Basketball

The Golden State Warriors are without Andrew Wiggins once again -- the NBA All-Star is taking his second leave of absence in two seasons ... and his return date is up in the air.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed the news surrounding the 29-year-old forward on Wednesday ... saying Wiggins is dealing with a personal matter.

"We're in a position where Wiggs is a private person and he's asked to keep it private and we're gonna honor that," Kerr said on "95.7 The Game."

"So it doesn’t help for me to sit here and try to explain any of that."

Kerr added, "The bottom line is we respect Wiggs, we need him and we fully expect him back, but we just don't know when that will be."

This isn't the first time Wiggins has needed to distance himself from basketball -- right before the All-Star break last year, Andrew stepped away to deal with a family matter.

The Warriors kept quiet about that situation, but Shams Charania of The Athletic reported his father was dealing with a medical emergency.

Rajon Rondo is hoping he won't have to fight a criminal gun charge much longer ... TMZ Sports has learned he's just asked a judge to throw out the count he's facing.

Court documents we obtained show the former NBA star's lawyer filed a motion on Tuesday to dismiss the unlawful carrying of a handgun charge prosecutors hit Rondo with following his arrest late last month.

In the documents, Rondo's attorney argues the charge is unconstitutional ... saying the ex-Boston Celtics point guard is protected by the Second Amendment right to bear arms that gave him the right to have the handgun cops say they found on him during a Jan. 28 traffic stop in Indiana.

"The statute under which Rondo is charged fails to be consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation," the docs state.

A judge has not yet made a ruling on the motion ... but there is a hearing on the docket scheduled for late March.

Rondo was first booked on the gun charge following allegations that a loaded, black, 9MM, Sig Sauer P365 was discovered under the cupholder of his car after cops pulled him over for not having plates on the back of his Tesla.

Cops said due to a previous case against Rondo, he was not allowed to have the firearm. In fact, in police documents, one officer wrote, "I asked Rondo Sr. if he was allowed to have a gun and Rondo Sr. said he was not allowed."

In addition to the gun charge, Rondo is also facing one count of possession of marijuana and one count of possession of paraphernalia in the case ... after cops said they found weed, THC gummies and a pipe with marijuana residue in his Tesla during the stop as well.

Emo Jimmy Butler is back in a big way -- the Miami Heat star is heavily featured in Fall Out Boy's latest music video ... playing the role of a dancing cowboy!!

Butler -- who looked more like Jimmy Heat World during Miami's media day thanks to his hilarious haircut -- brought the look back in the visuals for "So Much (For) Stardust," which show him grooving while rocking an all-purple, bedazzled look.

The first half of the video is all about Butler ... before his character shakes a magic 8 ball and the band's bassist, Pete Wentz, pops out in a beige costume that rivals the hooper's ensemble.

Fans -- who are cleverly dubbing Butler "Heat Wentz" -- are loving the project ... praising the two for movin' and groovin' together in the latter half of the song.

The cowboy part is natural for Jimmy -- especially considering he's been open about his love for blaring country music and his plans to drop his own album.

When he spoke with reporters at media day ... he explained he wanted to be "one with my emotional state," but he quickly switched back to his regular cut shortly after.

Una niña de 8 años cantó con gran pasión el himno nacional en un partido de los Pacers a principios de esta semana, ¡y fue tan épico, que el equipo lo elogió como una actuación "sin igual"!

El nombre de la niña es Kinsley Murray, y después de ganar fama cantando himnos antes de los partidos en todo el país, Indiana le pidió que tomara el micrófono justo antes del inicio del juego el lunes contra los Raptors de Toronto.

Murray, que estaba ataviada con un vestido rojo, blanco y azul, primero cantó "O Canada", antes de comenzar su confiada versión de "The Star-Spangled Banner".

Echa un vistazo al video desde la pista del Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Murray alcanzó todas las notas altas con mucho brío y el público respondió entusiasta en todo momento.

