CHICAGO (AP) — The NBA and USA Basketball are still considering playing in China later this year, though the complexities of both the political rift caused by a tweet last fall and the ongoing health concerns in the world’s most populous country are making those plans seem decidedly uncertain.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the discussions in both cases — pre-Olympic games for USA Basketball and the preseason games for the NBA — are ongoing, and said the decisions are not necessarily linked. It’s possible the U.S. may play there this summer and the NBA does not send teams this fall, Silver said.“Those are issues that haven’t been decided yet,” Silver said Saturday night at his annual All-Star weekend news conference.Things are not back to normal for the league when it comes to relations with China. The strain started Oct. 4, when Houston general manager Daryl Morey tweeted an image that read “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” referencing several months of pro-democracy demonstrations... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on Saturday night at NBA All-Star weekend. (all times local):7:38 p.m.Miami's Bam Abedayo has won the All-Star skills challenge.Abedayo narrowly defeated Indiana's Domantas Sabonis in the final in a matchup of All-Star big men. He shared a hug with former Heat star Dwyane Wade after accepting the trophy.Abedayo eliminated 2018 champion Spencer Dinwiddie and Raptors star Pascal Siakam in the first two rounds on the obstacle course. Sabonis advanced with victories over defending champion Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee's Khris Middleton.The 22-year-old Abedayo is in the middle of a breakout season, averaging 15.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 54 games for the Heat.___6:43 p.m.The NBA has renamed its All-Star Game MVP award in honor of Kobe Bryant.Commissioner Adam Silver announced the move on Saturday. Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed when their helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain near Los Angeles on Jan. 26.Bryant... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on Saturday night at NBA All-Star weekend. (all times local):6:43 p.m.The NBA has renamed its All-Star Game MVP award in honor of Kobe Bryant.Commissioner Adam Silver announced the move on Saturday. Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed when their helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain near Los Angeles on Jan. 26.Bryant became the youngest player to ever play in an All-Star Game when he made his debut in 1998 at age 19. He made the All-Star team 18 times during his stellar career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning the MVP award a record-tying four times.Silver says Bryant "is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game.”___4:00 p.m.Toronto Raptors and All-Star coach Nick Nurse was in Las Vegas last summer when he got the news that Kawhi Leonard was leaving the defending champions after just one season to join the Los Angeles Clippers.Soon after, Nurse headed down to the... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on Saturday night at NBA All-Star weekend. (all times local):4:00 p.m.Toronto Raptors and All-Star coach Nick Nurse was in Las Vegas last summer when he got the news that Kawhi Leonard was leaving the defending champions after just one season to join the Los Angeles Clippers.Soon after, Nurse headed down to the hotel lobby and ran into two of his players, Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet.“I thought the guys might need some cheering up, so I said, ‘Hey, look at it this way: Kawhi leaving means we just freed up something like 20 shots per game,” Nurse said.It was 18.8 per game to be precise, but who’s counting? Well, plenty of Leonard’s former teammates, apparently.“Siakam immediately starts doing this,” Nurse laughed, swinging his right arm in widening circles, like a baseball pitcher loosening up before entering a game. “And Van Vleet just breaks into a crazy grin.”Small wonder. Those two became the biggest beneficiaries of Leonard's departure. Siakam is averaging... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is grateful for the All-Star break.He had to pull out of the All-Star Game and Saturday night's 3-point competition after he strained his groin during Wednesday night's 111-104 loss to Memphis. He was replaced by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker.Lillard is averaging 29.5 points and 7.9 assists. “Tough injury," he said during Saturday's All-Star media session. "Came at a tough time. Fortunate for me, that game was on the 12th, we don't play again until the 21st. So that's at least nine days of being able to see where I am, get some treatment, do some rehab and go from there.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The NBA-backed Basketball Africa League on Saturday announced the 12 teams that will compete in the inaugural season.The clubs, from a dozen African nations, are: Groupement Sportif des Pétroliers (Algeria), Petro de Luanda (Angola), Forces Armées et Police (Cameroon), Zamalek (Egypt), Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club (Madagascar), AS Police (Mali), AS Salé (Morocco), Ferroviàrio de Maputo (Mozambique), Rivers Hoopers BC (Nigeria), Patriots BC (Rwanda), AS Douanes (Senegal) and Union Sportive Monastirienne (Tunisia).“It's amazing creating a league in Africa,” said reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, a Greek born to Nigerian parents. “Giving opportunities to African talent and African players to go out there and showcase their talent, I knew it was going to happen.”The teams from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda earned the right to be in the league through qualifying tournaments. The teams from Angola, Egypt, Morocco,... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Davis knows smooth. He has been making basketball look easy for years, from his early days in his native Chicago all the way through to NBA stardom.When it comes to his seemingly effortless transition to life with the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis makes it sound as if it's no big deal. After all, smooth is what he does.“(It's been) very natural. I think team chemistry is very good,” Davis told The Associated Press ahead of a special All-Star Game for the 6-foot-10 forward. “We've been able to do some major things in the first half of the year, and it's only going to get better.”Davis has teamed with LeBron James to give Los Angeles one of the best 1-2 punches in the league, leading the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 41-12 record at the break. Davis is averaging a team-high 26.6 points and 9.2 rebounds, shooting almost 52% from the field.In his first seven seasons with New Orleans, just making the playoffs was a big question for Davis this time of year. Now it's all... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Davis knows smooth. He has been making basketball look easy for years, from his early days in his native Chicago all the way through to NBA stardom.When it comes to his seemingly effortless transition to life with the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis makes it sound as if it's no big deal. After all, smooth is what he does.