Los Angeles Lakers

Jennifer Hudson and Common have a strong bond between them ... they were holding hands and joined at the hip sitting courtside at a Lakers game.

The couple strolled hand in hand into Crypto Arena for Wednesday's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, plopping down in their seats for a front-row experience ... and looking pretty fashionable.

J-Hud and Common's date night is proof they're still going strong as a pair ... they were smiling and chatting, and Jennifer even introduced Common to another couple sitting beside her.

LeBron James and the Lakers won in a blowout, 127-110, and Jennifer and Common hit the exits together before the final buzzer ... saying goodbye to some folks on their way out.

Jennifer and Common have been together for a while now, and this outing means they're showing no signs of slowing down. He's said they might make a record together eventually, but it's got to happen organically.

LeBron James was fired up during his postgame interview on Wednesday ... but it had nothing to do with what the Lakers did on the court -- he was busy shouting at the TV as he watched Bronny play for USC!!

King James switched gears from NBA superstar to supportive dad just minutes after L.A. beat the Dallas Mavericks in a 127-110 victory at Crypto.com Arena ... multitasking by answering questions from reporters while giving analysis of the Trojans' matchup against Arizona at the same time.

LeBron -- who had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists for the Purple and Gold -- was super passionate as he kept his eyes on the screen ... interrupting a response to call on an unidentified player to "shoot it!!"

Bron apologized a few times for losing his train of thought ... but in all honesty, he did a great job bouncing between takes on both games.

The clip is hilarious -- James struggled to contain his emotions at some points ... even letting out a "God dammit" at one point.

James has made it clear in the past he wants to prioritize being there for Bronny throughout his own basketball career ... and proved that by running through the tunnel after his game to catch the rest of his eldest son's contest.

LeBron James puso en jaque a un aficionado demasiado entusiasta el lunes por la noche, empujando a un hombre que se abalanzó sobre la superestrella de la NBA mientras estaba sentado en el banquillo de los Lakers.

El extraño incidente tuvo lugar durante el partido entre los Lakers y los Oklahoma City Thunder en el Crypto.com Arena en el centro de Los Ángeles anoche, y fue capturado en video gracias a un seguidor de Lake Show que estaba filmando a la leyenda de la NBA de 39 años.

Bron se ocupaba de sus asuntos cuando de la nada un fan apareció y le agarró el brazo, mientras decía cosas sobre King James.

Como se puede ver, James fue sorprendido con la guardia baja, pero reaccionó rapidamente empujando al tipo.

Más o menos al mismo tiempo, la seguridad finalmente se dio cuenta de lo que estaba pasando y escoltaron al tipo fuera del lugar.

El partido continuó sin interrupciones y los Lakers acabaron ganando 112-105. LeBron terminó con 25 puntos, 7 rebotes, 6 asistencias y 1 empujón.

James no se refirió al incidente después del partido.

LeBron James checked an overzealous fans Monday night ... pushing a man who rushed the NBA superstar as he sat on the Lakers bench!

The bizarre incident went down during the Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game at Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. last night ... and was all captured on video thanks to a Lake show supporter who happened to be filming the 39-year-old NBA legend.

Bron was minding his business when out of nowhere a random fan rolled up on the 6-foot-9 forward and grabbed his arm, as he appeared to say something to King James.

But, as you can see ... James was caught off guard by the random stranger touching him, and to be safe, LBJ shoved the guy off him.

At about the same time, security finally noticed what was happening, and they escorted the guy away.

The game ultimately went on without interruption, and the Lakers ended up winning 112-105. LeBron finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 push.

James didn't address the incident after the game.

Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber left their men at home on Monday ... and then proceeded to have a helluva girls' night out at the Lakers game!!

The A-list duo -- sans Justin Bieber and Bad Bunny -- sat in courtside seats with friends as LeBron James and Co. took on the Oklahoma City Thunder ... and it seems there wasn't one moment where they weren't enjoying themselves.

Cameras spotted Kendall sippin' from a custom cup with her 818 tequila logo on it ... and later, she and Hailey were seen jokingly flippin' off a fellow fan.

At one point, they were able to get their hands on a game ball too!

No word on why Justin and Bad Bunny couldn't make the game -- but, clearly, the girls didn't mind their absence.