Después, los Pacers tomaron a TikTok para aplaudir el espectáculo.

"La pasión. El oufit", escribió el equipo. "Esta interpretación del himno fue inigualable".

Murray, sin embargo, ha estado impresionando con su canto mucho antes de que el mundo de la NBA pudiera tener un vistazo de ella esta semana. ¡La chica ha estado cantando en los partidos desde que tenía al menos 6 años!

De hecho, Murray acudió al partido entre Dayton y Davidson la noche después de su actuación con los Pacers para impresionar al público de Ohio.

An 8-year-old girl belted out an ultra-passionate rendition of the national anthem at a Pacers game earlier this week ... and it was so epic, the team praised it as an "unmatched" performance!

The youngster's name is Kinsley Murray -- and after gaining fame for singing pregame anthems all across the country -- Indiana tapped her to grab the microphone just prior to its tip-off on Monday against the Toronto Raptors.

Murray -- decked out in a red, white and blue dress -- first sang "O Canada" ... before she began her confident version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Check out video from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse court ... Murray attacked all of the high notes with a whole lot of flare -- and the crowd roared every time.

Afterward, the Pacers took to TikTok to applaud the show.

"The passion. The oufit," the team wrote. "This anthem performance was unmatched."

Murray, though, has been crushing the song long before the NBA world got its glimpse of her this week ... as she's been croonin' at games since she was at least 6 years old!!

In fact, Murray cruised over to the Dayton vs Davidson game the night after her Pacers show ... to wow the crowd in Ohio.

Dan Dakich says college basketball fans advocating for the end of court-stormings need to relax ... telling TMZ Sports the solution to the problem is super simple.

According to the former Hoosiers star ... all schools need to do in order to avoid issues with the end-of-game fan rush is beef up police presence on nights where it's likely to happen.

"The biggest deterrent is you get the cops -- the police -- big bright jackets," Dakich, host of Outkick's Don't @ Me said, "you surround the [losing] team, and no one's coming."

Dakich explained the protection from cops would still allow students to celebrate their universities' biggest in-season achievements while keeping the most vulnerable safe. And, if schools fail to properly prepare for the potential outcome and things do get out of hand, he thinks hefty fines would make sure they stay on top of things.

"You've got to make it hurt," Dakich said of the penalties. "You've got to make it a million."

Of course, many in and out of the sport have called for an end to the longstanding tradition after Kyle Filipowski was injured by Wake Forest supporters after they rushed the floor following an 83-79 win on Saturday.

In fact, Jay Bilas -- an ESPN analyst and a former Duke player -- suggested citations or even arrests should be imposed in order to stop the madness.

But, Dakich -- who actually had one of his players sustain a serious injury in a court-storming situation during his time as Bowling Green head coach -- made it clear ... he's entirely opposed to all of that.

New Kyrie Irving shoes are about to hit the shelves for the first time since his split with Nike ... ANTA and the NBA superstar just announced the "ANTA KAI 1's" are here.

The Chinese apparel company revealed the purple-colored kicks will be available for purchase starting next week ... roughly eight months after Irving agreed to join the co. on a five-year pact.

The shoes -- which will retail for $125 -- feature homages to Irving all over them, the company said in a statement Tuesday morning.

The design is a nod to Kyrie's "slick, gravity-defying transitions and crossovers," the org. said, and parts of the colors and the graphics represent ties to Kyrie's Native American roots.

"As Chief Creative Officer and a player, I've woven the essence of my heritage and my heart for basketball into the design of ANTA KAI 1," Irving said of the new shoes. "This is more than a shoe; it embodies our ancestors' strength and the future we're building."

"Every detail, from the hieroglyphics to the aerodynamic shape, tells the story of where we've been and where we're going."

Of course, Irving's Nike shoes were some of the greatest-selling ones of all-time. From 2011 to 2022, he and the Swoosh debuted several signature ones in total -- all with great success. However, in 2021, things between the Dallas Mavericks star and the apparel giant went sideways.

