Basketball

Brittney Griner's plan to appeal her 9-year Russian prison sentence over a weed pen is underway ... but Onyx rapper Fredro Starr feels there are bigger political forces in play.

In a new interview clip from VladTV, Fredro actually admitted to smoking plenty of weed on Russian soil on several occasions!!!

According to Fredro's travels, Russia not only has better weed than top dog California, but they grow it too ... and from the picture he paints, recreational use sounds pretty common in the region.

He also suggests the country's hip hop scene is very liberal, alluding to the notion a 9-year punishment for a simple weed pen doesn't add up.

Griner officially filed her appeal on Monday, in conjunction with the United States government actively working for her release, calling her detainment unjust.

The last time we talked to Fredro, he was talking about a different kind of smoking ... as in torching Cypress Hill during their somewhat underpromoted Verzuz.

Kevin Durant says he's not hanging up the sneakers yet -- even if he's stuck on the Brooklyn Nets this season -- saying the rumor surrounding his trade request is simply untrue.

There was an eye-opening report about KD's future in BK this week ... which stated the superstar would consider retiring if his trade demands were not met before the season.

While there have been a lot of reports citing unnamed sources about the impending breakup, Durant couldn't let this one fly.

"I know most people will believe unnamed sources over me but if it’s anyone out there that’ll listen, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon," KD said on Monday. "S*** is comical at this point."

The initial report claimed the info came from "one of the most well-connected team executives I speak to regularly" ... but KD is calling cap.

It's interesting -- there was a report last week that claimed KD will make the Nets choose between him and Steve Nash/GM Sean Marks ... but the champ didn't come out and say anything about that.

A former LACFD member claims he was ordered to take photographs of the Kobe Bryant crash scene ... this according to new testimony in the trial.

Brian Jordan -- an ex-captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department -- testified that while he doesn't recall being at the actual site of the crash due to memory issues, he clearly remembers being told to take pictures by high-ranking officials.

"I followed many instructions that day but was told 'take pictures, take pictures, take pictures,'" Jordan said. However, a Chief from LA Co. FD vehemently denies instructing Jordan to capture images from the scene.

Jordan -- who retired from LA Co. FD in 2021 in part due to the mental anguish he suffered as a result of this ordeal -- needed to leave the courtroom multiple times at different points as he was probed with hard-hitting questions surrounding the specifics of the trial.

When asked if any of the pictures he captured contained images of body parts, Jordan said, "Thank you, now I see intestines in my head." Brian was so distraught over the proceedings that, at one point, he turned and said to the judge, "I don't want to hear this drama."

Raul Versales, a deputy with the LA Sheriff's Department, testified that he never made it to the crash site ... adding that he received approximately 30 photos from Deputy Doug Johnson. As we previously reported, Johnson said during the trial he had no regrets about taking photos of the remains, claiming higher-ups with LACFD ordered him to do so.

Versales told the courtroom that none of the photos were close-up body parts ... but did say there's a possibility arm could be visible in the distance. An investigation by the Sheriff's Dept. determined that there were violations of the use of communication protocols in Versales' cell phone.

Still, he did not receive discipline, nor was he suspended for his actions.

Rafael Mejia -- another member of the LA Sheriff's Department -- testified that he was sent the sensitive photographs and sent them to Versales. Mejia sent approx. 15-20 photos to Versales, according to his testimony.

As previously reported, Vanessa Bryant is currently embroiled in a contentious lawsuit with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others .. after she learned 8 deputies took photos of the remains of Kobe and her late daughter, Gianna, and shared them with family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers.

Legendary Princeton basketball head coach Pete Carril passed away on Monday ... his family announced. He was 92 years old.

Carril -- who is widely known for executing the "Princeton offense," which he used throughout the majority of his career -- died "peacefully," the family said.

The Hall of Fame inductee coached the Tigers for 29 years ... racking up 514 wins, 13 conference championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Carril served as a public information officer in the U.S. Army before kickstarting his coaching career at the high school level. He became head coach at Lehigh University in 1966, where he remained for one season before taking the Princeton job.

Coach went on to join the Sacramento Kings as an assistant for several seasons.

