NBA

Doc Rivers says James Harden will sign a "huge deal" with the 76ers ... telling TMZ Sports he enjoys coaching the star guard and loves having him on the team.

We caught up with the Philadelphia head coach as he was leaving E Baldi in Bev Hills this week ... and he told us he's sure Harden, who the 76ers acquired this past season, has a massive new contract coming his way.

"Huge deal," Rivers said.

Doc added that he's "excited" about coaching JH, explaining, "I love him."

The Miami Heat bounced the Sixers from the NBA playoffs this year in the second round -- a series in which Harden didn't play his best -- which left many to question if the org. should give the 32-year-old a new, lucrative deal.

Seems Doc, though, is convinced that's going to happen.

Harden, meanwhile, has until June 29 to opt into the final year of his contract -- which will pay him $47.4 million next season.

Vanessa Bryant wants a jury to know that the sheriff's deputy accused of taking helicopter crash scene photos of Kobe Bryant was involved in another scandal involving excessive force where a handcuffed inmate's head was allegedly knelt on.

But, L.A. County is fighting back, insisting the other incident is irrelevant, and would seriously prejudice the jury.

About a year after Kobe, Gigi, and seven others tragically died in a helicopter crash, there was an incident inside a county jail involving a deputy named Doug Johnson ... who's accused of kneeling on the head of a handcuffed inmate for several minutes. The March 2021 incident received national news attention.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department allegedly attempted to prevent the details of the incident from going public ... believing it'd be a black eye for the department.

It's not the first scandal Doug Johnson's allegedly been involved in ... 'cause he's accused of being one of the deputies who took photographs of Kobe's remains at the crash site.

Photos were then allegedly shown to civilians -- without authorization -- in places like bars.

Now, lawyers for L.A. County are asking a judge to prevent Vanessa's attorney's from raising the issue during the defamation and negligence trial -- filed by the Bryant family in 2020 -- and set to begin in July.

The county, in documents filed on Friday, argues the jail incident is "entirely unrelated" to Vanessa's case. They argue bringing up such a hot button issue like excessive force could have a huge effect on the outcome of the trial.

Lawyers for the county reportedly asked Vanessa's legal team if they'd agree not to bring up the other incident ... but VB's attorney refused, according to the L.A. Times. That's when L.A. County filed the motion.

A judge is yet to make a decision on L.A. County's request.

As for the jail incident ... Johnson was captured on camera leading an inmate through a hallway, before the man, awaiting a murder charge, punched him in the face several times. Once Johnson got the 24-year-old inmate under control and handcuffed, he allegedly knelt on the inmates head for around 3 minutes.

Ayesha Curry is turning Celtics fans' famous diss into a great cause ... creating a  line of "Ayesha Curry Can Cook" shirts that'll benefit charity.

If you missed it, a bar in Boston took a shot at Steph Curry's wife -- a chef and a cookbook author -- before Game 4 of the Warriors vs. Celtics NBA Finals series last week ... writing on a sign outside of their business, "Ayesha Curry Can't Cook".

Steph later clapped back at the diss by wearing an "Ayesha Curry CAN Cook" shirt to his postgame press conference following Golden State's win over the Cs in Game 5.

The back and forth between Curry and the bar went viral -- and, when Steph ended up winning the title, he made sure to let Boston know he didn't forget about it.

Seems Ayesha didn't either ... 'cause she's now launched a line of "Ayesha Curry Can Cook" shirts through her brand Sweet July.

In announcing the sale of the tees -- which are going for $28 apiece -- Ayesha said all proceeds will benefit @nokidhungry, an org dedicated to helping end childhood hunger.

Drake's first music video from his new album is a giant not-so-inside-joke -- and while he and Tristan Thompson are laughing ... Khloe Kardashian is definitely not. 😑

Drizzy dropped the vid for "Falling Back" Thursday night, and it's a full-on wedding party, complete with him saying "I Do" to his beautiful brides.

Yes, plural ... 23 gorgeous women, actually -- and the guy getting him ready for the big day is none other than TT, who's clearly leaning into his rep for infidelity.

