Basketball

Common didn't let a negative scouting report from Michael Jordan, of all people, mess up his hoops game ... in fact, the versatile rapper used the criticism and ended up snagging an MVP trophy.

The Chicago-born MC was on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" when he recalled MJ throwing salt on his game after his performance in the 2010 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game.

Common says he thought he actually played well, and was trying for the MVP -- but Jordan saw it much differently.

Common says when he linked with MJ at the Brand Jordan after-party, his hoop dreams deflated a bit as the GOAT himself told him verbatim ..."Stick to rapping and acting.'"

Fast forward to 2020, Common ... a little older and wiser didn't pack it in after MJ's insults, and won 2020's celebrity game MVP with a well-rounded stat line of 10 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST and 4 STL. He did also stick with rapping and acting ... and both have worked out really well.

So, Jordan wasn't ALL wrong!

Russell Westbrook's three-pointer in the Clippers' win over the Lakers was a shoo-in for highlight of the night honors ... 'cause the NBA star nailed the jumper with just one sneaker!!

The wild play went down in the final minute of the first quarter of the Battle of L.A. at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday ... when Brodie's Jordan Brand kick came loose during an offensive possession.

Westbrook tried to squeeze his shoe back on while keeping his dribble alive at the same time ... but once he started to get pressure from Lakers guard Jarred Vanderbilt, he decided to ditch it on the sideline.

Despite the wardrobe malfunction, the former MVP didn't give up on the chance to score -- pulling up from behind the arc and draining a beautiful trey.

It didn't stop there -- Westbrook rushed back on defense after the bucket ... and in the meantime, Clippers coach Ty Lue grabbed his shoe and put it on the scorer's table.

Once the next dead ball came around, Westbrook reunited with his right sneaker ... and the game went on without any other issues.

The three ball was one of many big plays for the Clippers -- Kawhi Leonard and James Harden led the way as the home team beat up on the LeBron James-less Lakers ... coming away with the 127-116 win.

Shaquille O'Neal and Zach Randolph's daughters are following in their giant footsteps ... the ex-NBA stars' offspring were just named McDonald's All-Americans -- just like their dads!!

The final rosters were revealed Tuesday ... and, sure enough, both Me'Arah O'Neal and Mackenly Randolph were selected to play in the prestigious event, which will go down April 2 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

17-year-old Me'Arah -- a 6-foot-3 guard/forward out of Episcopal High School in Texas -- recently committed to play for the Florida Gators ... and she was stoked to learn of the new honor on Tuesday.

"God did❤️🙏🏽," she wrote on her Instagram page after the announcement was made. "Grateful is an understatement."

Meanwhile, Randolph's daughter -- a 17-year-old forward out of Sierra Canyon in California -- was pumped to earn the spot in the big game as well ... going crazy after she saw her name pop up on TV during the announcement special.

The duo's famous fathers, of course, both starred in their iterations of the MCDAAG ... with Shaq winning co-MVP in 1989 and Randolph winning the award in 2000.

Other notables who were selected for the annual all-star game -- which features 48 total boys and girls -- included Cooper Flagg, Joyce Edwards, Sarah Strong, Dylan Harper and Jaloni Cambridge.

Darren Waller is addressing all the speculation surrounding his marriage -- adamantly denying he is heading for divorce from his wife, WNBA superstar Kelsey Plum ... and explaining the recent TikTok that sparked the rumors was nothing more than some internet shenanigans.

The New York Giants tight end raised some eyebrows with his social media activity this week ... when he posted a video of himself dancing to a remixed breakup song and including the caption, "Stay strong kings!!! 🤣 #fyp #explore #men #heartbroken #music #vibes."

Some folks took the clip at face value and assumed Waller and Plum were taking a trip to Splitsville ... but TMZ Sports spoke with the Pro Bowler, and he tells us that couldn't be further from the truth.

Waller explained he was just goofing around with his sample of The Delfonics song, "Think It Over" ... and he's surprised with how people took it.

As we previously reported, Waller and Plum got hitched back in March 2023 ... at a beautiful ceremony in front of their closest friends and family.

Adrian Griffin's time in Milwaukee is over -- the Bucks just fired their head coach after less than a year on the job ... despite having the second-best record in the league.

