Basketball

Logan Paul's foray into the sports world goes deeper than the WWE ring ... the star wrestler, along with partner business KSI, continues to kick ass in the drink space, linking up with one of the most valuable franchises in the world, the L.A. Lakers!

Prime Hydration and the Purple and Gold announced the biz deal on social media on Tuesday, revealing the new partnership, writing ... "Lakers x @PrimeHydrate Hydration: Get ready L.A., PRIME Hydration is the new Official Sports Drink of the Los Angeles Lakers."

Of course, it's not the first time Logan and KSI's company has gone into business with a major force in the sports world ... they're also the official sports drink of the UFC, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arsenal, and FC Barcelona, amongst other teams and leagues.

They also work with individual athletes like Patrick Mahomes and Israel Adesanya.

Not too shabby ... and the Lake Show deal positions Prime as an indirect partner with LeBron James.

Puka Nacua put his hoops skills on full display at the NBA's All-Star festivities last month ... and he tells TMZ Sports if he ever needed basketball to pay his bills, he could probably get it done professionally overseas!!

The Rams wideout put on the show on Feb. 16 at the All-Star Celebrity Game in Indianapolis ... scoring 16 points while throwing down two highly impressive dunks. It was so eye-opening, many wondered if the football player could actually transition just fine into the sport if he wanted to.

So, when we got him out at LAX this month ... we asked the question -- and he didn't say no!!!

While he was sure he could never get it done in the NBA, the 22-year-old didn't rule out other pro leagues across the pond ... telling us, "Maybe in another country!"

Nacua, however, doesn't seem interested at all in pursuing another career anytime soon -- telling us straight up, "I'm a lot better at football, that's for sure."

Of course, there's really no reason whatsoever to even explore at this point. The former BYU standout just had one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history, catching 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns.

12:06 PM -- The L.A. Lakers say they're already in the process of fixing the typos on Kobe Bryant's statue ... admitting to ABC News on Monday they've known of the issues "for a few weeks."

"We have been aware of this for a few weeks," a spokesperson said, "and are already working to get it corrected soon."

The statue erected to immortalize Kobe Bryant outside of Crypto.com Arena has multiple typos on it ... at least four, to be exact.

The flaws were discovered this week ... on the base of the monument where an image of a signed box score from Bryant's famed 2006, 81-point game was etched in.

You can see Von Wafer's name is mistakenly spelled "Vom Wafer." Jose Calderon's name is also incorrectly listed as "Jose Calderson." The word "decision" in two of the "Coach's Decision" portions of the statue is also wrongfully written as "decicion."

A copy of the box score sold at Goldin Auctions back in 2022 shows none of the errors were featured on the original document.

We've reached out to the Lakers for comment, but so far, we've yet to hear back.

The Bryant sculpture was first put up at the arena back on Feb. 8 ... at a star-studded event. Phil Jackson, Stu Lantz, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Derek Fisher and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss were all there ... as was Vanessa Bryant, who helped introduce it with an emotional and, at times, lighthearted speech.

"For the record," Vanessa said before the public saw the carving for the first time, "Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see. So if anyone has any issues with it, tough s***."

At the ceremony, it was also announced the Lakers would unveil two more tributes to Bryant at their arena at a later date.

The brother of LSU hoops star Flau'jae Johnson has been arrested after cops say he injured an SEC employee when he jumped onto the basketball court as a scuffle broke out on the hardwood during the Tigers-Gamecocks game.

Greenville Police tell TMZ Sports that Johnson's brother, Trayron Milton, was taken into custody Monday and was charged with assault, battery in the 3rd degree and disorderly conduct.

The arrest comes following his involvement in the altercation during the women's SEC title game on Sunday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena ... which was started when Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley shoved Johnson to the floor.

Milton, who was sitting courtside, hopped over the scorer's table, apparently trying to defend his sister, but also injuring an SEC employee in the process.

"While Milton was jumping over the barrier, the victim was sitting at the scorer's table at the edge of the court," a GPD spokesperson said.

"To get over the table, Milton came from behind the table, pushed down on the victim’s head, and stepped on her shoulders to jump over."

Milton was eventually placed in handcuffs and escorted out of the arena while being booed by fans.

Johnson has not commented about the incident or her brother's arrest ... but South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said the LSU guard approached her after the game and apologized.

The Detroit Pistons' lousy season somehow just got even lower ... the team's GM, Troy Weaver, was filmed getting into a heated spat with an angry fan at a game on Saturday.

