NBA

For the first time in his career, Floyd Mayweather got PUT ON HIS BACK during a major sports event -- and the whole thing was caught on camera!!

The 42-year-old superstar was ballin' out at the $50k Charity Challenge celeb hoops game at UCLA on Monday night where Floyd was trying to play some defense on streetball legend Bone Collector. 

... but things didn't go Floyd's way -- because BC crossed Floyd over so hard, the boxer lost his footing and went tumbling to the ground. 

The crowd went crazy as Bone hit his shot -- and all Floyd could do was smile as he picked himself up. 

When asked why he would even try to cover Bone Collector, Floyd told fans and teammates he simply wanted the challenge ... gotta respect that. 

The event was all for a good cause -- raising money for Teen Cancer America. Huge stars like Rob Gronkowski, Snoop Dogg, Kyle Kuzma, Michael Blackson, Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones and Brian Quick were also in attendance. 

D'Angelo Russell went joyriding in a luxury whip before signing his massive, $117 million deal with the Warriors ... taking a crazy expensive Ferrari out for brunch ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

Just hours before inking his reported 4-year deal with the Dubs on Sunday, DLo hit up Toast Bakery in L.A. with his folks ... and the dude knew how to make an exit, hopping in the passenger seat of the Rari and riding off down the street.

We fired off a bunch of questions -- if he had a message for the Brooklyn Nets after dealing him to the Dubs, if he's the newest Splash Brother, if the Warriors were still the team to beat in the NBA ... but the All-Star guard let the wheels do the talking.

No word on the exact year and type of this particular Ferrari ... but given the price tag of similar models, it's gotta be worth a quarter million dollars AT LEAST.

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is deadly serious about defending his nickname -- and now he's suing an artist for selling "Greek Freak" shirts without his permission. 

The Milwaukee Bucks stud is going scorched earth on Pennsylvania-based artist Jinder Bhogal -- who sells NBA player-inspired clothing on his website. 

In fact, Bhogal featured various items featuring Giannis' face morphed with Bucks antlers in a design titled, "Greek Freak."

At one point, Bhogal offered his clients 10% off anything in the "Greek Freak" collection. 

Problem is ... Giannis says he owns the trademark to use "Greek Freak" for commercial purposes and claims Jinder never asked for permission. 

In court docs filed Monday, Giannis says he sent Jinder a cease and desist letter but the guy never responded. So, suing the dude was his next best move. 

Giannis claims he's entitled to up to $2 MILLION for the alleged trademark infringement -- but his lawsuit seems more about protecting his image than making a Buck (get it?!). 

We've reached out to Jinder for comment -- so far, no word back. 

Kyle Kuzma had one helluva 4th of July -- chillin' on a yacht with Kendall Jenner!

The two were spotted on a pretty awesome boat off the coast of Malibu on Thursday along with some friends. At one point, they decided to take some goofy pics together. Good times!

When they got back to shore, Kuzma was spotted at a house party with Kendall. 

The whole thing begs the question ... are they dating? 

Back in February, 23-year-old Kuzma was linked to Katya Elise Henry ... a model with nearly 6 million followers on IG. Funny enough, the two were also hanging on a boat together earlier this year!

Kendall has since left the country -- she's currently hanging out in thong bikinis with her model friends in Greece. Again, good times!

Kuzma has had a crazy off-season -- he was essentially the only one of the young Lakers players who wasn't traded away in the Anthony Davis deal. 

DeSean Jackson says LeBron James is locked in and laser-focused on bringing the Lakers back to greatness ... and he knows it firsthand because he spoke with him over the weekend. 

The NFL star hit up TAO in Hollywood for Kevin Hart's 40th birthday party -- which was packed with huge stars including LeBron. 

D-Jax says the two spoke about the upcoming NBA season -- and Bron told him the 2019-20 season is gonna be a bloodbath! 

"I just holla'd at my boy, LeBron," Jackson said ... "He said 'It's on!' So, he's back to them Cleveland and them Miami days. So, ya'll better be careful. Y'all better watch out."

Of course, Bron has a pretty solid running mate this season -- with Anthony Davis joining the Lake Show. 

DeSean -- who's from L.A. -- says he knows there's a TON of hype surrounding Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Clippers ... but he's warning everyone not to sleep on the Purple and Gold. 

"Slow your roll on that Clippers sh*t. It's a little early, man. Chill out. We gotta see what they doing."

"It's gonna be a nice little rivalry for the city, though. Los Angeles, we got something going."

James Harden for the WIN!!!

The NBA superstar just emerged victorious in a 3-year legal battle with a photog who claims Harden broke his finger in a late-night attack back in 2016 ... in a civil case that went all the way to trial. 

