President Donald Trump presented 91-year-old basketball legend Bob Cousy with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, praising the Boston Celtics star as "one of the all-time greats in the history of sports."

It’ll soon be time for Gregg Popovich to pare USA Basketball’s roster from 13 players to 12 in time for the FIBA World Cup this month.

The co-founder of Alibaba has agreed to buy the remaining 51 percent of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. Two people with knowledge of the details tell The Associated Press the deals worth about $3.4 billion. Joe Tsai is the executive vice chairman of Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. He already had purchased 49 percent of the team from Prokhorov in 2018, with the option to become controlling owner in four years.

DeMarcus Cousins is now facing rehab from another major injury, and the Los Angeles Lakers have endured their first big problem heading into a season with championship expectations. Cousins was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury that could sideline the six-time All-Star big man for much of this coming season, or possibly all of it.

USA Basketball coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t have many rules for his World Cup team. They’re more like suggestions, such as the one about limiting phone usage when the team is having breakfast together. He doesn’t mind if guys are talking. He just wants them talking to one another. Part of the challenge the U.S. faces in the road to this FIBA World Cup is taking individuals who know one another and turning them into a real team.

LeBron James has dedicated a basketball court at the school he founded for underprivileged children in his hometown. Joined by his former teammates from nearby St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, James helped unveil the outdoor court at the I Promise School in Akron, which has just started its second academic year. The NBA superstar is spending more than $1 million on various upgrades for the school. It serves more than 300 students from the third through fifth grades.

Stephen Curry knows he and Kevin Durant will reminisce someday about their three insanely successful years together on the Golden State Warriors. For now, Curry is embracing new beginnings as the oldest player on a Golden State roster that will look far different come training camp. Durant is gone and so are Andre Iguodala and DeMarcus Cousins.

There were more than 50 players from the G League who helped USA Basketball get into the FIBA World Cup by winning enough games during the tournament’s qualifying rounds. A few of them are getting a thank-you this week. USA Basketball invited some of those qualifying players to the final week of World Cup training camp in El Segundo, California. The group will scrimmage against NBA players getting ready to compete in China at the World Cup.

The NBA schedule might be a little easier on players – and a lot easier on bleary-eyed fans at home.

Seventeen players in consideration for the 12 spots on the USA Basketball team are focused on training camp. They all want to play for new USA coach Gregg Popovich. Most of the players who went through Week 1 of training camp in Las Vegas had never played for Popovich. They are learning from a coach who is considered among the best in the business. They’re trying to make the team ahead of the FIBA World Cup in China later this month.

The injury that sidelined Miami Heat forward Kelly Olynyk during a Wednesday exhibition with the Canadian national team in Toronto turned out to be nothing more than a bruised knee

USA Basketball coach Gregg Popovich typically has a month of NBA training camp and a half-dozen or so preseason games to endure before he picks a San Antonio team, then gets a few more months of the regular-season grind to mold those Spurs into playoff shape. These aren’t the Spurs. These are not typical times, either. USA Basketball will finalize its World Cup team on Aug. 17 – meaning training camp lasts less than two weeks. That also means there’s a real urgency in this camp in Las Vegas.

Udonis Haslem is returning to the Miami Heat. Haslem announced Tuesday that he is coming back for a 17th NBA season. Haslem has spent his entire career with the Heat, and should become just the sixth player in NBA history to play such a long career with only one franchise. Haslem will make just under $2.6 million this season.

Gregg Popovich walked into USA Basketball’s first team meeting in advance of World Cup training camp, and it seemed to some in the room that he was having a little difficulty keeping his emotions in check.

Vince Carter is returning to the Atlanta Hawks for his 22nd season in the NBA. A person told The Associated Press that the 42-year-old Carter has agreed to terms one a one-year contract with the Hawks. Carter will continue to serve as a mentor to some of the NBA’s most promising young talent, including first-round picks D’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish.

Former NBA head coaches Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins have joined new coach Frank Vogel’s staff with the Los Angeles Lakers. Phil Handy, Miles Simon, former Lakers guard Mike Penberthy and Quinton Crawford also will be Vogel’s assistant coaches. Kidd joins the Lakers after head coaching stints in Brooklyn and Milwaukee, while Hollins was in charge of Memphis and the Nets.

The 27-year-old McCollum averaged 21.0 points last season, helping Portland make it to the Western Conference finals.

The past few weeks have been a blur to Zion Williamson. He was picked No. 1 in the NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Russell Westbrook knows he’s in for a huge change in his move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets. And he’s ready to do whatever it takes to make the move work as he prepares to play with James Harden for the first time since 2012.