Basketball

Giannis Antetokounmpo has made more than $146 MILLION in his career, but even he has to let out a "sheeeesh" when it comes to expensive dining in L.A. ... saying, "this city is not for me."

The Milwaukee Bucks champ and his family hit up Catch in West Hollywood on Wednesday ... and while he says the food was "incredible," he admits the tasty meal put a dent in his wallet.

"Expensive, expensive," the Greek Freak said. "This city is not for me."

Now, Giannis has never been one to flaunt his wealth -- he even seems a bit shy when the camera guy brings up how insanely rich he is -- but he admits ya can't put a price tag on having an unforgettable time with the fam.

Giannis and the Bucks recently got booted from the playoffs ... and while the Celtics and Heat duke it out in the Eastern Conference Finals, he was chowing down on some of the best food in L.A.

Who's the real winner??

Well, let's be honest -- Giannis would much rather be playing still ... but this alternative ain't too shabby.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods were present as President Joe Biden signed a monumental Police Reform Bill on Wednesday ... visiting the White House on the second anniversary of George Floyd's death.

26-year-old Towns made the trip to 1600 Penn with Woods to watch #46 sign the executive order into law ... which was inspired in part by Floyd's tragic passing in 2020.

KAT -- who plays for the Timberwolves in Minnesota, where Floyd died -- joined members of George's family for the signing of the bill ... including Gianna Floyd, his young daughter.

TMZ Sports spoke with Towns while he was out in D.C. ... asking the three-time All-Star if he thought the bill was a good sign for the country.

"It's a step in the right direction," Towns told us.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was also in attendance for the historic moment ... as the President and his administration continued to push their agenda for police reform.

Throughout the day, Vice President Kamala Harris was photographed going over what appears to be the bill with Gianna at a podium.

Snoop Dogg's done it all -- from Super Bowl performances to being Martha Stewart's BFF -- but there's another wild moment we're just hearing about, involving Michael Jordan and a pretty sweet offer.

Snoop says he once turned down a whopping $2 million dollars to DJ a Michael Jordan party. Apparently, money can't buy everything, as the Doggfather revealed on Jake Paul's "Impaulsive" Podcast ... and apparently, that includes scheduling conflicts. Even for his Airness.

He also ranked Magic Johnson as his favorite "MJ," so his Lakers fandom probably influenced his decision NOT to move things around to accommodate Michael.

Snoop occasionally moonlights as DJ Snoopadelic and has become nifty with the turntables over the years, but he's also far from hurting for bread.

Interestingly, he recently told the Nelk Boys he gets $250,000 per feature on other artists' songs.

Kawhi Leonard isn't getting a ring this season, but his girlfriend certainly did -- the NBA superstar's lady was spotted wearing a massive rock on THAT finger at the airport on Tuesday.

Which begs the question -- did the longtime couple get engaged?!?

TMZ Sports has obtained pictures of the Klaw and Kishele Shipley arriving at LAX ... and the mother of two had a shiny, new accessory on her left ring finger.

Leonard and Shipley have been dating forever -- they first met at San Diego State and have been inseparable ever since. They have two children together, born in 2016 and 2019.

In other words, if wedding bells are ringing ... it shouldn't come as a surprise.

What's interesting -- we caught up with Kawhi and Kishele shortly after the pics were taken ... and it appears she removed the ring from her hand.

Kawhi missed the whole 2021-22 season with an injury ... so if they are, in fact, engaged, it's nice to see he made the most of his time off the court.

Norman Powell was harassed by a white woman behaving erratically who berated the Clippers star and told him he was "not American" ... all while NP streamed the encounter on social media.

It got so serious, police were called ... and the woman was handcuffed and taken away by Las Vegas cops.

It's unclear if she was arrested ... and if so, on what charge.

The 28-year-old former 2nd-round draft pick out of UCLA was in Sin City working out at a local gym ... when Norman says the stranger stormed through the door, saying she'd gotten into a fight and needed help.

"She came here the first time and was saying she got in a fight," Powell said during the live stream. "We told her to leave out the back. She left, she was gone for about 15, 20 minutes, came back, staying in the gym calling us un-American, saying we need to go back, calling us p***y, a whole bunch of s**t."

Norman and his group warned the woman that police were on the way, but she called their bluff -- a mistake.

Multiple cops eventually arrived and the woman -- her identity is currently unknown -- was placed in cuffs.

In fact, Norman says the woman yelled "I can't breathe" while police had her pressed against the squad car.

"That is crazy to me, man. That s**t is not funny, man," Powell said, exasperated.

