NBA:
The Orlando Magic selected Duke freshman Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
After leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, the 6-foot-10 forward was called first by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to begin the draft, beating out fellow first-year forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren.
Banchero, wearing a purple suit full of bling, received a loud ovation inside Barclays Center, where Duke lost in the ACC Tournament final.
The Oklahoma City Thunder chose Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick. Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer from Minneapolis, was a second-team Associated Press All-American in his only season with Gonzaga. He averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds and ranked second nationally with 3.7 blocks per game. He shot 61% from 3-point range and 39% from 3-point range last season. His skill could help him be effective as he works to add to his slender 195-pound frame.
The Houston Rockets selected Auburn freshman Jabari Smith Jr. with the third overall pick, adding a skilled player to join last year’s second pick Jalen Green as the team continues its rebuild. Smith comes to Houston after the power forward averaged 16.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and two assists per game to win SEC freshman of the year and second-team All-America honors. The third pick is one of three first-round picks the Rockets had.
The Sacramento Kings selected forward Keegan Murray of Iowa with the fourth overall pick. A first-team All-American as a sophomore, Murray was the Big Ten’s leading scorer with 23.5 points a game and averaged 8.7 rebounds while playing alongside twin brother Kris. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Murray gives Kings first-year coach Mike Brown a versatile wing player to complement a core group anchored by point guard De’Aaron Fox and 6-foot-11 power forward Domantas Sabonis.
The Detroit Pistons have selected Purdue’s Jaden Ivey with the No. 5 overall pick. Detroit’s rebuilding plan should get a boost with the addition of the dynamic player. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Ivey can play point or shooting guard. He averaged 17.3 points last season and made 46% of his shots overall and 36% beyond the 3-point arc. Detroit desperately needs Ivey to pan out after winning just 23 games last year, finishing ahead of only Houston and Orlando in the NBA.
Also in the NBA:
The New York Knicks removed Kemba Walker and added no players in the first round of the NBA draft. They agreed to deal Walker to Detroit, among the multiple deals they made. They traded the rights to France’s Ousmane Dieng, who they took with the No. 11 pick, to Oklahoma City for four first-round picks. Then the Knicks used one of them to acquire the rights to Jalen Duren, taken by Charlotte with the No. 13 selection, and agreed to send him along with Walker to the Pistons for another pick, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press.
MLB:
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs ahead of what’s sure to be an emotional weekend, leading Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 for a sweep of the season series. Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Will Smith and Justin Turner also homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who outscored the Reds 52-18 in winning all seven games against them this year.
The Dodgers now travel to Atlanta, where Freeman was the longtime face of the franchise and helped the Braves win the World Series last year. He then became a free agent and signed a $162 million, six-year deal with the Dodgers. At 32, the All-Star first baseman is hitting .303 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs. Cincinnati has lost seven straight.
Elsewhere in the majors Thursday:
Aaron Judge lined a game-winning single on the eve of his arbitration showdown, capping a four-run ninth inning that included Aaron Hicks’ tying, three-run homer off closer Ryan Pressly in the New York Yankees’ 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros. Batting with two on against Ryne Stanek, Judge smoked a 3-0 pitch into the left-field corner to score Jose Trevino from second base. It was the Yankees’ ninth walk-off win in 70 games this season — and one that seemed mighty unlikely when they entered the last inning with only two hits. New York took the opener of a highly anticipated four-game series between the American League’s top two teams, winning for the 19th time in 22 games to improve to 52-18.
Tyrone Taylor hit a three-run homer, Willy Adames added a solo shot and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 to split a four-game series with their NL Central rivals. Taylor’s drive to left field on a 2-1 sinker from Dakota Hudson in the fourth inning gave the Brewers a 4-2 lead. Hudson snapped a streak of 46 1/3 innings without allowing a homer. Adames took Hudson deep leading off the fifth to make it 5-3. The Brewers have won five of seven. They moved back into a first-place tie with the Cardinals atop the division. St. Louis has lost five of its last eight.