“(It's been) very natural. I think team chemistry is very good,” Davis told The Associated Press ahead of a special seventh All-Star Game for the 6-foot-10 forward. “We've been able to do some major things in the first half of the year, and it's only going to get better.”Davis has teamed with LeBron James to give Los Angeles one of the best 1-2 punches in the league, leading the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 41-12 record at the break. Davis is averaging a team-high 26.6 points and 9.2 rebounds, shooting almost 52% from the field.In his first seven seasons with New Orleans, just making the playoffs was a big question for Davis this time of year. Now... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins have never talked to one another about the 1988 dunk contest.They might be the only ones.It is still the dunk contest by which all other dunk contests are measured: Two stars, at the peak of their powers, the players who finished first and second in that season’s scoring standings, going head-to-head to decide a winner. Jordan left the old Chicago Stadium that night with the trophy. To this day, many believe Wilkins was the rightful winner. Either way, it was a never-to-be-forgotten show — and now, for the first time since that night 32 years ago, the dunk contest is returning to Chicago on Saturday night.“I did have a homecourt advantage, yes,” Jordan said this week in an interview with The Associated Press.“The fans got their money’s worth,” Wilkins said in a separate interview with AP.This season’s dunk contest entrants — Orlando’s Aaron Gordon, Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr., the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and Milwaukee’s Pat Connaughton... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The list of finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame is considerably shorter than usual.The voters really didn’t need more this year.Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett — 48 All-Star nods between them — headlined the class of eight finalists announced Friday by the Hall of Fame. Each will still need to collect 18 votes from a 24-person panel before officially becoming Hall of Famers, which is certainly no more than a formality at this point.In recent years, finalist classes have been around 13 people. But the star power at the top forced the Hall to change its thinking this year, a decision that was made before Bryant died unexpectedly in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Jan. 26.“We did it because of the enormity, even before Kobe’s death, that we think Kobe and Duncan and Garnett bring to it,” said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “We’ve never had a class that strong at the top. And then, of course, with Kobe’s... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kobe Bryant was one of eight finalists announced Friday as candidates for enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, a decision that came as absolutely no surprise in his first year of eligibility.Joining Bryant as first-time finalists for the Hall: 15-time All-Star Tim Duncan, fellow 15-time All-Star Kevin Garnett and 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings.The other finalists have all been to this point previously: Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey, former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, five-time Division II women’s coach of the year Barbara Stevens of Bentley, and four-time national men’s college coach of the year Eddie Sutton.This year’s enshrinement class will be announced on April 4 at college basketball’s Final Four in Atlanta. The induction ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts is Aug. 29.Bryant was an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, a two-time... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins have never talked to one another about the 1988 dunk contest.They might be the only ones.It is still the dunk contest by which all other dunk contests are measured: Two stars, at the peak of their powers, the players who finished first and second in that season’s scoring standings, going head-to-head to decide a winner. Jordan left the old Chicago Stadium that night with the trophy. To this day, many believe Wilkins was the rightful winner. Either way, it was a never-to-be-forgotten show — and now, for the first time since that night 32 years ago, the dunk contest is returning to Chicago on Saturday night.“I did have a homecourt advantage, yes,” Jordan said this week in an interview with The Associated Press.“The fans got their money’s worth,” Wilkins said in a separate interview with AP.This season’s dunk contest entrant — Orlando’s Aaron Gordon, Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr., the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and Milwaukee’s Pat Connaughton... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins have never talked to one another about the 1988 dunk contest.They might be the only ones.It is still the dunk contest by which all other dunk contests are measured: Two stars, at the peak of their powers, the players who finished first and second in that season’s scoring standings, going head-to-head to decide a winner. Jordan left the old Chicago Stadium that night with the trophy. To this day, many believe Wilkins was the rightful winner. Either way, it was a never-to-be-forgotten show — and now, for the first time since that night 32 years ago, the dunk contest is returning to Chicago on Saturday night.“I did have a homecourt advantage, yes,” Jordan said this week in an interview with The Associated Press.“The fans got their money’s worth,” Wilkins said in a separate interview with AP.This season’s dunk contest entrant — Orlando’s Aaron Gordon, Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr., the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and Milwaukee’s Pat Connaughton... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jennifer Hudson is coming to the All-Star Game to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant with her voice.The NBA has released a list of entertainers headed to All-Star weekend, the group headlined by Hudson — the two-time Grammy winner and Oscar winner — who, just before Sunday night’s player introductions, will perform a special tribute to Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other victims of the helicopter crash that took their lives in Southern California on Jan. 26.Other additions the NBA revealed Thursday: DJ Khaled, Quavo and Lil Wayne will join the previously announced Grammy winner and Chicago native Chance the Rapper during Sunday night’s halftime show; Queen Latifah will be joined by Chicago youth to perform Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today” during Saturday’s events; and the Chicago Children’s Choir will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Rising Stars game on Friday night.And Damian Lillard still may perform — even though injury will keep him from playing... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA fined Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers $35,000 on Thursday, two days after he was critical of the officiating after his team lost to the Philadelphia 76ers.The NBA said George was fined those comments, and noted that the amount of the fine “also reflects his multiple prior violations of the rule prohibiting public criticism of the officiating."This marks at least the fifth time George has been fined in his career for such comments, and this came with the stiffest fine — topping the $25,000 he was docked on two other occasions.George pointed out the Clippers were called for eight more fouls than Philadelphia n the 76ers' 110-103 win at home, referring to that disparity as “home-court cooking."

