SAN DIEGO (AP) — LeBron James rubbed his hands in chalk powder at the scorer's table, yelled "Yes!" to ecstatic fans in the first few rows and the Los Angeles Lakers' new era was underway.Playing in the same arena where Magic Johnson made his regular-season debut for Los Angeles 39 years ago, James captivated the crowd from the start of the Lakers' exhibition opener Sunday night, a 124-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets.The opening tip came James' way and he tapped it to fellow newcomer Rajon Rondo, who threw an alley-oop pass to JaVale McGee for the game's first score.James missed his first shot, a turnaround fadeaway, but then made a no-look bounce pass from about 27 feet out to Brandon Ingram for a dunk. A minute later, James hit a long 3-pointer.He finished with nine points, three rebounds and four assists in just more than 15 minutes."It was great to get back on the floor and then just start a new journey for myself and hear the Lakers fans that we have here in San Diego," said James,... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — LeBron James rubbed his hands in chalk powder at the scorer's table, yelled "Yes!" to ecstatic fans in the first few rows and the Los Angeles Lakers' new era was underway.Playing in the same arena where Magic Johnson made his regular-season debut for Los Angeles 39 years ago, James captivated the crowd from the start of the Lakers' exhibition opener Sunday night, a 124-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets.The opening tip came James' way and he tapped it to fellow newcomer Rajon Rondo, who threw an alley-oop pass to JaVale McGee for the game's first score.James missed his first shot, a turnaround fadeaway, but then made a no-look bounce pass from about 27 feet out to Brandon Ingram for a dunk. A minute later, James hit a long 3-pointer.He finished with nine points, three rebounds and four assists in just more than 15 minutes.Lakers fans hope James' arrival will turn things around after the worst half-decade in the franchise's lengthy history.He left the Cleveland Cavaliers for... [More]

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Through the first week of camp with the Houston Rockets, all indications are that Carmelo Anthony will be OK coming off the bench if that's the role coach Mike D'Antoni gives him.That doesn't mean the 10-time All-Star wants to discuss it."I don't like talking about it," Anthony said Saturday before the team's last practice at McNeese State before returning to Houston. "People always been speculating. They always speculate so I will continue not to talk about it."While Anthony, who is in his first year with the Rockets after one tumultuous season in Oklahoma City, refused to discuss whether he'll start or be a reserve, he had plenty to say about a variety of other subjects, candidly answering every other question thrown his way. He reflected on his year with the Thunder, a place where he never seemed to fit in and averaged a career-low 16.2 points in 78 starts.He said he got "caught up" in outside opinions of what people believed he should do and recounted all the... [More]

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Dwyane Wade's first touch of the game was a lob to set up a dunk. His first shot was a corner 3-pointer. And his first trip into the lane resulted in getting his shot swatted away.All three of those plays left him smiling.Wade's 16th and final season — his "last dance," as he calls it — got off to an unofficial start Saturday, when the Miami Heat broke training camp at Florida Atlantic University with their annual scrimmage. His stats, as if they even mattered: eight points on 2 for 7 shooting, with three assists and a steal in 23 minutes."It was cool," Wade said. "We've been working hard in practice, obviously. But to be out here today in front of some fans, getting to play in a different energy, you could see it in everybody. Guys were moving quicker. Guys were into it."Wade got the big cheer at the start, and his fellow 16-year veteran got the biggest cheer at the end: The final play of the scrimmage was Udonis Haslem hitting a game-winning jumper, one that gave... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen will miss at least six weeks because of a left elbow injury.The Bulls said Friday that Markkanen was hurt in practice Thursday and that an MRI showed a high grade lateral elbow sprain.From Finland, Markkanen, averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 68 games as a rookie last season.

