Duke's Flagg, Rutgers' freshman duo headline list of potential 2025 NBA lottery prospects - Basketball (2024)

The Canadian Press - Jun 28, 2024 / 3:02 am | Story: 494670

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The Canadian Press - Jun 28, 2024 / 3:02 am | Story: 494671

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Three days after LeBron James' podcast partner became the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach, the team drafted James' oldest son, Bronny.

Unless they rename the franchise after him next, it's difficult to think of anything more the Lakers could do to make sure the top scorer in NBA history stays with them for the rest of his matchless career.

Well, short of actually acquiring a third superstar for James after years of trying.

Although James' future still won't be a sure thing until he formally decides where he'll play next season, the Lakers' addition of his 19-year-old son in the second round of the draft Thursday seems to make it extraordinarily unlikely LeBron will be anywhere but Los Angeles in the fall.

“The biggest moments in sports happen with the Lakers,” general manager Rob Pelinka said. “That’s how we’re built, and we’re excited to see this story unfold.”

LeBron and Bronny — LeBron James Jr., that is — would be the first father and son to play in the NBA at the same time, let alone on the same team. If LeBron Sr. picks up his $51.4 million player option for next season this week, he would guarantee he'll get to take his son to work in the fall.

Pelinka was careful not to get ahead of himself while triumphantly discussing Bronny's potential, but the GM acknowledged that a father-son pairing in purple and gold was “something that could be magical.”

“We know and have to respect, of course, that LeBron has a decision about his opt-out,” Pelinka said. “I’m sure he and his family and his agent will deliberate what they’re going to do there, and he has freedom to decide whatever is best for him and his family. But if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made, and NBA history should be make in a Lakers uniform.”

With their two major moves this week, the Lakers have made it clear they're determined to stick with James as their centerpiece and leader through his record-tying 22nd NBA season this fall and beyond.

Los Angeles' new coach is JJ Redick, who hosted the “Mind the Game” podcast with James this year. Redick is a 15-year NBA veteran who has never coached an adult basketball game, yet the Lakers quickly made the unusual choice of hiring the broadcaster after Dan Hurley turned them down — and Pelinka didn't deny that Redick's compatibility with James was a plus.

The Lakers then used the 55th overall pick on Bronny, who put up modest statistics in his only year of college at Southern California. Bronny James is undeniably talented, but an identical player with a different name would have been less likely to be drafted.

Pelinka and the Lakers scouted Bronny James extensively, and he performed solidly at the pre-draft camp and again in a workout at the Lakers' training complex, which was followed by a meeting with Pelinka. Pelinka said he never even asked Bronny what he thought about the potential pressure of playing alongside his father — something that even LeBron has said Bronny wasn't necessarily eager to do.

“We really kept the draft process to Bronny being a Laker, and what we felt like we needed to do to help him become great,” Pelinka said. “We didn't talk a lot about that, just because (we) wanted to respect his dad's decision as a free agent, so that wasn't really something that came up.”

That decision feels ever more like a formality now, depending on how James decides to do it. The 20-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion has spoken repeatedly over the years of his desire to play a season with his son, and now the dream is a signature away from reality.

James could pick up his option for 2024-25, or he could sign a new extension for even more money. He could get a maximum three-year, $162 million deal that would give him the longest career in NBA history if he played out the contract.

Either option would likely be just fine with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, who showed a similarly passionate loyalty to Kobe Bryant when she pushed to give him a $48.5 million extension for the final two seasons of his career despite his growing injury problems.

Bronny likely doesn't the get Lakers closer to winning now, but their choice with the 17th overall pick just might: Dalton Knecht, the high-scoring Tennessee wing who won the SEC Player of the Year award, appears to be one of the most pro-ready players in the draft, and not just because he's already 23 years old.

“In my mind, I thought there's no way a player that skilled would be available to us (at No. 17)," Pelinka said.

Pelinka has repeatedly tried to keep fan expectations low for a major player addition to a team that lost to Denver in the first round of the postseason, instead targeting incremental improvements to the core around James and Anthony Davis — along with a potential upgrade on the bench from Redick's innovative basketball mind.

“We've explored every upgrade we could to make our team better,” Pelinka said. “Trades in general have just because more difficult because of the new CBA system, and so there's less access to making those big moves than maybe there was under the old system. But it didn't keep us from trying to look at everything, and ways to put ourselves in a position to be better.”

