LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — In a way, Hayden Dalton's game is tailor made for the NBA."With me stretching the floor, shooting at the 3 or 4 position as well as being able to rebound and handle the ball and then be able to guard multiple different positions," the former Wyoming Cowboy said, "my versatility is going toward what the NBA is (looking for)."Those strengths were magnified by the Cowboys' style of play the past two seasons under head coach Allen Edwards."The way we played was free and open, kind of positionless," the 6-foot-8, 195-pound Dalton said. "That helped out a ton, just in terms of me being comfortable handling the ball as well as rebounding, pushing. We did a lot of switching, so guarding guards and just stuff like that. That helps out a ton, just having that experience of having no position."But Dalton's path to a potential professional career was far from the usual one. The late bloomer received little recruiting attention out of Parker, Colorado, and attended Central Wyoming... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia's Ben Simmons and Utah's Donovan Mitchell are unanimous selections to the NBA's All-Rookie team.The two guards received all 100 first-place votes from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Both players helped their teams reach the second round of the playoffs.Boston's Jayson Tatum also was selected Tuesday to the first team, falling one vote short of unanimous. Simmons, Mitchell and Tatum are the three finalists for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award.Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (93 first-team votes) and Chicago's Lauri Markkanen (76) rounded out the first team.The second team was guards Dennis Smith Jr. of Dallas and Lonzo Ball of the Lakers, Atlanta forward John Collins, Sacramento guard Bogdan Bogdanovic and Phoenix forward Josh Jackson.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — And now the real season begins for the Los Angeles Lakers.At least that's what the fans of the 16-time NBA champions repeatedly have been told while Los Angeles missed the playoffs and finished with a losing record for the fifth consecutive year.Ever since they took over the Lakers' basketball operations a year ago, Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have founded their rebuilding project around the acquisition of one or two elite free agents this summer — or next summer, they've recently amended.Magic firmly believes the Lakers' championship pedigree, glamorous location and salary cap room for two enormous contracts can attract superstars near the primes of their careers to lift one of the NBA's cornerstone franchises back to its accustomed heights. The Lakers had only missed the playoffs five previous times in their first 65 years of existence before they doubled that number during this dismal half-decade.But while the pursuit of Paul George and LeBron... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder coach Billy Donovan can't pinpoint the best thing about Paul George.Oklahoma City's versatile forward averages just over 20 points per game, leads the league in steals and is third in 3-point goals while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc."I think that's what makes him the player he is," Donovan said. "There's a lot of players in the league that are great offensive players, but they're not great defensive players. I think arguably, it would be hard to make a case either way of what end of the floor he's better on, offense or defense, because he's that special."George believes he's having an All-Star season in first year with Oklahoma City after being traded from the Indiana Pacers. There have been challenges as he has tried to fit in with superstars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony and it's still unclear where he will play next season because of his upcoming free agency.Still, he has remained focused enough to be a top-notch performer. As he has found... [More]

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Larry Nance Jr. had successful surgery on his left hand and will miss approximately four-to-six weeks, the team announced Friday night.Nance suffered the injury in Thursday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers said he fractured the second metacarpal bone in the hand.Nance was averaging 10.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game in his first season as a starter. He was a reserve his first two NBA seasons.Julius Randle or Kyle Kuzma were expected fill his minutes starting Friday against the Brooklyn Nets.Randle started 133 games the previous two seasons, while Kuzma, a rookie, scored a season-best 22 points in the loss to the Trail Blazers and is averaging team-high 15 points.