Basketball

Brittney Griner is adding another accolade to her resume ... the Phoenix Mercury star has just won AP Comeback Player of the Year honors -- some nine months after she returned to the United States from Russian detainment.

The Mercury announced the award on Tuesday ... revealing the 6-foot-9 center would share the hardware with Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who came back to Minnesota this season after sitting out last year to give birth to her first child.

As we reported, Griner was arrested in February 2022 after Russian authorities said she had hash oil in her luggage at an airport. She was eventually sentenced to nine years in prison in the case, though she was set free following a prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout.

A couple months after she landed back on U.S. soil -- she signed a one-year deal with the Mercury -- and she shined in her return to the hardwood ... averaging 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

The season wasn't without its lows, however ... she did battle injuries, and she took a few games off for a mental health break. She also infamously had a run-in with a troll at an airport.

But, she was selected to her ninth WNBA All-Star team regardless ... and last week, when reflecting on the season, she told media members, "I tell you one thing, it's not good being at the end of the standings but it's better than where I was a year go, that's for sure."

Earlier Tuesday, Breanna Stewart took home AP Player Of The Year honors ... while Aces star Alysha Clark won Sixth Woman of the Year. Sun honcho Stephanie White won Coach of the Year ... and 2023 first overall pick Aliyah Boston won Rookie of the Year.

Tom Brady's talents aren't limited to the football field, 'cause the retired NFL superstar's got some serious skills on the hardwood, too -- showing off his wet jumper in a recent basketball workout!!

The 7-time Super Bowl champion put his moves on display with an Instagram video on Tuesday ... putting up shots with his eldest son, Jack, at The Summit in New York with famous NBA skills trainer Chris Brickley.

The 46-year-old is pretty impressive as he sinks shots all over the court ... even testing his luck against Jack in a friendly game of one-on-one.

Jack -- the son Brady had with actress Bridget Moynahan in 2007 -- also proved he's got range for days ... draining a couple three-point shots in front of his pops.

"Thanks for having us @cbrickley603," Brady said on IG. "I’m gonna need a few more sessions to be able to keep up with this kid soon."

FYI, this isn't the first time Brady revealed he's more than just a football player ... Tom was caught on camera years ago playing pick-up basketball with the G.O.A.T. of the sport -- Michael Jordan.

Brady has been keepin' himself busy since he retired earlier this year .... outside of family time and shootin' hoops, the future NFL Hall of Famer has become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and Aces, an owner of a Major League Pickleball team, and joined E1 boat racing league.

He's also an advisor for Delta Airlines.

Fernando Tatis Jr. will evoke the Mamba Mentality when the Padres visit the L.A. Dodgers this week ... 'cause the MLB star copped some custom Jordans in honor of Kobe Bryant.

TMZ Sports has learned ... El Niño hit up Stadium Custom Kicks to get some special cleats for San Diego's upcoming series at Dodger Stadium ... requesting a tribute to the late Lakers legend.

Tatis -- who signed a $340 million deal with SD in 2021 -- is now the proud owner of a truly one-of-a-kind, purple and gold pair of Jordan 1s ... decked out in around 4,750 crystals.

The cleats also feature Bryant's two retired jersey numbers on the heel -- No. 8 and No. 24.

It's fitting for Tatis to rock the Kobe kicks in the series, which kicks off Monday night ... considering Bryant hit up several Dodger games during his time in Los Angeles. He also threw the first ceremonial pitch in 2000.

Houston Rockets player Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested on Monday ... after allegedly hitting his girlfriend and putting his hands around her neck.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports the incident happened at the Millennium Hotel in New York.

We're told police responded to a call of a dispute around 6:45 AM ... and at the scene, cops observed a laceration above the 26-year-old woman's right eye and noticed there was blood on her face.

The woman -- who also complained of neck pain -- claimed KPJ struck her multiple times throughout her body during the physical altercation. EMS responded to the scene ... and the girlfriend was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

Porter is currently behind bars in New York on assault and strangulation charges.

Our sources claim Porter's girlfriend was upset over how long he stayed out earlier in the night ... so she locked the doors to keep him from entering their room when he got back.

We're told KPJ eventually got into the room with help from hotel security ... and the alleged altercation ensued minutes later. Witnesses say the girlfriend ran out to the hallway of the hotel and screamed for help.