First, Irving was critical of Nike's eighth iteration of his shoe -- before the project was scrapped. Then, following the controversy that surrounded him after he shared a link to an antisemitic film in 2022, he was suspended by the company. Weeks later, the two formally broke up.

Monty Williams is clearly over bad NBA officiating ... the Pistons head coach put the refs on blast for the "worst no-call" in the final seconds of their game against the Knicks, which led to their 49th loss of the season.

"The absolute worst call of the season, no call," Williams said before storming out of the post-game press conference at Madison Square Garden on Monday, saying, "Enough's enough!"

Williams is referring to a sequence late in the 4th quarter that likely cost the Pistons a win.

With just under 10 seconds remaining in the game, and with Detroit up 1 point, NYK guard Donte DiVincenzo threw an errant pass that was stolen by DET forward Ausar Thompson who started down the court towards Detroit's basket. DD attempted to steal the ball back, and in doing so, he crashed into Ausar, who lost the ball.

It was seemingly a blatant foul ... but no whistle came. Jalen Brunson picked up the ball and fired it to Josh Hart, who was able to make a contested shot at the basket. And one. Instead of the Pistons possessing the ball with 8 seconds left, up 1 and headed to the free throw line, they were down 3 with only 2.8 seconds left.

Knicks win. Monty big mad.

"We had a chance to win the game, and the guy dove into Ausar’s legs, and there was a no-call," Williams said. "That's an abomination. You cannot miss that in an NBA game. Period!

"That situation is Exhibit A in what we've been dealing with all season long and enough is enough!"

The referees even admitted they blew it (or should we say didn't) ... crew chief James Wiliams told a pool reporter that a foul should have been called on DiVincenzo.

For his part, Donte says he was going for the basketball.

"I went for the ball," DiVincenzo said after the game, "I didn't look at the play ... I respect everybody's opinion."

Ironically, the Knicks dealt with a similar scenario not too long ago .... but they were on the other side. Officials called Brunson for a bad foul which resulted in the Knicks losing to the Rockets earlier this month.

LeBron James wants everyone overanalyzing his son's college basketball career to take a step back ... begging Bronny's critics to leave "the kid" alone as he continues to work on his game.

The Lakers superstar's public plea comes on the heels of ESPN's latest mock draft ... which has the 19-year-old USC freshman staying in school instead of going pro in 2024.

Worth noting -- the 6'4", 210-pounder has played in 20 games for the Trojans this season ... averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists after returning from his cardiac arrest incident he experienced months before the season.

James is clearly fed up with the scrutiny Bronny's faced so far in his collegiate career ... and it's gotten to the point where he unloaded on social media over it.

"Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball," King James said on Monday. "The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. If y'all don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!"

Bronny's game was always going to be under the microscope -- not only because of his famous father, but also considering said pops has publicly stated his dream is to be NBA teammates with his eldest son.

LBJ also had words for anyone else feeling pressure from the media ... adding, "And to all the other kids out there striving to be great just keep your head down, blinders on and keep grinding."

"These Mock Drafts doesn’t matter one bit! I promise you! Only the WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE! ✌🏾👑"

"F*** George Karl!"

Kenyon Martin made it very clear he still hates his former head coach ... singling him out as the reason the Nuggets missed out on an NBA championship back in the day.

Those Nuggets teams had a bunch of talent in the 2000s ... with Martin, Carmelo Anthony, and J.R. Smith, among other pieces -- long before the days of Nikola Jokic.

However, the talented squad never made it past the first round of the playoffs under Karl's leadership (he coached the Nuggets from 2005 to 2013) ... and Martin -- who played seven seasons in Denver -- blames GK.

"First and foremost, f*** George Karl," Martin said on the newest episode of Gilbert Arenas' podcast. "F*** him and the horse that he rode in on."

"If we had a different coach, we win the championship. [Karl] didn't add no value to nobody! Not one of us. As a coach, as a person, You didn't add value to s*** that we did!"