Powell told officers the woman was acting incredibly strange.

"We was trying to get her to leave," he added, "and then she was trying to take her pants off and take a s**t or piss on the floor. And that's when we pulled her out like, we can't have that."

Norman is a solid player in the NBA -- he averaged 21 points a game in 2022.

Story developing ...

J. Cole's latest pro-basketball venture tips off Thursday and it might not have happened without his run-in with Drake during a party in Los Angeles.

Founding member of Drake's October's Very Own brand, Nicholas "OVO Niko" Corino, also co-owns the Scarborough Shooting Stars ... the Canadian Elite Basketball League team J. Cole is suiting up for -- and he told Complex how Cole approached Drizzy about being on the Shooting Stars team.

Niko said, "You know, Dreamville and OVO are family," and added, “Drake had a birthday party in L.A. last year. The conversation was, ‘I heard you have your team.’ It organically grew from there.”

If it sounds like a game of rapper nepotism, Shooting Stars forward Olu Famutimi assured fans Cole was putting in extra effort just to be seen as a "guy who can hoop."

He'll also be coached by former NBA All-Star Jamaal Magloire, who happens to hail from Scarborough ... a Toronto neighborhood.

Cole's already gotten the respect of fellow hip hop ballers Fivio Foreign and Dave East, and Kawhi Leonard's Culture Jam recently shared footage of how far Cole's game has involved.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was absolutely livid before his team's playoff game Tuesday night ... pleading with politicians across the nation to do something after a mass shooting at an elementary school left at least 19 children and 2 adults dead.

"When are we going to do something?" 56-year-old Kerr started off his impassioned speech. "I'm tired. I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there."

"I'm tired of the moments of silence. Enough!" he added.

Kerr then went on to rip senators who refuse to vote on HR8 -- a bill that requires a background check for every firearm sale -- accusing the politicians of choosing to hold onto power instead of protecting the lives of children, the elderly and churchgoers.

"I'm fed up. I've had enough," Kerr said. "But, I want every person here, every person listening to this to think about your own child, your own grandchild, or mother, father, sister, brother. How would you feel if this happened to you today?"

An 18-year-old gunman opened fire on students and faculty at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday ... leaving at least 19 kids and 2 adults dead.

Kerr slammed the representatives in Congress for "holding us hostage" by choosing to not vote on the HR8 bill -- which he says 90% of Americans favor background checks -- and prioritizing politics over human lives.

"It's pathetic. I've had enough," Kerr said right before he stormed off the podium. But, Kerr wasn't only the notable figure to sound off in wake of the heinous tragedy that took place in Uvalde yesterday.

WNBA star Natasha Cloud, who plays for the Washington Mystics, urged people to write to their local and federal representatives in an effort to see change in the wake of the senseless tragedy that occurred.

Cloud called on government officials to implement sensible gun laws, so that an event like this doesn't happen in the future, and expressed she was tired of the system caring about money and profit over people and lives.

Brittney Griner's wife is urging Joe Biden to get more involved in the WNBA star's case in Russia ... hoping that'll ultimately help bring home the love of her life.

Cherelle Griner made the plea to the President during a sitdown interview with Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" this week ... explaining she believes Biden could be the key to getting Brittney back on U.S. soil.

"I just keep hearing that he has the power," Cherelle said of Biden. "She's a political pawn -- so, if they're holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it."

Brittney has been detained in Russia since mid-February ... after authorities claimed they found hash oil in her luggage.

Cherelle told Roberts she initially found out about it all through a panicked, early-hours text message from Brittney.

"She started texting me around 2 AM that morning," Cherelle said. "'Babe! Babe! Babe! Wake up! They have me in this room, I don't know what's going on.'"

Cherelle said Brittney told her the authorities were taking her phone and not to text anymore -- and she said outside of written letters, she has not been able to speak to Brittney since.

Cherelle said she has been in contact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken about ways they can bring home Brittney ... but she clearly feels more can be done by the U.S. government.

"I was grateful for their call," she said of the talk with Blinken. "You say she's top priority, but I want to see it. And I feel like to see it, would be me seeing BG on US soil."

Cherelle added being without Brittney -- who's expected to remain in custody in Russia until at least her next court hearing in June -- has been difficult ... and she even broke down in tears during the interview with Roberts.

She did explain, however, that Brittney has told her to remain strong.

LeBron James is devastated after another shooter took the lives of at least 14 students at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday ... and he's now begging for it all to stop.