KPJ -- the 30th overall pick out of 2019 NBA draft -- has played for the Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers so far in his career ... averaging 19.2 points and 5.7 assists a game for Houston last season.

LeBron James is reportedly putting together his next super team ... recruiting the biggest names in the NBA to join him on Team USA for one last ride together at the 2024 Olympics.

The four-time champion -- who hasn't played international hoops since winning gold at the London Games in 2012 -- is actively working to assemble a roster of the league's top American talent, according to Shams Charania ... including guys like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Draymond Green and Anthony Davis.

The news comes on the heels of Team USA's disappointing fourth-place finish at the FIBA World Cup ... but Shams noted James was assembling his team long before America's loss to Canada over the weekend.

Team USA could be stacked from top to bottom ... as Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and De'Aaron Fox have also reportedly shown interest in donning the Red, White and Blue again.

It's pretty interesting, considering U.S. track star Noah Lyles recently found himself in a beef with NBA players over calling themselves "world champions" ... a stance he later doubled down on in an interview with TMZ Sports.

Lyles believes the NBA Finals winners aren't really "world" champs since they don't compete against other countries ... which got backlash from a ton of the league's biggest stars.

Noah Lyles ain't backing off his "world champion" stance one bit ... and he's sending some loud-and-clear shade to one of the guys who had the biggest problem with it all -- Drake.

The track star won three golds (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) at the World Athletic Games in Budapest, Hungary last month ... and following the efforts, he ruffled a ton of feathers when he said NBA players shouldn't get to call themselves champs of the globe like he could.

"World champion of what?" Lyles said, reminding those in attendance that NBA players only perform in the U.S. and Canada. "The United States?!"

His comments were hit with immediate criticism ... with guys like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Draymond Green -- and, yes, even Drake -- firing away at him.

But, when Lyles sat down with TMZ Sports this week ... he made it clear he's not budging from his opinion -- though he did clarify that he loves what the NBA's doing, and he wants track and field to follow their model.

"I do think that the point was lost," he told us. "At the end of the day, it was talking about how I see what we do to our national championships -- I just want the same thing for our world champions. And we're a sport where we're bringing in the most medals every year -- and it's like nobody even knows because they don't pay attention."

As for Drake ... Lyles brushed off the rapper's criticism of him -- saying, "Just go home, buddy. Go home."

Tristan Thompson ha tomado el relevo como cuidador de su hermano menor, tras la repentina muerte de su madre, y ahora está tomando medidas para hacer oficial su tutela.

En documentos legales obtenidos por TMZ, Tristan le está pidiendo a la corte ser el tutor de Amari Thompson. Los documentos afirman que Tristan asumió las responsabilidades de cuidado de Amari, de 17 años, tras la muerte de su madre Andrea en enero.

Los documentos también afirman que el padre de Tristan y Amari, Trevor, ha estado ausente de la vida del hermano menor, lo que deja a Tristan como el miembro más cercano de la familia y capaz de proporcionar el cuidado que necesita.

Amari tiene varios diagnósticos médicos que le incapacitan para cuidar de sí mismo, y Tristan tendrá que ayudarle con su día a día, así como con sus citas médicas.

Es más, los documentos dicen que Amari va a recibir aproximadamente 103.475 dólares como resultado de la muerte de Andrea, y será Tristan quien protegerá esa herencia de pérdidas o daños.

Tristan Thompson has taken over as caregiver for his younger brother in the wake of his mom's death, and is now taking steps to make his guardianship official.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Tristan's asking the court to become guardian of Amari Thompson. The documents state Tristan took over the responsibilities of care for 17-year-old Amari after their mother, Andrea, died in January.

The documents also state Tristan and Amari's dad, Trevor, has been absent from Amari's life -- leaving Tristan as his closest family member who is able to provide the care he needs.

Amari has several medical diagnoses that leave him unable to care for himself -- and Tristan will need to help him with his day-to-day as well as with his medical appointments.

What's more, the documents say Amari is set to receive approximately $103,475 as a result of Andrea's death ... and Tristan will protect that inheritance from loss or injury.

Tyler Herro was an actual, real-life hero for at least one boy on Friday ... signing an autograph for a kid that turned the child into a puddle of joy.

The fun, heartwarming moment went down outside a school gym in Florida ... after the Miami Heat star had gotten in a workout on the court inside.

You can see in video from the scene, Herro was putting his John Hancock down for a bunch of young fans -- when, suddenly, one of the kids desperately wanted him to sign his water bottle.

