NBA

Andre Johnson and Adrian Peterson, along with other current and retired NFL players tried to take each other's heads off in an intense game of volleyball ... and let's just say Eric Reid is probably sorry he didn't bring his football helmet!

But, it was all for charity ... and that's gotta ease (some of) the pain.

The Ultimate Most Dopest Dodgeball Charity Challenge went down last week in Texas ... pitting 4 teams, captained by Alex Bregman (the MLB star couldn't be there, but his wife Reagan held it down) DeAndre Hopkins, Chester Pitts, and reigning Super Bowl champ Justin Reid.

The captains all played for charities near and dear to their hearts. Cecil Shorts III, Tank Dell, DJ Reader and a bunch of other guys also participated.

Pitts and Reid's team were the last teams alive ... and Eric Reid was the last man standing on his squad. Despite fighting like hell against multiple players from Pitts' team, Eric was taken out by a line drive throw from Andre Johnson.

To add insult to injury, someone on Johnson's team fired another ball a split second later, and it smacked ER directly in the side of the face/head. Thankfully, Eric was okay (you don't play 7 NFL seasons if you aren't tough)!

FYI, headshots are usually illegal in dodgeball, but it technically wasn't the shot that eliminated Reid.

It was a rough day to be a Golden State Warrior on Thursday ... while Klay Thompson and Steph Curry were bad on the golf course, Draymond Green showed he's got ZERO skills when it comes to chugging beer!

The comically awful showing from the NBA stars all went down during the eighth iteration of The Match at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas ... when the Splash Brothers were trying to beat Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in the annual charity golf event.

Thompson and Curry struggled mightily against the Kansas City Chiefs superstars ... losing the contest in just 10 holes.

But, perhaps the bigger story happened earlier in the evening ... when Kelce gave Green a booze-slugging contraption and 12 ounces of Coors Light.

The tight end tried his best to get Green to pour it out properly down his throat -- but check out the video ... Green was awful!!

The 33-year-old got more of it on his shirt than in his mouth -- and Kelce was cracking up over it all!!

To his credit, Green was a good sport about the snafu ... though he did try to blame Kelce's device for the mishap.

For Kelce's part, he showed he had absolutely no issues with the thing just a few minutes before Green's debacle ... slamming a Silver Bullet in less than four seconds.

The day -- despite the Warriors' worst efforts -- was still a good one nonetheless ... it showed Mahomes is truly good at everything, AND it raised a ton of cash for various charities.

Good work, guys!

Nike is gearing up to relaunch Kobe Bryant's line with the Swoosh, the sportswear giant's CEO announced to investors on Thursday ... and fans won't have to wait long, products are expected to drop before the end of August!

CEO John Donahue spoke on an earnings call this week, where he announced some seriously awesome news ... "It's going to be an exciting summer as we set the stage to relaunch the Kobe brand in advance of Kobe Day on 8.24," JD said.

Donahue, nor Nike, expounded further, so specifics surrounding Kobe's brand are still unclear.

A relaunch wasn't always a foregone conclusion. The longtime partnership between Nike and Kobe/KB's estate came to an end in April 2021 when a new contract could not be agreed upon.

Fast forward to March 2022 ... when Vanessa Bryant announced the estate reached a new deal with Nike, restoring one of the most successful partnerships in shoewear history.

At the time, Vanessa said of the new agreement ... "We're excited to announce our partnership with Nike is going to continue! I am so proud that my husband's shoes are still the most worn by players on NBA courts and that the demand for his shoes remains so desired by his fans around the world."

Bryant continued ... "With this new partnership, fans will soon be able to have access to Kobe and Gigi Nike products for years to come and with Nike donating 100% of the net proceeds yearly for Gianna’s shoes to our Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation."

Since the reunion, the releases from Nike have been sparse. There were Kobe 4 and 6's released on a limited basis, but there haven't been any major drops.

Lamar Odom is worried for Bam Margera ... worried he's keeping bad company.

As we first reported ... Bam was detoxing in San Diego earlier this month with Lamar's help, but he left early, and given Bam's track record, Lamar is concerned.

Lamar clearly thinks Bam is hanging with the wrong crowd, saying, "Who you surround yourself with is critical. We are the company we keep."

Bam actually stayed with Lamar last weekend after leaving the detox center, but he bounced and Odom thinks that's more than problematic.

Lamar thinks there's a card his friends and family can play that could get Bam's attention ... namely his ability to see is son, Phoenix.

Remember, Bam threatened to smoke crack until he died if he couldn't see his kid, so that could be a pressure point that works.

