NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden slides sideways or steps backward, and the screaming starts.Whether seated on the opposing bench or on a stool in a sports bar, somebody is insisting that Harden must have traveled between the time he finished dribbling and launched his shot from a different spot. Traveling will be an emphasis this season for officials, who are determined not to allow offensive players to gain an extra edge by taking an extra step.Scoring stars like Harden already got an advantage once hand-checking on the perimeter was no longer legal, so they can't be given another one."If we can't allow people to hand check, we can't allow them to travel because then they're almost unguardable," vice president of referee operations Mark Wunderlich said.That said, most times when Harden does his signature step-back, he doesn't travel."It is legal, except for the fact that he gets a third step in every now and then when his rhythm is just off, which shows you the highlight of how difficult... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Expectations for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have never been higher.After leading the Bucks to a league-best 60 wins in the regular season and losing to the NBA champion Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals earlier this year, Antetokounmpo is putting his league MVP trophy on the shelf and focusing solely on taking Milwaukee to the next level."We gotta focus on ourselves, which is getting better each day, competing in practice so you can carry over to the game, and just build that winning culture, the great habits that we built last year," Antetokounmpo said. "If we do that, we're going to be one of the teams that will be the last one standing. That's our goal."Antetokounmpo, who is entering his seventh season with the Bucks, had the busiest offseason of this career. He had new press obligations after winning the MVP, launched his signature shoe with Nike, and played on the Greek national team in the FIBA World Cup. Somewhere along the way, Antetokounmpo... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Expectations for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have never been higher.After leading the Bucks to a league-best 60 wins in the regular season and losing to the NBA champion Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals earlier this year, Antetokounmpo is putting his league MVP trophy on the shelf and focusing solely on taking Milwaukee to the next level."We gotta focus on ourselves, which is getting better each day, competing in practice so you can carry over to the game, and just build that winning culture, the great habits that we built last year," Antetokounmpo said. "If we do that, we're going to be one of the teams that will be the last one standing. That's our goal."Antetokounmpo, who is entering his seventh season with the Bucks, had the busiest offseason of this career. He had new press obligations after winning the MVP, launched his signature shoe with Nike, and played on the Greek national team in the FIBA World Cup. Somewhere along the way, Antetokounmpo... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have been awarded the rights to Kostas Antetokounmpo on a waiver claim.The Lakers announced the move Monday to acquire the 21-year-old brother of Milwaukee Bucks star and league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.Kostas Antetokounmpo played in two games for Dallas last season. The Mavericks acquired him in a draft-night trade last summer after Philadelphia chose him with the 60th and final pick. The 6-foot-10 forward played 40 games for the Mavs' G League affiliate last year, when he averaged 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.The Mavericks waived him Friday.Antetokounmpo attended high school in suburban Milwaukee while his older brother began his NBA career. He then spent two seasons at the University of Dayton.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have been awarded the rights to Kostas Antetokounmpo on a waiver claim.The Lakers announced the move Monday to acquire the 21-year-old brother of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.Kostas Antetokounmpo played in two games last season for Dallas. The Mavericks acquired him in a draft-night trade last summer after Philadelphia chose him with the 60th and final pick. The 6-foot-10 forward played 40 games for the Mavs' G League affiliate last year, when he averaged 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.The Mavericks waived him Friday.Antetokounmpo attended high school in suburban Milwaukee while his brother began his NBA career. He then spent two seasons at the University of Dayton.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks announced Tuesday that they have signed free agent forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Bucks forward and NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.Thanasis Antetokounmpo joins Milwaukee on a guaranteed two-year, minimum contract, according to Giannis' agent, Alex Saratsis."Thanasis is a young player with great experience at the top level overseas," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. "He brings toughness, athleticism, character and a high IQ. We are thrilled to have him join the Bucks."Antetokounmpo spent the last two seasons with Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League, where he helped the team to two straight league titles.The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 55 games (13 starts) in both Greek Basket League and EuroLeague In 2018-19. He was named the Greek Basket League Most Spectacular Player for the 2017-18 season. Prior to that,Antetokounmpo, 26, played one season with Andorra of Spain's Liga ACB where he averaged... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — In hoops, Giannis Antetokounmpo is court royalty. But in baseball, he's a complete rookie.In fact, the 24-year-old from Greece said he'd never even touched a baseball before he did so Monday night at Yankee Stadium.The reigning NBA MVP was shocked."It was really heavy," Antetokounmpo told The Associated Press. "I thought it would be lighter."The Milwaukee Bucks star went on to take a few swings in the batting cage beneath the stands before the Yankees faced the Tampa Bay Rays. The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo got some coaching, with limited results — he swung and missed once with the ball on a tee, and made light contact on two other tries."I would be a terrible baseball player," he said.The "Greek Freak" was in the Bronx with his three brothers to promote his new signature sneaker and signed a pair for a fan — Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia.Antetokounmpo watched the Yankees take batting practice, which reinforced his notion that he wasn't destined for the diamond."I saw Aaron Judge hitting the ball into the stands. That's amazing. You've got to be really strong to do that," he said.