NBA

NBA superstar Trae Young is starting off 2020 by giving back to his new city in a HUGE way ... by helping cancel out more than $1 MILLION in medical debts for people in Atlanta.

The 21-year-old pro teamed up with a nonprofit called RIP Medical ... which, according to the site, uses donations to buy large bundles of medical debt and then forgive that debt with no tax consequences to donors or recipients.

Young's foundation recently donated $10,000 ... which translates to $1,059,186.39 in medical debt getting erased, helping 570 people in need.

"The City of Atlanta has welcomed me with open arms," Young said, according to WSB-TV in ATL.

"Giving back to this community is extremely important to me. I hope these families can find a bit of relief knowing that their bills have been taken care of as we enter the New Year."

We spoke with Young's dad, Rayford ... who tells us "[Trae] understands where he came from. He understands everyone is not in a position he's in."

Rayford adds that he was in medical debt before Trae got to the NBA ... so it's a cause that hits close to home.

The coolest part??? Rayford tells us each person affected by Trae's donation will receive a personalized letter from the hooper.

Save that letter!!! Young's stock is exploding in a big way these days ... did you see that move he pulled off the other day? GOOD LORD!!!

Rare Jack Nicholson sighting at Staples Center on Tuesday -- where the Hollywood legend returned to his old stomping grounds to watch the Lakers crush the Knicks.

... and during the game, he became BFFs with rap star Tory Lanez!

Remember, 82-year-old Jack used to be a regular at Lakers games -- and was even considered the Lake Show's #1 fan!

But, a few years ago, when the Lakers were in the thick of sucking ass ... Jack basically stopped going to games and even offered to sell his floor seats to TMZ (we couldn't afford 'em).

Good news though ... the Lakers are GOOD AGAIN (they're in 1st place in the West) and Jack is excited enough about LeBron James and co. to return to his courtside seats!

You can see in the pic, Jack and Tory became fast friends -- the 3rd guy in the pic is fashion mogul Umar Kamani. Jack's 27-year-old son, Ray Nicholson, was also there!

A bunch of other big stars came out for the game including Jimmy Iovine, Michael Che, Hannibal Burress, Andy Garcia and more!

Final Score -- 117 to 87, with LeBron dropping 31 points in 31 minutes.

Joe Johnson says he's been living in the gym and staying in shape in case an NBA team comes calling ... telling TMZ Sports he'll be ready to go if a squad needs him for the playoffs.

38-year-old Iso Joe made a hyped return to the Association in October when the Detroit Pistons scooped him up from the BIG3 ... but got cut a few days before the season.

Joe tells us there are no hard feelings with how it went down in Motor City, saying his body wasn't right at the time.

"I was banged up with a lot of injuries, didn't get a chance to really rest," Joe tells us. "So, it kinda hurt me. Which is why I got waived. But, I'm cool with it."

Now, Joe says his body is at "100" and his agent is keeping tabs on teams' interest as the season reaches that time of the year ... but makes it clear he's not gonna beg to get signed.

"I don't think I have to plug myself for that. I think my resume pretty much speaks for itself."

FYI -- Joe is a 7-time All-Star, former All-NBA third teamer and went on to be the BIG3 MVP last year.

"Like I said, if an opportunity comes about and it's worth it and a team is serious, of course I'll jump on that opportunity."

WARNING: LOOK AWAY IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH!!!

Joel Embiid nastily dislocated his ring finger during the 76ers' win over the Thunder on Monday ... and the injury was so bad -- his digit bent sideways at a 90-degree angle!!

But, the craziest part ... EMBIID STAYED IN THE GAME!!

The horrific scene all went down in the 1st quarter at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia ... when Embiid went up to block a shot but got his finger tangled in the process.

When he eventually looked down to see the mangled mess on his hand ... it wasn't pretty -- with teammate Ben Simmons saying, "I nearly thew up when I saw that."

"Wake your ass up! ... Wake the f**k up!!!"

Steve Kerr went BALLISTIC on a ref during the Warriors' game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night -- and the whole profanity-laced rant was caught on a hot mic!!!

The blowup all started near the end of the first half ... when Kerr argued a Kings layup shouldn't have counted because there was a foul before the basket.

The GSW head coach received a technical foul for chirpin' the refs ... and then he decided to get his money's worth -- going BANANAS on the zebras.

The transcript? "Wake your ass up! Wake your ass up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake the f**k up!"

Kerr eventually cooled down and was escorted off the floor ... but his speech clearly didn't fire up his squad -- 'cause the Dubs ended up losing 111-98.

Of course, it's been a pretty miserable year for Kerr and the Warriors outside of Thursday's loss ... they've won just 9 games this season without superstars Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

Wanna see a grown-ass man freak out on video?! Great!