Multiple reports confirmed the move on Tuesday ... just hours after Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. beat the Detroit Pistons, 122-113.

It is a bit of a head-scratching move to some ... as the Bucks currently sit at second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record. Others believe the writing was on the wall, as Griffin -- a former Seton Hall star and NBA player -- appeared to be a bad fit with the current roster.

Joe Prunty is expected to take on interim coaching duties for now ... and there are rumblings the team will look for a veteran coach like Doc Rivers to take the reins permanently.

It's a quick turnaround for the organization -- it just introduced Griffin as Mike Budenholzer's replacement in June 2023.

Whoever takes over in Milwaukee will have one of the most talented squads in the league ... with stars like Giannis, Damian Lillard and Kris Middleton.

Tristan Thompson será marginado de los partidos de la NBA en el futuro previsible. La liga le acaba de dar una bofetada con una gran suspensión después de considerar que este violó su programa antidrogas.

Según la NBA, el jugador de los Cleveland Cavaliers dio positivo a las sustancias ibutamoren y SARM LGD-4033, ambas prohibidas, y por ello no se le permitirá jugar en los próximos 25 partidos del equipo.

Ambos fármacos se consideran potenciadores del rendimiento y ayudan a los usuarios a mejorar su fuerza y acelerar su recuperación.

Thompson aún no ha abordado públicamente estos test positivos.

La liga dijo el martes que la suspensión de Thompson comenzará el miércoles cuando Cleveland se enfrente a los Bucks de Milwaukee.

El jugador de 32 años y ex de Khloe Kardashian se acaba de unir a los Cavs en septiembre y recientemente parecía muy entusiasmado sobre su potencial esta temporada. Había cambiado además su número de camiseta del 12 al 13, dígitos que llevaba cuando comenzó por primera vez en los Cleveland en 2011.

"Usar cualquier otro número no se sentía bien", dijo. "Juntos de nuevo, con el número 13 para siempre".

Tristan Thompson will be sidelined from NBA games for the foreseeable future ... the league just slapped him with a huge suspension after it says he violated their anti-drug program.

According to the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers forward tested positive for banned substances ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033 ... and he'll now be barred from playing in the team's next 25 games for it.

Both drugs are considered to be performance enhancers ... ones that help users improve their strength and speed up their recovery.

Thompson has yet to publicly address the positive tests.

The league said Tuesday that Thompson's suspension will begin on Wednesday ... when Cleveland takes on the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 32-year-old -- Khloe Kardashian's ex -- just joined the Cavs in September ... and he recently seemed fired up about the potential of this season -- after he switched his jersey number from 12 to 13, digits he wore when he first started in Cleveland back in 2011.

"Wearing any other number didn't feel right," he said. "Back together, Number 13 forever."

Kevin Durant was utterly shocked after finding out about Joel Embiid's career night ... hilariously reacting in real time as he praised the Philadelphia 76ers superstar's 70-point outing.

K.D. -- who dropped 43 in the Phoenix Suns' 115-113 win over the Chicago Bulls -- met with reporters after his own great performance ... and he gave an unfiltered response when asked about the 29-year-old center's stat line against the San Antonio Spurs.

"70?! He had 70?! S***," K.D. said in disbelief ... while also giving Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns props for his 62 points against the Charlotte Hornets.

The question was centered around the current state of the NBA ... and after Durant wrapped his head around Embiid's offensive clinic, he gave a thoughtful take.

"The skill level in this league is insane and actually the coaching, the schemes on offense is insane," K.D. said. "You seen so many different sets being run for bigs to get threes."

"Coaches are being way more creative to put their best players in great positions to get those numbers and you got shooters all around the floor, you got penetrators. I mean, this is the peak of basketball, in my opinion."

"It's insane what we got going on."

Embiid finished his night with 70 points (a Sixers franchise record), 18 rebounds and five assists ... and his teammates went nuts for him in the locker room to celebrate the accomplishment.

The Golden State Warriors will wear all-black T-shirts this week to pay tribute to Dejan Milojević in the wake of the assistant coach's tragic passing.

Steve Kerr debuted the tee at a press conference on Monday afternoon ... and you can see it features Milojević's initials inside of a heart as well as the word "BRATE" -- which means "brother" in Serbian.

