28, was hitting .179 in 13 games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals ace Cole Ragans will undergo testing on his left groin after the All-Star left-hander was forced to leave Thursday's start against the Colorado Rockies after just three innings and 62 pitches.

Ragans had allowed four runs on three hits -- two of them homers -- and two walks before Angel Zerpa replaced him for the fourth inning of a 7-3 victory over the Rockies.

Manager Matt Quatraro said Ragans had trouble getting loose before the game and his groin began to bother him as the innings went on.

"As he was sitting there between innings, between the third and fourth, it tightened up on him," said Quatraro, who thinks some of Ragans' command problems were related to the groin issue.

"I did not talk to him yet, but I would assume, you know, if he's not comfortable pushing off, you're seeing him cut some stuff off, which makes sense, based on most of those misses. Just probably wasn't getting through it."

Ragans went 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA and led the league in strikeouts per nine innings during a breakout season last year. He is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA in six starts this season, including a dismal outing last week against the Tigers.

"Cole was not 100%," catcher Salvador Perez said Thursday. "I could tell from the bullpen he was not right."

The bullpen picked Ragans up, though, tossing six scoreless innings in relief. Zerpa and Steven Cruz tossed two apiece, Lucas Erceg cruised through the eighth and Carlos Estevez handled the ninth to earn his sixth save.

In other injury news, Quatraro said right-hander Alec Marsh would begin a new throwing progression Friday after he was shut down a few weeks ago with more soreness in his right shoulder. The Royals hope to have him back sometime in June.

Speedy outfielder Dairon Blanco also is on the mend after dealing with a right Achilles injury. He went through a full workout on Tuesday, and Quatraro said it's possible that Blanco could be headed on a rehab assignment soon.

"That was a huge step forward. He had a ton of volume out there," Quatraro said. "We've got to get through this weekend, but if everything goes smoothly, we'll get him out sometime next week."

Britain's Cameron Norrie described his first-round victory at the Madrid Open as one of his favourite wins in his career after he overcame illness to defeat Martin Landaluce.

Former British number one Norrie beat the 19-year-old Spaniard 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-4 to earn a first ATP main-draw victory since the start of March.

Poor form has seen Norrie, 29, drop to 91st in the world, and for a while on Thursday his struggles looked set to continue.

After losing five games in a row from 3-0 up in the opening set, Norrie fought back from 3-0 down before saving a match point and winning the second.

The British number three used his experience to see out victory after Landaluce produced a wild game at 4-4 in the deciding set.

Norrie later explained he has been struggling with sickness, saying on Sky Sports: "It's terrible timing but at least I have another day tomorrow to rest. Hopefully it will pass pretty quickly.

"It's maybe one of my favourite wins. I was feeling absolutely terrible, I wasn't sure I was going to play, I had no energy, didn't sleep at all last night.

"I started very low energy, sleeping on the court still. I had to create my own energy. He actually played really well, I know he's a really good player, so I had to fight every point."

Norrie will face 26th seed Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the second round.

Later on Thursday British number two Jacob Fearnley joined Norrie in the second round with a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) defeat of China's Yunchaokete Bu.

Fearnley will face Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in the next round after the 19th seed received a bye in the first.

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun with 16 teams looking to be the last one standing after four grueling rounds of playoff hockey action. The Florida Panthers return to defend their championship, but will have to contend with regular-season powerhouses including the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals and the Edmonton Oilers.

The Panthers first have to contend with their cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning, but got off to a strong start in Game 1 with 6-2 road win. The victory saw the Panthers leapfrog several teams to be given the second-shortest odds behind only the Carolina Hurricanes, who have emerged as the Eastern Conference favorites thanks to a 2-0 series lead over the banged-up New Jersey Devils.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, looking to snap the longest championship drought in NHL history, are up 2-0 on their provincial rivals, the Ottawa Senators, and are now among the top five favorites. The Capitals took care of business in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens with Alex Ovechkin scoring his first career playoff OT winner and followed it up with a Game 2 victory to take a commanding series lead.

