Basketball

Charles Oakley has an idea why the Brooklyn Nets are struggling so far in the playoffs ... telling TMZ Sports head coach Steve Nash might be the problem.

Despite having two of the best players in the league -- Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving -- the Nets are currently down 0-2 to the Boston Celtics by a combined 8 points.

If Brooklyn loses to the Cs at home on Saturday, the Nets will be faced with the nearly impossible task of winning four straight.

We spoke with the NBA legend about the Nets' woes ... and he says the 2-time MVP could be why they're stumbling out of the gate.

"The problem with Brooklyn was I don't know if Nash is the right coach for them," Oak said at LAX this week. "I don't know. Being a ballplayer watching them, you know, everybody say, 'well, this and that, if you got Kyrie and KD' but you still need somebody at that front seat."

Of course, Nash joined the Nets last season ... finishing with a 48-24 record and a playoff appearance. But, with guys like KD and Kyrie, people are expecting rings.

Oak -- who recently released his own book, "The Last Enforcer" -- points out successful dynasties like the Lakers and Bulls had coaching masterminds leading the charge -- like Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.

Oakley says the Nets' issues started when they brought in James Harden -- a move they didn't need to make.

Shaquille O'Neal is responding to Master P's interest in coaching the Lakers together ... saying he's totally down for the job -- if they cough up $25 million a year.

Remember, the rap legend recently told TMZ Sports he wants to take Frank Vogel's old gig at the head of the bench in L.A. ... adding he'd love to have the Big Aristotle join him on the coaching staff.

Shaq got wind of the interview ... and it may not be the best news for P, 'cause the 4-time champ wants a fortune to take the job.

"If the Lakers offer me $25 million a year for 4 years, I'll coach the Lakers," Shaq said on The Big Podcast. "I need a 4-year contract. I'll coach them right now."

Here's the catch -- Shaq says he's not a package deal with P ... and if the No Limit mastermind doesn't get the gig, he's still interested.

"Let's just say they have a conversation with Master P and they don't pick him, now I'll just go in as a side meet and say, 'Hey, I know you didn't wanna consider my good friend Master P, but if you want me, this is the fee.'"

Now, Shaq's demands legit would never happen -- the highest-paid coach in the NBA right now is Gregg Popovich, who's raking in $11 million.

Aaron Rodgers was front and center at the Bucks' playoff game in Milwaukee on Wednesday ... hanging out with his bestie/teammate Randall Cobb and Mallory Edens.

The Bucks took on the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 of their first-round matchup at the Fiserv Forum ... and Rodgers -- who owns 1% of the team -- was in the building to check it out.

Rodgers sat right on the court with his trusted target ... as the Bucks heiress sat to their left. The group looked laser-focused on the game, which ended up going in favor of the Bulls in a nail-biter.

Rodgers loves to frequent Bucks games -- and tends to leave the fans with memories. In 2019, Rodgers famously got into a beer-chugging contest with his star left tackle, David Bakhtiari ... and the MVP failed miserably.

Of course, Rodgers sitting courtside is a welcoming sight for Packers fans ... as they previously feared they would lose the star QB following a tough loss to the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs.

It's been pretty rare to see Rodgers out and about without Shailene Woodley ... as the couple has been damn near inseparable since their breakup(?) back in February.

Joel Embiid walked the walk against Drake's beloved Raptors ... and then he talked the talk to the rapper -- hilariously clowning the guy after hitting the game-winner in Philly's victory over Toronto on Wednesday.

Embiid -- who's the favorite to win the NBA's MVP award this season -- gave Drake the earful following his ridiculous overtime shot at Scotiabank Arena ... playing around with the "Hotline Bling" artist for a few seconds on the hardwood.

"Get your ass out," the 7-foot center said to Drake as he was leaving the floor. "I'm coming for the sweep, too!"

To his credit, Drake took all the trash-talk in stride ... smiling with Embiid and seemingly attempting to dish a little of it back.

Of course, Drake doesn't have too much ammo to send Embiid's way -- his Raptors are now down 3-0 in the series and are facing elimination on Saturday.

Drake, though, seemed to be deserving of Embiid's ribbing ... because Philly forward Tobias Harris revealed following the game that the rapper was trolling Embiid in the first half -- when the star center struggled.

"In the first half, Drake was over there saying, 'He can't play here!' That's what he was saying," Harris said to the media during a post-game interview.

"I said, 'He can play here, for sure.' He was like, 'Nah, he can't play here.'"

Embiid must've heard Drake's heckling ... 'cause he closed out the game with 33 points, 13 rebounds and two assists in the W.

