Basketball

It took Al Horford 17 years to win his first NBA title ... but he's hoping he can double his ring collection next season -- telling TMZ Sports he's 100% NOT retiring and is returning to the Boston Celtics.

We spoke with the longtime vet fresh off his team's championship win over the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals ... and while many might assume he'd consider ending his career on the highest of notes, the 38-year-old told us that's absolutely not the case.

"There's no question about it," Horford said while working a shift at Raising Cane's in Boston. "I don't know why those speculations were out there, that I was, like, retiring. But I'm still playing and I'm very excited for next season."

The 2024 Celtics easily handled the Dallas Mavericks. But, how would Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's squad do against the last Boston team to bring a title to Beantown? We asked NBA champ Eddie House!

Not only was the longtime pro a member of the '08 team (he played for BOS from 2007 to 2010), he's also close to this year's Celtics ... he covers the team for NBC in Boston.

So, put Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and the rest of the hoopers on a court against Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and the rest of the '08 team, WHO WINS?!

"We win," Eddie said of his 2007-2008 team ... before explaining his rationale.

"We're not going to allow them to shoot all them threes. We're going to run them off the threes. And I feel like defensively, we were a better team defensively. Now, offensively, because of the threes and the way the game is played now, I'll give them the edge [offensively]," House explained.

"But we're going to knock that down. We're going to make it a drag-out game. And if it's a close game, I'm putting the ball in Paul Pierce's hands and I feel like he's going to deliver every single time. But don't get it twisted. I love this team."

Bottom line ... House isn't throwing shade. He simply believes that out of the two super-talented squads, his would emerge victorious.

There's much more with House ... we asked the NBA champ what the often maligned (during the Finals, at least) Luka Doncic must do if he wants to win a championship. We also discussed whether or not the treatment of Kyrie Irving crossed a line.

Plus, we asked Eddie about his hoops star son, Jaelen House, who's hoping to get drafted this year. What advice is the longtime pro giving his boy?

A celebrity basketball tournament slated to go down at a high school in New Jersey next month has been axed ... after the event's raunchy theme sparked outrage in the community.

The "Nuttin But Azz" Celebrity Baddies Basketball contest was all set to go forward on July 21 at West Side High School in Newark ... but after a video promoting the event featured girls shaking their butts in tiny thongs at the H.S.'s gym -- officials pumped the brakes on it all.

According to Newark Public Schools spokesperson Nancy Deering, the event "was supposed to be a community basketball event sponsored by" a local politician ... but once the promo hit social media -- everything changed.

JJ Redick is the guy for the Los Angeles Lakers -- the ex-NBA player was reportedly just hired as the organization's next head coach.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the news on Thursday ... saying after a thorough interview process, Redick was offered the gig and has already started building his staff.

The Lakers reportedly also interviewed names like Danny Hurley, James Borrego and Sam Cassell ... and also had interest in Kenny Atkinson, Mike Budenholzer and Ty Lue.

Kendrick Lamar put on one of the biggest hip hop moments in recent memory Wednesday night in Inglewood ... and there were a lot of highlights on the heels of the Drake beef.

The concert served as the ultimate victory lap in what many have called a crushing win against Drizzy in their recent rap battle -- and the reason is pretty clear ... KL played "Not Like Us" 5 times in a row, and the instrumental even closed out the show!

Kendrick made sure Juneteenth 2024 will go down in history ... West Coast DJs Hed and Mustard opened the show and offered no shortage of cameos and hype music for the crowd.

Kendrick Lamar's "Pop Out" concert in L.A. looked something like NBA All-Star Weekend ... with LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and James Harden all attending the massive event -- and two of the superstar ballers even hopped onstage!!

K. Dot set the world on fire during his Juneteenth unity celebration at the Kia Forum on Wednesday ... where he performed his iconic Drake disses for the first time, as well as all the classics from his discography.

Bron, Russ, DeMar and Harden were all present for the epic night of music ... and when the time came for Kendrick to perform "Not Like Us" (several times in a row, mind you), Westbrook and DeRozan were right by his side -- as well as DJ Mustard, who produced the scathing track.

Houston Rockets star Jalen Green and his girlfriend, Draya Michele, hit the town for a lunch date on Wednesday ... and they brought their little bundle of joy along!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the parents at Cecconi's in West Hollywood just minutes ago ... and the two had their newborn baby girl in tow.

Jalen and Draya -- who have been linked to each other since August 2023 -- welcomed the addition to their families on Mother's Day (May 12) ... so, understandably, they requested we not conduct the kid's first interview just yet.