The little boy grabbed it, jumped up and down -- and when Herro put his pen to it, the kid couldn't have been more thrilled.

Herro clearly loved the reaction -- 'cause even he had a big smile on his face when he returned the bottle to the boy.

Of course, Herro gets mobbed like this just about everywhere he goes in Florida -- after all, the dude is a former Sixth Man of the Year who's averaging 17.7 points per game in his career.

The United States won't be going for gold at the FIBA World Cup ... the squad full of NBA talent just lost to Germany in the semifinals of the international tournament.

Team USA was the betting favorite to win it all this year ... with guys like Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges suiting up for the Red, White and Blue.

But their plans were spoiled on Friday ... as Germany's Andreas Obst, Franz Wagner and Daniel Theis had huge games to help their team move on to the finals.

While it was a close contest through the first half, Germany was able to pull ahead in the third quarter ... and USA found themselves down 10 late in the final minutes of the game. Despite a late push, USA couldn't eliminate the deficit, falling 113-111.

Edwards had 23 points and eight rebounds for the U.S. ... with Reaves adding 21 of his own.

America will now face off against Canada in hopes of winning bronze ... and Germany will play Serbia in the finals.

Move over, Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley -- Kim Mulkey is taking the title of highest-paid women's basketball coach in college history ... after reportedly agreeing to a massive, $32 million deal!!

The LSU head coach -- who signed with the Tigers in 2021 -- is slated to rake in the huge chunk of change over the course of 10 years, with The Advocate in Baton Rouge reporting the deal still needs to be approved by the school board before it becomes official.

Once that happens, it will be the biggest contract in women's college basketball history -- more than Auriemma, who got a $15M extension from UCONN in 2021 ... and South Carolina's Staley, who inked a seven-year deal for $22.4 million that same year.

Mulkey's payday comes after leading the LSU women's hoops team to its first NCAA championship in April ... when Angel Reese and Co. issued a 102-85 beatdown on Iowa.

The Tigers' 2023 win was Mulkey's 4th NCAA title as a head coach -- she also secured three 'ships over the course of her 21-year career at Baylor.

Mulkey's a true winner in all aspects -- she won the whole enchilada in 1981 and 1982 as a player for Louisiana Tech.

LaVar Ball is back to making eyebrow-raising claims about one of his boys ... this time, he insisted Gelo bench pressed over 400 pounds on Wednesday -- but a whole lot of people on the internet aren't buying it at all.

LaVar shared video on Instagram of he and his 24-year-old brother in the workout room this week ... showing Gelo pushing some big weight off his chest -- all while Dad proudly looked on.

Gelo's form wasn't exactly ideal -- he used plenty of his lower back to get the bar down and up -- but, nonetheless, he was able to lift it.

Where social media users got skeptical of the situation, though, was when LaVar made the claim that it all weighed 420 pounds.

The elder Ball swore that despite the size of the weights on the bar, they totaled up at least 200 LBs on each side. He added in a caption on the flick, "400 is 400."

For what it's worth, Gelo cosigned on it all ... re-sharing the clip on his own IG page -- while captioning it, "Biggest APE."

Gelo is still trying to join his brothers, Lonzo and LaMelo, in the NBA ... getting in plenty of runs in the G League the past couple years with the hopes of being elevated into the big show soon.

Late NBA prospect Terrence Clarke would have been 22 on Wednesday ... and his mother paid tribute to the ex-Kentucky Wildcats star by visiting his grave in an emotional video.

Clarke's mother, Osmine, shared a clip of her trip to the cemetery ... showing Clarke's tombstone covered with birthday balloons, flowers, and basketballs.

"Happy birthday T," Osmine said on Instagram. "miss you so much."

John Calipari -- who coached Clarke at UK in 2020 -- also honored his former guard by sharing a photo of TC in his No. 5 jersey.

"Happy heavenly birthday, Terrence," Calipari wrote.

Fellow hoopers Zaire Wade, Isaiah Jackson and Brandon Boston Jr. remembered Clarke with social media posts of their own as well.

As we previously reported, Clarke was killed in a car accident weeks before the 2021 NBA Draft.

Since Clarke's sudden death, the NBA and his hometown of Boston have shown love in many ways ... including selecting him with an honorary pick in the 2021 draft, making him a Rising Star jersey during the 2022 All-Star Weekend, and dedicating a new community gym in his honor.