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There is no favorite.This is what the NBA wanted. And needed.The biggest piece of valid criticism about the league in recent years has been it's predictable. Golden State got to the last five NBA Finals. LeBron James had made it there eight years in a row, four with Miami and then four more with Cleveland. Brooklyn used to be the 'other' team in New York, and the Clippers used to be the 'other' team in Los Angeles.No more.Welcome to a new NBA. If you think the Clippers can win it all next season, or the Lakers, or Utah, or Philadelphia, or Milwaukee, or Houston, or Denver, or even Golden State and maybe a few others, you're right.Technically, there is a favorite: The sports books in Las Vegas, after hearing the news that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are heading to the Clippers, listed them as the best bet Saturday to win the 2020 NBA championship. Yes, the Clippers. A team that has won exactly four playoff series since moving to Los Angeles in 1984. A team that had 12... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There is no favorite.This is what the NBA wanted. And needed.The biggest piece of valid criticism about the league in recent years has been its predictable. Golden State got to the last five NBA Finals. LeBron James had made it there eight years in a row, four with Miami and then four more with Cleveland. Brooklyn used to be the 'other' team in New York, and the Clippers used to be the 'other' team in Los Angeles.No more.Welcome to a new NBA. If you think the Clippers can win it all next season, or the Lakers, or Utah, or Philadelphia, or Milwaukee, or Houston, or Denver, or even Golden State and maybe a few others, you're right.Technically, there is a favorite: The sports books in Las Vegas, after hearing the news that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are heading to the Clippers, listed them as the best bet Saturday to win the 2020 NBA championship. Yes, the Clippers. A team that has won exactly four playoff series since moving to Los Angeles in 1984. A team that had 12 consecutive... [More]

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Greece at this year's basketball World Cup in China, saying Friday he can play any position.The Milwaukee Bucks player and NBA MVP said he hasn't "talked to the coach about which position I'll be playing ... the important thing is to play.""Whether I play the 1 (point guard) or the 5 (center), I don't care," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm a basketball player. I want to help the team any way I can."The World Cup takes place from Aug. 31-Sept. 15 and Greece is one of 32 qualifiers.Antetokounmpo did not play for Greece at the 2017 Eurobasket. His absence had led the Greek basketball federation to publicly accuse the Bucks of staging a knee injury.Antetokounmpo is in Athens to present his Nike Air Zoom Freak 1 signature shoe, which will go on sale in August.He will also attend a 3x3 tournament he sponsors. The tournament will be played on three different Athens courts, with the finals held Saturday near his Athens home, where he first played... [More]

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo says he will play for Greece at this year's basketball World Cup in China, adding that he can play any position.The Milwaukee Bucks player and NBA MVP says he hasn't "talked to the coach about which position I'll be playing ... the important thing is to play."Antetokounmpo is in Athens to present his Nike Air Zoom Freak 1 signature shoe, which will go on sale in August. He will also attend a 3x3 tournament he sponsors near his Athens home, where he first played basketball.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst took a break from his busy schedule Monday night to collect the 2018-19 NBA Executive of the Year Award.Horst won the honor during the league's awards show in Santa Monica, California, four days after he and his staff put a bow on the draft and six days before the anticipated NBA free agency."We congratulate Jon on earning this well-deserved award," Bucks owners Wes Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan said in a statement. "Jon has played an instrumental role in building the Bucks into a championship-caliber organization and we are thrilled that his fellow team executives throughout the league recognize his great work."The Bucks' ownership group presented Horst with a multiyear extension earlier this month and for good reason. In his second season as the team's general manager, Horst hired Mike Budenholzer, who was honored as the NBA's Coach of the Year on Monday night, and assembled a team that had the best record in the NBA at 60-22."The... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks have signed general manager Jon Horst to a multiyear extension, rewarding a key figure behind one of the best seasons in franchise history.The deal was announced Friday. Horst is one of the front-runners for NBA executive of the year, along with Denver's Tim Connelly, the Clippers' Lawrence Frank and Toronto's Masai Ujiri."I'm thankful to our ownership group for their continued trust and confidence in me," Horst said. "Wes (Edens), Marc (Lasry) and Jamie (Dinan) have been resolute in their commitment to building a championship-caliber team, providing the necessary tools and resources, and I look forward to continuing to execute their vision."Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee went 60-22 this year for the NBA's best record and the franchise's first 60-win season since the 1980-81 campaign. The Bucks also advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2001, losing to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals.In two seasons... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mired in their worst skid of the season at the worst possible time, the Milwaukee Bucks need an answer in the Eastern Conference finals.A lineup change didn't provide one, so the Bucks have to come up with something else in Toronto.The Bucks returned to the starting five they used most of the season in Game 5, the lineup that helped them to the NBA's best record. But they were left with the same result as the third and fourth games and now face elimination when the series resumes Saturday.Guard Malcolm Brogdon finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists Thursday in his first start since returning from a foot injury in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics. But his first career postseason double-double wasn't enough as Milwaukee lost 105-99 to the Raptors.The top-seeded Bucks need a win in Toronto after falling there twice already in the series."You know, we've been a resilient group all year," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden got the most votes, and Damian Lillard and Kemba Walker also were big winners when the All-NBA teams were announced.Those guards can cash in with supermax contracts based on their selections to one of the three All-NBA teams that were announced Thursday.LeBron James also was voted to the third team, tying the NBA record with his 15th All-NBA selection.Rounding out the first team were Stephen Curry, Paul George and Nikola Jokic, who was Denver's first All-NBA selection since Carmelo Anthony in 2010.Antetokounmpo and Harden were unanimous selections, receiving all 100 votes from a panel of writers and broadcasters who had to choose two guards, two forwards and one center for each of the three teams.Walker was the final selection but all that matters is that he made it. By doing so, he became eligible to receive a five-year contract extension worth about $221 million from the Hornets if he opts to stay in Charlotte, a reward the NBA put... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and MVP finalists Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George were the leading vote-getters for the All-Defensive first team.Boston's Marcus Smart and Milwaukee's Eric Bledsoe rounded out the first team that was announced Wednesday.Gobert finished with 97 first-team points and 196 points, giving the Utah center his third straight first-team selection. George had 96 first-team votes and 195 points, followed by Antetokounmpo (94, 193).Smart and Bledsoe both earned their first All-Defensive team selections.The second team included Golden State's Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who earned his first selection. They were joined by Toronto's Kawhi Leonard, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday.The teams were selected by a panel of 100 writers and broadcasters.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has agreed to fund the construction of an indoor basketball court in a fire-ravaged area outside Athens where at least 100 people were killed last year.The mayor of the Rafina area where the fire occurred last July said on Monday the local authority accepted the offer from the Milwaukee Bucks player to build the court at a new recycling park that is being planned. The mayor, Vangelis Bournous, gave no details of the construction cost but said the venue would ready at the end of this summer.The blaze gutted the seaside resort of Mati, east of Athens, and other coastal areas, destroying more than a thousand homes.Antetokounmpo's Bucks are leading in the NBA Eastern Conference finals 2-1 over the Toronto Raptors.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Toronto guard Kyle Lowry squarely planted his feet and braced for contact with Milwaukee Bucks athletic big man Giannis Antetokounmpo barreling down on him.Lowry, one of the best in basketball at taking a charge, absorbed the punishment and drew a foul against the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo. These days, not everybody is willing to do what Lowry does in the fast-paced, open-floor NBA game."I think it's kind of a lost art," DeMarcus Cousins of the Golden State Warriors said of taking a charge.Spurs coach Gregg Popovich won't argue that sentiment."It seems so, doesn't it? You can count on one hand how many charges are taken over the course of five or 10 games, in some situations," Popovich said with a chuckle. "You see it a lot more in college than you do in the NBA. Maybe they're protecting their contracts, don't want to get hurt, I don't know. There aren't very many, that's for sure."Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hunter Trimmel couldn't give away his season tickets to Milwaukee Bucks games five years ago.Losing season after season made the Bucks almost an afterthought in Wisconsin, where most teams live in the shadow of the Green Bay Packers. But now the Bucks are the hottest ticket in town, with a glittery new arena and a young superstar that has the team knocking on the door of the NBA Finals. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against Toronto is Wednesday night.Trimmel, 37, was among hundreds of fans flocking to the plaza outside Fiserv Forum last week before the Bucks faced Boston in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. The plaza, with plenty of bars and jumbo TV screens for fans who can't get inside, is part of an atmosphere that Trimmel — a Bucks fan since 1992 — said is a new experience."I hate to say it but we felt like a minor league team for a while," Trimmel said.It's a golden era in Milwaukee: The Bucks are in contention just a year after the Brewers came within... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hunter Trimmel couldn't give away his season tickets to Milwaukee Bucks games five years ago.Losing season after season made the Bucks almost an afterthought in Wisconsin, where most teams live in the shadow of the Green Bay Packers. But now the Bucks are the hottest ticket in town, with a glittery new arena and a young superstar that has the team knocking on the door of the NBA Finals. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against Toronto is Wednesday night.Trimmel, 37, was among hundreds of fans flocking to the plaza outside Fiserv Forum last week before the Bucks faced Boston in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. The plaza, with plenty of bars and jumbo TV screens for fans who can't get inside, is part of an atmosphere that Trimmel — a Bucks fan since 1992 — said is a new experience."I hate to say it but we felt like a minor league team for a while," Trimmel said.It's a golden era in Milwaukee: The Bucks are in contention just a year after the Brewers came within... [More]