In the West, two of the favorites clash in the first round as the Dallas Stars take on the Colorado Avalanche with the teams trading wins in Games 1 and 2, followed by a Game 3 road win by the Stars which saw the teams essentially trade places in the odds race. The Jets have a 2-0 series lead on the St. Louis Blues, while the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild traded wins in Games 1 and 2. The Oilers lost both their road games to the Los Angeles Kings, who are considered the favorite in this series, and must now win at home to get back into the race.

Last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Connor McDavid, won the top award for playoffs MVP despite his team not winning the championship. This year, he hopes to win it again, but on a happier note. Below, you can see all of the top favorites for Conn Smythe, as well as the odds for every team to win their opening-round series, advance to, and to win the Stanley Cup.

All odds accurate as of publish time. For more, go to ESPN BET.

Odds to win Conn Smythe trophy

The Conn Smythe is awarded to the player deemed to have been the most valuable to his team throughout the playoffs. Players listed with 200-1 odds or better. More odds available at ESPN BET..

Connor Hellebuyck, Jets: 12-1
Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes: 15-1
Jack Eichel, Golden Knights: 16-1
Anthony Stolarz, Maple Leafs: 18-1
Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche: 18-1
Aleksander Barkov, Panthers: 20-1
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals: 20-1
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs: 20-1
Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers: 20-1
Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes: 20-1
Adrian Kempe, Kings: 25-1
Cale Makar, Avalanche: 25-1
Darcy Kuemper, Kings: 25-1
Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes: 25-1
Jake Oettinger, Stars: 25-1
Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs: 25-1
Nikita Kucherov, Lightning: 25-1
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning: 30-1
Connor McDavid, Oilers: 30-1
Kyle Connor, Jets: 30-1
Logan Thompson, Capitals: 30-1
Mark Scheifele, Jets: 30-1
Sam Reinhart, Panthers: 30-1
Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers: 30-1
Tomas Hertl, Golden Knights: 30-1
Anze Kopitar, Kings: 40-1
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers: 40-1
Logan Stankoven, Hurricanes: 40-1
Adin Hill, Golden Knights: 50-1
Brayden Point, Lightning: 50-1
Dylan Strome, Capitals: 50-1
Kevin Fiala, Kings: 50-1
Kirill Kaprizov, Wild: 50-1
Mackenzie Blackwood, Avalanche: 50-1
Mark Stone, Golden Knights: 50-1
William Nylander, Maple Leafs: 50-1
John Tavares, Maple Leafs: 60-1
Andrei Svechnikov, Hurricanes: 75-1
Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes: 75-1
Matt Boldy, Wild: 75-1
Mikko Rantanen, Stars: 75-1
Pavel Dorofeyev, Golden Knights: 75-1
Roope Hintz, Stars: 75-1
Wyatt Johnston, Stars: 75-1
Brady Tkachuk, Senators: 100-1
Connor McMichael, Capitals: 100-1
Filip Gustavsson, Wild: 100-1
Jason Robertson, Stars: 100-1
Linus Ullmark, Senators: 100-1
Miro Heiskanen, Stars: 100-1
Nico Hischier, Devils: 100-1
Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes: 100-1
Quinton Byfield, Kings: 100-1
Sam Bennett, Panthers: 100-1
Tim Stutzle, Senators: 100-1
Brandon Hagel, Lightning: 150-1
Jacob Markstrom, Devils: 150-1
Jake Guentzel, Lightning: 150-1
Jordan Binnington, Blues: 150-1
Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs: 150-1
Martin Necas, Avalanche: 150-1
Matt Duchene, Stars: 150-1
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals: 150-1
Shea Theodore, Golden Knights: 150-1
Thomas Harley, Stars: 150-1
Tom Wilson, Capitals: 150-1
Valeri Nichushkin, Avalanche: 150-1
Victor Hedman, Lightning: 150-1
Aliaksei Protas, Capitals: 200-1