Clarke was a 5-star recruit in high school ... and was named 10th best player in the 2020 class by ESPN. He averaged 9.6 points and 2 assists per game in his freshman year at UK.

Expect to see Bronny James and Paige Bueckers in a fresh pair of Kobe Bryant kicks this season ... 'cause six bigtime NCAA hoops powerhouses were selected as "Mamba Programs" and will be wearing the NBA legend's Nike sneakers on the court this year!

Vanessa Bryant made the announcement via social media on Tuesday ... listing the universities that were picked as the first group to represent her husband's Nike brand.

"So excited to see their players wearing Kobe and Gigi’s NIKE shoes this upcoming season," Vanessa wrote in the caption.

No mid-majors here.

The selected schools were USC -- where LeBron James' son Bronny is playing -- as well as Kentucky, Oregon, Duke, LSU, and UCONN, the team Gigi supported.

"We are grateful for the amazing support of these prestigious universities (in no particular order) towards the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation - to further the legacies of Kobe and Gigi!" Bryant added.

Vanessa didn't disclose which Kobe's the teams will rock, but the Swoosh recently relaunched Bryant's line with the release of the Protro 8 "Halos" ... which hit the market on what would've been KB's 45th birthday (August 23).

Perhaps LeBron James wasn't kidding when he said he'd play in Saudi Arabia if the bag was big enough ... 'cause the King was spotted in the country, just weeks after he made the comment on social media.

Bron was in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, earlier this week. The exact reason for the trip is unclear, but James was seen hanging out in a gymnasium with a banner that said "Welcome to Arabia" and "Ministry of Sport."

LeBron was invited to watch a match between Saudi prospects at the AZM Academy, according to an online report.

So, while Lakers fans shouldn't worry (for now, at least) ... it doesn't seem impossible that James could play in Saudi for a massive amount of money after his NBA career is over.

In July, the Lakers superstar used a Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump GIF to show how fast he'd go to the Middle Eastern company if he got Kylian Mbappe-type money (the French soccer superstar got a staggering $776 million offer to play for Al-Hilal, but turned the money down).

Many fans perceived LBJ's tweet as a joke, but ... maybe not.

LeBron's not alone. We talked to Giannis Antetokounmpo a few weeks ago about the same subject ... and the Milwaukee Bucks superstar told us he'd be down to suit up in Saudi if the cash was right.

Just James visiting the country will likely be enough to spark a debate ... considering Saudi Arabia's history of human rights violations.

Despite the controversy, Saudi Arabia, with their enormous wealth, has lured some of the world's biggest athletes to their country, including Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo. Golfers like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, among others, also bolted for Saudi.

Amen and Ausar Thompson were the 4th and 5th picks in June's NBA Draft, but the star basketball players weren't immune to getting ripped by their coach last season ... and the intense moment was captured on camera in a new docuseries featuring the bros!

The twin brothers are starring in Prime Video's "One Shot: Overtime Elite" ... which follows Amen and Ausar's rise as two of the best players in the country at Overtime Elite in Atlanta.

Despite their immense talent, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the NBA lottery picks.

"I asked you two to give me something, didn't I?" assistant coach Corey Frazier screamed at the Thompsons during a timeout ... as their City Reapers trailed the Yng Dreamerz by double digits on January 20th.

"Don't say s*** right now, just listen! I said 'leadership.' I don't see it! I see a bunch of one-on-ones!"

Frazier was upset with the way the team was playing, and the brothers (who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated) got the brunt of the blame as the team's best players.

The message was clearly received loud and clear ... the Reapers charged back after being down 16 at the half, ultimately winning 76-64.

Amen dropped 12 points and dished out 6 assists during the game. He also grabbed 7 rebounds. Ausar scored 10 points, and had 7 assists and 8 boards.

Eli Ellis, Amen and Ausar's teammate, was the game's high scorer. He scored 28 points ... and contributed to a dominating 4th quarter, where the Reapers outscored their opponents 36-16.

The City Reapers' winning ways continued ... and the team ultimately finished with the best record and the OTE league title.

All told, the show gives a cool behind-the-scenes look at the Thompsons as they not only hooped in the super competitive, six-team league ... but also prepared for the draft.

When summer rolled around, Amen, a shooting guard, ended up going 4th to the Houston Rockets. His brother didn't have to wait long. With the next pick, the fifth, Ausar, a shooting guard, was selected by the Detroit Pistons.