Legendary commentator Dick Vitale -- who was good friends with Carril -- tweeted about the loss ... saying, "I believe that in defining greatness in coaches u must determine if they get maximum out of their TEAM personnel," he tweeted.

"PETE CARRIL is a prime example of a brilliant coaching mind that got max out of his talent."

Bronny James is looking more and more like his pops every time he takes the court -- because LeBron's oldest just unloaded an insane posterizing dunk on his opponent ... and the NBA superstar lost his mind!!

The moment just happened at the Club Basketball Euro Tour overseas ... where Bronny and his bro, Bryce, are suiting up for the California Basketball Club.

With under 2 minutes in the second quarter, #0 took the ball the whole length of the court ... and legit took flight as he slammed it home.

The highlight has social media going off -- including LeBron Sr, who tweeted, "OH MY GOODNESS BRONNY!!!!! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱"

Donovan Mitchell added -- "This crazy bronny!!"

Of course, the James bros are finally suiting up on the same team together ... and hoops fans have been watching their every move.

The dunk is just a sign of more to come from Bronny ... who's entering his senior year of high school hoops.

Adele is convinced she'll never find someone like Rich Paul again -- saying she's "happy as I’ll ever be" in a relationship with the sports super agent.

The "Easy On Me" singer gushed over Paul in a recent interview with Elle magazine ... explaining that things are going so well with LeBron James' BFF, she "might as well be married."

"I've never been in love like this," she said. "I'm obsessed with him."

The 34-year-old hasn't been shy about expressing her feelings for Paul -- she said in an interview with Rolling Stone back in 2021 that the two had the most "incredible, openhearted, and easiest" relationship.

The couple seems so smitten with one another, many have speculated they're already engaged, but she told Elle that's not the case ... yet.

Adele added in the interview that she was hopeful she could have more kids some day.

"I'm a homemaker and I’m a matriarch," she said, "and a stable life helps me with my music."

Draymond Green's wedding celebration turned into a rap concert this weekend ... 'cause after the Golden State Warriors star tied the knot with his fiancée, Hazel Renee, he took the stage with DaBaby and Roddy Ricch!!

Green and Hazel -- who got engaged back in 2019 -- jumped the broom on Saturday ... and their wedding ceremony brought out some of the biggest names in hoops AND music.

NBA stars Jayson Tatum and LeBron James were in attendance to see the Warriors forward get married ... as well as his Dubs teammate, Steph Curry, and his brother, Seth.

Green -- a 4-time NBA champ -- is no stranger to celebrating his accomplishments ... he's fresh off earning his most recent title after beating the Boston Celtics in the Finals.

Green tapped DaBaby and Roddy Ricch to perform their hit song "Rockstar" for all the guests ... and, instead of watching them do their thing, Green joined the duo and started performing too.

In the video, you see Green and his wife, Hazel, flanked by both DaBaby and Roddy Ricch ... rapping word for word, and you can tell #23 was super into it.

Rich Paul and Maverick Carter were also in the building ... and Mav and LBJ seemed to be having the time of their lives at the reception.

Milwaukee fans are probably having the worst Monday ever ... 'cause Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo just revealed he'd love to play for the rival Chicago Bulls one day.

It's not time to panic just yet, Bucks fans -- the 2-time MVP and 2021 NBA champ made it crystal clear he's committed to his current team during an interview with "The Sports Zone" on Fox 32 Chicago ... but the 27-year-old also raved about the possibility of suiting up in Black and Red at some point in his career.

"It's a team that won multiple championships, it's a team that one of the greatest players -- if not the greatest player to ever play this game -- played for, so it's a no brainer," the Greek Freak said Sunday night.

"Everybody would love to play for Chicago. Down the line, you never know, you never know how life brings it, maybe I'll play for Chicago. But right now, I'm committed to Milwaukee."

Giannis says any NBAer "would be a liar" if they said they didn't want to play for Chicago ... which just goes to show how much influence Michael Jordan still has on today's game.

L.A. cops have a dark culture when it comes to grizzly death scenes, keeping "ghoul books" with photos of famous people who met violent deaths.

As we reported, Vanessa Bryant is suing the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others after learning 8 deputies took personal cellphone photos of the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and then passed them around to co-workers, family, friends and even strangers.

Deputy Doug Johnson testified he did not regret taking photos of the remains, claiming he was ordered to do so by a higher-up, even though that higher-up had said he gave no such order.

Johnson said he took 25 photos, although another officer claimed it was more like 100.

The deputy admitted he took shots of Kobe's remains, although he says he didn't know at the time it was the famed basketball star. He also took pics of a body in a ravine near the crash site ... a body of a black child with long hair ... presumably Gianna.

Johnson stuck to his story, saying he would not have done anything differently.

Vanessa, who is suing for, among other things, emotional distress, broke down at times during the testimony.

Ja Morant knows the perfect way to celebrate a marriage -- the NBA star congratulated a newlywed couple he met at a jewelry store this week with shots of Casamigos!!!

It all went down on Thursday at the famous Icebox store in Atlanta ... which happens to be Ja's go-to spot when it comes to coppin' new bling.

The Memphis Grizzlies guard was doin' just that when a couple pulled up ... and Morant realized they had a lot to celebrate.

You can see in the video ... a staffer introduced Morant to the newlyweds, which resulted in downing some Casamigos.

"Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!" Morant said. "I got some tequila shots if y'all wanna take some."

Of course, the new husband and wife didn't turn down his offer ... and they all came together for a toast.

"Congrats to y'all," Morant said. "One day I hope I can get married."

BTW, this ain't the first time the 23-year-old took down some tequila at Icebox ... in April, during his $55k shopping spree, Morant had some Don Julio with Gunna.

File under: Big man problems.

Shaquille O'Neal proved his size is no match for furniture ... 'cause the Big Aristotle broke his chair while giving relationship advice to women, and the viral moment was caught on video!!

The hilarious mishap happened on an episode of Shaq's "The Big Podcast" -- when O'Neal and his co-host, Nischelle Turner, were talking about what leads people to ghost each other ... when disaster struck!

Shaq offered his response ... leaning back and stretching then suddenly, you hear a crack and a look of concern on the face of the gentle giant.

"I broke the chair, I broke the damn chair," O'Neal said to Turner, who was in awe at what she just witnessed.

50-year-old Shaq -- who stands over 7 feet tall and weighs over 300 pounds -- laughed about the blunder. However, O'Neal knew the jokes would fly once the Internet saw the footage.

O'Neal admittedly struggled with his weight during the pandemic ... but the big fella has been making strides to get back on the right track, including exploring options like going vegan.

Cops circulating crime scene photos isn't unique to the Kobe Bryant crash -- it's been happening since the O.J. Simpson murder case -- with an ex-LAPD officer testifying he saw a polaroid of Nicole Brown Simpson's dead body.

Former Los Angeles Police Department officer Adam Bercovici, an expert witness hired by Vanessa Bryant's legal team, testified he and other cops at his station saw a close-up of Nicole's body following her June 1994 murder.

The former police officer testified illicit photos of human remains -- so-called "death books" -- are common among law enforcement ... and not something unique to the Kobe crash.

Bercovici testified there were no legitimate reasons for the deputies to take photographs of the remains.

Despite this being an issue that's painful for the family and friends of the deceased, Bercovici says not nearly enough has been done to end the practice.

Luella Weireter, wife of an LAFD fire captain also took the stand, testifying she witnessed a group, including another fire captain, view the photos at a local awards show about three weeks after the fatal crash.

Weireter, who says she did not look at the photos, overheard another man say "I can't believe I just looked at Kobe's burnt-up body and now I'm about to eat."

It's just one of the ghastly and gruesome moments from the trial ... which started earlier this week, and has been very emotional for Vanessa and her family.

Bryant sobbed in court Thursday during opening statements, when her attorney told the 10-person jury that 8 L.A. County Sheriff's deputies snapped pics of Kobe and Gigi's bodies at the helicopter crash scene for nothing personal use.

Vanessa's lawyer says she lives "in fear, anxiety and terror" that the pics will someday be released ... saying she will be forever haunted by the deputies' actions.