TT tells the rapper, "Doesn't feel right, we scrap it, we go home," while making sure the guy's looking fresh for his 20+ brides ... clearly poking fun at Tristan's multiple cheating scandals, and Drake's timing for this video is pretty on the nose!

As you know, Thursday's season finale of "The Kardashians" featured Khloe's heated reaction to finding out about Tristan's affair with Maralee Nichols ... who he got pregnant.

Khloe says "You either wear a condom, get a vasectomy, or you don't f*** random people that you meet in other states. It's not rocket science".

So, the release of "Falling Back" -- the first single from his "Honestly, Nevermind" album -- kinda plays like a Kardashian's sequel or spinoff. TBH, it's brilliant marketing -- unless you're Khloe -- and Tristan's clearly in on the joke.

Klay Thompson took time out of celebrating his NBA championship victory to call out a Memphis Grizzlies player who gloated about a win over the Warriors earlier this year ... blastin' the dude as a "frickin' bum" and a "frickin' clown."

The target of Thompson's animosity was Jaren Jackson Jr., who tweeted a dig at the Warriors following a 123-95 win back in March.

"Strength in numbers," Jackson Jr. said, clearly mocking the Warriors' famous rallying cry after the victory.

Thompson revealed on Thursday night after beating the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals that the tweet REALLY pissed him off ... and he was super happy to be able to rub it in Jackson's face after lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"There was this one player on the Grizzlies who tweeted 'Strength in numbers' after they beat us in the regular season," the Warriors star said to reporters, "and it pissed me off so much."

"I can't wait to retweet that thing. Frickin' bum. I had to watch that, and I'm just like, 'This frickin' clown.'"

Thompson continued, "Sorry, that memory just popped up. Gonna mock us? Like, you ain't ever been there before, bruh. We've been there, we know what it takes. So, to be here again, hold that."

The 32-year-old has yet to officially press the RT on Jackson Jr.'s tweet ... but we're sure it's coming.

Steph Curry celebrated his fourth championship Thursday night like it was his first ... slugging bubbly from a chalice and talkin' smack to his haters!!!

The Golden State Warriors star hit the locker room with his teammates for the epic celly just minutes after the Dubs beat the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals ... and he went hard.

The newly crowned Finals MVP poured a bunch of champagne on his head, drank a ton of it ... and then yelled to all of his haters, "Champs, baby!"

"What are they going to say now?!" he added. "What are they going to say now?!"

Curry was far from the only Warriors star to revel in the team's latest title ... Klay Thompson and Draymond Green also did their fair share of drinking and trash-talking.

Jordan Poole, meanwhile, took the postgame celebration as an opportunity to throw a bunch of champagne down his throat -- and video of his chugging was pretty legendary.

Steph Curry and the Warriors have done it again ... for the fourth time in the last eight years, Golden State is the champion of the NBA.

Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson roughed up the Celtics, 103-90, in Game 6 of the Finals on Thursday night to secure the title.

Curry led the way for the Dubs in the victory in Boston, scoring 34 points and logging seven rebounds and seven assists. He was later named MVP of the series.

Green chipped in a near triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Thompson, meanwhile, added 12 points and five rebounds.

The series finale was by no means an instant classic -- the Warriors took a big lead in the first half and never relinquished it.

To their credit, the Celtics did at times in the second half appear to at least threaten to make it close -- but Curry, Green and the Warriors were just too much.

The championship is the fourth for Curry, Green and Thompson, who previously won titles over LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

All three celebrated their faces off on the court following Thursday night's win ... with Curry actually shedding tears.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith says Shaquille O'Neal had every right to clap back at a hater trying to diminish his success ... telling TMZ Sports no superstar has won a championship on their own.

As we previously reported, Diesel went OFF on a Twitter user for claiming he wouldn't have won his 3 rings with the Lakers without Kobe Bryant ... saying, "no person can win without another star big dummy."

We spoke with Smith about Shaq's issue with the heckler ... and he says anyone who knows hoop understands winning a ring isn't a one-man gig.

Worth mentioning -- Shaq brought Kenny into the debate with his rebuttal to the hater ... saying Smith wouldn't have won a championship without Hakeem Olajuwon.