Shareef O'Neal is making it clear he's not done with basketball despite exits from both LSU and UCLA ... telling TMZ Sports he's not ready yet to give up the game.

Shaq's son spoke with us out at LAX this week about his future on the hardwood ... and even though he's leaving a major DI basketball program for the second time in his college hoops life -- he's still ready to play more.

"Yeah," Shareef said. "I'm not giving up."

As for where he might head after his departure from Baton Rouge ... we had to ask Shareef if he's leaning toward playing at Texas Southern University, where his sister, Amirah O'Neal, hoops.

Shareef, though, was mum about his next college destination, saying, "I ain't going say too much right now. But people going to see."

Shareef began his college hoops career in Westwood, but had to sit out his freshman season after undergoing serious heart surgery. He eventually recovered, but played sparingly in his second season at UCLA -- and eventually transferred.

He landed at LSU and played there the past two seasons -- but a foot injury limited his playing time, and he ultimately elected to transfer out of the school just a few weeks ago.

Wow.

Hall of Famer and Villanova Wildcats head coach Jay Wright is expected to step down from his position after 21 years with the team ... this according to multiple reports.

Wright -- who's 60 years old -- is "seriously contemplating retiring" before the 2023 season ... and will make his decision after talking things over with his family, Shams Charania says.

Wright has a 642–282 overall record as a head coach ... including 4 Final Four appearances and national championships in 2016 and 2018.

Jay is known for his incredible fashion sense over the years -- as we previously reported, the guy spent thousands on his custom suits ... and won several awards for his looks.

Wright was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

He was the head coach of Hofstra University from 1994-2001 before joining 'Nova ... and was previously an assistant for Rochester, Drexel, Villanova and UNLV.

The move is pretty shocking ... and now Laker fans are going to start speculating about whether he will be their next coach.

Story developing ...

LaMelo Ball's game is smooth on the court, and he might be trying to get your skin to feel the same -- the NBA star's team just filed a trademark for his very own skincare line.

TMZ Sports has learned ... LaMelo's manager, Jermaine Jackson, filed papers last week to trademark the phrase "LaFrance Skin By LaMelo Ball" for the purpose of "Skincare products, namely, non-medicated skin serum."

The filing was made under the name "Purple Goat Management" ... which is a nod to the nickname JJ gave himself.

Now, Melo is no stranger to off-court ventures -- as we previously reported, Ball recently launched his own LaFrance clothing line and luxury watch collection.

The clothes ($120 for a premium hoodie) and watch ($15k for a top-tier version) come with a hefty price tag ... so we're guessing the new skin products won't be cheap.

LaMelo averaged over 20 points a game this season ... and blossomed into one of the top young talents in the game.

If he becomes the face of the NBA, the league will be in good hands.

Silky smooth hands, that is.

Jerry West is breaking his silence on his hot-tempered, booze-fueled depiction in the HBO hit series "Winning Time" ... calling the show a "baseless and malicious assault" on his character and demanding a retraction, an apology and damages.

The Logo -- played by actor Jason Clarke -- is portrayed as a raging alcoholic in the series ... and while a warning explicitly says the show is a dramatization of real events, West says it has caused serious anguish to his family, according to ESPN.

In fact -- West's so pissed about the show ... his attorney, Skip Miller, fired off a letter to HBO and producer Adam McKay accusing the show of acting with malice ... and claiming the warning does not protect the project from liability.

"Jerry West was an integral part of the Lakers and NBA's success," the letter read, according to ESPN.

"It is a travesty that HBO has knowingly demeaned him for shock value and the pursuit of ratings. As an act of common decency, HBO and the producers owe Jerry a public apology and at the very least should retract their baseless and defamatory portrayal of him."

The show is based off Jeff Pearlman's book, "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s" ... but West's team says his scenes in the show did not appear in the book -- nor did they happen in real life.

Many members of the Lakers org. also backed West -- including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mitch Kupchak and Michael Cooper ... who claim the fits of rage and binge drinking were entirely fabricated.

Quincy Isaiah -- who plays Magic Johnson -- defended the show to TMZ Sports recently ... saying it's meant to be entertainment and they meant no disrespect to the real people portrayed in the show.

Clarke previously raved about his experience on the show ... applauding producers and directors for giving actors the freedom to be as expressive as they'd like.

As for the real West, he's been hailed as a true professional and basketball genius ... even receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump in 2019.

Devin Booker turned the toughest shot in the Suns' playoff game Tuesday night into the cutest ... dapping up a baby to celebrate a wild make!!!

The Phoenix star's adorable interaction with the courtside toddler happened after he drilled a stepback jumper to end the first quarter of the Suns vs. Pelicans game.