The incident reportedly happened in the fourth quarter of Detroit's blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the Little Caesars Arena ... when a man decked out in Red Wings gear seemed to confront Weaver at his seat.

You can see in a video posted to TikTok on Sunday ... Weaver appeared to yell at the fan, "You're lucky I don't beat your ass" -- before the man can be heard responding, "You suck at your job."

Weaver then motioned for a security guard to take the guy away from the area. The video then cut out.

A season ticket holder who claimed to have witnessed the interaction told the Associated Press on Sunday the tiff was actually the second time the man had gotten into it with Weaver at the game.

"The guy that was in the incident, with the Red Wings stuff on, came over and was pointing at the scoreboard earlier in the game,” Jeffrey Calloway told the AP. "Troy Weaver just shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘OK,’ and the guy went back to his seat."

"When [Jalen] Duren got ejected, the guy came back and told him that he was terrible at his job. Then, Troy Weaver was telling the fan he had to leave and that's when ushers or security walked over."

Weaver -- Detroit's GM since 2020 -- has yet to publicly comment on the matter.

Anthony Davis' parents had several reasons to celebrate after the Lakers' massive win on Sunday ... their son's historic performance and 31st birthday -- mom and dad even surprised him with a massive cake right in the locker room!

The Lakers center put on a show at the Crypto.com Arena against the Minnesota Timberwolves (who were without Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns) ... finishing the game with 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists, and three blocks.

AD's folks, Anthony Sr. and Erainer, were in attendance to watch their son ... and he was incredible. The 'rents then got to surprise him with a big cake for another trip around the sun.

The Lakers helped out, too ... as mom and dad walked in, players, including LeBron James, began singing "Happy Birthday!"

AD was all smiles ... and rightfully so. His stat line from Sunday's game was a first for an NBA hooper.

"We just want to come out as a team effort knowing that where we are in the standings and how important this game was," Davis said during post-game interviews, "You know, trying to close the gap in the standings."

The Lakers are currently the 9th seed in the West, moving just one game behind the Dallas Mavericks.

LSU women's basketball star Flau'jae Johnson was shoved to the floor during a wild fight at the SEC Championship Game on Sunday.

The push happened with about 2 minutes remaining in the Tigers' 79-72 loss to South Carolina in Greenville ... after Johnson had gotten tangled up with Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley.

You can see in video from the game's broadcast that following the physical play on the court, Johnson nudged Ashlyn Watkins on her way back to her bench. That prompted Kamilla Cardoso to run into the skirmish and put her hands all over Johnson.

After the LSU guard hit the ground, all hell broke loose ... as players from both teams raced onto the floor. At one point, a man ID'ed on the game's broadcast as Johnson's brother even got involved ... jumping over the scorer's table to see the action up close.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and both squads returned to their ends of the court without much further issue.

Six players in total -- including Cardoso -- were ejected from the matchup. Johnson's brother, meanwhile, was led away from the court in handcuffs, but an LSU spokesperson told The Advocate he was not arrested.

Cardoso -- who could be forced to miss some NCAA tournament time now due to her role in the tussle -- went on to apologize for it all in a post on X after the game.

"My behavior was not representative of who I am as a person or the South Carolina program," she wrote, "and I deeply regret any discomfort or inconvenience it may have caused."

As for where Angel Reese was during the whole mix, she wrote in a post on her own X page, "As a person at my STATUS, sometimes you have to walk away from certain situations."

"Mind you," she added, "the play before that I had rolled my ankle AGAIN and was already walking to the bench. I ALWAYS ride for mine. I’m super proud of this team & super excited for march. #geauxtigers."

La estrella de "Ghost Adventures" Zak Bagans no solo persigue fantasmas, el tipo es un gran aficionado a los deportes y ha estado soltando mucho dinero en algunos recuerdos deportivos de primera categoría.

El investigador paranormal le dice a TMZ que desembolsó una asombrosa cantidad de $160.000 para enganchar la tarjeta del novato de la NBA del Año Paolo Banchero, que es sin duda el sueño de un coleccionista de deportes.

Además, la tarjeta está firmada por el propio Banchero en tinta azul elegante, que sin duda aumentó su valor monetario.

Zak sabe que esto es una inversión, diciendo que la tarjeta podría ser una mina de oro en potencia y valdría millones si el novato llega a ganar un futuro campeonato.

Y lo que es más, la primera persona que consiguió esa épica tarjeta de novato de la NBA antes de que saliera a subasta no fue otro que Jonny Venters, ¡el lanzador All-Star de los Atlanta Braves!

