Basketball

5:52 PM PT -- The NBA is punishing Draymond Green for his putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold ... hitting DG with a 5-game suspension.

In announcing the suspension Wednesday, the NBA says ... "The length of the suspension is based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts."

Draymond will reportedly miss out on $769,970 in salary with the unpaid suspension ... and he's being fined $25,000.

Meanwhile, Rudy is being docked $25K ... as are Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels.

Draymond Green has found himself in hot water for putting his hands on someone once again.

This time, the Warriors superstar was ejected from Golden State's game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night ... because he locked Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.

The MMA move happened just seconds into the Dubs' contest with Minnesota at the Chase Center in San Francisco ... just after Klay Thompson got tangled up with Jaden McDaniels.

The two NBA stars swung each other around right in the middle of the court ... and in an effort to break it all up, guys from both teams raced in.

But, when Green got to the fracas, he appeared to escalate things further by wrapping his arm around Gobert's neck -- and refusing to let go ... this despite repeated pleas from head coach Steve Kerr.

Eventually, Green did drop Gobert ... but refs still decided to throw him out of the game for the act -- as well as Thompson and McDaniels.

After the game -- which the Warriors ended up losing -- Gobert blasted Green for it all ... calling the Golden State star's actions "clown behavior."

"It's kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph [Curry] is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected," Gobert said. "Because every time Steph doesn't play, he doesn't want to play -- it's his guy Steph. He'll do anything he can to get ejected."

Gobert then called for punishment for Green.

"I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior," Gobert said. "Not much to say. It’s clown behavior."

Of course, Green is no stranger to these situations ... he's been ejected for physical altercations several times over his career -- and, perhaps most famously, he was fined by his own team last year for getting violent with teammate Jordan Poole during a preseason practice.

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Paul Wight is returning to the ring Wednesday night ... something that might never have happened if not for former NBA star Xavier McDaniel, the first person to tell the Superstar formerly known as Big Show to go into professional wrestling!

Wight dropped by the TMZ offices on Tuesday and sat down with Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show -- ahead of AEW Dynamite's Like A Dragon Gaiden Street Fight match -- where the guys discussed the 7-footer's start in the sport to his in-ring comeback.

The Wight the Wrestler origin story is pretty crazy.

Paul was a center on the Wichita State basketball team in the early '90s, but wasn't exactly Shaquille O'Neal on the court.

Because of his play on the hardwood, McDaniel, a Shockers alum who'd become an NBA star after being drafted with the 4th overall pick in 1985, gave Wight some invaluable advice ... and perhaps paved the way for him to become a titan in the wrestling industry.

"X was always pestering me, and he kept telling me I should go into wrestling. I said 'Man, listen, I'm gonna play in the NBA. That's what I've trained for since I was a kid. This is what I do,'" Wight recounted telling McDaniel (this story starts around the 14-minute mark).

"[Xavier] says, 'Man, you're gonna be the only 7-foot dude who gets cut by the Japanese team. He goes, 'I'm telling you what you need to do. You need to go into pro wrestling and be Andre The Giant's son.' He says, 'Man, you look like Andre. That's what you need to do.'"

"Xavier McDaniel saw the vision on the wall long before it ever happened."

Shortly after, Paul linked up with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff ... and the rest is history.

Now, Wight's wrestling again at 51 years old (it's been a bit since he's performed in the Squared Circle, though he's been signed to AEW since '21) ... and he's teaming up with Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Chris Jericho to take on Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, and Brian Cage.

How much longer will he wrestle? Check out the full interview -- we asked him.

One of the most important pieces of memorabilia from Victor Wembanyama's NBA career -- a jersey he wore during his first-ever Spurs game -- has just gone up for auction ... and so far, bidders are showing they really want the item.

In its first day on the block, the threads that the 19-year-old phenom rocked in San Antonio's season-opener on Oct. 25 have already received 25 bids .... with a high $50,000 so far.