Booker dribbled to get some space and knocked down a 2-pointer before the buzzer sounded ... and then he fist bumped a toddler!

The scene was super sweet, Booker was gentle with the baby's little knuckles -- and, his own girlfriend, Kendall Jenner, appeared to love it all too!!

KJ posted video of her view of the play on IG -- seemingly enjoying every second of it.

Unfortunately for Booker ... his night took a turn for the worse about two quarters later -- because in the third, he injured his hamstring and couldn't return to action.

The Suns went on to lose without the star, 125-114 ... and there's now big concern in Phoenix about his availability for the rest of the playoffs.

Shaquille O'Neal is opening up about his divorce with Shaunie O'Neal, not only taking blame for the split, but also acknowledging the loneliness that followed when his then-estranged wife and kids left their family home.

The 50-year-old Hall of Famer joined "The Pivot Podcast" with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor this week ... and got real about the breakdown in his relationship.

"I had the perfect situation," Shaq plainly told the guys.

"Wife was finer than a mug. Kept giving me babies, still finer than a mug -- I had it all."

The hoops legend and Shaunie got married in 2002 -- in the midst of Shaq's dominant NBA reign -- and had four children together ... Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir and Me'arah.

Unfortunately, the two separated in 2007 ... before almost immediately reconciling. However, despite getting back together for some time, Shaunie filed for divorce in 2009, citing "irreconcilable differences."

The divorce was finalized in 2011.

And, Shaq isn't trying to place blame elsewhere ... he plainly says he was at fault.

"I don't make excuses. I know I messed up."

Shaquille last played in the NBA during the 2010-2011 season ... so he had a lot of free time on his hands, and he admits he was lonely.

"I was lost. 76,000 square-foot house by yourself. Lost."

O'Neal says his divorce from the "Basketball Wives" star and executive producer -- who's currently engaged to fiancée Keion Henderson -- is one of the three big regrets that continues to linger in his mind.

The other two ... the strained relationships he had with Kobe Bryant and Penny Hardaway.

"Big mistake in the Penny relationship. Big mistake in the Kobe relationship," Shaq said.

Kyrie Irving's middle fingers and potty mouth just cost him some serious coin ... the NBA announced it has fined the Nets superstar for flipping off Celtics fans as well as cussin' at some of them at Sunday's playoff game.

The NBA released a statement Tuesday saying the Nets guard has been docked $50K for "making obscene gestures on the playing court and directing profane language toward the spectator stands."

Of course, the gestures the league is referring to came when Irving flashed his middle fingers behind his head while standing in front of a group of Celtics fans who were trolling him.

The other incident occurred when Kyrie was walking in the hallway at TD Garden and a fan shouted, "Kyrie, you suck." Irving responded by yelling, "Suck my d*** bitch."

Unfortunately for Kyrie, this isn't the first time the NBA has come down on him. Earlier this year, KI was hit with a $25,000 fine after he clapped back at a fan in Cleveland who was giving him a hard time.

Irving's relationship with Celtics fans has been contentious ever since he left the team to sign with the Nets ... and Cs fans make sure to let him know they feel whenever he steps foot in TD Garden.

Kareem-Abdul Jabbar isn't holding back his feelings on the HBO series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" ... saying the whole production violates a cardinal sin -- it's boring!!

The Lakers legend went to town on the show -- which has garnered strong reactions (both good and bad) over its characters' portrayal of the Lakers players from the 80s --  in a lengthy blog post, accusing the series of being "drearily dull."

"There is only one immutable sin in writing: Don’t Be Boring! 'Winning Time' commits that sin over and over," Kareem wrote.

KAJ prefaced his comments by saying his opinion has nothing to do with his portrayal on the show ... and that although the show attempts to retell actual stories, he's not "a stickler" for everything being factual.

Kareem, however, went on to lament how some of the characters being portrayed in the production -- including Jerry Buss, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Cap himself -- are depicted, saying they are presented as caricatures of themselves instead of as real people.

"Jerry Buss is Egomaniac Entrepreneur, Jerry West is Crazed Coach, Magic Johnson is Sexual Simpleton, I’m Pompous Prick," KAJ wrote.

"Amusement park portraits that emphasize one physical feature to amplify your appearance—but never touching the essence," he added.

Kareem says his issue with WT was never enough to amount to outrage, but he admits it never held his interest. Instead, Kareem says the filmmakers "replaced solid facts with flimsy cardboard fictions that don't go deeper and offer no revealing insights."