Venters habló con el propietario de Goldin Auction -el mismísimo Ken Goldin- sobre cómo se hizo con el santo grial de los recuerdos deportivos y Ken lo calificó como el golpe definitivo de 2022.

"Ghost Adventures" star Zak Bagans ain't just chasing ghouls -- the dude's a major sports buff, and has been dropping serious cash on some top-notch sports memorabilia.

The paranormal investigator tells TMZ he splashed a jaw-dropping $160,000 at Goldin Auctions to snag the NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero Best 1/1 rookie card, which is most definitely a sports collector's dream.

Also, the card is signed by Banchero himself in sleek blue ink -- which undoubtedly increased its monetary value.

Zak's not just splurging for kicks, he's playing the long game here ... saying the card could be a goldmine down the road and worth millions if he wins an MVP or future championship. Talk about a savvy investment move!

What's more, the person who first scored that epic NBA rookie card before it hit the auction block was none other than Jonny Venters, the Atlanta Braves All-Star pitcher!

Venters spoke to the owner of Goldin Auction, Ken Goldin himself, about getting his hands on the holy grail of sports memorabilia -- with KG dubbing it the ultimate hit from 2022.

The woman who went viral after attending the Warriors game this week has experienced an insane surge of interest in her luxury girlfriend services ... and it's gotten so out of hand, she's had to nearly double her hourly rate.

Katherine Taylor caught the eye of many NBA fans after she was spotted cheering on the action during Wednesday's matchup between the Dubs and Milwaukee Bucks at the Chase Center ... largely in part thanks to her wardrobe choice.

TMZ Sports caught up with the stunning blonde following her newfound fame ... and she says being in the spotlight has resulted in some serious interest in her side hustle.

Taylor -- who offers her company for compensation -- tells us she can barely keep up with all the inquiries that have piled in over the past two days ... and her website crashed due to the increase in traffic.

Prior to her appearance at the game, Taylor (who's actually a Sacramento Kings fan) was charging 900 bucks an hour for her services ... but now, it'll set ya back $1,500/hr. Ya know, supply and demand.

Damian Lillard's a must-have commodity for GloRilla, after the rapper pulled up from 40 feet to shoot her shot at the reigning NBA All-Star MVP!!!

TMZ caught up with Dame in Bev. Hills on Thursday ahead of his Bucks face-off against the Lakers and asked if he was even aware that Glo wanted to be on what he was on.

After Dame led the highest-scoring ASG ever with 39 points, Big Glo squeezed in a photo op and instantly marked her territory ... and threatened to hard foul anyone who attempted to score on her future man!!!

The way her "Yeah Glo!" hit has been on the rise, it doesn't sound like Glo's taking no for an answer, either.

Judging from Dame's ear-to-ear grin, he's aware the Memphis rapper wants him bad ... no comment if he's already taken her up on her offer!!! 🤐

Dame Time may not have clocked GloRilla just yet -- but his new Milwaukee teammates are feeling the love ... after he upgraded everyone's wrists with gold watches from his Tissot line on the team plane.

LeBron James used his day off from the Lakers to support his son, Bronny ... showing up to the teen's USC game decked out in Trojans gear!

The NBA superstar was in total Dad Mode on Thursday night ... rollin' to the Galen Center in downtown Los Angeles to watch SC face off against Arizona State.

The 39-year-old -- wearing a Trojans hoodie and a cardinal and gold cap -- sat next to his wife, Savannah, in the best seats in the house ... and cheered his face off the entire time.

Bronny didn't do much in front of Pops -- he played just 16 minutes and didn't score a point. He did, however, log two assists, one steal and one rebound.

Of course, the two could actually be teammates next season -- although that topic has recently been a hot-button issue in the hoops world.

After a medical emergency and subsequent lack of playing time, the freshman guard dropped off many mock drafts, leading to a ton of criticism of the 19-year-old. LeBron, however, recently addressed all of that -- writing in a now-deleted post on X, "Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball."

"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!"

Oklahoma City Thunder center Bismack Biyombo collapsed in the middle of a game Wednesday night -- scaring the hell out of his teammates ... and the troubling scene was all captured on video.

It happened during the second quarter of OKC's tilt against the Trail Blazers in Portland ... when Biyombo was trying to lift up some Thunder players as they walked toward the bench for a timeout.

But, as you can see in the game's broadcast footage, as Biyombo was slapping some hands ... he started to sway -- before he dropped into some chairs nearby.