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 9:15 pm | Story: 494663

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale had 23 points, five 3-pointers and nine assists, veteran guard Odyssey Sims added 18 points in her season debut and the Dallas Wings snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 94-88 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday.

Dallas won for the first time since May 26. Minnesota was coming off a 94-89 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday for its first Commissioner’s Cup championship.

Dallas trailed 45-30 with 3:22 left in the second quarter before scoring the next 15 points, spanning the halftime break, to tie it at 45-all early in the third. Monique Billings made a basket with 1:34 left in the third to give the Wings their first lead, 68-67, since it was 2-1.

Minnesota pulled within three points with a minute remaining in the fourth, but Jacy Sheldon answered with a wide open 3-pointer at the other end to cap the scoring.

Sims, who signed a hardship contract on Tuesday, scored nine of her points in the fourth, including two driving layups in the final 3:10.

Teaira McCowan had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Billings finished with 14 points for Dallas. Ogunbowale reached the 20-point mark for the 14th time this season. Sims finished 8 of 12 from the field to help the Wings record their most bench points this season with 36.

ACES 95, SKY 83

CHICAGO (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 31 points, Jackie Young had 22 and Kelsey Plum added 21 as Las Vegas beat Chicago despite rookie Angel Reese’s ninth-straight double-double for the Sky.

Reece’s 18 points and 11 rebounds tied Candace Parker for the WNBA’s longest streak of double-doubles in a season. Parker did it in 2015 and she had a streak of 12 across two seasons (2009-10).

Wilson scored 15 points in the first quarter, Young had 12 in the third and Plum added 16 in the fourth. It was the 18th 30-point game of Wilson’s career and 12th this season with at least 25.

Olympian Chelsea Gray, in her third-game back from injury that coincides with the Aces’ three-game winning streak, had another solid game with eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Kiah Stokes had six of the 11 blocks for Las Vegas, which had five more 3-pointers and made nine more free throws than Chicago.

Marina Mabrey scored 21 points to lead the Sky but only had eight after the first quarter. Chennedy Carter added 20 points.

SUN 94, MYSTICS 91, OT

WASHINGTON (AP) — DeWanna Bonner had 24 points and 10 rebounds, DiJonai Carrington scored 10 of her 22 points in overtime, and Connecticut beat Washington.

Carrington made a wide-open 3-pointer with 2:43 left in overtime and stole the ball at the other end, leading to a fast-break layup for an 89-85 lead. Carrington added another 3-pointer with 56.4 seconds remaining for a 92-88 lead before Myisha Hines-Allen answered with a three-point play at the other end.

Washington called a timeout with 15.5 seconds left, trailing 92-91. Ariel Atkins dribbled into the lane and passed it out to the corner for Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who was short on a 3-point attempt.

Carrington made two free throws with 3.9 left for a three-point lead and Julie Vanloo’s halfcourt heave was not close at the buzzer.

Tyasha Harris added 23 points and four steals for Connecticut.

STORM 89, FEVER 77

SEATTLE (AP) — Jewell Loyd scored 23 of her season-high 34 points in the first half and played most of the game with a swollen left eye, and Seattle held Caitlin Clark to just three points in the second half of a win over Indiana.

Seattle (11-6) improved to 2-0 in the beginning stages of a WNBA-record nine-game homestand that won’t see the Storm head on the road again until mid-July.

Clark finished with 15 points and seven assists, playing before another sold-out crowd with many fans wearing various No. 22 jerseys with her name across the back.

But it was Loyd who put on the show.

Loyd made five 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes and her 23 first-half points were the second-most by any player in the WNBA this season. She also missed nearly five minutes of the half after getting inadvertently hit around the left eye late in the first quarter.

Loyd finished with six 3-pointers and made 10 of 15 shots overall. It was her second game this season with at least 30 points — both coming against Indiana. She has 23 career games of 30 or more points, tied with Tina Charles for sixth-most in league history.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 6:19 pm | Story: 494648

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The two-day NBA draft was tinged with sadness for the Los Angeles Clippers without Jerry West in their war room.

West spent the last seven years as a consultant for the team, helping recruit Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

The Hall of Fame player and executive died on June 12 at age 86.