Smith backs up the Big Aristotle ... saying the Hall of Famer is just spitting facts. And if the argument were about Kobe, it would be the same result -- no one wins without a stellar supporting cast.

The NBA could be in serious trouble in 16 years ... 'cause Stephen Curry's 3-year-old son is already following in his papa's footsteps and showing off his incredible dribbling skills!!

Steph's wife, Ayesha, posted the clip on Tuesday ... with Canon mimicking Steph's iconic pregame ritual.

"Canon Jack out here stuntin like his daddy 😍😆 @stephencurry30" Ayesha said on Tuesday

Of course, Steph goes through a rigorous pregame warmup before every contest ... which has drawn fans to show up early to check out the spectacle.

Steph has previously talked about giving his son shooting advice but hilariously admitted the toddler isn't too fond of listening to the 3-time champion's help.

It should come as no surprise Canon's got natural talent -- after all, his dad, uncle and gramps all made it to the league.

A Klay Thompson impersonator has been BANNED for life from Warriors home games ... after he allegedly fooled arena personnel into believing he was the Golden State star, allowing him access to not just the building, but also the basketball court.

"Banned bc I walked past 5 layers of security guards (who willingly let me through security without asking for ID) & shot around on the court for 10 minutes," Dawson Gurley announced on social media.

And, Daws isn't kidding about the ban ... he posted a photo of a letter from a Warriors executive laying out his punishment.

"You deliberately deceived Chase Center building personnel by impersonating a GSW employee," the letter read, in part.

The disciplinary letter goes on to say Daws -- who isn't denying the allegation -- can't ever come back. They also threatened him with a trespassing charge.

For his part, Daws thinks the suspension is BS! He says he actually had a ticket for the game ... saying it isn't his fault security didn't stop him.

"I also spent 10K on tickets which they are not refunding. Why should I be banned because their security is incompetent?" Dawson asked his followers.

10 bands is obviously a lot of money to waste. But, the Klay impersonator says he doesn't have any regrets.

"Was it worth it to lose 10K on tickets and be banned for life? Absolutely. I was an NBA player for 10 minutes bro."

During those 10 minutes, Daws even had time to take a photo.

It's not the first time Gurley's received attention for impersonating the All-Star. He pranked fans during the 2018 NBA Finals, sitting courtside, dressed as Klay. That video has millions of views.

Side note: the real Klay Thompson had 21 points in Monday's game 5 win. The Warriors are one game away from winning an NBA title.

Jaxson Hayes will not spend another minute behind bars stemming from his July altercation with cops that led to his arrest -- the New Orleans Pelicans player was just sentenced to three years probation, 450 hours of community service and weekly domestic violence classes.

22-year-old Hayes pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and false imprisonment in February ... and was facing up to 364 days behind bars for both charges.

The timeframe is unclear on when Hayes must complete his community service ... but he will be allowed to complete it where he lives, instead of in Los Angeles.

Hayes will be able to take his domestic violence classes online over the next 52 weeks.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Hayes was arrested on July 28 after cops responded to a reported domestic incident at his then-girlfriend's house around 3 AM.

When officers showed up at the scene, cops say Hayes refused to let them inside ... which resulted in a scuffle.

One officer was injured ... and Hayes -- who was tased during the incident -- was heard on video telling cops he couldn't breathe, which led to an LAPD investigation into excessive use of force.

Hayes was taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment for minor injuries ... and was released from custody later that day.

The upcoming celebrity boxing match between Blueface and former NBA star Nick Young isn't too chummy, and won't be very long -- the "Thotiana" rapper is vowing to put Nick to sleep early!

Make no mistake about it, Blueface has already won the July 30 bout in his mind, because he tells TMZ Hip Hop ... "The Famous Cryp is about to be even more famous ... Nick's going down in the 3rd!"

Earlier this week, TMZ Sports hashed out the details: the proud L.A. natives will both have home ring advantage inside Crypto.com Arena where they will be on the undercard for the Social Gloves event where YouTubers Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib are the main event.

Speaking of YouTubers, Blueface has a history of sizing up social media stars for a fight.