Kerr said his team has been devastated and heartbroken since Milojević suffered a fatal medical emergency on Jan. 16 while at a team dinner in Salt Lake City ... telling reporters this past week has been "hard to describe."

"It's just the saddest thing I have been a part of in the NBA where we lose someone who's so close to us and then, more importantly, seeing his family suffer," Kerr said.

Kerr, however, praised Milojević's former Serbian teams, Mega and Partizan, for honoring Dejan during their game Monday.

"Deky's two teams were playing against each other," Kerr said. "I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like the pre-game dedication from the fans and organizations there to Deky."

"It was incredible."

Milojević joined Kerr's staff in 2021 ... and following his passing, the NBA postponed the Warriors' games against the Jazz and the Mavericks.

LeBron James might be the King, but he thinks he's getting royally screwed over when it comes to officiating ... 'cause the Los Angeles Lakers superstar just unloaded on refs for not calling a foul after he suffered a bloody arm scratch during Sunday's game.

The play in question went down when LBJ drove to the basket in the third quarter of the Purple & Gold's 134-110 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers ... but instead of two points, he ended up with a few cuts on his right bicep at the hands of opponent Scoot Henderson.

James was patched up with an ointment and continued the game ... finishing with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists on the night.

Despite the solid outing and a team win, James is clearly still upset about how the sequence played out ... 'cause he had a message for the officials Monday afternoon.

"[Zebra] look right at me and said, 'I didn't see a foul!'" Bron said on Instagram. "Man what!"

"I give up man."

It's going to end up being a pricey post for the King -- the NBA has strict rules against publicly criticizing referees ... and a fine is likely on the horizon.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West showed up for their son Saint's basketball game Friday night – and the former couple came together and did their best to hide the multitude of issues between them.

Kanye arrived separately from Kim and their daughter, Chicago, at the sporting event in LA Friday night. While rooting on Saint during the match-up, Kim and Kanye had an interaction, which was photographed by paparazzi.

Check out the images, obtained by TMZ ... Kim is standing beside Kanye with Chicago between them, talking to the rapper about something. What they discussed is anyone's guess.

Other pictures captured the exes sitting in the same row but several chairs apart with Kanye texting on his phone and Kim chatting with Saint. Their other kids -- North and Psalm — did not attend the game.

As we reported, Kim and Kanye finalized their divorce in 2022 after 7 years of marriage and have been co-parenting ever since. The pair have reunited before at various gatherings, but only in support of their children.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... behind the scenes there have been problems with various child-rearing issues ... where Kim and Kanye don't see eye to eye. And, we're told, Kim is super upset over Kanye's latest torrent of antisemitic rants, praising Hitler and the Nazis.

Kim Kardashian y Kanye West se presentaron para el partido de básquetbol de su hijo Saint el viernes por la noche e hicieron todo lo posible por ocultar la gran cantidad de problemas que hay entre ellos.

Kanye llegó por separado de Kim y su hija, Chicago, al evento deportivo de Los Ángeles. Mientras animaban a Saint durante el partido, ambos tuvieron una interacción, que fue fotografiada por los paparazzi.

Echa un vistazo a las imágenes obtenidas por TMZ. Kim está de pie junto a Kanye con Chicago entre ellos, hablando con el rapero sobre algo. Lo que discutieron es una incógnita.

Otras imágenes capturaron a los ex sentados en la misma fila, aunque había varias sillas de distancia entre ellos. Kanye estaba enviando mensajes de texto en su teléfono y Kim estaba charlando con Saint. Sus otros hijos, North y Psalm, no asistieron al partido.

Como informamos, Kim y Kanye pusieron fin a su divorcio en 2022 después de 7 años de matrimonio y desde entonces han criado a sus hijos juntos. La pareja se ha encontrado antes para otras reuniones, pero solo para apoyar a sus hijos.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que detrás de cámaras ha habido varios problemas respecto a la crianza de sus hijos, en los que Kim y Kanye no se ven cara a cara. Y nos dicen que Kim está súper molesta por la última diatriba antisemita de Kanye, alabando a Hitler y los nazis.

Josh Giddey todavía está bajo el microscopio de su empleador, la investigación de la NBA respecto a si tuvo una relación inapropiada con un menor de edad sigue en curso, TMZ Sports ha indagado.