“He loved the draft. It was like Christmas,” Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, said Thursday. “He loved knowing every single player, he loved meeting the players. Took great pride in where guys would go. After the draft selections were made, he was so happy.”

The team left a seat for West in their war room and “put some of his favorites on there,” Frank said.

“We just want to honor and respect Jerry every single day.”

The Clippers didn’t have a first-round pick this year. They took Minnesota’s Cameron Christie with the 46th pick in the second round.

Frank said he and general manager Trent Redden valued West as “an unbelievable mentor, friend and adviser.”

“It’s a bittersweet day,” Frank said. “Very sad that Jerry wasn’t here for it.”

The West Virginia-born West starred at West Virginia University from 1957-60 before becoming the second overall pick in the NBA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers. The team relocated to Los Angeles and he became a 14-time All-Star and won the 1972 NBA championship with the Lakers. He later worked for the team as an executive.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 5:57 pm | Story: 494644

NBA teams made up for the lack of trade action during the league's first night of its first two-day draft with a flurry of moves Thursday.

Only three proposed trades came Wednesday night with no deal official until July 6, when the league’s new year begins.

Moves came fast and furious Thursday, even after the draft concluded as teams swapped players, cleared some cap space and traded around lots of picks, especially for future drafts still to come.

The New York Knicks announced they had finalized trades with Washington and Oklahoma City, acquiring the 26th and 51st overall picks from Washington for the draft rights to Kyshawn George taken at No. 24 overall on Wednesday night.

The Knicks then sent the draft rights to Dillon Jones, selected at No. 26 on Wednesday night, to Oklahoma City for five second-round picks.

New York made yet another move Thursday. The Knicks acquired the No. 34 pick from Portland, which was involved in one of Wednesday's trades sending Malcolm Brogdon to Washington, in exchange for second-round picks in 2027, 2029 and 2030.

The Knicks got the draft rights to guard Tyler Kolek out of Marquette. He led all Division I players with 7.7 assists per game. The 6-foot-3 guard was the Big East Player of the Year in 2022-23. Last season, he averaged 15.3 points, as well as those 7.7 assists.

Portland also was involved in another trade featuring a wild turn of events.

The Warriors reached agreement on a planned trade of the 52nd pick to Oklahoma City for guard Lindy Waters III, then the Thunder dealt the pick to Portland — only for the Trail Blazers to send it back to Golden State. Once finalized, the Warriors will acquire Boston College center Quinten Post.

The Miami Heat announced Thursday night they acquired the rights to Pelle Larsson, taken at No. 44, along with cash from Atlanta as part of a three-team deal with Houston. Atlanta also got the draft rights to Nikola Djurisic, picked at No. 43. The Hawks also sent AJ Griffin to Houston for that 44th selection.

A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press the Charlotte Hornets acquired guard Reggie Jackson and three future second-round picks from Denver in a move that will open up salary cap space for the Nuggets.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Thursday because the trade can’t take affect until after the new league year begins. Jackson played in all 82 games last season for Denver and averaged 10.2 points and 3.8 assists while shooting 36% from 3-point range

Indiana made a deal with San Antonio to move up one spot for Kansas forward Johnny Furphy at No. 35.

The Hawks made French teen Zaccharie Risacher the No. 1 overall pick in the draft Wednesday night in what had been Atlanta’s only pick in the draft before Thursday’s trade. Trading Griffin, a 2022 first-round pick, helps to clear playing time for Risacher.

Dallas swapped its 58th pick to the Knicks for the draft rights to 6-foot-8 Melvin Ajinca of France after he was taken at 51 overall.

Detroit made a couple of moves, agreeing to acquire the draft rights to Bobi Klintman after Minnesota took the forward at No. 37. The Pistons were listed as taking UConn's Cam Spencer at No. 53 overall, but Memphis made a deal with Minnesota moving up from 57 overall.

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AP Sports Writers Steve Reed, Charles Odum, Anne M. Peterson, Janie McCauley, Cliff Brunt and AP Freelance Writer Clay Bailey contributed to this report.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 1:46 pm | Story: 494587

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors had two picks heading into the 2024 NBA Draft, one late in the first round and then the first pick in the second.

Somehow, they ended up netting six young players, adding significant depth in a 24-hour span.

"We need to add some more young core pieces," said Raptors general manager Bobby Webster after the draft was completed. "They're not all going to hit but we need to start having those in the pipeline."