"There simply has to be change!" the Los Angeles Lakers superstar said just minutes after the tragedy happened. "HAS TO BE!!"

Texas Governor Greg Abbott just revealed 14 kids and a teacher were killed at a Uvalde Elementary School on Tuesday morning -- explaining an 18-year-old has been identified as the suspected gunman.

James -- who has three children himself -- was clearly sick to his stomach after hearing the news ... taking to his Twitter page to plead for officials to make changes to try to put an end to the horrific mass shootings.

"My thoughts and prayers goes out to the families of love ones loss & injured at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX!" LeBron said.

"Like when is enough enough man!!!" the 37-year-old added. "These are kids and we keep putting them in harms way at school. Like seriously 'AT SCHOOL' where it's suppose to be the safest!"

LeBron then said he's "Praying to the heavens above to all with kids these days in schools."

If you're invited to hoop at Drake's mansion, now you better come prepared ... 'cause the rap star's basketball game has seriously improved!!!

The Certified Lover Boy's friend, Smilez, posted video of the 35-year-old in a pickup game this week ... showing the dude going off.

Clips show the rapper hit plenty of 3s and turnaround jumpers with ease ... taking full advantage of the Kobe Bryant-themed court inside of his palace in Toronto.

"Sit tight 'cause there's a lot of buckets following," Smilez said of the footage.

Drake even got in some trick shots in between getting buckets on the floor -- tossin' an alley-oop off the upper deck of the court to former Clemson Tigers athlete and dunk star Anthony Hamilton Jr.

Of course, Drake hasn't always had this kinda game -- you'll recall, he's been filmed airballing shots on multiple occasions, even as recently as 2021.

Zach LaVine had nothing but love for the Lakers on Monday -- praising the Purple and Gold after dining at an L.A. hotspot ... this, amid rumors they're hoping to land him in free agency.

27-year-old LaVine -- who starred at UCLA before getting drafted #13 overall in 2014 -- hit up Craig's in West Hollywood with his wife, Hunter ... and after chowing down on some grub, the cameras had to ask him about his future.

The 2-time Slam Dunk champ initially played it cool ... explaining his appearance shouldn't be a big deal, considering he lives in L.A.

But, when asked to give a message to Laker Nation, LaVine's response is enough to give fans a glimmer of hope.

"I've always been a big fan," he said as he hopped in his Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.

LaVine has emerged as a legit scorer ever since he was traded from Minnesota to the Chicago Bulls in 2017 ... averaging 24 points this past season.

The Lakers will have some serious competition as they try to rebuild after a horrendous 2022 ... with Chicago, Portland and Atlanta among teams potentially interested in landing him.

It would take a lot of work for the Lakers to be able to find space for LaVine ... but Jeanie Buss has made it clear she's sick of losing -- so anything is possible.

Shannon Sharpe is going off on all the trolls hating on Bronny James for his white prom date ... telling TMZ Sports the bashing of LeBron James' son is "utterly ridiculous."

Bronny just had his prom earlier this month -- and after he took a white classmate to the event ... racist haters came out and left nasty comments all over the photos on social media.

Sharpe told us out at LAX this past week that the attacks were BS ... saying, "People would rather you be miserable with someone your own race than you be in love with someone of a different race."

"It is so utterly ridiculous," he continued. "People need to get a life."

The Pro Football Hall of Famer's advice for Bronny was simply to ignore the noise -- and do whatever he wants to do to make him happy.

"Bronny can't live his life for someone else," Sharpe said. "He has to live for him. And, far too many people live their life for other people."

Ex-NFL star Robert Griffin III made similar comments last week ... saying in a video on his Instagram page, "Leave these kids alone."

LeBron, meanwhile, has still not commented publicly on the backlash ... though he did write a note about his daughter, Zhuri, on one of the now-viral pics from the evening.

Late NBA player Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife Sherra Wright, who pled guilty in 2019 to facilitating the murder of her hooper husband ... was denied parole in a hearing, and must remain behind bars.

The Tennessee Board of Parole unanimously voted to deny Sherra's request for release ... less than 5 years into her 30-year prison sentence.

In 2019, Sherra admitted to orchestrating the heinous killing of her husband, a 12-year NBA vet. Prosecutors say Wright hired someone (Billy Ray Turner) to help her with the crime, before luring Lorenzen to a desolate field, under the guise they were meeting someone for money.

But, it was all a lie ... and Lorenzen was shot, and left to die, all alone.

Ultimately, Sherra plead guilty to facilitation of murder and facilitation to commit attempted 1st-degree murder. In exchange for the plea, she received a three-decade-long sentence.