Remember, he bashed TikToker Kane Trujillo's face in (as well as a random ring-crasher) during a July 2021 bare-knuckle fight.

Ex-NFL star, and part-time rapper, Le'Veon Bell is also on the card for July 30, but he's still waiting for a challenger.

As for the fight for L.A.'s unofficial celeb belt (which isn't a thing, yet) ... the physical stats are in Swaggy's favor, but Blueface has him beat in-ring experience.

Tyler Herro wished the mother of his child, Katya Elise Henry, a happy 28th birthday with a sweet message ... calling her "the most beautiful girl in the world" amid rumors of a nasty breakup.

The Miami Heat star penned the letter on Tuesday by sharing photos of himself, the fitness model, and their 9-month-old daughter, Zya, on Instagram.

"Happy Birthday to the most beautiful girl in the world," Herro said in the caption.

"Words can’t describe how much I appreciate you. Aint no tellin where we’d be at without you."

Herro -- who started dating Henry after sliding in her DMs in 2020 -- says she's been holdin' it down since they've met and he looks forward to their future.

"You’ve been my rock holding it down for 2 years, I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us. Enjoy. Smile. More life to 28 biggggg babbyyyy."

This is a good sign that the couple is in good spirits -- even after many thought Henry broke up with Herro after posting quotes about cheating on her IG story.

She also removed all of Herro's photos from her page and unfollowed him on social media.

But, we just checked -- she's following him again.

Blue Ivy spent the night out with her pops Jay-Z, and fans had to stop and do a double-take after looking way too much like Beyoncé.

The father-daughter duo was at the NBA Finals Monday night in San Fran, and fans couldn't help but compare her to her mom -- the 10-year-old is rocking a new curly-haired look that's definitely very familiar.

Blue's look feels similar to queen Bey in the mid-2000s, or as one fan reacted on social media ... "Beyonce really copy and pasted her looks on her." Not everyone sees the Beyonce comparisons, though ... some still see more of her dad than her mama.

Jay-Z even got the chance to embarrass her at the game in true dad fashion ... pulling her in for a hug while on camera, and she tried to break away as she whispered, "Dad, my hair."

BTW, last night's game 5 pulled Golden State ahead 3-2, and Jay and mini-Bey even got to chat it up with Steph Curry after the game.

Steph Curry beat the Celtics on the court on Monday night -- and then he got the victory against their fans off of it immediately afterward, rockin' a T-shirt that trolled the hell out of some heckling Boston supporters.

Just minutes after Curry and the Warriors beat the Cs at the Chase Center in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco, the Golden State superstar showed up to his news conference with a tee that read, "Ayesha Curry CAN Cook."

It was a simple, grey-and-black article of clothing underneath a zip-up jacket ... but it was the perfect clap back to some trolling that Celtics fans did before Friday's Game 4 in Boston.

If you missed it, outside of a popular bar, fans wrote "Ayesha Curry Can't Cook" on a sign to troll Curry's wife, who's a chef.

Steph clearly believed otherwise -- and his own trolling message hit perfectly following Golden State's dominating 104-94 win.

The 34-year-old, though, let the shirt do his talking for him, because when a reporter asked him about it -- he said simply, "You've got to ask around the room and ask Twitter. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely."

NBA forward Montrezl Harrell has been charged with drug trafficking after cops say they found three pounds of weed in his car during a traffic stop in May ... and is now facing time behind bars.

According to the Charlotte Observer, the 28-year-old was pulled over by a Kentucky state trooper around 10 AM on May 12 for driving a 2020 Honda Pilot rental too close to the car in front of him ... and during the stop, cops claim they smelled marijuana.

The report says Harrell admitted to having weed on him and pulled a "small amount" from his sweatpants ... but when cops searched the vehicle, they claim to have found a backpack filled with three pounds of weed in vacuum-sealed bags.

Harrell's arraignment was scheduled for Monday morning.

Harrell -- who played college ball at the University of Louisville -- was charged with trafficking less than five pounds of marijuana ... a Class D felony for first-time offenders that could result in up to five years behind bars and a fine.