Las fuentes nos dicen que nada ha cambiado en lo que respecta a la Asociación a pesar de que la policía recientemente diera por finalizada la investigación sobre el jugador de 21 años de los Oklahoma City Thunder.

Como informamos anteriormente, el caso Giddey terminó después de que los funcionarios no encontraron pruebas suficientes, ya que la menor y su familia se negaron a hablar con los funcionarios.

"Después de un examen minucioso y exhaustivo, hemos completado nuestra investigación sobre la información que circulaba en las redes sociales que involucra a Josh Giddey", dijo la policía de Newport Beach en un comunicado.

"Nuestros detectives han revisado toda la información disponible y no pudieron corroborar ninguna actividad criminal relacionada con el señor Giddey".

Adam Silver dijo en diciembre que la liga estaría pendiente mientras la policía llevaba a cabo su investigación. Suena como que la NBA se está involucrando una vez más.

Giddey no ha hablado sobre el escándalo y se ha mantenido activo para los Thunder a lo largo de ambas investigaciones.

An embarrassing playoff loss suddenly got easier to swallow for Dallas Cowboys star Jake Ferguson ... 'cause he just received an adorable birthday shout-out from his smokin' hot GF, Haley Cavinder!!

One half of the famous Cavinder twins dropped the happy b-day wishes to the tight end on her Instagram page Thursday morning ... sharing a collage of pics of her snuggled up with her man to celebrate his 25th trip around the sun.

"Ocho siete day," she wrote with a party emoji. "Twentyyyy five oldhead!"

Ferguson, of course, could use the TLC from Cavinder ... after all, while he did ball out against the Packers in a playoff game on Sunday, his Cowboys team got smacked, 48-32.

Cavinder, meanwhile, seems to have no problem sharing her love for the football player ... after they took their relationship public a few months ago, she's been nothing but a loyal GF.

The 23-year-old TCU women's basketball player -- who's sitting out this season after transferring from Miami -- was at most of his games .... rockin' his jersey number loudly and proudly.

Josh Giddey might be in the clear legally, but he is still under his employer's microscope -- the NBA's review into claims he had an improper relationship with a minor remains ongoing, TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources tell us nothing has changed as far as the Association is concerned ... despite Newport Beach PD recently closing its investigation without the 21-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder guard being charged.

As we previously reported, the Giddey case ended after officials found no corroborating evidence ... as the minor and her family declined to speak with officials.

"After a thorough and exhaustive examination, we have completed our investigation into information that was circulating on social media involving Josh Giddey," Newport Beach PD said in a statement.

"Our detectives have reviewed all of the available information and were unable to corroborate any criminal activity related to Mr. Giddey."

Adam Silver said in December the league would take a "backseat" while police conducted its investigation ... so with that being over, it sounds like the NBA is grabbing the wheel once again.

Giddey has not spoken on the scandal ... and has remained active for the Thunder throughout both investigations.

Warriors coach Dejan Milojević's tragic death has resulted in heartbreak throughout the NBA ... including Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who gave a touching tribute to his friend in Wednesday's postgame press conference.

The Serbian coach was visibly emotional when asked about the shocking news following the Raptors' 121-97 win over the Miami Heat ... a victory he dedicated to Dejan.

Rajakovic -- who became the Raptors HC last June -- explained he addressed the team prior to tipoff ... and shared a special message from the heart.

"I told my guys that I love them," the 44-year-old coach said, fighting back tears.

Rajakovic -- who had been close with Dejan for years -- revealed the opening play of the game had been designed by the late coach ... something he did on purpose.

"Opening play in the game was [an] ATO that Decky, my friend, I learned that play from him," Rajakovic said.

"That's what he brought to [the] NBA, that's what he brought to Golden State. I stole that play from him and that was our opening play tonight and we were able to score on that one."

Several NBA players and coaches also paid tribute to Milojević since his unexpected death ... including Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Boban Marjanovic, who is also from Serbia.

"You inspired me to be the best version of myself every day and your influence has changed my life," the Houston Rockets center said.

"Thank you for helping me accomplish my dreams! You’re one of the best coaches I was blessed to play for. I pray for your family and friends during this time as we will miss you greatly. God received an angel today. Forever in our hearts. 🙏"