Basketball

The Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers used lottery picks on players who should make their biggest early impact on defense while the rest of the Central Division teams sat out the first round of the NBA draft Thursday night.

Michigan teammates Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin are headed to the same division. So are Arkansas' Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr.

PHOENIX (AP) — Thanks to their recent success, the five teams in the NBA's Pacific Division weren't necessarily trying to draft one of the next generation's hardwood superstars Thursday night.

DALLAS (AP) — The young Houston Rockets are getting even younger with another pair of first-round picks. The Rockets added the first player drafted out of the Overtime Elite pro league to the NBA's highest-ever G League selection of two years ago.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers selected point guard Scoot Henderson of the NBA G League with the third overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.

CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had a clean up procedure on his right knee in early June and is expected to be ready for the start of Los Angeles Clippers’ training camp in late September.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls expect point guard Lonzo Ball to miss another season because of his left knee injury. “Everything is going well,” executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said Thursday.

The Boston Celtics, coming off their fifth trip to the conference finals in the last seven seasons, entered Thursday night’s NBA draft having already started the process of retooling for another attempt at the franchise’s 18th title.

NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama was the presumed No. 1 pick for months, the rare certainty in an NBA draft process that's often a guessing game. Yet as the clock above the stage he was facing ticked all the way down to zero, butterflies set in.

TORONTO — Gradey Dick aims to make an instant impact for his new team. The Toronto Raptors selected Dick with the 13th overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday. The Kansas Jayhawks product averaged 14.1 points and 5.