Basketball

Former Toronto Raptors power forward Jontay Porter just pleaded guilty to a criminal charge stemming from the gambling case that got him permanently banned from the NBA.

Porter formally issued the plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud while inside of a federal courthouse on Wednesday in New York.

At the proceedings, the 24-year-old -- who had been accused of pulling himself early from games in order to help make his gambling associates a ton of coin -- admitted to wrongdoing ... saying before a judge, "I know what I did was wrong, unlawful, and I am deeply sorry."

Flau'jae Johnson is advising women to wear their fake lashes no matter what Aries Spears or anyone else is saying to the contrary ... do you, boo!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the LSU hoops star in Hollywood on Tuesday and she hit a fast break on Aries' recent comments slamming the current fashion trend of oversized eyelash extensions.

Women of all nationalities and races are gluing the bristle brushes to their eyelids but Aries primarily targeted his "beautiful Black queens" in his viral PSA ... before calling the lashes ridiculous wastes of time.

Cameron Brink ain't letting a torn ACL stop her from being one of the WNBA's fashionistas ... 'cause the L.A. Sparks star rookie is back wearing heels without a brace just weeks after suffering the injury.

The 6-foot-3 forward went to support her team at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday when the Sparks went up against the Minnesota Lynx ... and she pulled up to the game looking like a model.

Brink wore a leather jacket, a cute blue top, a white skirt ... and, most notably, some boot heels with no leg brace.

The man who claims he was hit by Kelly Oubre in a late-night car wreck earlier this year wants the 76ers star to pay up for the damage he says the hooper caused ... and if the NBAer doesn't open his wallet soon, the guy tells TMZ Sports he's going to sue.

Siddh -- a 21-year-old college student -- says he was driving a 2023 Hyundai Elantra at around 1:45 AM on April 23 in Philadelphia when Oubre ran a red light and plowed into him in his purple Lamborghini Urus.

Siddh claims Oubre -- who had just competed against the New York Knicks in a playoff game hours earlier -- was driving at such a high rate of speed ... it rocked his car and caused injuries to himself and one of his passengers.

All eyes in the political world are on Kamala Harris right now, but the Vice President made time to hang out with the Team USA basketball squad ... meeting up with a ton of NBA superstars!!

Harris -- who walked in alongside head coach Steve Kerr -- was a V(I)P surprise guest at UNLV's basketball facility ... where she chopped it up with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry and more.

The squad seemed to be in great spirits as they conversed with Harris ... getting a bit of a pep talk about making the country proud at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

NBA players Ivica Zubac and Dario Saric were NOT the aggressors when all hell broke loose at a nightclub in Greece ... so says Team Croatia, which claims the two hoopers were forced to act out of self-defense.

TMZ Sports obtained a statement from the Croatian Basketball Federation on what went down at the Bolivar Beach Bar near Athens after the squad's Olympic Qualifying Tournament loss ... and from the org.'s side of things, Zubac and Saric were not looking for a fight -- but had no choice.

"While hanging out at a club in Athens, some of our players were verbally and then physically attacked, prompting them to defend themselves," the CBF tells us. "The incident was brief, thanks to the quick intervention of the club's security staff."

Glen "Big Baby" Davis is clearly not worried about his impending prison sentence ... the ex-NBA star was all smiles this week -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks it might actually lead him to the body of his dreams.

The former Boston Celtics power forward was ordered in May to spend 40 months behind bars for his role in a scheme that defrauded the NBA's Players' Health and Benefit Welfare Plan out of a ton of coin ... but when we caught up with him out at LAX, he made it apparent, he's not sweating things.

The 38-year-old was downright jovial, and said he's "not nervous" to be thrown in the slammer.

Shaquille O'Neal is giving the "Hawk Tuah" girl some sage advice ... how to navigate her newfound celebrity status.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... when Shaq and Haliey Welch linked up in Nashville last weekend, the NBA legend started dropping knowledge.

We're told Shaq gave Haliey a bunch of tips on how to deal with fame ... advising her to keep a smart team around because folks will come out of the woodwork to try and take advantage of her.