Here's Toronto Raptors star Rondae Hollis-Jefferson TRYING to prove his toughness by walking on the famous glass floor at CN Towers in Toronto ... and IT DOES NOT GO WELL!

FYI, the glass floor at CN Tower (one of the tallest buildings in the world) is a major tourist attraction -- 1,112 feet above ground and people come from all over to stand on the glass and stare down! It's wild!

Rondae gave it a shot ... but when it came time to step on the glass, his fear of heights kicked in and the 25-year-old FREAKED OUT!!

The 6'6" star refused to walk on the glass -- instead he tried to crawl and scoot across ... and it's funny as hell!

For the record, ZERO people have died on the glass floors -- and building officials claim it's so strong, it could hold the weight of 35 MOOSE!!! So, chill Rondae.

Hey, look everybody!! Myles Garrett!!

The suspended Cleveland Browns superstar made a rare public appearance at the L.A. Lakers game at Staples Center on Sunday ... and he was pretty easy to spot -- wearing a bright orange jacket.

Of course, Garrett has been almost completely MIA since his infamous helmet-throwing attack on Mason Rudolph back in November ... and aside from a charity appearance for Thanksgiving, the dude's been keepin' it lowkey.

But, the hiding came to an end Sunday ... with the 24-year-old posting up with LeBron James' best friends and business partners, Rich Paul and Maverick Carter, as the Lake Show put up a dub against the Detroit Pistons.

Was it a business meeting?? Possibly ... with Myles being one of the biggest stars in Cleveland now that King James is in L.A., anything is on the table.

As for the game, the Lakers won again, 106-99, and Anthony Davis and LeBron combined for 45 points ... making their record 29-7 on the season.

Gus Williams -- a two-time All-Star for the Seattle SuperSonics -- is being sued by a man who claims the ex-NBA champ didn't pay him for a house ... and trashed the place to boot.

The man behind the suit is Todd Mustin, who says back in 2017 ... he put his 5-bedroom, 5,000 square-foot Sherman Oaks, Calif. pad up for sale -- when things went awry.

Mustin claims he sold the house to a woman named Megan Zucaro ... but when she only coughed up $1 million of the roughly $1.9 mil she agreed to pay for the place, Williams stepped in.

Mustin says the 66-year-old -- who won an NBA title with the Sonics in the 1978-79 season -- agreed to take over the place and pay off the remaining $900K.

The problem? Mustin says the former point guard NEVER paid a dime ... and claims the guy and his family trashed the crib in the meantime.

Mustin claims Williams and his family left the place an absolute dump ... telling TMZ Sports they left feces in the toilets and trash all over.

To be clear, Williams had every right to trash the place -- he did buy it after all -- but Mustin claims the disaster he left behind on the property proves the dude is a complete jerk.

Now, Mustin claims Williams owes him $900K -- plus interest -- for never paying for the house after he agreed to take it off Zucaro's hands.

Carmelo Anthony says he REALLY appreciates the loud ovation he got from Knicks fans Wednesday during his return to Madison Square Garden ... saying, "Real know the real!"

The Portland Trail Blazers star hadn't played at MSG since Dec. 2017 -- after the Knicks traded him to the OKC Thunder.

Of course, OKC eventually waived Melo. He had a short stint with the Rockets and then spent months unemployed before eventually signing with Portland in Nov. 2019.

Now, 35-year-old Melo is back to balling out ... averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds in the 20 games he's played so far. NOT BAD AT ALL!

Clearly, the fans in NYC -- where Melo spent almost 7 seasons -- still respect the guy and got a super loud ovation during the intros of the Portland vs. NY game on Wednesday.

"Real recognize real," Melo told us about his reception ... "I appreciate the love, always."

We also asked Melo if he thinks his jersey should be retired by the Knicks -- and he had an interesting response to that.

"I don't know man. You're talking something that ain't on my mind right now."

There's a solid argument for Melo's jersey to hang in the rafters at MSG -- he was an All-Star every year he played in NYC while averaging 24.7 points per game.

Lou Williams' son is now the owner of the best name EVER ... the L.A. Clippers star says he's callin' his newborn baby "Syx" -- and it's all 'cause of his famous NBA awards!!

"I always said if I had a son I was going to give him a unique name," Williams said.

Lou is a 3-time winner of the Association's Sixth Man of the Year honors ... and he confirmed in a postgame interview Thursday night his boy's name is a nod to those trophies.

"Nothing was coming to me, so I just said, 'You know what, I'm going to name him Syx, spell it a little different' and we just had some fun with it."

Seems the new kid is already a great luck charm for Williams ... after the point guard missed the Clippers' game Tuesday for the birth of Syx, he came back to pile up 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in L.A.'s win over the Pistons on Thursday.

As for when Lou will start training Syx to follow in Dad's footsteps ... Williams says it won't be long.