Other celebs were at Crypto.com Arena taking in the action as well -- Dave Chappelle, Colin Jost and David Duchovny all had great chairs for the contest -- and, finally, L.A. was able to treat them to a W.

LeBron scored 25 points, while Anthony Davis logged 27, and the Lakers cruised to a 112-105 victory -- their first dub in nearly a week.

¡¡¡Kendall Jenner y Hailey Bieber dejaron a sus hombres en casa el lunes y luego procedieron a tener una noche de chicas en el partido de los Lakers!!!

El dúo de la lista A -sin Justin Bieber ni Bad Bunny- se sentó en primera fila junto a otros amigos, mientras LeBron James y compañía se enfrentaban a los Thunder de Oklahoma City y parece que no hubo momento en que no estuvieran disfrutando.

Las cámaras mostraron a Kendall bebiendo de un vaso personalizado con el logotipo de su marca de tequila 818 y más tarde, ella y Hailey fueron vistas bromeando con un fan.

¡En un momento dado, hasta pudieron tomar una pelota del juego también!

No se sabe por qué Justin y Bad Bunny no pudieron asistir al partido, pero claramente a las chicas no les importó su ausencia.

Otras celebridades que estuvieron en el Crypto.com Arena para ver la acción del equipo fueron Dave Chappelle, Colin Jost y David Duchovny, todos tenían grandes asientos para apreciar el juego y, finalmente, L.A. fue capaz de agasajarlos con una victoria.

LeBron anotó 25 puntos, mientras que Anthony Davis registró 27, y los Lakers pudieron ganar con 112-105, su primer triunfo en casi una semana.

Emma Stone couldn't contain her excitement during her beloved Suns' big win over the Lakers ... going right up to the Phoenix bench and dapping up Devin Booker and Bradley Beal!!

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the "Poor Things" actress making her way out of Crypto.com Arena in the closing minutes of her team's 127-109 road win on Thursday ... and as she walked by the players, she made sure to show some serious love.

In the clip, you can see Stone -- who grew up in Arizona -- go right up to Book and Co. and express her excitement over the dub. The TV broadcast caught a bit of the interaction, too ... which also included a wave to Grayson Allen.

Book and Beal certainly deserved the special moment with the A-lister ... as they had 31 and 37 points in the contest, respectively.

Stone -- who attended the game with PT director Yorgos Lanthimos and costar Ramy Youssef (in the blue beanie in the vid) -- was reppin' PHX throughout the night ... rocking a team hat as she enjoyed the action from her courtside seat.

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic's all-time rant on referees after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers just cost him a ton of dough -- the league announced it has fined him $25k for his comments.

As we previously reported, the first-year coach went scorched earth on officials over the free throw disparity in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's contest ... calling it "completely BS" the Lakers got 23 attempts, while his squad only got two in the 132-131 loss.

Considering it's against NBA rules to criticize officials in public, a financial punishment was pretty much a sure thing as soon as the comments came out of Rajakovic's mouth.

The punishment was made official on Thursday ... with Joe Dumars announcing the decision.

Many will say the rant was worth the $25k ... as it quickly went viral on social media, with some talking heads giving DR props for sticking up for his players.

Young Thug's YSL RICO trial continues to provide unintentional entertainment ... today's edition introduced an unlikely name into the mix -- LeBron James!!!

On Thursday, YSL co-founder Trontavious "Tick" Stephens took the stand yet again when he was quizzed about LBJ's potential ties to the YSL -- due to the fact the NBA's scoring leader occasionally doing the "wipe your nose" hand sign with teammates and calling them "slime" as a term of endearment.

Prosecutors argue the WYN gesture is code for offing a rival in the streets and "slime" is also a gang-related term and pressured Tick to cough up what he knew about LBJ and YSL ... which wasn't much.

Tick admitted he's seen LBJ pull off different handshakes with his team -- but his mind seemed to slip into the Twilight Zone on the other questions .. namely, he couldn't remember.

The case has been bridged on potentially having YT potentially having crimes in his rap lyrics and the court played his and Rich Homie Quan's 2014 hit "Lifestyle" for everyone to analyze.

We're not sure what streaming the party track accomplished ... Thug, Yak Gotti and others remained emotionless as the platinum smash blared in the courtroom but it looked like the attorneys were trying hard not to catch a vibe.