Toronto picked Baylor University swingman Ja'Kobe Walter 19th overall in the first round on Wednesday night. With the second round beginning late Thursday afternoon, the Raptors' front office had nearly 20 hours to plot their next moves.

About 30 minutes before Toronto selected University of San Francisco centre Jonathan Mogbo 31st overall, the Raptors reportedly swung a deal with Sacramento.

That deal sent small forward Jalen McDaniels to the Kings for point guard Davion Mitchell and power forward Sasha Vezenkov, the 45th overall pick in this year's draft and the Portland Trailblazers' second-round selection in the 2025 draft.

Toronto then took University of Houston guard Jamal Shead with Sacramento's pick. In the dying minutes of the draft another deal was struck with the Minnesota Timberwolves that allowed the Raptors to take Ulrich Chomche — pronounced shom-SHAY' — with the 57th overall pick.

"The more picks, the more assets and more flexibility, that's how you start to restock the cupboard," said Webster.

Neither deal was official on Thursday, pending trade calls to the NBA's head office. Those calls would be made on Friday at the earliest.

Because the deals were not finalized, the Kings officially drafted Shead with the understanding he will be sent to the Raptors to complete the deal. The same arrangement was made with the Memphis Grizzlies, through the Timberwolves, for Chomche.

It also meant that Webster was unable to comment on any players the Raptors had acquired via trade until the league had approved the deals.

"We made some other moves that we'll not talk about here, but just the flexibility, I think, helped us out tonight," said Webster, assessing Toronto's draft haul.

Mogbo averaged 14.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game as a centre for the University of San Francisco last season. Raptors all-star forward Scottie Barnes was with Mogbo as he was drafted, posting video of the moment to social media.

"I think around the league guys play with each other and I think those relationships are fun to see from afar but the basketball has to work and you have to like them as a player," said Webster of the relationship between Barnes and Mogbo. "By doing that, it creates a basis for that relationship to be fun."

Webster said that drafting Mogbo instead of potentially dealing the 31st overall pick made sense because the six-foot-six 225-pound centre is exactly the type of player the Raptors love.

“Kind of an athletic wing who can do a little bit of everything,” said Webster. “There's probably some development curve for him shooting-wise but I think physically he has an NBA body, 6-7, 6-8, 220 pounds, can really run, really jump.

“That felt to us like the makings of a two-way Raptor wing.”

Shead averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds a game as a guard for the University of Houston Cougars last season.

A 6-10 centre from Cameroon who played for NBA Academy Africa, Chomche was the youngest player eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft.

Chomche only played three games for the NBA Academy Africa during the Basketball Africa League qualifiers. He averaged 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal per game.

McDaniels averaged 3.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 10.8 minutes of play over 50 games last season.

Mitchell averaged 5.3 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game in 72 appearances last season. Vezenkov averaged 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists over 42 games in Sacramento.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2024.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 1:37 pm | Story: 494580

NEW YORK (AP) — Jaylen Wells sat in the stands at Barclays Center in his snazzy white suit, hoping to hear his name called in the first round of the NBA draft.

A day later, at a second site in a second borough, Wells was finally on his way to the NBA — wearing the same white suit.

“Actually, I had two suits planned and then I was like, I just love this one so much,” the forward from Washington State said Thursday. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to wear it again.’”

Wells was one of the early selections in the new two-day NBA draft, taken with the No. 39 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. The league went to the format this year instead of having its draft drag too late into the night.

The second round was held at ESPN’s Seaport District studios in Manhattan after the first round took place as usual at the home of the Brooklyn Nets. Ten players and their families attended, though Bronny James wasn't present to hear his name announced after the Los Angeles Lakers took the son of the NBA career scoring leader LeBron James at No. 55, near the end of draft.

With extra time between rounds and between picks — it's now four minutes between selections in the second round, up from two previously — the new format might help teams make more confident selections.

It's a little more difficult for the players.

“Two days kind of makes it more stressful,” UCLA's Adem Bona, who was taken by Philadelphia with the No. 41 pick, said with a laugh. "If it’s one, it’s like, 'All right, I’m getting my name called today!”

But he said he was happier that the new format allowed him to have extended family present. The native of Nigeria who played in high school in California said he had aunts and cousins from Canada with him Thursday, which wouldn't have been the case a night earlier in Brooklyn.

The draft resumed with the Toronto Raptors taking Jonathan Mogbo of San Francisco with the No. 31 pick.

It felt like a normal second round, with a flurry of trades as teams tried to move up and others sought to move out of the draft.

But the setup was all new, with players and their families sitting in a room off the studio set and a nice view of boats docked in the harbor below on a gorgeous summer afternoon.

“It’s nice, but I was down there nervous,” said Harrison Ingram, the North Carolina product taken by the San Antonio Spurs at No. 48. “I was panicking, my mom was nervous, my sister is up there hyperventilating, so a whole lot of stuff going on.”

He also went to Barclays Center and returned Thursday wearing the same blue suit. Ingram said he always wanted to go to the NBA draft and didn't want to miss his chance, but he wished it had been under the old format.

“First time they’re doing two nights, so it was tough to go there, hear everybody being called,” Ingram said. “A lot of my friends, I was happy for them, but knowing that my day might not come until tomorrow and I have to go to sleep, I couldn’t fall sleep until like 3 or 4 a.m., just up thinking about where I’m going to be the next however many years of my life.”

Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Johnny Furphy of Kansas, the two players who remained in the green room after the first round, didn’t return for the second round. Filipowski was finally selected at No. 32 by Utah with the second pick of the second round. Furphy went a few picks later at No. 35 to San Antonio, which traded his rights to Indiana.

Juan Nunez a guard from Spain who played in Germany, was the first player in attendance who was selected, going 36th to the Indiana Pacers and whose rights were traded to the San Antonio Spurs.

The players who did attend treated the event like the glitzy first round, wearing sharp suits and seated at tables — albeit much smaller ones — that had the same gold basketballs at centerpieces as Barclays Center, just without thousands of fans surrounding them.

And perhaps some of the prospects will have better careers than some of the players who were picked Wednesday.

The NBA has sought to spur interest in the second round with an “every pick matters” slogan, highlighting the success of MVP Nikola Jokic and New York guard Jalen Brunson, who finished fifth in this year's voting, along with former Defensive Players of the Year Draymond Green and Marc Gasol.

Both Filipowski and Furphy were viewed as potential picks in the middle of the first round, so they was certainly some disappointment when they left Barclays Center without knowing their NBA destination.

Not so for Wells, whose family got some food, went to bed and got ready to do it all again.

“I knew I’d hear my name called at one point, so it didn’t really get me down,” he said. “I was just excited to be here.”

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 1:21 pm | Story: 494581

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks moved back into the NBA draft on Thursday by trading forward AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets for the No. 44 pick before trading that pick to Miami to obtain rights to guard/forward Nikola Djurisic of Serbia.

Miami acquired the draft rights to Pelle Larsson, the No. 44 pick, from Houston and obtained cash considerations from Atlanta, the Hawks announced Thursday night.

The 6-foot-7 Djurisic averaged 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 30 games with Mega (Serbia).

The Hawks made French teen Zaccharie Risacher the No. 1 overall pick in the draft Wednesday night. It was Atlanta's only pick in the draft before Thursday's trade.

The trade of Griffin, a 2022 first-round pick, helps to clear playing time for Risacher, a wing.

Griffin was limited by injuries, including an ankle sprain, to 20 games this season. He averaged 8.9 points and 2.2 rebounds while playing in 72 games, including 12 starts, as a rookie in the 2022-23 season.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 11:11 am | Story: 494543

PARIS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama plays against the top names in the game with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He can’t wait to do the same for France at the Paris Olympics.

The NBA Rookie of the Year was asked Thursday about the potential for a France-USA final and possibly battling against LeBron James and Stephen Curry for the gold medal in his home city.

“I can’t wait to face them, it will be a very interesting matchup,” Wembanyama said at a news conference in Paris. “As a basketball player, it’s also a dream to play against Team USA and even against all those players, all those legends.”

The U.S. beat France 87-82 in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

This time, though, France has Wembanyama, who at 20 years old is making his Olympic debut. He’s the biggest star of the French team and at the center of attention, both on and off the court.

"I believe it’s the biggest competition for an athlete. But I’m going to approach it like everything else in my life: a sporting pleasure,” Wembanyama said.

For France coach Vincent Collet, it's a sporting pleasure to have both Wembanyama and fellow NBA star Rudy Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, disrupting opposing offenses.

“If we want to reach our dream, we will have to display exceptional defense,” said Collet, who will be assisted by the newly appointed Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson.

France, which has never won an Olympic gold medal in basketball, was set to hold its first full practice on Friday in Paris. They have six warmup games in July.

The players will miss the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 because France is scheduled to play its first game the following day in Lille, 220 kilometers (136 miles) north of Paris, where the group stage for the 12-team tournament will take place.

“Victor would be arriving in Lille at 3 or 4 in the morning if he were to participate in the ceremony. That would put a stop to his preparation for the Games,” said Fabrice Canet, a spokesman for the French national team.

France doesn’t know its first opponent yet — it will be the winner of the last qualifying tournament next week. The host nation then plays Japan and reigning world champion Germany in Group B.

Playing in front of home fans, France is considered among the strongest teams alongside the U.S, Canada, Serbia and Germany.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 8:37 am | Story: 494500

Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid are all good to go for the start of USA Basketball's men's national team training camp in Las Vegas next week, the first step toward what the Americans hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Leonard missed 12 of the Los Angeles Clippers' final 14 games this past season with right knee inflammation. Haliburton was hampered at the end of the Indiana Pacers' playoff run by issues with his left hamstring. And Embiid was dealing with left knee issues throughout his season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

“We expect everybody to be good to go,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said Thursday. "We’ve been in touch with everyone, not just those three guys. ... We’ve been in communication constantly, so we expect all 12 guys to be ready to roll.”

Leonard may have been the biggest question mark. Haliburton said when the Pacers' season ended that he thought he'd have enough time to get ready for the Olympic run, and Embiid was at the NBA Finals about two weeks ago and proclaimed himself ready for what will be his first Olympic experience.

But Leonard's status was a mystery. USA Basketball has been checking on Leonard, who has been working out for the past couple weeks, and likes where he's currently at.

“We will continue to stay in touch with the whole group as we head into Vegas next week,” Kerr said.

It's a major sigh of relief for the Americans, who will go to the Paris Games as the favorite and the top-ranked men's team in the world — though nobody expects these Olympics will be a cakewalk. France, featuring Victor Wembanyama, has the edge of being at home and is a team with tons of belief that it can beat the Americans.

“I can’t wait to face them, it will be a very interesting matchup,” Wembanyama said at a news conference in Paris on Thursday. “As a basketball player, it’s also a dream to play against Team USA and even against all those players, all those legends.”

Serbia should be a serious medal contender behind NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Germany won the World Cup last year and has basically the same team this summer. Canada has its best shot at an Olympic medal since winning silver in 1936.

“We’re well aware of the challenge we’re facing," Kerr said. "The world of basketball has gotten so much better, so much stronger. We know how good these teams are, and we know we’re going to have to be at our best. So, couldn’t be more excited.”

The U.S. still hasn't had to make any changes to the roster since it was originally announced in April, though there are contingency plans in place at every position. The original 12 names remain unchanged: Leonard, Haliburton, Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis.

“Winning is the peak of the sport,” Haliburton said. “And winning a gold medal is right at the top of it. ... How could you not want to do this?”

The group has seven players with Olympic gold medals; Durant has three, James has two, while Adebayo, Booker, Holiday, Tatum and Booker each have one. There is a still a chance the roster could change, if necessary. The roster was in flux before the Tokyo Games three years ago until just before the start of competition.

“Every roster spot is important,” Kerr said. “You just never know how these things are going to play out.”

The Americans play their first exhibition against Canada on July 10, then have games at Abu Dhabi and London before the Paris Games start. The U.S. opens Olympic play July 28 against Serbia, and will also face South Sudan and the winner of next month's qualifier in Puerto Rico — either Mexico, Lithuania, Ivory Coast, Italy, Bahrain or Puerto Rico — in its other group games.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 8:31 am | Story: 494501

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will miss 5-6 months after left ankle surgery.

The team said Thursday that Porzingis had surgery to fix a tear in the tissue that holds the ankle tendons in place. That will prevent the Latvian from competing with his home nation next month as it attempts to win one of the final four qualifying spots for the Paris Olympics.

The 7-foot-2 Porzingis injured his ankle in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and missed the next two games. He returned for Game 5, contributing five points and one rebound in 16 minutes as the Celtics beat Dallas 106-88 to clinch their record 18th NBA championship. Porzingis averaged 20 points and seven rebounds in 57 games for the Celtics this season.

He signed a $60 million, two-year extension with Boston after they acquired him in a trade with Washington last summer.

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The Canadian Press - Jun 27, 2024 / 3:01 am | Story: 494465

It was the dream that LeBron James first floated a few years ago, the notion of playing in the NBA alongside one of his sons.

And it's a step closer to reality now.

Bronny James — the oldest son of the NBA's all-time scoring leader and four-time champion — was drafted Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that his father has played for since 2018. Bronny James was taken with the No. 55 overall pick, deep in the second round and with only three picks remaining in this year's draft.

“Beyond blessed,” Bronny James wrote in an Instagram post.

Adding further intrigue to the move: LeBron James can become a free agent next week, which means he could choose to leave the Lakers and sign elsewhere.

“In the history of the NBA, there’s never been a father and a son that have shared an NBA basketball court and that feels like something that could be magical,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “We know, and have to respect of course, that LeBron has a decision on his opt-out ... but if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made. And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform.”

The draft move doesn't guarantee that father and son will actually play in a game together, nor does it even guarantee that Bronny James will be on the Lakers' roster next season. But it certainly raises the possibility that it could happen in what would be an NBA first — a father-son on-court duo in the league simultaneously as players. There have been about 100 instances in NBA history of players joining the league after their fathers played, but those always came at least five years after the father's career ended.

But LeBron James' incredible longevity — he'll match Vince Carter for the longest career as an NBA player ever this coming season, which will be his 22nd in the league — makes the father-son duo possible.

“With the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select Bronny James from the University of Southern California,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in announcing the pick, making the moment official for the 19-year-old, who was born just before the start of his father's second NBA season.

It's possible that Bronny James' debut in a Lakers uniform could be July 12 in Las Vegas, in the franchise's summer league opener against the Houston Rockets.

Bronny James is a guard, one who was listed at 6-foot-4 on Southern California's roster but measured at 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches at the draft combine. That would make him one of the shortest players in the NBA, but his athleticism and defensive ability helped give him this opportunity.

“Bronny is, first and foremost, a person of high character,” Pelinka said. “And second, he is a young man that works incredibly hard. Those are the qualities we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental corps at the Lakers.”

There will be cries of nepotism, cries that the Lakers did this only because of who LeBron James is. But Pelinka insisted that the Lakers will have a plan for Bronny James' development, that the organization sees his potential and that he personally has been impressed with the character Bronny James showed while growing up.

Pelinka and the Lakers staff, including newly hired coach J.J. Redick, made the call to Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul before the pick was made and were able to speak with Bronny James moments before the selection was officially official.

“Coach Redick and I were able to welcome him to the Lakers family and let him know that this moment was happening mostly because of the work he’s put into the game and because of the character young man that he is,” Pelinka said. “That was what was expressed to him on the phone call.”

Bronny James played one year of college basketball at USC and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season. He played in 25 games, missing the start of the season after needing a procedure last year to fix what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, which was found after he went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout.

A panel of doctors cleared Bronny James for NBA play last month.

Nike, the shoe giant that LeBron James has had a business relationship with through the entirety of his NBA career, wasted no time in congratulating Bronny James by releasing a new ad — “The journey continues. Welcome to the big stage, Bronny,” the company wrote.

Day 2 of the draft saw 24 other players get taken before Bronny James, though none of them — not even close, really — got the attention that the No. 55 selection received, for obvious reasons.

The 55th pick rarely turns out to be a player who captures a slew of attention. The best 55th pick in NBA history would be current Miami Heat guard Patty Mills, selected in 2009 and someone who has scored 7,893 points in his 15-season career.

Some other notable No. 55 picks include Marc Iavaroni, Mark Blount, Kenny Gattison and E’Twaun Moore. There’s never been a No. 55 pick that was an NBA All-Star, an All-NBA player, an All-Rookie team player or an All-Defensive team pick.

Last season’s No. 55 pick, Isaiah Wong, scored exactly two points for Indiana as a rookie. Add up every No. 55 pick ever, and their NBA career scoring total is 28,364 points — more than 12,000 points less than LeBron James has scored in his career.

“The biggest moments in sports happen with the Lakers,” Pelinka said. “That’s how we’re built and we’re excited to see this story unfold.”

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in El Segundo, California contributed.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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