Ja Morantis making it clear that his grenade-style celebration is here to stay ... telling reporters he has no plans on scrapping it -- before once again breaking it out on Thursday!
Morant addressed his new explosive celebration during a team shootaround on Thursday, making it known that we shouldn't expect him to retire the grenade throw until someone says something to him.
"That's my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I'll find another one," he told local reporters.
Life can be hard as an NBA rookie ... a lesson 22-year-old Bobi Klintman learned the hard way -- after his Pistons teammates FILLED HIS CAR WITH POPCORN!!!
The night started out swell for Klintman ... his squad earned a big win over the New York Knicks in Detroit. But, things were about to take a turn.
As the 2nd round pick made his way to the players' parking lot at Little Caesars Arena, Jalen Duren began filming (the first clue something was up). When Klintman got to his matte Mercedes Benz SUV and opened his passenger side door, popcorn spilled out EVERYWHERE.
Former longtime MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel was laid to rest on Thursday with a military tribute ... after he tragically died in a nightclub collapse in the Dominican Republic.
The service was held just days after Dotel, 51, was among 100+ people killed when a roof collapsed at night club, Jet Set, in Santo Domingo this week.
The funeral took place at the Jardin Memorial Cemetery, where his family and friends, including MLB players, said their final goodbyes.
The military was also present to pay their respects ... with video capturing the honor guard saluting Octavio's casket.
Hours afterLuka Doncic'semotional return to Dallas ... he was still in the city while his team was already back in Los Angeles -- attending a local meet and greet with fans instead of jetting back with the team.
Doncic swung by a local Dicks store on Thursday to promote his newly released Jordan Brand sneakers. The 26-year-old did it all ... signed autographs, talked with some local kids and even checked some lucky patrons out at the register.
It marked the first time Doncic was back in Big D, the city he called home for nearly seven years, until Nico Harrison and co. traded him to L.A. in one of the most shocking moves in NBA history.
Michael Chandler could walk away an MMA great today ... but the lightweight title contender believes he's still got a ton left in the tank, and he's intent on proving it when he steps into the Octagon against Paddy Pimblettat UFC 314!
TMZ Sports talked to 38-year-old Chandler, who's coming off two losses, just days before his highly anticipated co-main event scrap vs. Paddy "The Baddy" ... slated to go down Saturday night in Miami.
"It's another opportunity for me to prove either I am who I say I am or I'm not. Do I still have it? There's a lot of questions that need to get answered. And I think the answers are going to be emphatic and the answers are going to be in my favor."
A security guard tried to give a heads up to the band playing onstage right before the roof collapsed at the Dominican Republic nightclub that killed 221 people.
New video surfaced showing the moments before Tuesday's early morning tragedy at Jet Set Club in Santo Domingo -- and the guard dressed in a dark suit is seen on the side of the stage as merengue star Rubby Pérez performs in front of a packed crowd.
In the clip, the guard gestures at band members behind Pérez, then he shines a flashlight at them and says something. After that, the guard points the flashlight at the roof just before it collapses.
UConn star Azzi Fudd says she believes her Huskies got an assist from the Mamba and the Mambacita during their title tilt last weekend ... telling TMZ Sports she felt Kobeand Gianna Bryant "watching down on us" during the big game.
Some five years after the NBA legend and his daughter -- who was a massive UConn fan -- passed away in a tragic helicopter accident ... Fudd says she felt their presence as she and her teammates were taking down South Carolina in the national championship in San Antonio.
She told us it all became crystal clear to her when someone pointed out a few Bryant-related numbers in the matchup's box score.
Former Texas Longhorns star Isaiah Bond -- one of the top receiver prospects in the upcoming NFL draft -- turned himself in to police on Thursday over a warrant for sexual assault, TMZ Sports has confirmed.
A spokesperson for the Frisco Police Department told us the 21-year-old surrendered in the morning and was released a short time later after posting bond.
Further details surrounding the case were not made immediately available -- though Bond said in a statement Thursday afternoon the allegations against him are "patently false."
