Basketball

Boston Celtics star Derrick White clearly ain't happy that he was involved in a melee at the Colorado vs. Colorado State game earlier this month ... telling journalists Tuesday, "I shouldn't have been there."

White spoke briefly on the matter while out at his team's media day ... when a reporter questioned how he was doing some 10 days after he was whacked in the head during a scuffle at the big Sept. 14 rivalry game in Fort Collins.

White said he was feeling just fine -- revealing his advisory's spinning back fist didn't connect flush -- but he did appear to be embarrassed over it all.

Angel Reese's WNBA season might be over due to a wrist injury -- but she's still making highlights ... check out a clip from Usher's concert Sunday night, she briefly stole the show!

The Chicago Sky star hit up the Intuit Dome for one of Usher's big Los Angeles shows ... and at one point, the R&B legend cruised over to her table and began serenading her.

You can see Usher -- rocking a fur coat with no shirt -- stood in front of the hooper ... and belted out, "There Goes My Baby."

If you're a 7-footer looking for a customized home in Southern California that fits all of your vertical needs ... you're in luck -- TMZ Sports has confirmed Kareem Adbul-Jabbar's old place, which was tailormade for his gigantic frame, has just gone up for sale!

The Marina Del Rey pad -- which the 7-foot-2 NBA legend owned from 2011 to 2021 -- was listed this month for $2,995,000 ... and it's got everything a tall homeowner could want and more.

The property is part of a gated community that only has 12 homes ... and it comes with harbor views, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a family room with a fireplace and a side garden patio area.

Caitlin Clark had a rough go of it in her playoff debut -- scoring just 11 points in the Indiana Fever's 93-69 blowout loss to the Connecticut Sun -- leaving the arena with a black eye after getting poked in the eye.

The eye injury occurred early in Sunday's contest against the Sun, with guard DiJonai Carrington poking the AP Rookie of the Year just 90 seconds into the game.

An alternate angle shows Carrington's digits going directly into Clark's eye -- sending her to the ground in pain.

LeBron James may have played in his last Olympics, but that doesn't mean the Games won't be part of him forever ... the NBA legend got a new tattoo -- the Olympic rings!

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar recently hit up famed artist Ganga Tattoo just months after he led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The five interlaced rings were tatted near his right elbow ... with the logo representing the union of five continents, America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero is about to make the jump to elite status ... so says Wendell Carter Jr., who tells TMZ Sports there's no doubt in his mind his teammate will contend for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award this season.

The 21-year-old former No. 1 overall pick improved in nearly every statistical category in his sophomore outing ... earning himself All-Star honors after averaging 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists -- and leading his Magic to the playoffs.

Many expect the former Duke standout to build off that momentum in his third season --  including Carter, Jr., who spoke highly of the young hooper while out at LAX this week.

Christian Koloko -- who had a career-threatening blood clot issue earlier this year -- says he's ready for a fresh start with the Lakers, telling TMZ Sports he's optimistic he can play this season!

We spoke with Koloko at LAX just days after he signed a two-way contract with the Purple & Gold ... a 7-foot-1 center that could provide valuable depth with Anthony Davis prone to injury.

"I feel amazing," the Cameroonian athlete said.

Caitlin Clark's breaking records on and off the court ... her autographed WNBA draft rookie card just sold at auction for a record-breaking $84,000!

The Panini Instant one-of-one card features the No. 1 draft pick holding up her Indiana Fever jersey on stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York ... moments after she was selected.

The Blue Viper rookie RC card was also signed by Clark, "guaranteed" authentic by Panini America.

NBA champ Iman Shumpert and Amber Rose stripped down to their swimsuits and enjoyed a day in the Miami heat ... but before ya get any ideas -- TMZ Sports is told it was nothing more than a platonic gathering.

The former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and model/personality were spotted lounging on some beach chairs on Wednesday ... smoking what appeared to be some ciggys as they chopped it up near the water.

Rose rocked a black halterneck suit for the occasion ... and Shump sported some light-colored trunks.

Shaquille O'Neal still adamantly denies he's the big man in the photo burning up social media, using a Shaggy hit to get the word out ... this after the woman shared evidence she claims proves she was with the Big Fella!

52-year-old Shaq shared a video on Instagram ... where the Hall of Famer, sitting alongside Peter Gunz, lip-synced to Shaggy's 2000 hit, "It Wasn't Me".

The video is a response to a woman named Maria Ozuna Teachey ... who earlier in the week shared a now-deleted Rated-R photo with a giant dude who many assumed was O'Neal (the person is so tall their head is out of frame).

LeBron James is rallying behind Bryce Young ... telling the second-year quarterback to stay focused on his goals after losing his starting job with the Carolina Panthers.

King James -- a fellow No. 1 overall pick himself -- went to X to show support for the young signal-caller on Tuesday ... making sure his 53 million followers saw his encouraging message.

"Bryce Young hold ya head Young 🤴🏾!! Rooting for you and know this ain't on you! Continue to put the work in and it shall prevail! 🙏🏾👑"

Social media detectives can relax ... Shaquille O'Neal says he is NOT the man in the PDA photo making the rounds all over the internet Tuesday.

If you haven't seen it yet ... the selfie was posted by Maria Ozuna Teachey to her 200K-plus followers on Instagram earlier this week -- and it featured her in front of a mirror with a large man's arms wrapped around her.

Because of the dude's size, many believed it was the Big Diesel -- after all, the dude appeared super tall and really buff -- and he seemingly had big hands and feet as well.

Michael Jordan has finally found a buyer for his near-$15 million mansion in a Chicago suburb ... after sitting for 12 years!!!

The 56,000-square-foot estate is currently listed as "contingent," indicating the would-be buyer and MJ have a deal, but it's contingent upon several conditions being met.

The property is located in Highland Park, Illinois ... and it's got a bunch of amenities, including the iconic No. 23 gate, nine bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, a cigar room, a library, an indoor gym, and of course, a full-sized basketball court.

Caitlin Clark has a lot to celebrate this week ... 'cause shortly after she broke the record for most points by a WNBA rookie, her boyfriend got a new job at Butler -- as a coach!

The university announced on Monday it's hiring Connor McCaffery -- who previously worked on the Indiana Pacers staff -- to be an assistant on its men's basketball team ... and it said in a statement it's thrilled to welcome him to Bulldog Country.

Clark -- who started dating McCaffery when they both played ball at Iowa -- was also pumped for her man ... congratulating him with a sweet message on Instagram.

NFL teams in need of a quarterback might want to see what Caitlin Clark's up to on off-days ... 'cause the WNBA star threw out some swag at the Fever game Sunday -- and it's clear, she's got a cannon!!

Check out video Indiana posted to its social media pages following its 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings ... you can see the 22-year-old signed some mini-basketballs, and then hurled them into the stands like she was Patrick Mahomes.

One after another, she rifled them to people who were sitting in Gainbridge Fieldhouse nosebleeds ... and people were left in awe of her right arm.

A'ja Wilson celebrated her new record for most points in a WNBA regular season ... by spending the day with NBA star Bam Adebayo!!

TMZ Sports obtained photos of the two basketball centers making their way downtown in Indianapolis on Thursday -- just hours after Wilson secured the single-season scoring title against the Indiana Fever.

The six-time WNBA All-Star and Miami Heat hooper were among a group of people on a stroll down Market Street ... and they appeared to be multitasking, as they had some grub in hand.