Lamar says he's going to try and track Bam down and encourage him to go to rehab at the Odom Recovery Group.

Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley are gonna love this -- Kenny "The Jet" Smith has landed back on the beaches of Miami ... and he brought along the stunning Aline Bernardes for another relaxing day in the sun.

The "Inside The NBA" cohost and his lady first made waves back in May when they were spotted out in Florida together ... which, naturally, had his TV buddies cracking jokes left and right for the next few days.

Luckily for Smith, the NBA season is over ... so he can enjoy his free time with the model without worrying about the guys cracking jokes in front of a national audience.

Smith and Bernardes appear to be really into each other -- they were closer than ever as they rocked their swimsuits and went for a soak in the water on Thursday.

While their first trip to the beach was pretty chill, there was more PDA this time around -- Aline wrapped her arms around the NBA champ as they walked deeper into the ocean.

It looks like the return to the beach was entertaining for both ... they smiled from ear-to-ear throughout the day.

San Antonio Spurs guard Devonte' Graham has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired stemming from his July 2022 arrest ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to a spokesperson for the Wake County District Attorney's Office, Graham entered the plea during a court hearing on Tuesday after cutting a deal with prosecutors.

We're told the speeding charge that Graham was also facing in the case will be dismissed as part of the deal.

A sentencing hearing for Graham has now been slated for next month.

The 28-year-old NBA player was initially hit with the two charges back on July 7, 2022 ... after authorities in Raleigh, North Carolina say he had been doing 63 MPH in a 40 MPH zone while intoxicated at around 3 AM.

Police at the time said after pulling over Graham for speeding, breath tests revealed he had a BAC of .11.

Graham -- a former second-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft -- had been playing for the New Orleans Pelicans at the time of the arrest ... but he was traded to the Spurs roughly seven months later as part of a deal for Josh Richardson.

Graham went on to play in 20 games for San Antonio, averaging 13 points per game.

Moriah Mills -- the woman who claims to have had an intimate relationship with Zion Williamson -- just seemingly announced she's pregnant ... and she's dropping major hints that the NBA star is the father.

The former porn star posted a video of a positive pregnancy test on Wednesday ... just weeks after she said Zion -- who is expecting a baby girl with his GF -- "better pray" he didn't knock her up, too.

Moriah is leading fans to believe she is, in fact, preggo with the 22-year-old's child ... as she also created a poll for potential names for the baby -- "Junior" and "Zoriah."

Mills has been highly active on social media after coming out with her allegations ... revealing extremely personal details of her alleged relationship with Zion and threatening to release a sex tape of them together, which ultimately got her booted from Twitter.

She also had people talking after claiming she got the Pelicans forward's name tattooed on her cheek ... although there is speculation it might have been fake.

Despite all the drama, Zion has gotten support from his family ... as his stepfather publicly backed the hooper at a recent event in New Orleans.

Chill out with all the Draymond Green and LeBron James talk ... 'cause new Warriors point guard Chris Paul tells TMZ Sports he "absolutely" wants the 4-time NBA champ back on the team!

We caught up with CP3 at Fanatics' "Merch Madness" giveaway event on Tuesday ... just a few days after the 38-year-old guard was traded to Golden State in exchange for Jordan Poole.

"I'm excited," Paul said. "I know I've been the sworn enemy for a long time but I cannot wait to be there, and I cannot wait to get in the locker room with all those guys."

Of course, there's a chance one of those guys might be missing. Draymond Green isn't a lock to return after declining a $27.5 million player option, making him a free agent.

Even though he's only been on the team for a few days, CP3 says he "absolutely" wants Green back.

It won't be easy, though ... a lot of teams are reportedly interested in Draymond, including the Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings and LA Lakers.

King James and DG were recently spotted on vacay together in Europe ... and chances are Bron was doing some recruiting!

Vanessa Bryant was victorious in a lawsuit over one of the biggest investments Kobe Bryant ever made ... and in the process of winning, she exposed some pretty awful, racially-charged smack talk.

The background -- Kobe plunked down $6 million back in 2013 for a 10% interest in the sports drink company, BodyArmor. Several years later, the company sold to Coca-Cola for a whopping $5.6 BILLION. Kobe's investment reportedly netted him $400 million.

In 2019, six months before Kobe was killed in a tragic helicopter accident, the President of Kobe Inc., Molly Carter, claimed Kobe promised her 2% of his cut. Kobe called BS on her, saying he never made such a promise.