Dansby Swanson hit two home runs and the Atlanta Braves built a big lead early before holding off the San Francisco Giants 7-6 for their 18th win in 21 games this month. Swason, who homered to begin a three-run rally in the ninth inning for a 4-3 win over the Giants a night earlier, had three hits and drove in three runs. Swanson hit a leadoff home run in the first and connected again in the fourth, his 12th, for a 7-1 lead. It was his seventh career multihomer game, the last coming Aug. 14, 2021, at Washington. The defending World Series champion Braves moved 11 games over .500 for the first time this season. They have won 10 of their last 11 home games.
Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and J.T. Realmuto added a three-run shot for the Philadelphia Phillies, who handed Joe Musgrove his first loss of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory against the San Diego Padres. Musgrove saw his ERA rise from 1.59, which had been second-lowest in the majors, to 2.12. The big right-hander from suburban El Cajon was activated from the COVID-19 injured list earlier in the day. He had been placed on the list last Friday, a day after throwing seven strong innings in a victory at the Chicago Cubs.
The Minnesota Twins dodged a sweep by cooling off the Cleveland Guardians in a 1-0 win. Nick Gordon hit a third-inning home run that stood up for Minnesota starter Devin Smeltzer. The Guardians failed to score against Minnesota’s struggling bullpen with runners in scoring position in each of the last three innings. Caleb Thielbar recorded his first save by striking out pinch-hitter Steven Kwan to end the game. The Guardians lost for just the fifth time in 22 games. They lead the Twins in the AL Central by percentage points. The two teams have a five-game series next week.
Avisaíl García drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s-choice grounder in the eighth inning, and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep. Four relievers combined to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the Marlins. Steven Okert pitched a scoreless eighth to pick up his second win of the series. Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save. Miami’s Jon Berti had two hits and stole two bases, extending his streak of successful attempts to a club-record 21. Brendan Rodgers doubled twice, tripled and singled for the Rockies, who stranded 13 runners and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Michael Chavis hit a tying home run in the eighth before pulling off a defensive gem and delivering a game-ending single in the 10th, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Chicago Cubs 8-7. Chavis’ solo homer made it 7-all after the Cubs scored five times in the top of the eighth. In the 10th, Chavis charged a slow grounder by Jason Heyward toward first base and threw out Patrick Wisdom at the plate. The call stood after a Chicago challenge. In the bottom half, Chavis blooped a single to right and automatic runner Ke’Bryan Hayes scored in a collision with catcher Wilson Contreras. Hayes remained down for a few moments before walking off under his own power. Hayes homered earlier in the game.
Oakland starter Frankie Montas took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning, then reliever A.J. Puk threw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches with two outs in the ninth that gave the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 win over the Athletics. The Mariners loaded the bases with three walks and rallied on Puk’s wayward tosses to complete a three-game sweep. Before the wild ninth, it seemed the 29-year-old Montas would be the story of the day. Montas didn’t allow a hit until Adam Frazier lined a clean single to left field with two outs in the eighth. Montas struck out eight in a season-high eight innings, and exited with a 1-0 lead. He is expected to be among the starting pitchers available as the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaches.
Rookie Adley Rutschman homered, doubled and drove in three runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the banged-up Chicago White Sox 4-0. Ryan Mountcastle had two doubles among his three hits as the Orioles won their second in a row and third in four. Dean Kremer tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings before three relievers finished off a nine-hit shutout. Kremer struck out four and walked one in his second straight scoreless outing and fourth start since returning from a strained right oblique on June 5. Jorge Lopez entered with one out in the ninth and fanned Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn for his 12th save.
The San Francisco Giants have acquired outfielder Willie Calhoun from the Texas Rangers in a trade for outfielder Steven Duggar. Calhoun was the main return to the Rangers when they traded pitcher Yu Darvish five years ago. San Francisco also receives cash in the deal announced today. It will be a homecoming for Calhoun, and a move he requested after being sent to the minors on May 1. The 27-year-old Calhoun was born in the East Bay city of Vallejo and attended Benicia High School. Duggar was activated from the 60-day injured list after being sidelined by strained left oblique.