Of course, Abdul-Jabbar isn't the only Laker great to take issue with the show. Magic told us a few weeks back he was "not looking forward to [the show]" when we saw him out in Los Angeles.

Actor Quincy Isaiah -- the man playing Magic -- recently defended the project, saying his intention wasn't to disrespect any of the Lakers icons, and he hopes guys like Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar recognize it's just storytelling.

But, after reading Kareem's post, it doesn't sound like he'll be tuning in much longer ... if at all.

The Warriors aren't just chasing rings anymore -- they're going after the entire entertainment industry ... as the team is set to release K-pop star BamBam's new single, "Wheels Up" this week!!

The Dubs just launched Golden State Entertainment ... with the intent to tell stories via music and documentaries, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The team's first project with the new venture is to release the GOT7 rapper's new song ... which he performed during halftime of the Warriors game earlier this month.

Remember, BamBam -- the Warriors' global ambassador this season -- recently teamed up with the org. to release a special merch collab ... which was a big hit with the fans.

BamBam's love of the Warriors runs deep ... in fact, the GOT7 rapper was an integral part in securing Andrew Wiggins a spot in the NBA's All-Star Game ... by calling on his massive social media following (16 million Instagram followers) to vote for the 27-year-old.

GSE exec David Kelly explained the shift into entertainment ... saying, "When you think about what we already do, we create content."

"We do storytelling, and this is just another form of storytelling. It’s a new type of content that we’re well-positioned to create."

"The line between sports and entertainment, we think, is pretty thin," he added, "and we just feel that we’re in a position to step a little over that line and begin to create original content."

Vanessa Bryant is remembering her late husband, Kobe, on their wedding anniversary, posting a throwback photo of the two with a heartfelt message on what would've marked their 21st year as a married couple.

On Monday, Vanessa shared a photo on her Instagram of her and Kobe from their younger days, paying homage to the love the two shared over the years.

"I love you forever, baby. Happy Anniversary @KobeBryant #21" she captioned the pic.

The Bryant's were married on April 18, 2001 ... so this would've been 21 years Kobe and Vanessa celebrated their matrimony.

It's been over two years since Kobe (along with eight other people including his daughter) tragically died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA ... and Vanessa has been doing everything in her power to keep Mamba's name and legacy going.

She recently announced the longstanding partnership between Kobe and Nike -- which temporarily ended last year -- was repaired, paving the way for the release of the "Mambacita Sweet Sixteen" shoe under the Swoosh brand.

DJ Khaled better hit up Lil Baby (remember?) for some jump shot tips ASAP ... 'cause the rapper/producer hilariously airballed a 3-pointer during the Heat's playoff game on Sunday.

The "We The Best" star was on tap for the first game of Miami's 1st round series against the Hawks ... and decided to get in a "practice shot" during a break in the action.

In the video, you see Khaled take one dribble to gather his shot before launching a 3-pointer from the top of the key ... and, well, he misses everything.

In Khaled's defense, security was coming over to stop him from shooting, even going as far as to put a hand up to try and block the attempt.

So, the degree of difficulty was definitely there, but the airball wasn't even the funniest part ... 'cause security then booted the hip hop icon off the court in epic fashion.

Khaled, however, was a good sport about it all ... leaving the court and returning to his seat to enjoy the rest of the game.

On a recent episode of LeBron James' "The Shop," Khaled's close friend, Rick Ross, was asked what would happen if the two played one-on-one.

"I'd do em dirty," Ross said ... and judging from Khaled's airball, it's kind of hard not to agree with Rozay.

Moneybagg Yo kept his word to ice-out Ja Morant with a Bread Gang Chain ... and gave it to the Memphis Grizzlies star after Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs!

As we previously reported, the Memphis rapper and Morant have been cool since last season ... and Moneybagg Yo copped a diamond BGC chain last week for the NBA All-Star.

"Come get yo trophy" Moneybagg Yo said last week. "Proud of ya bra #Big12."

It seems Ja didn't have much time to go get his gift with the playoffs starting ... so Big Bagg pulled up.

You can see the "Time Today" rapper sitting courtside at the Timberwolves-Grizzlies game on Saturday at FedExForum ... and Yo gave Morant the BGC pendant right on the court after the game.

FYI, the Grizzlies actually lost after the T'Wolves beat them 130-117 ... and one fan questioned Moneybagg why he would still give Morant the new bling if he took a L.

"U have to except yo losses like u do yo winnings," the 30-year-old rapper said.

"Either way, it go he a champ to me. He been putting on for our city regardless."

The 22-year-old guard did go off in Game 1 with 32 points and the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 draft has led the Grizzlies to their second consecutive playoff appearance.