12:45 PM PT -- Cameron Brink just commented on the injury ... and while it clearly broke her heart -- she's vowing to come back stronger than before.

"I will not be derailed and I will continue to love this life," she said on her Instagram page Wednesday afternoon. "I'm not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it. It's not goodbye basketball it’s just a see you later. I’m always so thankful for your thoughts and prayers. 💜💛"

Devastating news for one of the most popular young hoopers in the WNBA -- L.A. Sparks rookie Cameron Brink suffered a left torn ACL during Tuesday night's game ... leaving her sidelined indefinitely.

Forget a stage, Kanye West's 8-year-old kid's future might just be on the hardwood ... check out some highlights Kim Kardashian posted of their son from a recent youth basketball game -- Saint West can ball!!

The SKIMs co-founder posted the clips on her Instagram page Tuesday night ... showing the little guy scoring at will against his peers.

The youngin' -- rocking a blonde fauxhawk and lime green sneakers -- was shown hitting a long 3-pointer, dribbling in and out of defenders ... and finishing at the basket too!!

The Boston Celtics are ridin' high after winning their league-leading 18th NBA championship, and former star Celtics hooper turned team broadcaster Cedric Maxwell is ensuring the world knows where the best franchise resides -- and it isn't L.A.!

Maxwell, a 2x NBA champ with the Celtics who was named Finals MVP in 1981 (he played in Boston from 1977-1985), joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) following Beantowns 4-1 series victory of the Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks.

And, if you thought the Celtics wouldn't point out they've now got more 'chips than their rivals on the West Coast, you're mistaken (the Lakers have 17)!

The NBA champs have taken their celebration to Florida ... with Jayson Tatum and his Boston Celtics teammates arriving at a fancy hotel in Miami on Tuesday -- and, of course, the Larry O'Brien Trophy came along for the fun!!

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the superstar hooper all smiles as he cradled the hardware ... showing him hopping off a team bus and into the building.

It was no secret the victors were heading for the Sunshine State -- they had their travel plans etched on a whiteboard in the locker room as they partied their faces off after beating the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

A garden that Steph and Ayesha Curry helped bring to a school in Northern California last year was sadly ripped apart by vandals over the weekend.

The small oasis -- which was funded, in part, by the Currys' Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation -- was added to a playground at Global Family Elementary School in Oakland during the 2022-23 school year ... but, according to Oakland Unified School District, it's now in need of serious repair.

OUSD officials say some jerks "tore apart the planters, ripped out the irrigation system, broke all the wooden benches, damaged a ladder, and left everything in the area in disarray."

Michael Jordan's boat was not the G.O.A.T. this weekend ... leaving a big fishing tournament empty-handed.

His Airness' Catch 23 watercraft competed in the 66th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin competition in Morehead City, NC ... in hopes of landing a piece of the massive $7.5 million prize pool.

MJ's crew of seven anglers and a captain, however, did not place or earn any money over the course of the weekend.

Doris Burke poked fun at the nationwide Caitlin Clark obsession during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday ... cracking a joke about the narrative surrounding the WNBA superstar's treatment on the court.

The ESPN talent name-dropped the Indiana Fever hooper following a hard foul in the second quarter of the Celtics' series-clinching win over the Mavericks ... when P.J. Washington wrapped his arms around Kristaps Porzingis and dragged him to the hardwood.

Burke was quick to react with a witty comment ... saying, "If that were Caitlin Clark, it might spark a debate for a week."

Celtics fans poured into Boston streets just seconds after Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown won the city an NBA title ... and they celebrated in chaotic fashion -- all while trashing Kyrie Irving in the process.

The impromptu block party began near TD Garden arena right after the C's mercifully ended the Dallas Mavericks' season by winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals, 106-88.

You can see thousands of green-clad fans flooded roadways -- jumping on top of police vehicles ... and chanting "F*** Kyrie!"

Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick is back at it with the hijinks ... this time, he celebrated his teammate's birthday by once again using his surname to make out a funny message.

The 20-year-old joined in on showing love for fellow Raptors hooper Immanuel Quickley on his 25th cake day ... but while others went the traditional route, Dick added a not-so-subtle note by meshing both their jerseys together to create a NSFW message.

Of course, Dick is known for this kinda comedy -- he went super viral this season for a jersey swap with Orlando Magic rookie Anthony Black ... spelling out quite the X-rated phrase.