GOLF:
Rory McIlroy fought off a sinus bug to shoot an 8-under 62 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with J.T. Poston in the Travelers Championship.
Coming off a fifth-place tie Sunday in the U.S. Open after winning the Canadian Open the previous week, the second-ranked McIlroy had a bogey-free morning round — highlighted by a 47-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh. McIlroy matched the lowest opening round of his PGA Tour career.
Poston had five straight birdies on Nos. 13-17 and made the turn at 6-under 29, giving rise to thoughts of Jim Furyk’s record 58 on the same TPC River Highlands course in 2016. Poston added birdies on Nos. 7 and 9.
In Gee Chun breezed to an 8-under 64 and jumped out to a record-tying five-stroke lead in the first round of the Women’s PGA Championship.
Chun’s lead is tied for the biggest ever after the first round of a women’s major. Mickey Wright led this tournament by five after the first round in 1961. Chun is a two-time major champion, most recently at the Evian Championship in 2016.
Most of the field slogged through the day on the wet Blue Course at Congressional. But Chun birdied seven of eight holes during one stretch.
Pornanong Phatlum and Hye-Jin Choi each shot 69, and no one else broke 70.
Jay Haas has been shooting his age or better for the last three years. He’s just never done on it on a stage quite like the U.S. Senior Open. The 68-year-old Haas did one better. He opened with a 67 at Saucon Valley and shared the 18-hole lead with Mark Hensby.
It’s the seventh time Haas has shot his age or better. And he becomes the fifth player in U.S. Senior Open history to shoot his age. Haas and Hensby have a one-shot lead over a group of four players that include Steve Stricker and Rocco Mediate.
SWIMMING:
Lilly King, Ryan Murphy and the men’s 4x200 freestyle team have claimed three more gold medals for the United States at the world swimming championships.
King atoned for missing out on the podium in the 100 breaststroke by winning the 200 breaststroke final for the first time. Murphy got the Americans’ second gold of the evening in the men’s 200 backstroke for his first gold medal from an individual event at a worlds. Drew Kibler, Carson Foster, Trenton Julian and Kieran Smith then won the relay final to make up for the American team’s failure to finish among the medals at the same event at the Olympics last year.
Australian swimmers claimed the other two golds up for grabs in Budapest on Thursday.
TITLE IX:
The rights of LGBTQ students would become enshrined in federal law and victims of campus sexual assault would gain new protections under new rules proposed by the Biden administration Thursday.
The proposal comes on the 50th anniversary of the Title IX women’s rights law. It’s intended to replace a set of controversial rules issued during the Trump administration by then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The current education secretary, Miguel Cardona, says Title IX has been “instrumental” in fighting sexual assault and violence in education.
The new proposal is almost certain to be challenged by conservatives, and it’s expected to lead to new legal battles over the rights of transgender students in schools, especially in sports.
HORSE RACING:
The New York Racing Association suspended trainer Bob Baffert for one year Thursday for repeated medication violations.
A panel credited Baffert for time served from an initial suspension that makes the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer eligible to saddle horses in New York again by late January.
The ban is shorter than the two-year suspension Churchill Downs handed Baffert after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a substance that is not allowed on race day. Baffert’s camp asked for a stay of the NYRA suspension that was immediately denied.
NFL:
NFL Hall of Famer Hugh McElhenny, an elusive running back from the 1950s has died. He was 93.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame said in a release that McEhlenny died of natural causes on June 17 at his home in Nevada, and that son-in-law Chris Permann confirmed the death.
McEhlenny was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970. He was one of the NFL’s top players of the 1950s due to his thrilling runs and all-around skills as a runner, receiver and kick returner. He made two All-Pro teams, six Pro Bowls and the NFL’s All-Decade squad of the 1950s. He retired in 1964 and was one of three players to have gained more than 11,000 all-purpose yards.
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