"A couple weeks," he said.

NBA fans LOVE Tacko Fall ... 'cause despite the 7'6" center only logging 3 games this season -- THEY WANNA SEE HIM IN THE ALL-STAR GAME!!!

The Association announced its top vote-getters so far for the annual classic ... and Fall currently sits at No. 6 in the Eastern Conference frontcourt standings with 110,269 votes.

It's an impressive number, considering Timberwolves superstar Karl Anthony-Towns has just 173,129 votes over on the Western Conference side.

Of course, it's hilarious because Fall has only played MINUTES this season -- he hasn't spent too much time on the Celtics' active roster because of mediocre play and a concussion he suffered for being too tall (seriously, that story is wild).

But, all the love is a testament to how much people really dig Fall -- who's been an Internet sensation for his giant size ever since he killed it in college at UCF.

Fall ain't the only quirky name on the NBA's fan vote list ... Lakers bench player Alex Caruso also notched nearly 100,000 votes, mostly because he's a hilarious internet meme too!!

As for if the NBA will actually let the guys play in the game despite not really doing much in this season ... don't count on it -- the fan vote only makes up 50 percent of the total voting players need to make the game.

David Stern -- Hall of Fame ex-NBA Commissioner -- has died 3 weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

The NBA says Stern passed away Wednesday afternoon with his wife, Dianne, and their family at his bedside.

As we reported ... Stern was in serious condition after undergoing emergency brain surgery to address the sudden hemorrhage he suffered at a Manhattan restaurant on December 12. Sadly, he was unable to make a recovery.

David took over as commissioner of the NBA in 1984 and ushered incredible growth in the league over his 30-year tenure. Of course, he was in charge during the heyday of Bird, Magic and Michael ... and helped the NBA become the global juggernaut it is today.

LeBron James celebrated his 35th year on earth in grand fashion.

LeBron's party was swanky -- black tie and gowns. It started at the famed Sunset Tower hotel on the Sunset Strip, and some of LeBron's teammates, including Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Jared Dudley, Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma. Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley and 2 Chainz were also front and center, along with LeBron's wife, Savannah.

LeBron was smokin' a huge stogie and chowin' down on a 3-layer cake, along with his guests.

That wasn't the end of the evening. The group moved the party to Crazy Girls strip club in Hollywood. Savannah joined LeBron and crew for some late-night fun.

The NBA Championship rings Lamar Odom famously pawned a few years ago are hitting the auction block ... and they can be all yours if ya got $100,000 layin' around!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the bling Odom received for winning titles with the L.A. Lakers in 2008-09 and 2009-10 are set to go up for sale ... and we're told they could fetch $50K A-PIECE!

The rings are REALLY cool ... each one boasts a TON of diamonds -- and the special engravings on each include realistic portraits of Odom's face.

We're told the ice is pretty heavy too ... the '09 ring weighs in at 75 grams, while the '10 ring comes in at 69 grams -- and both come with their original display boxes.

As for how the rings got to the Heritage Auctions block ... that story is pretty wild, because Odom reportedly pawned them off for just a few hundred bucks during the height of his issues with Khloe Kardashian several years ago -- and he never fought to get them back.

We're told bidding will begin late next month ... and close sometime in February.

Nick “Swaggy P” Young took his new fiance out for a fancy dinner Saturday night ... it's the first time we've seen them since he popped the question on XMAS day.

Nick and Keonna Green hit up Craig's in WeHo and they were in high style as they left the restaurant ... a doggie bag was in the free agent's hand.

Nick made it clear ... the ring was super expensive, although he was mum on exactly how much it set him back. One sweet note ... his son helped him pick out the bling.

Nick proposed on XMAS morning with some help from Nick Jr., who filmed the whole thing.  Check out the video ... Nick grabs the huge ring box, walks over to Keonna and makes it clear ... the proposal was "way overdue."

The couple has 3 kids together ... Nick Jr., Navi and 6-month old Nyce.

Metta World Peace is enamored by the current Lakers squad -- telling TMZ Sports they're a "bigger" sensation than his 2010 Championship team ... at least right now.

"I think they're bigger than us to tell you the truth," Metta said ... "They're 24-6 at this point? They're bigger than what we were at this point in the season."

No shade ... but Metta's wrong.

The current Lakers are 24-7. During the 2009-10 run, Metta's Lakers were 24-6 at this point.

Let's do a squad vs. squad analysis.

2009-10 Lakers -- Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, Andrew Bynum.

2019-20 Lakers -- LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Danny Green, Rajon Rondo.

So ... who ya got???

Of course, Metta's squad went on to beat the Boston Celtics in 7 games. Kobe was the series MVP.

For what it's worth, Metta thinks LeBron's Lakers will win it all this season -- "I think so. I know so!"