Martin added, "You're a horrible person George. Live with that, dog. God don't like ugly and you ugly as s*** on the inside."

Kenyon's rant stems from Melo recently revealing on his "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast that Karl called him "overrated" during his time in Denver. Melo is a 10x NBA All-Star, a former scoring champ, a future Hall of Famer ... and the list of accolades goes on.

Karl did not deny Melo's claims ... saying on X Anthony was inexperienced and overrated when he coached him.

Duke basketball's Kyle Filipowski just got injured on the court ... not during the game, mind you -- but by overzealous fans storming the venue postgame.

Duke -- ranked eighth in the country -- just lost 83-79 in a nail-biter match against unranked Wake Forest, a huge upset that could have major conference championship implications.

As students of the winning side tend to do after a big win, hundreds of excited college kids rushed the court and they appear to have injured the projected top-10 overall pick.

From far away, it was unclear exactly what happened, though Kyle looked to be in considerable pain ... but ESPN had the overhead view of the incident, and it's painful to watch.

It seems one fan ran right into Kyle's leg, bending it the wrong way and apparently spraining his ankle -- all while talking trash to the basketball phenom instead of paying attention to where he was running.

Filipowski nearly collapses, doubled over by the collision before hobbling toward his teammates who supported his weight -- basically, dragging him to the locker room.

Obviously, Kyle's squad was incensed after the game with his coach Jon Scheyer openly questioning when the NCAA was going to ban courtstorming.

Kyle also opened up about the incident after the game ... and he says he thinks the fan hit him on purpose, trying to injure him.

A major injury right now could seriously affect Kyle's future livelihood BTW ... 'cause NBA.com just ranked him as the projected 9th overall pick in this year's draft -- meaning an astronomical payday.

Shaunie O'Neal wants her hoops star daughter, Me'Arah, to stay in school as looooong as possible ... telling TMZ Sports the NIL cash is way better than a WNBA salary!

Depending on the athlete, there's a ton of money to be made at the collegiate level thanks to the "Name, Image and Likeness" rules ... with a reported $917 million in deals being made in the first year alone.

With Shaq and Shaunie's 17-year-old daughter, one of the best high school players in the country, heading to the University of Florida next year, her mom tells us the money's SO good she (and other young women) should wait as long as possible before going pro.

"For the women, for sure, hold on to your college career and NIL money," O'Neal told us at LAX.

"The more I look into it, the more I see these WNBA players are doing multiple things just to make that kinda money."

O'Neal added ... "I think those college students who are able to get these NIL deals, ride it until the wheels fall off!"

Shaunie makes a valid point. The highest base salary for a WNBA player is $241k ... while LSU star Angel Reese reportedly makes around $1.7 million with all her NIL deals.

Shaunie wants Reese's numbers for her daughter ... even though the ultimate goal for the McDonald's All-American is to play in the WNBA.

"If she can hold on to that NIL money and be in college and get a great education along with playing the sport she loves, then why not?!" the TV producer/personality told us.

Whenever she finally is ready for the next level, don't be surprised to see Me'Arah starring in the Association ... she's the best athlete out of Shaq's kids, according to her brother, Shareef O'Neal.

Not everyone believes Donald Trump's $400 sneakers will win over Black voters.

TMZ Sports ran into former NBA star Lou Williams at LAX on Friday ... and we asked him about FOX News host Raymond Arroyo's predictions that DT's kicks will garner him political capital -- earning the former prez votes -- among the Black community.

Of course, Trump recently revealed the $399 pair of "Never Surrender" gold high tops,  and let's just say the reaction was mixed.

Lou Will -- who played 17 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2023 -- disagrees, telling us it's a misguided move if it was in fact Trump's plan to pick up votes.

"If that's your intention, I think you're in the wrong place and I think you're a little misled on thinking how intelligent we are to see this coming a mile away," Williams said on Friday.

Not to mention, Williams isn't really a fan of the sneakers.

