Basketball

Lonzo Ball hasn't stepped foot on an NBA court as an active player in 942 days and counting ... but it's a streak the former 2nd overall pick tells us he plans to end this upcoming season!

Remember, Ball -- a superstar at UCLA before being drafted by the Lakers in 2017 -- has dealt with several injuries, including a serious knee ailment ... that has forced him to the bench. Lonzo hasn't graced the NBA hardwood since January 2022.

But, when TMZ Sports ran into the hooper at LAX, he provided some good news for the Chicago Bulls fans.

LeBron James ain't done celebrating his latest Olympic gold medal just yet -- the Team USA MVP was living it up in Cannes with Draymond Green, on Friday ... and TMZ Sports has the video!!

King James -- who helped lead the Red, White and Blue to their fifth-straight first-place finish last week -- has been on quite the victory tour over the past few days ... including braving the rain at Adele's concert in Munich.

James was most recently spotted back in France just hours ago ... hitting up the La Guerite beach club to keep the party going.

Even babies fresh out the womb are fans of Caitlin Clark ... 'cause the WNBA star just got asked to autograph a two-week-old child -- and she delivered!!

The Indiana Fever guard met up with a mom and baby at the Fever Fore Change golf fundraiser involving players, coaches, staff and fans on Thursday ... and the rookie handed out quite the gift.

The mother said her little one was Clark's "biggest fan" ... and asked the 6-foot athlete if she wanted to hold the baby.

Kevin Durant is in the company of some new gold AND some stunning acquaintances ... 'cause the NBA superstar is celebrating his Olympic win surrounded by a ton of attractive women -- and he enlisted his teammate, Devin Booker, for the party!!

TMZ Sports has obtained some pics of the Slim Reaper's post-Paris escapades ... and it's clear he's on Cloud 9 after Team USA handled business and defeated France in the final round on Saturday.

K.D. -- who became the States' all-time leading scorer in international play during the latest run for the Red, White and Blue -- made his way to St. Tropez to keep the vibes high after the big win ... and it's clear he wasn't mad one bit about his surroundings.

Joel Embiid is adding to his medal collection -- just days after winning gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the NBA star was awarded the "Order of Valor" in his home country of Cameroon.

The special moment happened on Wednesday in the Central African country ... with the Sixers center surrounded by fans as he made his way to meet Cameroon President Paul Biya.

Once Embiid entered the building, he was approached by President Biya, who greeted him with the Medal of Commander of the Order of Valor -- an honor given to Cameroon natives who have made "exceptional contributions in the fields of arts, science, agriculture, commerce, or industry."

It's 2024, and men aren't the only ones proposing nowadays!

Just ask Gilbert Arenas' fiancée ... who returned the favor, asking the former NBA star to marry her just weeks after he got down on one knee asking her the same question.

Confusing, we know. Here's a breakdown.

A piece of Kobe Bryant's legacy is no longer on the market ... the warm-up jacket he wore before his last-ever NBA game has just sold at auction -- and it netted the seller a small fortune!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the threads the Black Mamba donned just prior to dropping 60 points on the Utah Jazz back in April 2016 at the Staples Center racked up 35 bids -- and officially sold for $336,000.

The jacket -- which was photo-matched for authenticity -- had been up on the SCP Auctions block since mid-July.

Steph Curry wasn't the only American basketball star gettin' buckets this weekend ... DeMar DeRozan WENT OFF in the Drew League Championship, bringing home the title, and an MVP award!

The 2024 title game went down Sunday in front of hundreds of fans at the King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.

DeRozan and his team, the Mecca Cheaters, faced the Nationwide Souljas ... and won 114 to 113 in a nail-biting championship game.

What's crazy ... the MCs were down by 16 with only five minutes left ... but thanks to DeRozan's epic performance they made a furious comeback. DD finished with 54 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Olympic basketball players' hoop dreams brought out some huge stars to the gold medal match ... and they just saw the U.S.A. eke out victory against France.