Experts at Sotheby's -- which is hosting the auction as part of its new partnership with the NBA -- previously anticipated the jersey would sell for between $80,000-$120,000 ... though if the early interest is any indication, it seems there's a good chance it could exceed that figure.

Of course, it shouldn't surprise many if it does ... given the start of Wemby's career.

The 7-foot-4 power forward -- who many have touted as the best prospect since LeBron James -- has tallied 19.7 points per game to go along with 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocks through his first 10 contests -- all historic numbers.

As for how he did the night he wore the jersey that's up for sale ... Wembanyama had 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block, although San Antonio ended up losing to Dallas.

The jersey -- listed as size 52 with a plus-4 length -- will stay up on the auction block until Nov. 21 ... giving collectors about seven more days to scrounge together all their change to make their best run at buying it.

LeBron James didn't become the NBA's all-time leading scorer without his fair share of haters rooting against him, but he's still not above showing even them some love!!!

Take up-and-coming Detroit rapper Skilla Baby for example, who outed himself as a proud LBJ hater on a recent podcast appearance -- but King James is here for it.

Skilla started off by giving LBJ his props ... but soon flew off the handle with a laundry list of reasons he'd create a LeBron voodoo doll.

LeBron's "The Decision," his unpredictable jump shot and his penchant for playing with super-teams were all low points for SB -- but he really just sounded like a Pistons fan going hard for his team.

At any rate, LeBron got a kick outta SB's rant and quipped, "Crazy thing is I HATE ME TOO" with several 😂's.

The Clippers might've lost Sunday, but that didn't stop Russell Westbrook from having a blast celebrating his 35th trip around the Sun ... dancing the night away at his birthday party with his wife, Nina!

Nina shared video of the special moment with her 9x NBA All-Star hubby on Instagram on Monday ... showing the two hand in hand, twirling on the dance floor, celebrating Westbrook's bday.

You can hear Russ's family and friends, including L.A. rapper/singer Blxst, cheerin' them on while Nina, who claims to not be the dancing type, gives it all she has.

"The birthday boo gets one dance outta me," Nina joked.

Russ and Nina have been together since they met in 2007 when both of them played college ball at UCLA.

Of course, Westbrook went on to be the 4th pick in the NBA Draft in 2008, while Nina hit the books hard, graduating with her bachelor's in psychology and master's in clinical psychology.

She is now a licensed marriage and family therapist.

The couple tied the knot in August 2015 and welcomed their first son, Noah, in May 2017. They had two more kids, twin daughters Skye and Jordyn, in 2018.

"Happy Happy Birthday Suga!," Nina said in an IG post. "You’re so loved and appreciated! Never forget it! I love you!"

Unfortunately, the bday shenanigans come after the Clippers 5th consecutive loss ... putting them squarely in 11th place in the West with a 3-6 record.

Westbrook had 12 points and 5 assists in the loss ... and a dope party!

Gillie Da Kid's one-on-one basketball challenge to Jamal Crawford has been accepted -- and the ex-NBA Sixth Man of the Year is strongly hinting declaring he won't go easy on Gillie!!

JC got wind of Gillie flapping his gums about him during a recent episode of "Million Dollarz Worth of Game," and promised to light up Gillie just like the infamous "Martin" episode where his face got turned into hamburger meat after challenging Tommy "Hitman" Hearns to a boxing match!!!

Gillie was attempting to convince Wallo, Cam'ron and Mase that he was a better baller than JC off the strength of his past wins against actively hooping artists such as Chris Brown, Rowdy Rebel and Rob49.

Everyone stated the obvious -- an ex-pro is more skilled than a great amateur, but Gillie argued he would get his buckets on JC in spite of their size difference.

JC is widely known for being the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game and now travels the globe looking for competition like the B-ball version of Ryu from "Street Fighter" ... and is promising a Gillie KO!!!

College basketball and social media star Haley Cavinder has a new home -- she just announced she'll be suiting up for the TCU women's basketball team for her final year of eligibility after unretiring last month.