Harden was sued by David Flores -- a photog who claims he was trying to get a street interview with James outside of a Hollywood lounge around 2 AM on May 13, 2016, when Harden "angrily smacked" his hand, breaking his finger in the process.

Flores initially claimed to have video of the encounter -- but allegedly admitted to manipulating the clip ... and said he no longer had the original version.

Flores sued for negligence, assault and battery ... and was looking for serious cash. Harden had denied wrongdoing from the start. 

A judge had ordered the two sides to a settlement conference to see if they could work out a deal -- but the talks apparently went nowhere and the case went before a jury. 

The good news for Harden ... the jury found that he did not intend to cause any harm to Flores and did not act negligently. 

Translation -- full win for Harden ... and Flores gets ZERO.

Draymond Green ain't worried about all that offseason drama with the Golden State Warriors -- he's chillin' out off the coast of Italy with his fiancee ... in a CRAZY huge yacht!!!

The 29-year-old NBA star is sailing in Sardinia, Italy with Hazel Renee -- whom he proposed to with a $300,000 ring back in January! 

Now that the offseason is in full swing, Draymond and Hazel are finally getting some R&R on a yacht called Ruya ... a 135-foot ship with 5 cabins, living room, hot tub and an on-board gym!

The cost to rent Ruya is about $200,000 per week -- but Draymond can clearly afford it ... he's about to enter the final year of his 5-year, $82-MILLION contract!

Green is expected to sign a MASSIVE deal when he becomes a free agent after next season -- so money ain't a thing for this guy. 

The NY Knicks did NOT take an L in free agency ... so says new signee Bobby Portis, who tells TMZ Sports his new squad now has enough firepower to compete with the Nets!!!

Of course, a lot of NBA pundits disagree ... slammin' James Dolan and the Knicks' front office for failing to sign guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving earlier this month.

But, Portis -- who just inked a 2-year, $31 MILLION deal with the Knicks -- fired back at his team's haters, telling us NY's free agency haul is more than enough to make a good squad!!

"I know everybody is going to have something to say about every situation, but I feel like we got a good core and we're going to shock a lot of people."

FYI, after missing out on Durant, Kyrie and all the other big fish in the free agency ... the Knicks ended up with a haul of Portis, Julius Randle and Taj Gibson -- along with a few others.

So, is that team (plus top draft pick RJ Barrett) good enough to take down the crosstown rival Nets -- who DID end up with K.D. and Kyrie??

"Oh, yeah," Portis says ... "For sure. For sure."

Paul George took a victory lap after news broke that he's joining forces with Kawhi Leonard for the Los Angeles Clippers next year ... and landed with an even luckier hand in Vegas. 

The now-former Thunder and future Clippers star was spotted Saturday playing a game of Baccarat in Sin City, where he apparently won a hand ... evident in his enthused fist-pumping. 

PG-13 had every reason to smile here, even beyond the Vegas winnings. Dude has a legit shot at a title next with the Klaw in his home state, and he looks like he couldn't be happier.

In case you missed the big story from Friday night, George reportedly pushed OKC for a trade ... and the Clippers finally got a commitment from him after offering up a ton of picks in return. It was the final domino needed to sign Kawhi -- he had everyone in suspense by being the last big free agent to not sign somewhere, and now he's finally got his costar.

The NBA is about as even as it's been in years -- meaning no more super teams like the Warriors or the Heat -- and the Clips have just as much of a chance to win it all in 2020 as anyone else.

Jimmy Butler did a lot to put the Philadelphia 76ers in contention for a title last year -- and as a parting gift ... the team thanked him by misspelling his name.

Someone in the graphics department screwed up big time in the 'Thank You' tweet sent out Saturday by the team's official page -- spelling Butler as Buter. Weirdly enough, they tagged him correctly by writing, "Thank you @JimmyButler!" 

Hey, at least they got the "Jimmy" right. Props?

The erroneous tweet was up for about 40 minutes before somebody noticed and took it down. Jimmy doesn't appear to have responded to it either.

We'd like to give Philly the benefit of the doubt and assume this is just a classic mistake -- BUT, it could also be seen as a slight ... if you're into that narrative. 

Jimmy, of course, is no longer with the 76ers ... having signed a new contract with the Miami Heat in a 4-team, sign-and-trade deal. He was a free agent, and could've re-upped for another run with the Process, but opted to take his talents to Miami Beach instead.

Blake Griffin thinks Kawhi Leonard choosing the Clippers is "good for basketball" ... but warns the superstar that L.A. definitely has it's ups and downs!

Griffin would know ... he spent 8 seasons with the L.A. Clippers before being traded to the Detroit Pistons in early 2018. 

In fact, Blake still spends a bunch of his time in Los Angeles -- he was at the famous Comedy Store on Friday night -- so, we asked him about Kawhi's big move. 