As for Sherra's case to be paroled after serving so little of her sentence ... her attorney argued Wright was a model inmate inside, and therefore, should be freed.

However, Lorenzen's mom asked the board to deny the request ... stating Sherra should serve the entire 30 years.

Today's decision doesn't mean she's got 25 years remaining ... but it ensures she isn't getting out anytime soon.

The D.A. in Shelby County, where the case was prosecuted, called the decision "welcome news" for Lorenzen's family and friends, saying, "To have released this defendant after she has served less than five years of a 30-year sentence for murder conspiracy would have diminished respect for the law by declaring a policy of tolerance for violent criminal behavior."

If Wright serves her full sentence, she will be in her 70s upon release.

J. Cole is still keeping his professional basketball dreams alive, and a pair of his rapper/hooper pals are singing his praises.

We got Fivio Foreign and Dave East out in NYC, where they both gave Cole major props for making what they call a dope move ... opting to join the Canadian Elite Basketball League, which tips off this week. Dave was hanging at Avianne Fit's anti-hate basketball tournament so he was more than happy to discuss hoops.

Cole will play guard for the Scarborough Shooting Stars, a club actually co-owned by Nicholas "OVO Niko" Corino, one of Drake's day one business partners ... and he’s already got Drizzy's sports enthusiasm pumping.

The "TMZ Hip Hop" crew, however, wasn't so easily impressed. Not unanimously, at least.

Fivio, who's currently on tour with DreamDoll, noted the Dreamville rapper’s dedication, seeing he played a few games in the Basketball Africa League last year. Cole averaged 1.7 points and rebounds in his 3 games with Patriots BBC — a stat line that made league star Terrell Stoglin call Cole's inclusion in the league “disrespectful.”

2x Lakers champ Slava Medvedenko -- Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal's former teammate in Los Angeles -- is doing everything in his power to protect his home country of Ukraine against Russian forces ... including picking up an AK-47.

Medvedenko, who spent 7 seasons in the NBA and won two championships ('01,'02) with Mamba in L.A., grew up in Ukraine and took up arms to help defend his country.

The 43-year-old has been involved in the war almost since the first day Vladimir Putin ordered his military to invade the sovereign country ... sparking one of the most violent conflicts in recent history.

Slava provided The Athletic with a very detailed account of what life is like for him as he protects the tallest building in Kyiv -- the neighborhood he lives in with his wife and kids.

The former power forward, who had no military experience prior to joining the war, told the outlet things are typically quiet during the day, but fighting intensifies during the nighttime.

Equipped with binoculars and a Russian-made Kalashnikov (AK-47), Medvedenko recalled a night when he watched Russian forces fire more than 20 missiles ... in an attempt to eliminate Ukraine's radar system.

Of course, the professional hooper, who played alongside one of the most potent 1-2 combos in NBA history (Shaq and Kobe) never envisioned he'd be in the middle of such a dangerous war.

“Can you imagine?” Medvedenko said. “You’re just sitting at a checkpoint and you see a big f***ing rocket just fly over you?” he told The Athletic.

Although fighting seems to have quieted down in Kyiv (at least for the time being) where Slava spends a majority of time ... the near 7-footer is turning his attention to relief efforts for those who've been affected.

Ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas says there's no bad blood whatsoever between him and Javaris Crittenton more than a decade after they had their infamous locker room gun incident ... saying this week he still talks to his former teammate in jail.

The 40-year-old former Wizards guard sat down for an interview with LeSean McCoy, Adam "Pacman" Jones and Brandon Marshall for an episode of "I AM ATHLETE" -- where he opened up about his relationship with JC.

Pacman asked Arenas if he and Javaris were still quarreling after the two drew guns on each other in the Wizards' locker room following a gambling spat in 2009 ... and Gilbert said not at all.

In fact, Arenas said the two are actually great friends ... and despite Javaris being locked behind bars after he was accused of shooting and killing a woman in 2011, they still chat regularly.

"We talk once a week," Arenas said. "It's just like when we were teammates -- 'Man, what do you think about this series? What do you think about this series?'"

"He just talks basketball. We just talk about basketball."

Gilbert said even though the duo's careers spiraled following league punishment for their locker room gun incident ... he was even cool with the former Wizards player shortly after it all.

"His mother needed surgery for her neck," Arenas said. "He asked me [for money] -- because he knows I'm not going to hold it personal."

"Even then, I took care of him," Arenas said. "Because nobody wanted to f*** with him at that time. Like, even to this day, I send him cell phones if he needs a new cell phone."