Aqib Talib says the impossible has happened -- he is actually FRIENDS with Michael Crabtree ... this years after the Pro Bowl defender ripped the wideout's chain straight off his neck in an NFL game!
"That's my dog," Talib told Adam "Pacman" Jones on The Pacman Jones Show... updating football fans on the status of his relationship with his now-former rival.
"We ain't like the talking everyday type, but it's entertainment. We work in entertainment. So we let the entertainment be entertainment," the longtime defensive back explained.
Of course, you'll probably recall Talib snatching Crabtree's chain from around his neck during an on-field scuffle during the Broncos vs. Raiders game during the 2017 season.
Tyreek Hill's wife's mom dialed 911 on Monday to report the domestic dispute involving the NFL superstar and her daughter ... and in audio of the call, she can be heard telling dispatch she's "so scared."
Alesia Vaccaro placed the call at around 2 PM, according to a Sunny Isles Police Department incident report ... after Hill had gotten irritated with his partner, Keeta, inside their 35th-floor residence over a comment she had made about his parenting ability.
In the call -- which was first obtained by Andy Slater -- Alesia can be heard seemingly arguing with Hill and Keeta ... before turning her attention toward the dispatcher and saying, "they're blaming me for calling the police."
Now that Walter Clayton Jr.'s a national champion, the Florida superstar is ready to turn his attention toward the NBA ... and he's promising any team that picks him in this summer's draft will be getting "a winning player."
The Gators guard made the guarantee to TMZ Sports while he was working a ceremonial shift at a Gainesville Raising Cane's alongside his teammates Thomas Haugh and Alijah Martin.
Clayton Jr. told us he's sure NBA general managers will be getting a point guard who's going to "be whatever you need me to be for the team" if they select him in June.
Kristin Cavallari loves to talk about her ex-boyfriends, which sounds like it could be stressful for her former flings ... but not Jeff Dye -- he says he's not losing any sleep over Kristin's big mouth.
We got the comedian at LAX and our photog asked him if he's worried Kristin will ever bring up an embarrassing story about him, like she's prone to do with her exes.
TMZ.com
Jeff tells us they didn't date long enough for her to really get to know any deep, dark secrets or weird things about him ... plus, he says he's not famous enough for her to talk about.
Los Angeles-bred gang leader Eugene "Big U" Henley Jr. has pled not guilty to the slew of charges thrown at him last month, including a murder -- but the mother of the man he supposedly killed is speaking out ... and she's claiming he did what feds say he did!!!
TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with the family of Rayshawn Williams ... his mother, Shadonna Brown, and her daughter, outside Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.
According to the federal indictment, prosecutors outlined how Big U allegedly killed Williams after a dispute in Las Vegas before dragging his body into the desert where it began to deteriorate.
In honor of National Siblings Day, we've whipped up a fun game starring Hollywood's hottest siblings ... but the key question here is: Who'd You Rather?!
Take notes on these two side-by-side pics of sexy sisters Kim Kardashian vs. Kylie Jenner ... Who are you puttin' your money on?
Boxing bros Logan Pauland Jake Paulare both hot 'n shredded, but which one is puttin' up a fight and who are you takin' home at night 😜?
A soccer player tragically passed away after a devastating collision on the pitch during the Copa Peru over the weekend. He was 21 years old.
The horrific incident happened at Real Titan NC's match against the Defensor Nueva Cajamarca ... when Helar Gonzales Altamirano made contact with the opponent's goalkeeper while battling for the ball.
Altamirano collapsed to the ground and was unresponsive ... causing his teammates to panic as they realized the severity of the situation.
It seems everyone wants to roll with the winners -- 'cause the UConn Huskies were spotted hanging out with none other than Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz after their national championship victory!!
Stars like Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Kaitlyn Chen commemorated the massive accomplishment in the best way they knew how -- a dinner at world-renowned Asian fusion restaurant Sei Less in Manhattan ... but the party got even more hype with Alicia and Swizz!!
The musical power couple rented out the whole joint to celebrate one year of Alicia's Broadway show, "Hell’s Kitchen" ... and from the looks of it, the UConn girls were more than happy to join in on the fun.