CHICAGO (AP) — The NBA is headquartered in New York. Anthony Davis, one of the game’s biggest names, plays in Los Angeles.Both, unquestionably, are world-class cities.But in Davis’ eyes, they both pale to his hometown. And this weekend, the Chicago native believes the eyes of the basketball world are where they belong -- on his city.“Chicago basketball,” the Lakers’ forward said. “There is nothing like Chicago basketball.”Chicago is called the Second City, though no one from Chicago believes that the city is second to any other city on the planet -- particularly those who represent the city in the NBA. L.A. has the glitz and glamour of the Lakers and now the Clippers, New York has the tradition of Madison Square Garden and possibly the best-known outdoor court in the world at Rucker Park, but Chicago guys scoff at the notion that the game means more anyplace else.That’s why hosting All-Star weekend, with the events beginning in earnest Friday, is a badge of honor for Chicago. It’s been... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Devin Booker is finally headed to his first NBA All-Star Game.The Phoenix guard — who felt he was snubbed by voters and coaches when he didn't make the original list for Sunday's game in Chicago — was tabbed Thursday as the player who will replace injured Portland guard Damian Lillard in the game.Booker was chosen by Commissioner Adam Silver, who makes the final call on injury replacements to the All-Star rosters. By NBA rule, the replacement player has to come from the same conference as the injured player.Lillard injured his groin on Wednesday night and said he would not be able to play in either the game or Saturday night's 3-point competition.“Hopefully somebody who should have been there and didn't make it ... hopefully, Devin Booker or somebody like that will get the spot," Lillard said Wednesday night.The NBA agreed. Booker will play for Team LeBron — the team selected by LeBron James, one of the captains alongside Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo — on Sunday night,... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jennifer Hudson is coming to the All-Star Game to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant with her voice.The NBA has released a list of entertainers headed to All-Star weekend, the group headlined by Hudson — the two-time Grammy winner and Oscar winner — who, just before Sunday night’s player introductions, will perform a special tribute to Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other victims of the helicopter crash that took their lives in Southern California on Jan. 26.Other additions the NBA revealed Thursday: DJ Khaled, Quavo and Lil Wayne will join the previously announced Grammy winner and Chicago native Chance the Rapper during Sunday night’s halftime show; Queen Latifah will be joined by Chicago youth to perform Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today” during Saturday’s events; and the Chicago Children’s Choir will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Rising Stars game on Friday night.And Damian Lillard still may perform — even though injury will keep him from playing... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns will miss Wednesday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets with a left wrist injury, the team announced.The Timberwolves said Towns had an MRI on Tuesday. That test revealed the injury.Towns will be further evaluated over the All-Star break. Wednesday's game is the Timberwolves' final game before the break. Minnesota's next game is Feb. 21 against Boston.Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said prior to Wednesday's game that he did not know when or how Towns was injured. Towns had 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes in Monday night's loss to Toronto.“He's a guy who takes a lot of contact,” Saunders said. “He's a guy who attacks the rim with force. There's been times where he's getting knocked to the floor. So we know that there is wear in that sense but no specific action.”Towns is averaging a career-best 26.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season. He missed 15 games earlier this season with a sprained left knee.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his second straight game Wednesday, just days after his girlfriend gave birth to the couple's first child.Last season's MVP also missed Monday's game against Sacramento.Milwaukee has the NBA's best record, 46-7, and has won all five games its All-Star forward has missed this season. After playing at Indiana on Wednesday, the Bucks will have an eight-day break between games. Antetokounmpo will be a team captain at this weekend's All-Star Game.Antetokounmpo is averaging 30 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists.The Bucks won each of their first two games against the Pacers this season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports