Basketball

Out with the old, in with the new!

That's what Spurs' Sandro Mamukelashvili did to his family's car ... replacing their old SUV, a black Nissan Murano with a brand new electric car ... and the surprise was captured on video!

The Spurs forward, who starred at Seton Hall University, re-signed with San Antonio (1 year, $2 million) in March -- and he's putting his money to good use ... copping a white electric Volkswagen ID4.

Sandro's family was extremely happy and even took the new whip out for a spin.

"Surprising my family with a new car," the 24-year-old wrote on Instagram. "I’m so blessed to be in this position. MAMU FAM 💪🏼❤️."

The story is extra sweet because the family has been through a lot. Sandro's dad Zurab is a cancer survivor ... and he was living overseas in Georgia while Mamu was hooping at The Hall. In 2020, when #16 ranked SHU was playing #21 ranked Butler at The Rock in Jersey, Mamu knocked down an incredible game-winning shot ... and it happened to be the first game his dad was able to attend in nearly a year.

"As soon as he drew up the play, I was like, “I’m gonna make this.” When I did, all I did was stare at my father the whole time," Mamu told the NY Post at the time.

"He was pointing at me, and I was pointing at him. I feel like it was one of the proudest moments he had."

Rolling Loud Miami kicks off this weekend with plenty of side projects to accompany the main adventure, just like the youth basketball clinic the organizers slam-dunked Wednesday.

Festival founders Tariq Cherif and Matt Zingler, teamed up with the Miami Heat players Udonis Haslem & Haywood Highsmith and 50 kids from the Miami Gardens Life Skills & Summer Thrill camp ... as the official tip-off for the Rolling Loud Miami Week.

Udonis, being a Miami native and a 20-year vet of the Heat says the Rolling Loud clinic was especially personal for him, as he sees his former self in so many youth today.

Tariq assisted with both the DJing duty and skills training and we're told all the kids at the event had a blast.

Rolling Loud Miami Week will be booming with local community initiatives with familiar sponsors designed to inspire and inform the kids ... great time-fillers for their current school-free days.

On Thursday, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America will team with DGK Skateboards for a skate park clinic, that'll provide the 50 youth participants with skateboards and safety equipment to instill the basics.

Then on Friday, the Black Music Action Coalition will host a rally with NY Congressman Jamall Bowman and Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson to discuss the ongoing controversy of targeting rapper's lyrics.

Of course, the 3-day music fest will bring things home ... with Playboi Carti, Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky serving as the headliners this go around.

Draymond Green says his mid-practice attack on Jordan Poole was not the result of one single comment ... claiming his former teammate was pushing his buttons way before the altercation.

The Golden State Warriors star addressed the October 2022 incident on Barstool Sports' "Pat Bev Podcast" this week ... and he explained he isn't the type of guy to just unleash at the drop of a dime.

"I don't just hit people," Green said. "Dialogue happens and dialogue happens over the course of time. You usually ain't just triggered by something like that fast to that degree. This is a team, ain't nobody on my team triggering me in an instant."

Green didn't disclose what was said prior to the punch, but insinuates Poole crossed the line.

"We know stuff that you don't say amongst men," he added. "We know things that you have to stand on. As I've admitted before, I was wrong in the way I handled it for the situation where we were."

Draymond went on to say he has no hard feelings toward Poole ... and wishes him well at his new home with the Washington Wizards.

Despite the olive branch, Poole's dad didn't seem to care for his comments on the altercation ... going off on Draymond in a fiery tweet late Tuesday night.

"I'm stand on this that's is some bs," Anthony Poole said. "Jp was his guy and he avoid me all last yr."

"He is a soft as bitch and I'm standing on this and he didn’t apologize to me and my wife. So he lame and me and him can meet anytime he want."

Lamar Odom is expanding his business portfolio ... his newest venture aims to find affordable living for seniors in California, and he's crediting his grandmother with the assist.

The former NBA star's manager tells TMZ ... Lamar is partnering with Regency Palms Senior Living in Oxnard and Long Beach to start Odom Senior Care, which provide affordable and luxurious care for seniors.

We're told Lamar's inspiration is his 96-year-old grandmother, Florence, who now lives alone in the same Bronx apartment she's called home for a whopping 70 years.

He decided to get into the senior living biz as a way to help folks ... after running into some obstacles earlier this year while trying to find a new home for grandma.

The major issue Lamar sees with the current landscape -- adequate senior living is just too expensive, and he's determined to change the status quo.

He already has the 2 facilities in SoCal, and plans to expand to reach his ultimate goal of providing seniors with pre-negotiated rates in 1,000 communities -- an ambitious aim, for sure, but one he hopes to achieve by year's end.

This move comes on the heels of Lamar successfully launching the Odom Recovery Group to help folks find sobriety.

Steph Curry's hot streak rolled right into Monday night ... 'cause just one day after he scored a huge win at a prestigious celeb golf tournament, he got an epic shout-out from Drake!!

The Golden State Warriors star was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Drizzy's "It's All A Blur" tour some 24 hours after he nabbed the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe ... and the rapper actually paused his show to give the hooper love.

Drake called Curry his "brother" and complimented his looks ... before he told the sold-out crowd to "make some noise" for the four-time NBA champ.

Drake also shouted out Ayesha Curry and Sonya Curry -- who had VIP seats right alongside Steph at the concert.

The Currys all seemed to love it -- arena cams caught them grinning ear-to-ear -- before Drake started spittin' on the microphone once again.

The moment was just one of many big ones for Steph in the last few weeks ... he's had a hell of a summer so far -- first appearing on The Match in late June, then hitting a hole-in-one on Saturday ... before earning the ACC crown on Sunday.

Things are only looking up from here too ... Steph revealed Monday his Gentleman's Cut Bourbon is launching worldwide later this month as well.

James Worthy hasn't tuned into "Winning Time" but not because he's against a series on the Showtime Lakers ... on the contrary, the hoops legend says he wanted to be involved, but showrunners never reached out.

"I haven't watched it because I wasn't involved in it," Worthy recently told TMZ Sports.

"And I was hoping that they would come to us and get some really good interviews and some really good one-on-one sit-downs because we were willing to, like, share a lot of stuff. That decade was iconic. And I just wish we could have been involved."

"Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" is an HBO drama based on the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers squad. The show premiered in March 2022 and was renewed for another season which begins airing in August.

If you're wanting Lakers content, James, a 3x NBA champion, does have a suggestion that isn't "Winning Time ... Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers."

"I did the Hulu, the Legacy, which is the real deal. It's real footage with interviews of people who were there. So I understand satire, but I just think [Winning Time] could have been done really, really good. And I was disappointed that it wasn't."

We also asked James if he's discussed the HBO series with any of his former teammates.

"We never talked about Winning Time because we weren't involved in it. We talked a lot about the Legacy. So if you really want to know the truth, go watch Legacy on Hulu. Go watch the Legacy on Hulu, get the real deal."

Brandon Miller's 📍 Cloud Nine ... 'cause the Charlotte Hornets rookie just met Paul George -- the man he considers the G.O.A.T. -- and the Clippers star offered to mentor the #2 overall pick throughout his NBA career!

"Use me, use me as much as you want," George told Miller. "Use me as a resource, bro. That's what I'm here for. I want to help you in every step that you need if you need."

The All-Star continued ... "Make that journey a lot smoother and easier for you."

The two finally linked up on George's podcast weeks after the former Crimson Tide hoops star revealed PG13 was the player he considered to be the greatest ever ... not LeBron James, Michael Jordan or anyone else.

Of course, fans roasted Miller for picking George over James and Jordan ... but it's clear BM couldn't care less as he sat down with the L.A. Clippers.

"It's exciting just him being in my presence," Miller said to PG's co-host. "It's definitely a great moment, been lookin' up to him for a long time."

Miller explained to George that he became his GOAT when he played on the Indiana Pacers and put Chris "Birdman" Anderson on a poster back in the day.

"Now I'm up here with him, now I get to compete against him I think is an even better experience."

Of course, George knows what it takes to be an NBA star ... he's been in the league for 13 seasons and is an 8-time All-Star, NBA's Most Improved Player, in addition to many other earned accolades.

Miller, were it not for Victor Wembanyama, would've been the top pick ... and many people believe he has Kevin Durant-like skills on the court. So, skies the limit ... and Paul's there to help.

A group of hero kids did their best Baywatch impression over the weekend, rescuing a "drowning" Shaquille O'Neal (don't worry, he was pretending!), and bringing the gigantic NBA legend to safety at a resort pool in Hawaii.

Don't worry -- Shaq's totally fine! But, he did have some fun in Honolulu over the weekend, where the Big Fella was in town to DJ at The Republik.

O'Neal had some downtime, so he hit up the pool ... where he was spotted by a group of kids. The 7'1 legend is a tough man to miss.

A fan named Daniel Chavez got the interaction on video ... showing Shaq playing with about ten kids in the pool, before pretending to drown so they could save the 7'1, 300+ pound behemoth.

Needless to say, all Shaq had to do was stand up.

Fans thought it was hilarious and adorable at the same time ... with one writing, "There is no better celebrity when it comes to interaction with everyday civilians better than Shaq."

"He genuinely loves his fans and people. He treats everyone the same no matter where he is or what he doing‼️"

Chavez also shared a video of DJ Diesel on the turn tables during what he does best (outside of hoops) at his sold-out event.

LeBron James might be immortalized outside two arenas by the time his career is over ... so says Lakers legend James Worthy, who tells TMZ Sports he could definitely see the NBA superstar getting statues in Cleveland AND Los Angeles.

The three-time NBA champ spoke with us about the King's Purple & Gold legacy earlier this week ... and he said it's entirely possible James gets the bronze treatment outside Crypto.com Arena one day.

"It depends on what he does here out," Worthy said at the Teqball USA Pre-ESPY party. "Personally -- and I think he'd agree -- he hasn't been here long enough."

"But I think his overall greatness, when you have a player like LeBron, who breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's [all-time scoring] record in Los Angeles, does it as a Laker, then wins a championship as a Laker, you can't argue that he could get a statue in Los Angeles."

"And he could get one in Cleveland as well," Worthy added. "So, I don't know about Miami, but bringing one to Cleveland and Los Angeles, it's doable, in my opinion."

It's assumed LeBron will get a statue in Cleveland -- after all, he's by far the greatest player in franchise history and led the Cavaliers to their first championship.

There are currently six Lakers statues outside the arena ... including Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem, Elgin Baylor and broadcaster Chick Hearn.

Steph Curry sinks it from deep on the basketball court, and he can do the same on the golf course too ... just take a look at what he did in Tahoe this weekend.

The Warriors star was playing in the American Century Championship tournament Saturday, and he took a big swing on the 7th hole ... which is a whopping 152 yards to the green. Welp, he had no issue getting the ball there -- in fact, the dude hit a freakin' hole-in-one!!!

Check it out ... he lets off a beautiful swing, and the ball goes soaring where it needs to be. As the announcers note, he can really play ... proven by the fact that he sunk it in one shot.

His celebration was just as awesome ... SC goes running toward the green with his arms extended, this as the crowd goes wild all around him. Steph takes a victory lap around his landing zone and hugs it out with his team and caddies. Indeed, it was quite something.

BTW, the dude's been pulling off crazy trick shots like this throughout the tournament ... including a fantastic putt yesterday, which looked magical as it veered left and went right into the hole. Movie stuff, really.

Charles Barkley just threw all of his support behind the LGBTQ+ community and Bud Light while out in Lake Tahoe this week ... telling the haters to piss off during a powerful speech at a local bar.

While up on stage during a break in the action at the American Century Celebrity golf tournament ... the NBA legend grabbed a microphone and took aim at transphobes, homophobes and critics of Bud Light.

"I want y'all to drink this f***ing beer," he said. "I want y'all to drink this f***ing beer. I got three cases of Bud Light."

"Hey," he added, "And I want to say this -- if you're gay, bless you. If you're transgender, bless you. And, if you have a problem with that, f*** you!"

Of course, the LGBTQ+ community and Bud Light have been under fire recently following Anheuser-Busch's decision to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a BL promotion.

The collab sparked so much outrage amongst conservatives, the beer giant reportedly lost more than $27 billion as people protested.

But, Barkley obviously believes there's no need for that hate and anger ... making his stance on the issue crystal clear out in Nevada.

This is not the first time, though, that Barkley has been vocal in his backing of the LGBTQ+ community ... in fact, at this same event last year, he delivered a similar speech.

"If you're gay and transgender," he told bargoers at the time, "I love you. Hey, and if anybody gives you s***, you tell them Charles said, 'F*** you!'"

Jayson Tatum's appearance at Drake's concert on Wednesday night turned out to be a very painful experience for one fan ... 'cause during her freak-out over the Celtics star's cameo -- she wiped out down six rows of stairs.

The wild incident happened in the nosebleeds at TD Garden arena during the It's All A Blur Tour's stop in Boston ... after the rapper introduced the NBA star to the sold-out crowd.

The woman started to jump up and down when Tatum got on stage -- and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Jayson Tatum!!"

But, somehow during the meltdown, she lost her balance ... tripped over a chair -- and then face-planted all the way down several steps.

Check out the footage of the fall ... she hit the pavement HARD.

No word on if she suffered any significant injuries ... but the TikTok user who posted the clip humorously captioned it, "big tatum fan!" -- so we get the vibe she's doing all right.

The night otherwise went off without a hitch ... and Drake seemed to be very pleased with his work inside the Celtics' home -- saying on his IG after the show, "Who else can get the Garden b(l)ooming like this?"

Britney Spears has a big recording decision to make -- not about new music, but about whether she will personally read the audio version of her upcoming memoir.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney remains undecided on doing the audio portion of "The Woman In Me," though it's unclear why she hasn't made a decision either way.

One theory floated to us -- Britney might simply feel it's too much to record all 288 pages of her life story.

The clock is ticking, though ... the memoir is set to be released Oct. 24, and there's already huge demand for the book -- it's among Amazon's best sellers based solely on pre-orders.

Our sources say Britney's team is scrounging up a list of names for possible candidates in case she decides against recording it herself.

Meanwhile, we're told her manager, Cade Hudson, is in Mexico right now with Britney where they're trying to reach a decision.

Remember, Britney recently finished the book, and was in Las Vegas to celebrate her accomplishment when the Victor Wembanyama slapping incident happened ... and we know she's still fuming about that.

Doc Rivers says he has no idea if he'll ever return to an NBA sideline ... the coaching great tells TMZ Sports his future in the sport is completely up in the air.

We spoke with Rivers -- who was recently let go from his gig with the Philadelphia 76ers -- outside Jon & Vinny's in LA this week ... and he made it clear his main focus is enjoying his recently-cleared schedule.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do," Rivers told us. "I'm just gonna enjoy life."

The championship-winning coach was fired back in May after going 154-82 through three seasons in the City of Brotherly Love ... and if a coaching job isn't in the cards, there are rumblings he could put on the headset for a broadcasting role with ESPN.

Rivers didn't tip his hand on what's next for him ... but certainly seemed to be in great spirits as he deflected questions about whether teams were calling his line.

"I just enjoy life," he told us ... adding he was having a "phenomenal" summer.

The 61-year-old former NBA star is one of the most successful coaches in league history ... leading the sideline for the Magic, Celtics, Clippers and Sixers through the years.

Former LSU women's basketball star Danielle Ballard -- who helped lead the Tigers to the Sweet 16 in 2014 -- was tragically killed on Thursday ... after she was struck by a car in Tennessee.

She was just 29 years old.

The Memphis Police Department said the incident happened at around 1:30 AM at an intersection just a few miles away from the FedExForum in Memphis.

Cops said she was rushed to a local hospital after she was hit ... but she was sadly pronounced dead at the facility a short time later.

"The driver stayed on the scene," the MPD added in a statement. "This is an ongoing investigation."

Ballard was a standout for the Tigers during her time in Baton Rouge, averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals in her three seasons (2012-15).

Among the accolades that she racked up in her tenure included Most Valuable Player honors and a selection to the All-SEC Defensive Team. She also earned recognition as the LSWA Louisiana Freshman of the Year.

Prior to joining LSU, Ballard was considered one of the best female high school players in the nation, being ranked No. 25 overall by ESPN after leading her Memphis Central team to its first class 3A state title in 89 years.

Fans of Ballard flooded social media following the news of her death ... with many leaving their thoughts and prayers on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

Add this to the list of awesome things Flau'jae Johnson's done since winning the National Championship ... the LSU hoops star performed in front of a packed crowd, including LeBron James, at a star-studded ESPY's after-party on Wednesday!

Johnson put on a show for The King and other big-time celebs at Uninterrupted's after-party in Los Angeles (Uninterrupted was founded by LBJ and biz partner Maverick Carter in 2014).

Johnson performed her hit single, "Clickbait" -- a remix of Latto's "Put It on Da Floor" -- and the crowd loved it!

But, she wasn't the only hip hop artist that hit the stage ... Quavo also pulled up and did "Hotel Lobby" and "Bad and Boujee."

Of course, James was all smiles, dancing the night away ... just hours after the Lakers superstar won the award for Best Record-Breaking Performance. LeBron also announced he's not retiring from the NBA.