22-year-old Haley -- 1/2 of the popular Cavinder Twins -- made the move official on Monday ... sharing photo shoot shots of her wearing a Horned Frogs jersey and crown while sitting on a throne.

"The last rodeo #committed," Haley said.

Her sister clearly approves ... adding, "GO FROGSSS BABY" and "mom just bought purple cowboy boots after seeing this," in the comments.

Of course, the Cavinders are successful on and off the court -- they have NIL deals with companies like Betr Media and WWE ... and are among the most-profitable college athletes out there right now.

The former Miami WBB duo previously announced they would forego their final year of ball to expand their brand and business ventures ... but Haley later backtracked and said she would continue her career after taking time off.

She explained her decision to return in an interview with Forbes ... saying, "I think ending it with Hanna and announcing that we were done and not going to take our fifth year, I felt -- honestly, to be very transparent -- a lot of pressure."

"There was nothing filling the love for the game, and I just truly was like, I know I'm going to regret it down the road if I don't go back," Haley said.

The Frogs are getting a solid player -- Haley earned second-team All-ACC honors last season, averaging 12 points and four rebounds.

Tyrese Maxey's thoughts were elsewhere after scoring 50 points in the Sixers win Sunday ... he dedicated the career-best performance to teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. after the star guard was badly hurt in a hit-and-run accident the day before.

As we previously reported, Oubre Jr. -- who joined the 76ers in September -- suffered broken ribs and other injuries when he was hit by a vehicle while walking in Philly on Saturday, hospitalizing the NBA star.

The Sixers played the Pacers the day after the accident ... and Maxey went off, dropping 50 points, with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks!

It was Maxey's best game, but he gave the shine to his teammate and friend.

"Man, this had nothing to do with me," the guard told a reporter after the 137-126 win. "This all Kelly Oubre, man."

"We praying for him. I love my dog, I just met him but I love him. Hope he gets well soon."

The Sixers -- who are currently leading the Eastern Conference with an 8-1 record -- tried to reach Oubre, who is home now, after the win but sent him a video message instead.

"Get better soon, KO," Sixers coach Nick Nurse said while recording the clip.

Oubre -- averaging 16.3 points and 5.1 rebounds with the Sixers -- is going to be out for a while ... though the team is hopeful he can return before the end of the season.

Ben Affleck and his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, haven't always been on the best terms after divorcing, but lately -- including this weekend -- they're 2 peas in a co-parenting pod.

The 2 exes -- who share 3 children together -- were hanging out Sunday in Santa Monica, where their son Samuel had a basketball game ... and while they were waiting for their kid so they could all leave, BA and JG were laughing something fierce in the lobby.

Take a look ... mom and dad chatted each other up and smiled ear to ear as they talked. Eventually, Sam wrapped up the game and they all left together ... in real good moods.

BTW, it's just the 2 of them here -- no J Lo or the other kids in sight -- so it seems this was just a day for the father-mother-son trio, which is a cool thing to see.

We already know Ben and Jen (and Jen) have a blended family these days ... and they're always in and out of each other's lives, especially for big events and holidays. The fact Ben and Jennifer can meet up like this without any issues is sort of a rarity in Hollywood.

That's not to say these two haven't had their issues post-divorce.

We've seen them argue in public before, including one instance from 2019 where they got testy on the street. With that said, they're on the same page more often than not ... and seem to care a great deal about each other in the years since their marriage ended.

In fact, it was Garner here who took Ben to rehab in 2018 ... so she's certainly there for her ex when he needs it.

She also appears to get along with BA's new wife and her own children ... JG has been seen taking the whole kid troupe out and about in public, and vice-versa obviously.

Ben Affleck y su ex esposa, Jennifer Garner, no siempre han estado en los mejores términos después de divorciarse, pero últimamente se les ha visto bastante alegres a decir verdad.

