NBA

Vanessa Bryant just told the world how proud she is of Kobe, who has been honored as the next Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

Vanessa sat with daughter Natalia as she fought back tears, saying how proud she was of Kobe's posthumous accomplishment.

Kobe will be inducted as part of the class of 2020, and Vanessa says it's the pinnacle of her late husband's storied NBA career, that spanned 20 years with the Lakers.

Vanessa says, "It's an incredible accomplishment and honor, and we're extremely proud of him. Obviously, we wish he was here with us to celebrate, but it's definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here."

Kobe Bryant will be inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020 -- alongside Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

Players become eligible 4 seasons after their last game -- and with Kobe retiring in 2016, this was his first opportunity to get in.

The ceremony (which will be formally announced on Saturday) will take place at The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA in August, according to Shams Charania.

It's a no-brainer -- Kobe is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time ... during his 20-year run with the Lakers, Kobe won 5 NBA titles and made the All-Star team 18 times!

Need more stats? He was also a 2-time NBA Finals MVP, the 2008 NBA MVP, 2-time NBA scoring champ, 9-time NBA All-Defensive Team and he won the Dunk Contest in '97!

Of course, Kobe passed away on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA. He was only 41.

Many of Kobe's friends and family members have talked about how important it was for Kobe to get in the HOF. Shaquille O'Neal even spoke about it on "Inside the NBA" in the days after Kobe's death.

"The fact that we're not gonna be able to joke at his Hall of Fame ceremony, we're not gonna be able to say, 'Haha, I got 5 (championships), you got 4,' the fact that we're not gonna be able to say, 'If we would've stayed together, we could've got 10' ... those were the things you can't get back."

This might be the biggest baller move yet ... LaMelo Ball and his manager, ex-NBA player Jermaine Jackson, just teamed up to buy the Australian pro basketball team Ball suited up for this past season.

BIG BALLER!!!!

18-year-old Ball was a beast in 12 games for the Illawarra Hawks last year ... averaging 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7 assists a game before a foot injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Jackson -- who played 5 seasons in the NBA -- explained the move to ESPN, saying Ball loved his time in the Australian NBL so much that he decided to take charge.

The Hawks were reportedly facing financial issues while Ball was on the team ... and now the top NBA prospect is hoping to keep the shop open for his teammates and future players.

"Melo loves the Illawarra fans," Jackson said. "He loves that community. They opened their arms to him. They made us feel like we are at home. When we started hearing about the issues they were going through, we talked about it and decided, 'Let's own the team.'"

Jackson insists the move won't affect Ball's bright NBA future ... saying the plan is to hire the right people to keep the team running.

"He wants to create the best basketball program possible for that community there."

No word on how much it cost to buy the team ... but it can't be cheap.

It's been exactly one year since Nipsey Hussle was shot dead in L.A. -- but his memory lives on ... and some of the biggest athletes in the world are paying tribute to the fallen rapper.

Hussle's music definitely struck a chord with athletes in all sports -- with stars like Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, DeSean Jackson and more speaking out about how much Nipsey meant to them.

"Hussle Day!! R.I.P to the legend," Russell said ... "We miss you bro!! #themarathoncontinues."

Kyrie said, "I didn't know you personally Nip, but just know you inspired me beyond measure. Thank you."

New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas (who's from L.A.) added, "I lost my homie and his soul still attached to me. Rest In Peace Nip Hussle the Great. I’m still lapping up for you."

Broncos star Davontae Harris said, "Today is about NIPSEY HUSSLE save the pandemic talk for tomorrow."

Other stars like Dez Bryant, Matt Barnes, Vic Oladipo and Isaiah Thomas also honored Nipsey on social media.

Hussle was shot and killed on March 31, 2019, near his clothing shop in South Central, L.A. He was only 33.

Darko Milicic is taking the high road with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade ... saying he heard the disrespect -- but is only wishing the best for the future hall of famers.

Of course, Melo and Wade were discussing their epic 2003 draft class on Instagram Live over the weekend ... when Anthony claimed he couldn't remember who was drafted #2 overall after LeBron James.

"WHO!?" Melo asked after Wade mentioned he hadn't heard of Milicic prior to the draft.

Darko -- widely considered one of the biggest busts in NBA history -- addressed the comments recently ... and instead of picking a fight, his reaction was poetic as hell.

"As for these stories, so if my story is not told, thank God they have succeeded — I have not," Darko told b92.net.

"We are not kids, we are adults. I hope you are ripe to understand that life is full of ups and downs."

Milicic continued ... "I consider myself less good guys, it is not necessary to judge and ridicule when, thank God, you have not passed the path that I am."

"To them, as always, I wish everyone good and every honor in their careers and in further life a lot of success and less condemnation."

It would've been easy for Milicic to take a shot at Melo -- considering he won a ring with the Pistons in 2004 ... something Anthony still doesn't have.

Shaquille O'Neal wants to make it clear -- he does NOT support Joe Exotic or the GW Zoo, despite the way it looked in the Netflix docuseries, "Tiger King."

One of the big moments in the series was when Shaq not only visited the GW Zoo back in the day -- but he then gave Joe Exotic a plug on "Inside the NBA." Shaq says he's visited the zoo several times and even appeared on Joe's reality show in 2014.

People have been critical of Shaq -- since the doc paints Joe as a scumbag who mistreated the animals at his Oklahoma facility. Also, he's accused of trying to put a hit out on a rival tiger sanctuary owner. Bad stuff.

But, Shaq addressed the situation on "The Big Podcast with Shaq" -- and claimed he had NO IDEA things were as bad as they were at the zoo.

"I was just a visitor. I met this guy. Not my friend. Don’t know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on," Shaq said.

The NBA legend admits he made donations to the zoo -- claiming he does stuff like that all the time -- but would never support the mistreatment of animals.

"People that know me know that I'm righteous. I don't harm tigers. I love tigers."

"We found out that he’s involved with all the stuff, and then, actually, I stopped going.”

Shaq says he really likes the show -- he's binged watched it -- saying, "It's actually a really good documentary."

New York Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan has tested positive for COVID-19 ... making him the first known major American sports team owner to contract the virus.

Knicks PR announced Saturday night that the 64-year-old billionaire owner -- one of the most controversial figures in sports -- has coronavirus ... but made it clear he was in good condition, and still in charge of his teams.

"The Madison Square Garden Company Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Dolan has tested positive for coronavirus. He has been in self-isolation and is experiencing little to no symptoms. He continues to oversee business operations."

Dolan lives in New York -- the United States hotbed for the pandemic -- with over 53,000 identified cases.

Before the NBA shut down earlier this month, Dolan was reportedly the only NBA owner who didn't want to play games without fans or suspend the season ... despite the growing threat of the virus.

Nike's billion-dollar man went all-out for Air Max Day -- LeBron James gave a tour of his massive shoe collection ... and of course, it's sick.

March 26 is a national holiday for sneakerheads ... because it's the anniversary of the release of the first Air Max shoe, which came out back in 1987.

In honor of the special day, King James opened up the doors to his shoe vault to show off his incredible collection.

And, you know it's special when LBJ can barely contain himself going through all his boxes of new, classic, and unreleased kicks.

From the 95 De Lo Mios to the 90 Flyease to the DLX Susan Missing Link to the Off-White collabs and many more, LeBron shows off his dope kicks and explains why he likes them all so much.

LBJ even teases some shoes he can't show off because they won't come out for a LONG time. The perks of being the face of the brand!!

Bron shows off his own signature LeBron 15s that pay homage to the Air Max style ... saying it's one of his favorite sneaks to date.

It's good to be the King.