Jimmy Fallon led the coterie of famous faces at the event ... grinning big courtside and even stopping to snap some photos with French President Emmanuel Macron.

U.S. Olympians past and present -- like two-time basketball gold medalist Scottie Pippen and track star Sha'Carri Richardson, who's taking home serious hardware from Paris -- shouted from the sidelines too.

The Team USA men's basketball team is hours away from competing for Olympic gold ... so in honor of the big showdown with France, TMZ Sports presents the lovely wives and girlfriends of the Red, White and Blue!!

"Captain America" LeBron James' high school sweetheart-turned-wife, Savannah, leads the charge ... with the Queen -- as well as the whole James gang -- showing up in Paris to check out all the action so far in the competition.

Joel Embiid -- who's reppin' 'Merica for the first time at the Olympics since becoming a U.S. citizen -- is hoping to finish at the top of the podium ... and even though she's Brazilian, we're sure his Sports Illustrated swimsuit model wife, Anne de Paula, will be his biggest cheerleader when he goes toe-to-toe with Victor Wembanyama.

The USA men's basketball team almost saw their gold medal dreams disappear on Thursday ... as the Red, White and Blue narrowly escaped an upset in a nail-biter against Serbia in the Olympics semifinals.

America was playing catchup for the majority of the game ... with Nikola Jokic and Bojan Bogdanović ballin' out for Serbia. The Joker finished with 17 points and Bogdanović led the squad with 20 of his own.

But in the waning moments of the contest, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and the rest of Team USA found enough in the tank to erase the lead and pull out the dramatic victory -- punching their tickets to a finals matchup with Team France and Victor Wembanyama.

The U.S. women's basketball team serenaded star hooper A'ja Wilson ... who is celebrating her 28th trip around the sun in Paris!

The 2x WNBA champ is in France for the 2024 Olympics, and with it being Wilson's big day, the team gathered around her at practice to sing HBD -- the Stevie Wonder version!

A'ja dances a bit ... but ya gotta imagine Wilson and the rest of the women are exhausted.

Larsa Pippen is not sweating Marcus Jordan's new arm candy ... and she's moving on with her dating life too ... namely, with a reality TV star.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Larsa doesn't care her ex-boyfriend is on vacation with an IG model, because she's also casually dating someone herself ... Netflix/MTV star and country musician Zay Wilson.

In fact, Zay performed at Larsa's 50th birthday bash a few weeks ago ... and TMZ obtained video of them dancing together.

Stephen Curry is used to people approaching him asking for autographs and pictures, but the tables were turned in Paris -- with the Golden State Warriors superstar geeking out over the Team USA women's table tennis squad!!

The cool moment occurred at the men's basketball practice ... when Curry made sure to hang out with the guests of the hour -- and was handed the ball by one of the coaches. Curry then asked the team to add their Hancocks to the tiny surface area.

Curry returned the favor to the team ... as he signed some merch as well -- much to the group's delight.

The locker Kobe Bryant used during his historic NBA career has found a new owner ... and the final price was a whopping $2.88 MILLION!!

The bidding for the extremely rare piece of Kobe memorabilia closed on Friday, August 2 ... the same day the Black Mamba is slated to be honored with a second statue outside the venue he made famous, with this iteration featuring his daughter, Gianna.

The final price for the locker -- which was removed from the Staples Center during renovations in 2008 -- was $2,880,000, far exceeding the estimated amount.

The Paris Olympics are nice and all, but Angel Reese might be having an even better time during the WNBA's break ... hitting the stage with none other than Megan Thee Stallion at Lollapalooza!!

The "Savage" rapper was one of the biggest acts nabbed to perform at the major music festival in Chicago this weekend ... and Reese -- the Sky's 7th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft -- had to rep her city by pullin' up for the occasion.

You can see the 6-foot-3 forward surprise Meg on stage at the end of one of her songs ... and the Houston rapper was hyped!!