"They're not even dope. Not really collectibles. Obviously, some guys are gonna do it when you got the Hypebeasts."

Instead, the 37-year-old would rather Trump, his supporters, and all American voters focus on fixing the country ... rather than materialistic goods.

"We talking about sneakers opposed to the direction that our country is gonna live in and where our kids and how our children are gonna grow up in this world and the leadership that follows that," Williams said.

Kendall Jenner y Devin Booker están reavivando su relación, pero están tomando las cosas con calma y ni siquiera son exclusivos todavía, según ha averiguado TMZ.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo nos dicen que los ex tortolitos han estado pasando más tiempo juntos últimamente, algo que se hizo evidente durante el Super Bowl, cuando vimos a Devin Booker aparecer en la suite de las Kardashian al azar, aunque separado de Kendall.

Aun así, fue curioso... y obviamente despertó nuevos rumores de romance entre ellos, esto después de pasar casi todo el 2023 separados.

Recuerden, ella estuvo saliendo con Bad Bunny en ese momento e iban bastante en serio.

De todos modos, nuestros ojos no nos engañaban y resulta que, de hecho, se están viendo nuevamente, pero nuestras fuentes enfatizan en que no quieren precipitar las cosas.

Testigos presenciales nos dicen que incluso han visto a Kendall aparecer en Dallas esta semana, mientras Devin estaba en la ciudad para el partido de los Mavs y los Suns el jueves, así que sí, ella está incluso viajando para estar con él últimamente.

Es interesante que estén pensando en volver a estar juntos. Primero se separaron a finales de 2022, y de acuerdo con los medios, fue principalmente por lo ocupados que estaban en ese entonces y la falta de tiempo en sus agendas para seguir como una pareja.

Teniendo en cuenta que ambos son casi tan famosos (si no más) como entonces, la justificación parece mentira. Devin sigue siendo un jugador de baloncesto profesional y ella sigue siendo un modelo exitosa.

Kendall Jenner and Devin Booker are rekindling their relationship, but they're taking things slow -- and they're not even exclusive just yet ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us the former lovebirds have been spending more time together lately -- something that became evident during the Super Bowl ... when DB popped up in the Kardashian suite super randomly, albeit separated from Kendall.

Still, it was curious ... and obviously sparked new dating rumors about them -- this after spending just about all of 2023 apart.

Remember, she was dating Bad Bunny at the time ... and they were quite serious.

Anyway, our lying eyes weren't deceiving us -- as it turns out ... we're being told they are, in fact, seeing each other again -- but our sources emphasize they're not rushing into things.

Eyewitnesses tell us they've even seen Kendall pop up in Dallas this week while Devin was in town for the Mavs/Suns game Thursday -- so yeah, she's even traveling to be with him lately.

It's interesting that they're circling getting back together ... they first broke up at the end of 2022, and according to reports -- it was apparently all over how busy they were and not having time in their schedules to keep it going as a couple.

Considering they're both just as famous (if not more so) since then, that rationale sounds like BS -- Devin is still a pro basketball player, and she's still a super successful model.

Move over, Harry Styles, there's a new fashion icon in town -- ex-NBA star Kenny "The Jet" Smith ... whose wardrobe got major props from one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Timothée Chalamet!!

The 'Dune' actor revealed his style inspiration in an interview with Elle this week ... where he raved about the "Inside the NBA" analyst's drip.

Timmy C explained his random choice for who he considers his "style icon" ... saying Smith has varying style, but is always bold -- especially when he rocks sneakers with his suits.

Chalamet also praised Smith's confidence ... adding that's what throws all his looks together.

It's pretty surprising -- not because Smith is a bad dresser by any means, but some probably assumed Chalamet would pick someone more prominent in the fashion scene like a David Beckham, A$AP Rocky or Brad Pitt.

Austin Butler -- who also took part in the interview -- said his "style icon" is Chalamet ... but we're assuming he wasn't just saying that because the dude was in the room -- he's quite the sharp-dressed man.