Basketball

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns was in the Knicks' building, though not yet on their team.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell carried a heavy burden last season, the weight of expectations and speculation about his future combining to make every move on and off the court a challenge. It's been lifted. The All-Star guard is freed.

TORONTO — Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.

Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant is in no mood to prove anyone wrong or forget everything he's gone through the past two years. The Memphis Grizzlies point guard is just glad to be back on a basketball court again.

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Joel Embiid won a gold medal this summer and lost about 30 pounds.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spent several years in Oklahoma City as an unheralded scorer on a losing team in a small market. Then, he improved his defense and became an All-Star.

MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro had a new haircut for media day. Jimmy Butler’s hairstyle was, to the disappointment of some, normal. And with that, the Miami Heat season started in predictably unpredictable fashion.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo’s blunt response to a question about whether the Milwaukee Bucks’ offseason moves could get them back to the conference finals or NBA Finals underscored how far they’ve fallen the last couple of years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jordan Poole first became a Washington Wizards player in July 2023 as part of a deal that sent Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors. To hear teammates and coach tell it, his real arrival came much later.