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said this week that his team was a "hamstring" away from the Western Conference title last season.The hamstring he was referring to was Chris Paul's, with the injury the latest setback for the point guard whose illustrious career at times has seemed cursed.After signing Paul to a four-year, $160 million extension in the offseason, the Rockets hope the bad luck ends this year and he'll help them to their first title since 1995."Chris deserves a championship," Fertitta said. "It is time. But luck is luck and it just takes a little luck in sports. You have to set yourself up to be one of the best and then you need a few things to fall into place."The Rockets led the Warriors 3-2 in the conference finals last season before Paul's season ended with a hamstring injury in Game 5. Golden State won the next two games to advance to the Finals and go on to win the title.Paul scoffed at the notion that his ill-timed hamstring injury was... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls say guard Denzel Valentine has a moderately sprained left ankle and will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.Valentine was injured in practice on Tuesday. He had surgery on the same ankle in May 2017.Valentine averaged 10.2 points last season, his second. The Bulls open at Philadelphia on Oct. 18.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For a team that didn't make any major moves during the summer, the Minnesota Timberwolves sure have their share of new players this season.The critical process of familiarization and integration will speed up over the next week, in the form of a trip to California to continue training camp and play a couple of exhibition games while Jimmy Butler's unresolved trade request looms in the background .The Timberwolves will be out of town for seven days, a prime time for bonding."They can spend a lot of time together. We'll have good practices, some film sessions, some team dinners, so I think it's good," coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday, before the traveling party boarded a plane for the Bay Area. The Wolves play the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Friday night.With draft picks Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop and veterans Anthony Tolliver and Luol Deng, the Wolves will sport a significantly different look to their bench. When — or if, as Thibodeau has insisted... [More]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Conley has limped out of so many arenas that the Grizzlies point guard had resigned himself to dealing with the nagging pain from his left heel for the rest of his life.No more.After the pain limited him to only 12 games, Conley chose season-ending surgery to smooth out the bone aggravating his Achilles tendon. He used the talk of him being injury-prone as even more motivation during his rehab following the surgery."It is motivational for me to come back and show the world," said Conley, who entering his 12th NBA season is the Grizzlies most experienced player. "You just wake them up again and just understand that I'm not that guy from last year that was hobbling around, and I'm feeling great and just excited for another year to help this team do we try to do and achieve the goals that we have."The Grizzlies started last season 5-1 and atop the Western Conference. Conley averaged 17.1 points a game until the pain sidelined him.Then in late January, the Grizzlies... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With unsettled contract situations making many of the players' futures beyond this season uncertain, Warriors coach Steve Kerr is encouraging his team now more than ever to go with the flow, have fun and enjoy the moment.No pressure, even if the end goal is a three-peat.Two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant signed a one-plus-one contract that allows him to become a free agent again next summer, while fellow All-Stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson could be up for extensions."Nothing lasts forever in this league, but we've always said we want to keep this going as long as we can, and we're right in the thick of it," two-time MVP Stephen Curry said.After two straight titles and three in four seasons, all eyes are on the East Bay once more as training camps begin league-wide.That's why Kerr is stressing going for it in what might be the final hurrah for the superstar core of this team. Not that Durant, Green nor Thompson is talking about leaving town."We are... [More]

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Part of Miami coach Erik Spoelstra's annual mandate to players, whether a 16-year veteran like Dwyane Wade or a second-year guy like Bam Adebayo, is to evolve.Spoelstra expects the same from himself.The Heat opened training camp on Tuesday with players who accounted for 98 percent of their scoring, 98 percent of their assists and 97 percent of their rebounding from last season. And keeping the same team means that those players, by now, have heard just about every speech and seen just about every trick in the Heat book.Hence, the challenge for Spoelstra this season: Keeping the message and the approach fresh."I look back on it now and I don't even know how I prepared for my first training camp," Spoelstra said after the first practice of the season at Florida Atlantic University. "With this group, this probably felt more like a practice and an extension of last year's playoff prep because we had so many familiar faces. So that was nice."Wade was back in Heat camp... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons have a new coach — and the usual amount of optimism that accompanies such a big change.What they really could use this season is a healthy point guard.The Pistons are hopeful Reggie Jackson will be ready to play by the start of the season, although he's still working his way back into shape following an ankle injury. Jackson went down in late December, derailing what had been a promising start for Detroit in 2017-18. Ed Stefanski, a new senior executive for the Pistons, sounds optimistic about Jackson's health, but the point guard's recovery isn't complete yet."Reggie is fully healed. We did an MRI I think a couple weeks ago, and it's perfect," Stefanski said at media day Monday. "It's just now basketball shape, and he hasn't played all summer long."Detroit got off to a 19-14 start last season, but after Jackson's injury the team floundered, and Stan Van Gundy's tenure eventually came to an end. The Pistons now have a new coach in Dwane Casey and a new... [More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger wants his team to run more this season and plans to give speedy point guard De'Aaron Fox all the room he needs.Fox was one of the fastest players in the NBA last year as a rookie, but the Kings offense was uneven most of the season and frequently bogged down in the half-court.With an influx of young, quick players added to an already youthful roster, the hope is that Fox can get Sacramento out and running and, possibly, back into the postseason."The best thing you can do for him is play fast and give him as much room as possible," Joerger said Monday at the Kings practice facility during media day. "To play small and try to do that is best for De'Aaron. He's our franchise guy. I think he is and I think everybody kind of agrees on that."The fifth overall pick in 2017, Fox started 60 games and averaged 11.6 points with 4.4 assists, but shot only 41.2 percent while struggling with an inconsistent mid-range jumpshot.The Kings were... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis swatted away the notion that his decision to hire new representation meant he was setting the stage for a change of scenery.With three seasons left on his contract and five All-Star nods to his name, Davis' leverage to control where he plays is growing. So when he recently left the Wasserman agency that negotiated his current contract and joined Klutch Sports, which also represents Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, it begged questions about the reasons for the switch.The move also stoked paranoia in New Orleans, the city Chris Paul left in his prime shortly after he changed agents.But Davis said the move was aimed primarily at helping him become the "the most dominant player in the league.""It was just for where I am right now in my career — what I'm trying to do — I thought the change was necessary," Davis said Monday, when the Pelicans held media day on the eve of training camp. "That's all it was."Increasingly, agencies representing athletes are... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James realizes the size of the challenge he accepted when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. After eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances, he knows his new team isn't a true contender with Golden State and the NBA's elite just yet.The superstar welcomed every step in the process Monday as he began his next chapter in purple and gold.James finally made his first formal appearance as a member of the Lakers at their media day, nearly three months after he left Cleveland for a four-year, $153.3 million free-agent deal. In between posing for photos in his new gold No. 23 uniform, the 33-year-old superstar revealed part of the motivation behind his decision to join an iconic franchise that hasn't made the playoffs in five years."No matter what uniform I'm in, I'm always humsbled that I'm able to play this game at this level," James said. "I think we all know that this franchise has been a historical franchise in this league for years. ... That's an excitement... [More]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah didn't make any major offseason moves but fans shouldn't mistake that for a sign the Jazz are satisfied with the status quo.With the start of training camp, Utah players and coaches are echoing the same message: Continuity doesn't equal complacency.The Jazz are focused on maximizing potential they showed toward the end of last season — with a roster that has returned mostly intact — once the regular season starts in mid-October."I don't want to pick up where we left off," coach Quin Snyder told reporters at the team's media day Monday. "That implies it's the same group beginning to do something. This is a new journey. We can take with us the experience. We can take with us the chemistry and the things we learned. But this is a new team."Nothing encapsulates that attitude better than the work various Jazz players have put in while preparing for the season.Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder dropped weight over the summer to improve their mobility and quickness in operating... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls won't make any bold predictions about Year Two of their rebuilding project. They also won't deny that a growth spurt on the court for Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine would accelerate the process in a big, big way.The 23-year-old LaVine and 21-year-old Markkanen were front and center Monday, when the team held its media day amid cautious optimism for the season ahead."I want to see growth," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Last year guys made significant progress in their careers, but it's our job now to take that to the next level."That goes for Markkanen and LaVine in particular.LaVine, Markkanen and guard Kris Dunn were part of the Jimmy Butler trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves shortly after the 2016-17 season. They will be the linchpins of a more up-tempo offense that plays to their athleticism and one that Hoiberg prefers. Camp opens as the Timberwolves listen to trade offers for the unhappy Butler after just one season."(Butler) did a lot of really good... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — For the Brooklyn Nets, familiarity breeds continuity.They hope that will lead to a few more wins.Growth was the overarching theme during media day at the Nets' practice facility Monday. Entering its third season under general manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson, Brooklyn has won 48 of 164 games. In the first season under the new regime, the Nets won 20 games. Last year, that number increased to 28.So the goal for this season is progression."Knowing how the rebuild process goes, we're going to have to slowly get back," Jarrett Allen said. "It's just small steps we're taking."Ten of the 19 players the Nets have on their preseason roster have five or fewer years of NBA experience, including five rookies.But there are questions about how long and how many of the Nets' young pieces will remain in Brooklyn. The Nets will have plenty of money for free agency next summer, but they may not want to wait if they could trade for Minnesota's Jimmy Butler or another All-Star player.Spencer... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta didn't waste any time telling Carmelo Anthony why he wanted him on his team."I'll tell you exactly what I told him," Fertitta said Monday. "'We couldn't win a championship without you last year. And if we win a championship with you this year you're going to be the guy that got us over there. So, it's all up to you.'"Anthony, who joined the Rockets this offseason after one disappointing season in Oklahoma City, chuckled when asked about that phone call. He was vacationing in South Africa with his family when the phone rang, and Fertitta delivered the message."He put a lot of pressure on me," Anthony said. "I'm not even going to lie."Anthony signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Rockets in August after he was traded from the Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks in July before the Hawks released him.Fertitta and the rest of the Rockets believe that the 10-time All-Star could be the piece that will help them win their first NBA title since... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trail Blazers head into fall camp still stinging from last season's first-round playoff sweep by New Orleans.The trick now is not to overcorrect."You run the risk of overreacting to defeats, and maybe being blinded by victories," coach Terry Stotts said. "I think it's important that we learn from it, I don't want our team to forget about it. I don't want our team to forget about the feeling we had, not just after the series was over, but what we had to live through over the summer, and keep that edge. Hopefully, we use it as a learning experience."Portland returns the nucleus — Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic — of a team that went 49-33 last season. Apart from the early postseason exit, it was mostly considered a success.Boosted by a 13-game winning streak that started with a victory over the Golden State Warriors just before the All-Star break, the Blazers secured the third seed in the Western Conference. They clinched the Northwest Division title... [More]