"I think it's good for basketball, good for L.A.," Griffin told TMZ Sports ... "I think it'll bring a little bit more balance to the Los Angeles basketball scene, so its good!"

But, when we asked Blake if he preferred L.A. to other cites, the 30-year-old didn't try and sugarcoat his answer. 

"No, to be honest. I think playing in another city now I see the advantages and disadvantages to playing in different places."

He added, "Everything has a positive and a negative. It just depends on what you value."

Of course, the Kawhi news is rocking the NBA world -- he's leaving his championship Toronto Raptors squad to play in L.A. with Paul George. 

Luke Walton admits he did meet up with the woman accusing him of sexual assault in a Santa Monica hotel room ... but the Sacramento Kings head coach says she's lying about what went down.

In new legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... Walton claims his accuser, Kelli Tennant, was the person who initiated their meet-up, but he is adamant their encounter was "platonic" and nothing sexual even occurred.

In the docs, Walton claims when he was a Warriors coach, Tennant drove to meet him at a hotel the team was staying at while in town to play the Lakers, something she initiated.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Kelli filed a lawsuit back in April claiming Walton sexually assaulted her and forced himself on her in his hotel room. 

Now, Walton is pushing back against many of her claims from her lawsuit ... he says he did NOT write a foreword for her book, says he was NOT her broadcasting mentor and says there was NO sexual assault when she dropped off her book at his hotel. 

In the docs, Walton claims Tennant never complained to him or anyone else, including law enforcement, about any aspect of the visit that she initiated ... and he points out she waited nearly 5 years to file her complaint.

TV legend Jimmie Walker is sick and tired of NBA stars complaining about life -- telling icons like LeBron James, KD and Kyrie Irving to keep quiet and just be happy to be making so much money. 

"The thing that upsets me the most about NBA players is they're so upset, they're so angry," the former "Good Times" star told TMZ Sports. 

"Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant ... what are you upset about? I'm happy if I'm making that kind of money! They're always complaining."

72-year-old Walker says NBA stars have lost touch with reality -- "They don't understand what it's like to be in real life. Real life is getting your own bags off the [luggage carousel]. No charters, no limos waiting for you ... that's what real life is about."

Walker also went off on NBA stars for getting too political -- saying, "I think that when you're making $150 million a year, people don't want to hear your political views." 

He added, "They should have NO political views. They should be very happy to say, 'I'm doing good.' Donate to charity, do your basketball charity benefits or whatever, but don't put people down."

"Just say, 'I'm very fortunate to be here. I'm lucky and I'm very happy.'"

Teyana Taylor's setting off her own kinda fireworks down in South Beach ... just ask Iman Shumpert.

The singer showed off her incredible bikini bod Thursday in Miami. She was there with her NBA hubby and her daughter. BTW .... that outfit she's wearing also pleased another man besides Shumpert ... singer J Balvin. And, that's because the top she's wearing comes from Balvin's Guess x J Balvin Vibras collection.

Check out the pics ... pretty sure your eyes are easily gonna be diverted elsewhere. Can't blame ya. Teyana's known for getting everyone riled up. Like ... who can forget her sexiest lap dance EVER?

Kobe and Vanessa Bryant have just posted the first pic of their new baby girl ... and she's incredibly adorbs!!!

You know by now the baller fam named their daughter, Capri Kobe Bryant, and that the future Hall of Famer nicknamed her KoKo. But here she is in all her glory and she's literally a bundle of joy ... wrapped in a swaddle and looking angelic with a rosy headband.

As we reported ... Kobe and Vanessa welcomed their fourth daughter last month. She was born on June 20 but the family announced the birth the following day. The proud papa wrote, "We are beyond excited that our baby girl 'Koko' has arrived #BryantBunch #4princesses #blessed."

Vanessa was just as excited, obvi. She wrote, "So thankful for our newest baby blessing."

Rap mogul Irv Gotti is a hardcore New York Knicks fan -- and he didn't hold back when we asked how he felt about the Knicks striking out in free agency ... 

"Man, F*ck Dolan!"

Yeah, he ain't happy. 

Gotti -- along with a bunch of other Knicks fans -- are furious with owner James Dolan for not signing any of the marquee free agents up for grabs over the past few days. 

He's especially upset about Kevin Durant -- who not only didn't sign with the Knicks, but inked a deal just down the way with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Ditto for Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. 

"Yay for the Nets," Gotti told TMZ Sports sarcastically the other day ... "I feel like Stephen A. Smith. I'm disgusted."

Dolan has been having a rough 2019 -- back in March, he took a lot of heat after he was caught on video ejecting a Knicks fan from Madison Square Garden after the fan heckled Dolan to sell the team.