Angel Reese's Reese's Pieces could be coming to a grocery store near you ... TMZ Sports has learned Hershey's is in talks with the WNBA superstar about a potential partnership.

The connection first playfully began after the Chicago Sky's thrilling win over Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever late last month ... when Reese went to X to call her followers "Reese's pieces."

"Where yall at?????" she wrote.

Many people are screaming "nepotism" after the Lakers selected Bronny James in the NBA Draft, but the move is getting Michael Cooper's big stamp of approval -- 'cause the former Showtime star tells TMZ Sports he LOVES the pick!!

There’s been a ton of talk surrounding L.A.’s decision to take LeBron's oldest son with the 55th pick last week ... as some are considering it a perfect example of a "nepo baby" getting an opportunity over more deserving prospects.

But Cooper – who won five championships with the Purple and Gold – is scoffing at that narrative … breaking down why he is a huge fan while at LAX this week.

Angel Reese is an All-Star -- and achieving the major milestone brought the WNBA star rookie to tears after the Chicago Sky game on Tuesday ... calling out the doubters in the process!

The 6-foot-3 forward received the good news that she'd made the All-Star team after the Sky beat the Atlanta Dream on the road, 85-77.

The awesome moment comes after Reese was named June's WNBA Rookie of the Month after setting a league record for consecutive double-doubles, so you can understand why she was overwhelmed with emotions.

Bronny James is opening up on his decision to rock No. 9 in the NBA ... confirming he chose it to honor late musician Juice WRLD.

LeBron's eldest son faced the media for the first time as a Los Angeles Laker on Tuesday ... and after fielding several questions about his relationship with his four-time champion pops, who was in attendance for the presser, he explained how the digit he'll sport during games was far from random.

"Juice has just been a big part of me, keeping calm in some situations that I've been through," 19-year-old Bronny said minutes ago. "So yeah, just paying homage to him especially because he passed. It's a really important thing for me."

Dick Vitale just underwent surgery to remove a cancerous lymph node ... but in true Dickie V fashion, he's remaining positive about everything.

The famous college basketball announcer revealed last week that he was diagnosed with the disease after tests showed a mass in his neck was malignant.

On Tuesday, docs cut it out of him with the hopes of stopping its spread ... and in a post on his X page, he told his followers he's optimistic about his prognosis.

NBA veteran Cameron Payne was placed in handcuffs and thrown behind bars last month because he repeatedly refused to give officers his real name during a police investigation after he dialed 911 ... at least, that's what cops are saying.

According to a Scottsdale Police Department incident report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Payne called cops at around 2:44 AM on June 14 after getting into an argument with his girlfriend in Arizona.

But, cops say when officers arrived on the scene, he and his GF told them police services were no longer desired ... as their quarrel was merely a verbal one, and they had calmed down since.

Jayson Tatum's summer just got even better -- the Boston Celtics champion just secured a 5-year, $315 MILLION extension ... making it the biggest contract in NBA history.

News of the negotiations broke minutes ago ... with the 26-year-old agreeing to a supermax deal to stay put in Beantown -- quite possibly the biggest no-brainer of the offseason.

Tatum is fresh off winning his first title with the Cs after eliminating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last month ... and while he didn't win MVP honors, he was crucial to Boston's success this postseason -- averaging 25 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists a game.

"Hawk Tuah" girl's 15 minutes of fame ain't over yet -- and clearly, neither is her time spittin' -- 'cause the internet's newest star was seen over the weekend partying with Shaquille O'Neal in Nashville, where she, fittingly, coughed up some saliva on one of his microphones!!

The NBA legend -- who moonlights as a DJ -- was in the Music City on Sunday for a performance at Jon Bon Jovi's new JBJ's Nashville joint ... when, at some point, he crossed paths with Haliey Welch, aka Hawk Tuah.

The two chatted it up at the eatery and posed for some pictures ... and later in the evening, she joined the Big Diesel in his DJ booth.