Basketball

Bronny James is getting sent to the G League -- at least on a temporary basis -- with reports claiming the NBA rookie will now split time with the Lakers and their developmental affiliate.

The news was broken by Shams Charania just now ... with the insider stating LeBron's son got the call to head to the South Bay Lakers on Thursday.

Bronny will make his debut with South Bay on Saturday against Salt Lake City ... but will also be with the big dogs for Friday's home matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is making it known he's got DeMar DeRozan's back amid the hooper's feud with Drake ... rocking a Kendrick Lamar shirt courtside when the Raptors came to town!

Cameras spotted the 67-year-old wearing a tee that said "They Not Like Us" for Wednesday's contest at the Golden One Center in Sacramento -- a clear message to the Toronto-based rapper after comments he made on Saturday's broadcast.

The beef was ignited after Drake was asked if the Raptors should retire DeRozan's jersey -- after having spent nine seasons in the Six.

The Trae Young vs. Knicks fans rivalry is back in full effect -- the Atlanta Hawks star jawed at a couple of New York supporters after their first matchup of the season -- telling 'em to skedaddle back to the Big Apple!!

The Knicks were in Atlanta to face the Hawks on Wednesday ... and their diehard supporters made the trip to check out the action -- making their hate for Young known throughout the contest.

But the three-time All-Star got the last laugh ... 'cause the Hawks won 121-116, with help from his 23 points.

The reporter Joel Embiid shoved after a game this weekend will continue to go about his day job ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the Philadelphia Inquirer is not pulling him from his Sixers beat after a confrontation with the NBA superstar.

Marcus Hayes -- a columnist at the outlet -- drew backlash after criticizing Embiid for not suiting up for games ... mentioning his late brother and son in a since-edited piece.

Embiid was furious over Hayes' words ... and approached the journalist after the Sixers' home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, pushing him in the shoulder in the process.

Bronny James is quite the romantic despite being thousands of miles away from his lady ... 'cause the NBA rookie sent his girlfriend, Parker Whitfield, a bouquet of flowers and a mushy love note during the Lakers' road trip.

Parker -- the daughter of actors Dondre and Salli-Richardson Whitfield -- got the beautiful delivery on Tuesday ... and shared the sweet gesture gift with her Instagram followers.

The present also included a letter ... with part of it saying, "Your BF loves you so much."

Joel Embiid just got hit with a suspension as a result of his physical altercation with a reporter ... receiving a three-game ban for his actions after the Sixers' loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday.

The whole issue stemmed from a column from Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer ... who criticized Embiid's absence from games -- making questionable comments about his late brother and son in the process.

Embiid confronted Hayes at Wells Fargo Arena shortly after the weekend matchup with Memphis ... reportedly saying, "The next time you bring up my dead brother and my son again, you are going to see what I’m going to do to you and I'm going to have to ... live with the consequences."

It's been two years since Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in practice ... but the two clearly haven't entirely buried the hatchet -- 'cause the NBA stars got testy with each other during Monday night's game.

Poole and his Washington Wizards hosted Green's Golden State Warriors ... and unsurprisingly, the former teammates taunted each other during the Dubs' 125-112 victory.

They had several exchanges in the contest ... and at one point, Wizards rookie Carlton "Bub" Carrington started chatting with the four-time champ -- before Poole intervened and put a stop to it.

Jaxson Hayes will continue to suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA reinvestigates his 2021 arrest ... and that was proven to be the case on Monday, when the 7'0" center logged minutes in his team's loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Hayes played nine minutes -- scoring five points, three rebounds and a steal -- in the 103-115 defeat ... and some fans were puzzled as to why JJ Redick chose to call his number after TMZ Sports shared new video of a verbal and physical altercation with his then-girlfriend, Sofia Jamora, at her L.A. home.

As we previously reported, the NBA reopened its probe into the player hours after our article was published ... and Hayes, Jamora and the Lakers all said they would cooperate with the inquiry.

Gregg Popovich reportedly suffered a "health issue" over the weekend before the Spurs game ... with the legendary head coach being ruled out for an "indefinite period."

Shams Charania broke the news Monday morning, saying the 75-year-old coach suffered the issue prior to the Spurs matchup against the Timberwolves on Saturday ... which they won, 113-103.

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson -- who stepped in for his boss and will now serve as interim coach -- said at the time the all-time winningest coach in league history was "not feeling well."

Los Angeles Lakers player Jaxson Hayes went on a rampage prior to his 2021 arrest -- verbally abusing and putting his hands on his then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora during an intense altercation ... and it was all captured on surveillance video.

TMZ Sports obtained footage and images from a source close to Jamora ... which are tied to her ongoing lawsuit against Hayes.

The July 2021 dispute -- which was sparked after Jamora blamed Hayes' dogs for injuring her much smaller dog -- shows the 7-footer appearing to pull the model from one room and into another around 1:35 AM ... as she pled with him to let her go.

Best Halloween costume of the year goes to Ron Artest III ... who celebrated the holiday dressed as his ex-NBA star pops from his infamous Malice at the Palace brawl!!

Metta Sandiford-Artest's 25-year-old son -- a spitting image of the 2010 champ -- rocked a ripped No. 91 Pacers jersey for the occasion ... and shared several reference pics to make the connection for his followers, although none was needed.

The Nov. 19, 2004 incident was one of the worst moments in league history -- what started as an altercation between the Pacers and Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills turned into mayhem after a fan threw a drink at Sandiford-Artest ... who then rushed into the stands.

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes are leading the charge to get a WNBA team in Kansas City ... and the Chiefs superstar explained his reasoning behind the pursuit on Thursday -- calling it a "no-brainer."

The Super Bowl-winning quarterback confirmed his plans to bring a women's basketball team to the City of Fountains during a press conference on Thursday ... noting the WNBA's recent success is appealing.

"It's kind of a no-brainer," Mahomes said.

Rob Kardashian's daughter Dream is proving to be quite the Los Angeles sports fan ... dressing as the late Kobe Bryant for Halloween 2024.

The reality TV star posted his 7-year-old's getup on Instagram Thursday, making it clear the little one's tribute to the NBA legend got his stamp of approval.

In the upload, Dream is wearing Kobe's jersey, decked out in head-to-toe Lakers gold ... even practicing her free throws in a couple shots.

Bronny James now has a spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list -- the Lakers rookie drained his first regular season bucket on Wednesday ... and fittingly enough, it was in his hometown!!

The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Los Angeles Lakers in a 134-110 blowout win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse ... and in the closing minutes of the contest, the crowd chanted, "We want Bronny."

Lakers head coach JJ Redick gave the fans what they wanted ... subbing Bronny in with about five minutes left.

LeBron and Bronny James have returned to Cleveland for the Lakers game against the Cavaliers ... and the hometown team is taking time to welcome the rookie and his G.O.A.T. pops back home, flashing some pics from their time in The Land!

The Cavs are known to show love to former players and coaches with ties to Ohio and/or the team ... and with the James' pulling up, there was no shortage of old snaps to pick from.

Of course, when Bron was suiting up for the Wine and Gold for the first part of his career, Bronny was a child growing up in northeast Ohio.

Charles Barkley was targeted with yet another prank on the "NBA on TNT" set on Tuesday ... this time, the Hall of Famer was victim to a Halloween-themed smoke attack!!

The Chuckster was at his usual spot on the desk alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson as he weighed in on the New York Knicks ... when out of nowhere, his area started to fill with fog.

Barkley's analysis was quickly derailed ... and he looked puzzled as he started to choke.