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic reached his boiling point after his team lost to the Lakers on Tuesday ... teeing off on referees for giving L.A. 23 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Rajakovic -- who's in his first season with the Dinos -- didn't hold back in his rant to media members after the 132-131 loss ... calling it "outrageous" the Purple and Gold continued to get calls in their favor ... and suggesting officials were helping LeBron James and Co. win the contest.

"What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.," Rajakovic told reporters. "This is shame. Shame for the referees, shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter. Like, how to play the game? I understand -- respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well."

Rajakovic points out his star player Scottie Barnes was worthy of getting calls as he drove to the rim throughout the game ... but finished with just two attempts from the charity stripe.

"How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?"

Lakers star Anthony Davis had 41 points in the matchup ... with 11 coming from free throws in the final period. Toronto only had 13 free-throw attempts throughout the game.

"They had to win tonight?" Rajakovic added. "If that's the case, just let us know, so we don't show up for the game. Just give them a win. But, that was not fair tonight. And this is not happening first time for us. Scottie Barnes is going to be All-Star. He's going to be the face of this league, and what's happening over here during whole season, I've been holding it back, it's complete crap."

LeBron got wind of Rajakovic's comments ... and his response was simple -- "I feel like they fouled and we didn't."

Ex-NBAer Evan Turner also weighed in on the Serbian coach's gripe ... with many calling him out for what is being considered a xenophobic take on the matter.

"You gotta let your assistant coaches do the rant when 'you have accent,'" Turner said on Instagram.

German hooper Dennis Schroder was quick to check him ... replying, "Bro chill."

The Los Angeles Lakers weren't the only ones who won in Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night ... a fan did too -- after he took home $100K by sinking a half-court shot!!

It all happened during a break in the action of L.A.'s game against the Toronto Raptors ... when Fidel Olmos stepped onto the hardwood to compete in a shooting contest.

The game was simple ... if Olmos hit the bucket from 47 feet out, he'd take home some serious coin. If he didn't, well, at least he got to grace the same floor as LeBron James for a moment.

But, Olmos was able to drain the basket ... and when he hit it -- the crowd went wild. Even Lakers star D'Angelo Russell -- who was right near the basket when the ball went through -- had to give it up for the guy.

The 34-year-old California native told ESPN's Dave McMenamin after he made the shot that it was super improbable ... considering he's only made two in his whole life previously.

Olmos said he's going to use the money to pay off his debt, help a couple of folks out, and treat himself.

"I would've been OK with 20 bucks," he said, "but this feels good!"

Dennis Schroder is finally explaining one of the most puzzling contract moves in NBA history ... revealing exactly why he REJECTED an $80+ million offer from the Lakers, only to sign a deal worth less than $6 mil!

His (old) agent told him to pass on the incredibly lucrative offer!!!

Remember, the star PG said no to a 4-year deal worth $84M from the Purple and Gold back in 2021 ... thinking he could get more elsewhere.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen ... and instead, Dennis ended up signing a $5.9 million deal with the Celtics.

The NBA vet is finally explaining what happened, telling Yahoo Sports, "I would've signed it."

"I would never just leave money on the table. My mom didn’t raise me that way."

Of course, fans incessantly trolled the German athlete for what's considered to be one of the biggest fumblings of the bag in NBA history.

Schroder admitted going from $84 to $6 mil was a tough pill to swallow, but he understands he still got paid a crapload of money, and life with his wife Ellen and their family is awesome.

"I had two healthy kids, my mom, my siblings. I can buy anything I want," Schroder said.

"I had a $70 million contract before. A guy from Germany? From Braunschweig? I’m more than blessed. I’m with the people who love me and was there through the darkest days."

Schroder -- who's averaging nearly 15 points and 7 assists per game this season for the Raptors (he's playing on a 2-year, $25.4M deal) -- also said he plans to play into his 40s, believing he's got a lot left in the tank.

Lamar Odom says LeBron James and the Lakers can make it out of their current slump, they just gotta get into shape -- well, one in particular to be exact -- telling TMZ Sports L.A. needs to bring back the triangle offense!!

The Purple and Gold have struggled to keep it together after being crowned the In-Season Tournament champions last month -- they're currently sitting in the bottom half of the Western Conference with a record below .500.