Molly sued, and Vanessa picked up the mantle and not only defended the case, she filed her own counterclaim, alleging Molly violated the duty of loyalty and the non-disparagement clause in her employment contract by trash-talking Kobe and his family.

As for the alleged trash-talking ... Vanessa claimed she referred to Kobe as an "asshole," a "douche nugget," and a "dick wad." She says Molly called her the "f***ing devil," "bitch" and PSYCHO," even mocking Vanessa's newborn as having "botox lips."

Vanessa says while Molly was working for the company, she was permitted to travel to an NBA All-Star game and on the jet she groused, there were "a lot of fancy-ass Black people" on the plane.

The case went to arbitration and Vanessa prevailed on both the lawsuit and her counterclaim and was awarded more than $1.5 mil in attorney's fees.

Victor Wembanyama's incredibly slight build won't stop the number one pick from kicking ass starting game one, according to former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, who flat-out says today's big men suck (with a couple of exceptions).

"If you can get buckets, you can get buckets. It doesn't matter how strong you are," Arenas told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1).

"He only has two people in the position that he's going to be guarding, you got [Joel Embiid] and [Nikola Jokic]. That's six games a year. That's gonna be real tough for you. Other than that there's no one in your position. Everyone sucks. Everyone's trash."

"You have [Brook Lopez], undersized Al Horford, you got [Pascal Siakam,] they're playing him at center now. You don't have no one that's really gonna challenge you and your size. For the most part you should be fine. You should be perfectly fine."

Of course, the nearly 7'5" French phenom, who is listed at 230 lbs., was drafted with the first overall pick during last week's NBA Draft. Some people have questioned whether Wemby can be effective given his current frame.

Frankly, Gilbert thinks that's crap ... given the way the game is now played.

"From who, Siakam is gonna break him? Who's gonna break him at the center?" Arenas asked.

Dennis Rodman pulled up to Houston's Pride parade on Sunday rockin' a skirt ... a move that apparently didn't sit right with some "fans," prompting the NBA legend to clap back online!

62-year-old Rodman shared several photos from the event along with the caption ... "Love will Always Win🌈Happy Pride #gaypride #loveislove #pridemonth"

The 5x NBA champ was wearing a green, pleated schoolgirl skirt, along with a black t-shirt, featuring a photo of Rodman's head, complete with his rainbow hair.

As you might expect given the current climate, some people weren't thrilled with Dennis' attire at the parade.

The Hall of Famer clearly heard some of the criticism ... and responded online, writing "Do your research guys #beenhim🦍," pointing to other times he's worn women's clothing, including the time he put on a wedding dress in 1996 to "marry himself."

While things were a little testy online, Dennis was all smiles at the Pride event ... taking pics and giving autographs to fans!

Ice Cube says he is not part of the elite Hollywood "club" that so many others apparently are -- and he's airing some grievances about challenges he says he faces because of it.

The rapper posted an ominous video Sunday where he's talking directly to the camera ... and the dude goes on this long rant about being on the outs with the elites and "gatekeepers" in showbiz and sports ... at least that's what it sounds like he's referring to.

Ice says flatly ... he's not part of that crowd, nor does he want to be -- and goes on to say that that fact actually makes folk on the inside angry, 'cause he's resisting a mainstream thing for someone in his position.

It also seems Cube might be talking politics here too ... 'cause he references his contract with Black America -- something he put forth ahead of the 2020 presidential race, and which he said he felt Donald Trump actually appeared to take more seriously than Joe Biden.

In the wake of that, IC says certain groups have been "f***ing" with him -- and the way he's describing it ... it sounds like he believes certain hurdles have been thrown up around as backlash to his stance. Cube says he doesn't care though, 'cause he vows to overcome.

He mentions his Big3 league ... and says it's grown prosperous despite what he characterizes as getting the cold shoulder from powerful institutions -- like the NBA, for example.

Cube also says he's planning to do a massive podcast tour in the near future where he talks to "everybody" -- and he makes it seem like that itself is going to ruffle feathers as well.

Conor McGregor was met by a huge group of supporters in NYC as the UFC superstar left a swanky hotel with his fiancée and kids, thanking fans for sticking by his side ... as The Notorious continues to be investigated for rape in Florida.

"Thank you so much for the support, appreciate the support," 34-year-old McGregor responded when TMZ Sports asked what message he would send to his millions of fans.

Of course, McGregor is being investigated in Miami after a woman claimed the former UFC double champ sexually assaulted her after Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and Nuggets at the Kaseya Center.

