NBA

NBA rookie Tyler Herro's shooting percentage just went WAYYY up during the NBA's coronavirus suspension ... pulling up from half-court with an absolutely stunning model -- and he SWISHED!!

The 20-year-old Miami Heat rising star is known for being a sharp shooter on the court ... but the youngblood decided to test his range on Twitter ... hitting Katya Elise Henry with the "wyd" (which means "what you doin'" for all the old readers out there).

As it turns out, the bold move worked out for Herro -- 'cause the fitness guru responded "quarantine n chill?" with the side-eye flirty emoji!!!!

Of course, all the NBA players have been told to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 break ... but for Henry?? Might be worth risking it all.

KEH has been tied to guys like Austin Mahone and Kyle Kuzma in the past ... but it's unclear if she's really pursuing Herro or if they're joking and we're all idiots.

Kevin Love wants his NBA brothers to step up and lead the community during the coronavirus suspension ... calling for everyone to be "more than athletes" and follow his lead.

As we previously reported ... the Cleveland Cavs champ was the first player to lead the charge and donate $100k to support Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse employees who are without work during the NBA suspension.

K. Love spoke about his generous donation on the "Today" show Wednesday morning ... and he wants more players to get involved.

"It's been an incredibly stressful time for number of people ... a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck," Love says. "So I felt this is a really good time, especially for NBA players, to walk-the-walk and be more than athletes."

Love continued ... "We see people in the community, we see people working in our arena work at least 41 nights out of the year, us playing home games, so it was way for me to try and help navigate this incredibly stressful and anxiety-ridden time to just pay it for and really help them."

The 5-time All-Star -- who is outspoken about mental health awareness -- emphasizes it's a time for his NBA family to help relieve the stress arena staffers may have when they don't know when the next paycheck will come through.

Nelly says Kevin Durant's positive coronavirus test is a real REALITY CHECK for the world -- because it proves "nobody's exempt" when it comes to COVID-19.

"Our thoughts and our strengths are with him," the hip-hop star told us in Calabasas ... "Nobodys exempt. We're all the same right now."

He added, "Nobody's bigger than the other right one. I think we're all one at the same time right now."

"It's affecting the world, man, not just the music industry. And, anybody who feels like this is personal, basically got they head in the sand."

Nelly's message echoed Nevada governor Steve Sisolak -- who didn't mince words when addressing the people of the Silver State earlier this week.

"I don't know how to make this any clearer ... this is affecting the lives of our citizens. People are dying."

Rudy Gobert -- the first NBA player to be diagnosed with coronavirus -- is paying it forward to his arena family and surrounding communities with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Utah Jazz star announced Saturday he'd be forking $500k of his money toward the COVID-19 pandemic -- divvying up the dough to different groups, but all with the intent to relieve people who are going to be hurt by it the most, like part-timers at the team's arena.

$200k of Gobert's pledge will help cover the salaries of part-time employees working at Vivint Smart Home Arena -- all of whom were sent home earlier this week after the NBA canceled the remainder of the regular season. The money is in conjunction with efforts already being undertaken by ex-Jazz owner Larry H. Miller's sports and entertainment company.

Another couple hundred thousand are being dispersed to help families affected by coronavirus in Utah and Oklahoma City. Rudy's also donating a bunch of euros to help people in his native country of France ... which was just recently placed on lockdown.

Of course, the gesture from Gobert comes after he caught flak on Wednesday for touching a bunch of reporters' microphones during a press briefing ... this after word was out that he'd contracted coronavirus. He apologized for that -- seems he's going the extra mile.

Other NBA players have stepped up for their arena staffers as well ... Zion Williamson is picking up the tab for the Pelicans crew, and Kevin Love's doing the same in Cleveland.

"Inside the NBA" star Kenny Smith is showering NBA Commish Adam Silver with praise for being the FIRST major sports official to suspend the season -- telling TMZ Sports it was a true leadership moment.

Of course, Smith is back in L.A. because with the NBA on ice, so is his show -- "We're on hiatus just like the NBA."

That's when Smith went on to talk about how lucky the NBA is to have a leader like Silver -- who made a tough decision before other major sports leagues.

"I think overall leadership is about having a direct derivative and I think he's had a direct derivative from the start," Smith said.

"He understands the culture that we're in. He understands the world that we live in from human rights to human pandemics. He's always been ahead of the curve. We trust what he says because it's always clear."

As for Kenny's co-worker Charles Barkley -- who's currently self-quarantined over coronavirus fears -- Smith says "he's fine right now."

Charles Barkley says he's in the middle of a self-quarantine after getting tested for the coronavirus ... this after admitting he hasn't been feeling well.

Sir Chuck called into TNT's "NBA On TNT" broadcast Thursday night and said he's in self-quarantine for 48 hours as he awaits test results on the coronavirus.

The NBA Hall of Famer said he's been feeling under the weather after traveling from New York City to Atlanta, and that's why he went for a coronavirus test.

Remember ... Charles was one of the first celebs publicly advocating for the cancelation of March Madness earlier this week due to the deadly pandemic. The powers that be eventually scrapped the big dance altogether after conferences started canceling their own tournaments.

Cavs star Kevin Love is stepping up to help the hundreds of arena staffers out of work during the NBA suspension ... donating a HUGE amount of money to support the hard workers in Cleveland.

Love shared his feelings about the league shutting down on Thursday ... saying his concern isn't about basketball, but the people who help make the game day experience possible.

"Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations," Love said in a statement. "And the fear and anxiety resulting from the recent outbreak of COVID-19 can be extremely overwhelming."

Of course, the Association decided to suspend the 2019-20 season Wednesday ... after Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell tested positive for coronavirus.

"Through the game of basketball, we've been able to address major issues and stand together as a progressive league that cares about the players, the fans, and the communities where we work."

Love -- who is outspoken about mental health awareness -- says his foundation will write up a check for $100k to "support staff that had a sudden life shift due to the cancellation of the NBA season."

Along with the contribution ... the Cavs released a statement saying the team is currently working on finding a way to financially help the employees during the time off.

27-year-old Utah Jazz superstar Rudy Gobert says he's "embarrassed" for acting so recklessly about coronavirus ... and he's apologizing "to the people that I may have endangered."

The NBA center is at the center of the health crisis after he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Just days before his diagnosis, Gobert was clowning around about the issue with reporters, and jokingly rubbed his hands all over microphones and recorders.

Now, no one's laughing ... especially with Gobert's teammate, Donovan Mitchell, testing positive as well.

In fact, Jazz players griped about Gobert's behavior to ESPN -- accusing him of being careless.

Now, Gobert's breaking his silence after the positive test ... and it's clear he's remorseful for the whole ordeal.

"The first and most important thing is I would like to publicly apologize to the people that I may have endangered," Gobert said.

"At the time, I had no idea I was even infected. I was careless and make no excuse. I hope my story serves as a warning and causes everyone to take this seriously."

"I will do whatever I can to support using my experience as a way to educate others and prevent the spread of this virus."

Gobert thanked everyone who has reached out to him since the news broke ... and reaffirmed he will be okay.

"I have gone through so many emotions since learning of my diagnosis…mostly fear, anxiety, and embarrassment."

NBA star Donovan Mitchell has tested positive for COVID-19 -- AKA coronavirus -- just hours after his Utah Jazz teammate, Rudy Gobert, was diagnosed.

The 23-year-old All-Star has not publicly commented, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says players seem to be pointing the finger at Gobert not taking proper precautions.

"Jazz players privately say that Rudy Gobert had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings," Woj says ... "Now a Jazz teammate has tested positive."

Media members are upset with Gobert also after he jokingly rubbed his hands all over mics and recorders while talking with reporters earlier this week (before he was formally diagnosed).

Of course, due to Gobert's health status ... Wednesday night's Jazz vs. Thunder game was postponed just minutes before tipoff and both teams were quarantined while the players were in the locker room.

The NBA has already suspended the season -- and there are rumblings play could resume in August ... but for now, league execs are trying to figure things out.

The coronavirus outbreak is wreaking havoc in the sports world -- several major events have been canceled or postponed ... including La Liga soccer games, ATP tennis tournaments and more.

As we previously reported, Charles Barkley is calling for the NCAA to cancel the March Madness tournament ... but so far, it's still scheduled to move forward.

The NBA has just announced it's putting its season on hold ... this just minutes after one of its star players tested positive for coronavirus.

The league said in a statement Wednesday ... Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert had contracted COVID-19 -- and in response, it's pausing its season following the conclusion of Wednesday's slate of games.

"The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic," the league said.

The league had reportedly considered making the move earlier Wednesday ... debating whether to suspend the season or play its games without fans. Ultimately, no decision had been made prior to the tip-off of Wednesday's games.

The Golden State Warriors were set to play their game against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday in a fan-less arena. However, that game will now take place at a later date.

As for how the league is handling the Jazz and Thunder after it was announced Gobert had the virus ... ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says players from both sides are being quarantined at Oklahoma City's arena.

ESPN had a camera on Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban when he found out about the cancellation -- and it's obvious he was completely shocked by the news.