The 31-year-old laid on the ground motionless for several seconds ... sending his teammates into a panic. Thankfully, however, he was able to get up and walk off the court under his own power -- while holding the back of his head.

It's unclear what exactly went wrong with the NBA veteran ... but OKC head coach Mark Daigneault said it looks like he's avoided a serious ailment.

"He's fine," the coach said after the game. "He just fainted, basically. He was in the locker room at halftime laughing and joking."

Referees from a New Jersey high school playoff basketball contest are admitting they messed up big time ... saying they wrongfully called off a buzzer-beating bucket at the end of a game -- but they can't do anything about it.

The controversy happened at the New Jersey Sports Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 2 semifinal game between the Camden Panthers and the Manasquan Warriors on Tuesday ... a matchup that came down to the wire.

The Panthers were up by 1 with just under 6 seconds left ... and after Warriors hooper Rey Weinseimer missed a 3-pointer, his teammate Griffin Linstra was positioned perfectly and nailed a put-back right before the clock hit zeros.

Warriors win, right?! That's what everyone in the gym thought ... but after a quick meeting, referees waived off the shot -- reversing the outcome.

The call was shocking, considering footage clearly shows time on the clock (.4 seconds) when the ball left Linstra's hand ... and the officials' mistake robbed the Warriors of advancing to the championship game.

The NJSIAA confirmed the refs were wrong ... but rejected Manasquan's appeal regardless, claiming they could not change the final score.

"So while the officiating crews' reports indicate that a post-game review of footage of the play in question convinced them that the basket should have counted, the results could not then and cannot now be changed," NJSIAA said.

"These are the rules of the game that all schools agree to follow, and which have been upheld on appeal. We apologize to the Manasquan team for the error."

The organization explained because the refs left the "visual confines of the playing court," the outcome was set in stone.

As you can imagine, Manasquan head coach Andrew Bilodeau was furious ... not only for his players -- but the Panthers as well.

"My heart for our kids but it also hurts for Camden. I hate to see their win be tarnished with any controversy. No kids deserve that."

Damon Dash recently took a break from bashing Jay-Z to focus on his post-Roc-A-Fella Records days when he wanted to lead the next generation of rap stars into independence ... but claims they abandoned him for the major label machine.

Those stars grew up to become Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y and Stalley --  who all got a scolding from DD in a recent podcast with Math Hoffa ... where he came off like a disappointed dad in the aftermath of all three of them signing to Atlantic Records, which Dame claims happened behind his back.

TMZ Hip Hop actually caught up with Stalley, who tells us Dame's recollection of events is without merit ... saying they never signed any legally binding paperwork. He even had to pay his own way to be part of the music video shoots.

Stalley appeared on several tracks for Dame's DD172 label -- including his self-titled "S.T.A.L.L.E.Y." track -- and tells us he can't understand why Dame can't pronounce his name correctly. Dame does kinda butcher it a bit in the vid.

Dame framed Stalley as "grumpy" -- and cited a run-in at the airport years ago where he says Stalley expressed regret for taking the Atlantic deal.

Stalley denies telling Dame he regretted anything at the airport ... and says there was frustration more than anything, but is certain that he and Dame had the least interactions of everyone present.

New police video shows Haywood Highsmith was visibly shaken up after being involved in a gruesome car crash last month ... appearing to be on the verge of tears in the minutes after the wreck.

The footage was captured on a Miami-Dade Police Dept. officer's body camera at around 11:20 PM on Feb. 6 ... shortly after Highsmith had played in the Heat's game against the Magic at the nearby Kaseya Center.

In the clip, you can see as a cop was questioning Highsmith about how he ran into a 21-year-old who was helping a stranded motorist in the middle of the roadway, causing serious injuries, the basketball player was emotional.

Highsmith, who at one point needed to be consoled by a woman at the scene, told the officer the car he slammed into had been stopped with no lights on. Other witnesses in the area can be heard in the footage saying similar things.

"It didn't have emergency lights on," one said, "at all."

"It was just abandoned in the middle," another added, "blacked out."

Police documents state Haywood was driving 45 MPH in a 40 MPH zone when he hit Alekxei Pino and another car from behind. The docs say Pino sustained a partial amputation on his right leg, as well as a compound fracture to his left leg.

Cops say they believe drugs and alcohol were not involved -- but Highsmith was still issued a citation for careless driving. He didn't play in Miami's game the following night on Feb. 7 -- although he's logged minutes in multiple Heat games since.

Pino, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit against Highsmith, claiming the hooper's careless actions on the roadway caused him to suffer life-altering injuries that will require "a very long road of rehabilitation."