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who was Kobe's agent, took the stand Thursday and was barely able to speak when talking about his close relationship with KB.

On Thursday, the jury heard from a bartender in L.A. ... who testified a deputy showed him crash scene photos at his bar. Bryant's attorney showed screen grabs from surveillance video that appeared to show the bartender laughing after seeing the grisly photos.

In her lawsuit, Vanessa claims the deputies' conduct caused her severe emotional distress, saying the photos were an invasion of privacy. Lawyers for L.A. County say Vanessa's emotional distress is a result of the fatal crash, not the photos.

LeBron James and his wife, Savannah, just added more ink to their body art collection ... getting matching hand tattoos to honor their three kids -- Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri.

The Lakers superstar got his new ink done by famous tat artist Ganga Tattoo -- who just recently gave Bronny his first tat -- and showed off the finished product on his social media page Thursday night.

On LBJ's shooting hand, he got the initials "B.B.Z." placed underneath a crown. Savannah revealed she got the "B.B.Z." on her right hand as well.

They both were in love with the new ink ... Savannah -- who married Bron in 2013 -- shared the clip with the caption, "♥♥♥ BBZ over everything!"

It's been a great summer for LeBron and his kids -- the fam has spent a lot of time together, and the King and his two boys even got to hoop together at the Lakers' practice facility earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Bronny and Bryce played organized basketball together for the first time in Europe earlier this week -- and LeBron was pumped for it!

"Man I'm literally watching Bronny and Bryce on the court together for the first time in a game situation!!" James said on Twitter watching his kids on TV.

"This is INSANE!! I'm EMOTIONAL AF!! WOW"

The late Bill Russell is getting the ultimate tribute -- the NBA just announced the Celtics legend's No. 6 will be retired throughout the league ... making him the first player to receive such an honor.

The Association just announced the move minutes ago ... with commish Adam Silver explaining the decision.

"Bill Russell's unparalleled success on the court and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honored in a unique and historic way," Silver said. "Permanently retiring his No. 6 across every NBA team ensures that Bill's transcendent career will always be recognized."

Current players who don the number -- most notably Lakers superstar LeBron James -- will not have to make a change ... as the league says those who currently wear No. 6 will be grandfathered.

On top of the number retirement, the league says each player will wear a jersey patch honoring the 11-time champion ... and each court will display a tribute logo next to the scorer's table.

The honor is exactly what names like Magic Johnson and Mike Woodson were hoping for -- both former players called for the league to raise No. 6 in the rafters at every NBA arena.

Huge victory for Lamar Odom -- the ex-NBA star is finally in possession of his own Instagram page again ... after claiming his former management refused to give him access.

Odom shared his relief on the social media platform on Wednesday ... saying, "I'm back! Got access to my account thanks to Instagram."

Odom -- who was without his IG since late July -- was fighting like hell to get his account back. In fact, he literally went to the IG headquarters in California to get it handled this week.

It was an awful experience for LO, especially because his former management was desperately posting to get clout or make a few bucks right up until he regained control over the page again.

"Anything you saw posted in my story or on my page was not me posting or commenting from this page," Odom said.

The former hooper also praised his NEW management in the return message ... thanking Gina Rodriguez for her efforts in making things right.

Remember, Odom ripped his old team last month ... saying, "my social media is not yours! If I chose to leave, that's the decision I make. Your decision shouldn't be to highjack my social media."

Karl-Anthony Towns and his beau Jordyn Woods were spotted jewelry shoppin' in Italy this week -- and it's got us all wondering ... are those engagement rings they're looking at?!?

The couple has been out in Bellagio, Italy the past few days, soakin' in a vacation during KAT's NBA offseason ... and TMZ Sports has learned they popped into a jewelry store on Wednesday evening to browse through some bling.

Witnesses say they looked at necklaces and other items -- but at one point, they both appeared to lock in on the rings.

Of course, the two -- who have been dating since 2020 and have professed their love for each other continuously over the last two years -- are not yet engaged (at least not publicly), so their perusal of the store's finger band selection is intriguing!

Unclear if they bought anything they liked ... but we're told they looked super happy together nonetheless, calling each other pet names and holding hands.