We spoke with the two-time Lakers champ about his former team's woes ... and he said head coach Darvin Ham should take a page out of Phil Jackson's book and implement the offense that helped his squad rack up championships back in the day, as well as the legendary Chicago Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan.

In fact, he even suggests his own lineup that could flourish under that strategy -- Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Anthony Davis and, of course, LeBron.

How's this for a sports lover's dream ... the vacation home custom-built by the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss, and visited by some of the greatest hoopers to ever grace a basketball court, is now on the market, and could be yours if you've got $12 million!

TMZ Sports has learned the 9,792-square-foot property, located on a 3.18-acre lot in Rancho Santa Fe (about 100 miles outside L.A.), recently hit the open market for $11.85 million. The land was purchased by Dr. Buss in 1994 for less than $300k, and the house, known as the "Dream Ranch," was built to his exact specifications to resemble the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort in Montecito.

We're told Jerry wanted a place outside of Los Angeles that felt far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city ... all while being close enough to the arena where his team played.

Buss often had company ... and they were some of the most famous athletes in the world like Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Shaquille O'Neal.

In fact, Jerry installed an extra-long driveway (it fits 25 cars!) to accommodate the stars' stretch limos.

The mansion features eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms (8 full, 2 half) -- five in the main house and three in the guest house -- with the master suite, clad in marble, overlooking a rose garden.

There's also a 3-stall barn, two putting greens, a swimming pool with a pool house, a basketball court (of course), and a tennis court where none other than Andre Agassi once played.

Buss passed away in 2013 ... and the home was ultimately sold years later in 2022. The new buyers renovated the home, transforming it into a modern mansion.

LeBron James says he's got next after a mysterious Fortnite session popped up on the Fenway Park scoreboard this week ... calling on his fellow Boston Red Sox owners to let him use the big screen to get in some Madden action of his own!!

A clip from outside the historic stadium made rounds on social media on Thursday ... showing an unidentified enthusiast playing the popular video game on the massive outfield display.

King James -- who owns an undisclosed amount of Fenway Sports Group, which includes the Sox -- got wind of the epic moment ... and he wants to flex his skills on the jumbotron, too!!

"Ayyyyeee!! Let me get some Madden games going on there! @FenwaySportsMgt @RedSox 🤣🤣👑," the Los Angeles Lakers superstar said on X.

Of course, James has a history of using scoreboards for his gaming hobby -- as we previously reported, he got in a Madden sesh on SoFi Stadium's scoreboard during an early birthday celebration in 2022.

Shaquille O'Neal hung up his Dunkman's more than a decade ago, but the NBA legend is still making history ... the Orlando Magic just announced they're retiring the Big Fella's 32 jersey, the first time they've ever raised a number to the rafters!

51-year-old O'Neal received word of the honor while he was on the air with buds Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson ... when the Hall of Famer got a "phone call" from Magic CEO Alex Martins.

"On behalf of the DeVos family and myself and all of us here at the Orlando Magic, we want to congratulate you as we make you the first jersey number retired in the history of the Orlando Magic. You had a great career here at the beginning of your career and we had some great times!" Martins said to Shaq.

Of course, the Magic picked O'Neal with their first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft ... and Shaquille didn't disappoint in his short stint with the team, making them relevant, and even leading them to the NBA Finals in 1995, where they lost to the Houston Rockets.

He averaged over 27 points, and nearly 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game in Orlando.

Shaq ultimately decided to leave Florida for a big payday in Los Angeles ... where he won 3 NBA championships alongside Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Team Chairman Dave DeVos also spoke about Shaq's influence on the organization, on and off the hardwood, as well as the local community.

“Through his dominating play, larger-than-life personality, and generous contributions to The City Beautiful, Shaquille O’Neal had a transformational impact on this team and this town. Our family and the entire franchise couldn’t be more pleased for Shaquille to receive this well-deserved honor, further cementing his enduring legacy here in Orlando as we collectively look back on his tremendous accomplishments in a Magic uniform.”

Perhaps the most meaningful congratulations came from O'Neal's "number one fan," his mom, Dr. Lucille O'Neal, who sent her son a heartfelt message.

The jersey retirement goes down on February 13.