Los divorciados comparten tres hijos juntos y pasaron el domingo en Santa Mónica, donde su hijo Samuel tenía un partido de baloncesto. Mientras esperaban a su hijo para que todos pudieran salir, Ben y Jennifer se reían a viva voz en el vestíbulo.

Echa un vistazo; mamá y papá charlaban y sonreían de oreja a oreja mientras hablaban. Al final, Sam terminó el juego y se fueron todos juntos y de muy buen humor.

A propósito, sólo había dos de ellos aquí, ninguno de J Lo o algún otro niños a la vista, por lo que parece que esto era un día exclusivamente para el trío padre/madre/hijo, lo que es una novedad.

Ya sabemos que Ben y Jen (y Jen) tienen una familia mixta estos días y siempre están entrando y saliendo de la vida del otro, especialmente para los grandes eventos y días festivos. El hecho de que Ben y Jennifer pueden reunirse de esta manera sin ningún tipo de problemas es una especie de rareza en Hollywood.

Eso no quiere decir que estos dos no hayan tenido sus problemas después del divorcio.

Los hemos visto discutir en público antes; recordemos esa vez en 2019 cuando se pusieron irritables en la calle. Dicho esto, últimamente parecen estar en la misma página más a menudo que no y parecen preocuparse mucho el uno por el otro en los años desde que terminó su matrimonio.

De hecho, fue Garner aquí quien llevó a Ben a rehabilitación en 2018 por lo que ciertamente está allí para su ex cuando lo necesita.

Ella también parece llevarse bien con la nueva esposa del actor y sus propios hijos, Jennifer ha sido vista llevando a toda la tropa de niños en público y viceversa, obviamente.

Kelly Oubre Jr. está en el hospital luego de ser golpeado por un carro en un en la ciudad para la que juega y aunque parece que se recuperará, no está nada bien.

Según los Philadelphia 76ers (en el que Oubre es titular) su jugador estrella de 27 años de edad, fue víctima de un conductor imprudente la noche del sábado en el barrio de Center City de Filadelfia, donde Oubre estaba fuera de casa, al parecer, durante una noche libre en el calendario del equipo.

Los detalles de lo que sucedió exactamente son un poco difusos... pero pareciera que fue golpeado en la esquina de Broad y Locust Street, con el vehículo en cuestión huyendo de la escena sin dejar rastro. Como resultado del golpe, Oubre habría sufrido algunas lesiones.

Shams Charania informa que el jugador tiene costillas rotas, contusiones y otras lesiones y actualmente está hospitalizado. El personal del equipo, incluyendo a Daryl Morey, apareció anoche para visitarlo y obviamente, va a estar fuera por un tiempo.

Kelly Oubre Jr. is in the hospital and on the mend after getting struck by a car in a hit-and-run in the city he plays for -- and while it sounds like he'll recover ... he's banged up.

According to the Philadelphia 76ers -- on which Oubre is a starter -- their 27-year-old star player fell victim to a reckless driver Saturday night in the Center City neighborhood of Philly ... where Oubre was out and about, it seems, during a night off in the team's schedule.

The details of what exactly happened are a little murky at the moment ... but it sounds like he got hit at the corner of Broad and Locust Street, with the vehicle in question fleeing the scene without a trace. As a result of the hit, Oubre is said to have sustained some injuries.

Shams Charania reports the SF/G is dealing with broken ribs, bruises and other abrasions ... and he's currently hospitalized. Team personnel, including Prez Daryl Morey, showed up last night to visit him ... obviously, he's going to be out for a while.

Joe Smith has a message for the cynics who believe his public feud with wife Kisha over OnlyFans was a big publicity stunt ... adamantly denying they set up the whole thing for publicity!!

The 48-year-old former #1 overall NBA draft pick shared his side of the story during an interview with VladTV this week ... where he explained how he found out his partner, former adult actress Kisha Chavis, got back into the X-rated content.

"Nah, that's not what happened and that's not what's going on right now," Smith said.

"It's a real issue. The video hurt, but then also, the fact that the way I had to find out about the OnlyFans page, that's another thing on top of that that hurts as well."

The 16-year NBA vet said he caught Kisha scrolling through her profile on her phone, which led to the infamous video on social media.

Obviously, Kisha recorded the whole thing, and Smith took it as a smack in the face when she uploaded it to the internet ... and he believes if they had kept it between themselves, they could have talked it out.

"I wouldn't put my business out in the streets, I wouldn't put nothing like this out in the streets unless it was real official, and I didn't do this one so it's hurting," he added.

"It's hurtful and I gotta listen to people's opinions every day, all day right now about my relationship and that's something I never wanted to be involved in."

Harvey and Charles spoke to Kisha on "TMZ Live" last week, and she told her side of the story ... and she sees it a bit differently than Joe.

The Atlanta Hawks' idea of running an "OnlyFans" style promo with their mascot this week isn't sitting well with at least two of their players ... who took to social media on Thursday to hilariously drag the team over the vid.

The clip was dropped by the NBA org on its social media pages early Thursday morning to promote ATL's involvement in the league's new in-season tournament.

It featured Harry the Hawk seductively posing on a bed in his ATL gear ... while a woman whispered about Atlanta fans "knowing where the real action is."

"Hawks fans know just where to get it," the woman said in the video. "Join in and wake up your wild side."

Some found the footage funny -- but others, including Atlanta stars Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, didn't exactly love it.

"MANNNNNNN," Murray wrote on his X page while sharing the video, "DELETE THIS S***!!!!!!!'

Added Young, "I had no part of this.. 🤦‍♂️."

Victor Wembanyama got the opposite of a warm welcome in his first game at Madison Square Garden ... 'cause a bunch of ruthless Knicks fans made it clear they're not believing the hype surrounding the hoops phenom -- chanting "overrated" in the middle of the game!!

Of course, the San Antonio Spurs' No. 1 overall pick ruffled some feathers with the home crowd prior to Wednesday's matchup with New York ... when he said the Mecca wasn't as big as he expected.

Knickerbocker backers promised to give the 19-year-old hell as a result of his comments ... and they held true to their word throughout the contest -- booing and heckling the 7'4" hooper every chance they got.

Their efforts may have worked ... 'cause Wemby didn't have his best outing -- going 4-14 from the field en route to 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

Some people on social media weren't too pleased with the Knicks fans' antics -- saying it's wild to make such a claim eight games into his career ... especially when he's had some amazing performances in the Association so far.

Victor Wembanyama better prepare for the most hostile environment when he takes the court for his debut at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday ... 'cause the NBA star just pissed off the entire Knicks fanbase for downplaying the iconic venue.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft was speaking to reporters ahead of the Spurs' matchup against New York ... when he was asked about playing in the Mecca for the first time.

The 19-year-old certainly seemed unenthused with his response ... saying, "It’s not as big as I expected, but still the vibe is here."

Wemby's remark was shared all over social media ... and of course, the Knicks fans didn't take it well.

"He gone learn todayyyyyy 😂😂😂😂!" one Knicks fan said on Instagram ... while another hilariously added, "Oh I'll show you big, Mr. Wobblymama."

"That’s cause you big as hell ... don’t disrespect the Garden," a Knicks backer echoed. "You see how we treat Trae Young when he come here 😂😂."

Of course, that user is referring to the hell Knicks fans put the Atlanta Hawks star through over the years -- chanting "f*** Trae Young" and more ever since he became the current villain for the entire organization.

Knicks fans AND players are prepared for Wemby ... especially Mitchell Robinson, who said earlier this week he knows how to handle a 7'4" guy like Victor.

"I'm not really worried about the tallness s***," the 7-foot center said. "Just go out there and play hard."

And Mitch knows he can count on Knicks fans to be loud as hell during tonight's game after Wemby's "diss."

FYI -- MSG seats 19,500 people ... and yeah, it's gonna sound like that in a few hours.