McGregor has adamantly denied the allegations and has not been arrested or charged ... and judging by the number of people outside The Penisula, a luxury hotel in Manhattan, Conor's fans clearly believe him.

Conor hasn't fought since UFC 264 in July 2021 -- when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier -- and some have speculated he will never again step foot in the Octagon.

But, when we asked The Notorious what he had planned for the future, it certainly seems like Conor wants to fight again.

"Fighting. Looking to get a fight going."

McGregor is currently coaching opposite Michael Chandler on "The Ultimate Fighter" ... and is supposed to fight the lightweight contender after the show ends, though a date has not yet been announced.

Gilbert Arenas says Ja Morant's NBA punishment does not fit the crime ... insisting the 25-game ban that Adam Silver hit him with earlier this month is complete BS.

The former Wizards star took aim at the Association in a passionate conversation with TMZ Sports earlier this week ... explaining he believes Ja's suspension for wielding yet another firearm on video should have been significantly less than what it ultimately ended up being.

"It's too harsh," Arenas said bluntly.

As for why ... he said he thinks it was all based on subjectivity -- not precedence.

Arenas told us ... most guys that he's seen get popped by the league in the past for gun-related offenses have only received 1 to 7-game bans -- making Morant's lengthy suspension super unfair.

"It's public perception," Arenas said. "The public wants him to be stopped. So, now the NBA comes in and says, 'All right, we have to make it look reasonable.'"

Arenas said Morant already suffered greatly off the court -- something he believes Silver should've factored into his punishment.

"He's already taken Ls," Arenas said, noting the small breaks that Nike and Powerade took from Morant. "He's taken Ls on his public image."

Arenas told us he thinks it's all so unfair, he expects Ja to appeal ... and win.

Of course, Gilbert has plenty of experience in this field -- you'll recall, he ultimately lost 50 games of his career following his infamous 2009 gun incident.

He said he's actually down to help Ja learn everything that he gained from that big ban ... telling us if Morant reached out, he'd definitely answer.

For the Memphis star's part, he apologized for his actions that led to Silver's decision ... saying to his fans, "I hope you'll give me the chance to prove to you over time I'm a better man than what I've been showing you."

We also talked to the former NBA star about the incoming rookies. Arenas offers advice to the young hoopers ... and gives his scouting report on Victor Wembanyama.

Victor Wembanyama's ceremonial first pitch at the Yankee game was a flop ... but things are looking up for the NBA phenom, 'cause he's getting a chance to redeem himself -- courtesy of San Antonio's minor league baseball team!!

Remember, the 19-year-old French superstar showed off his arm at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday ... and it definitely didn't go as planned, as his toss sailed wayyy wide of home.

But the 7'5" giant won't have to live in embarrassment forever -- TMZ Sports has learned the San Antonio Missions (the San Diego Padres Double-A minor league affiliate) are set to provide the new Spurs hooper with an opportunity to settle his score.

The Missions tell us Victor has an "open invitation" from the team's president to throw out the first pitch at one of their upcoming games ... so he can (hopefully) hurl a strike this time around.

The team added ... "The entire city of San Antonio, as you can imagine, is incredibly excited about Victor being a Spur."

FYI -- it would be a pretty convenient trip for Wemby, as the Missions play ball just 15 minutes away from AT&T Center.

Wembanyama seemed serious about wanting retribution for his first pitch earlier this week ... telling JJ Redick during ESPN's 2023 NBA draft broadcast, "I wish I could do it again, man ... I'm gonna do way better."

Marcus Smart is proving goodbyes aren't easy ... the newly traded NBA star just penned an emotional letter to Boston fans after the organization traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies.

"Where do I even begin...as I start to think about the last 9 years I have a lot of emotions running thru me," the 29-year-old wrote Friday on Instagram. "Boston, you are a very special place to me."

The 2021-2022 Defensive Player of the Year was part of a three-team blockbuster trade on Wednesday, involving the Celtics, Grizzlies, and Wizards ... and Smart, who spent his entire 9-year career in Beantown, was sent to Memphis.

Kristaps Porzingis was shipped to the Celtics and Tyus Jones is headed to Washington.

"I grew up here and met some of my best friends here," Smart said. "I'll never forget my time here."

"Ultimately we didn't get that 18th banner but I'm VERY VERY proud of the success we had."

It wasn't just an emotional send-off for Smart ... as many Celtics fans were dismayed over the trade, and expressed their frustrations on social media.

"Marcus Smart has been my favorite player since he was drafted in 2014, and Boston made the playoffs every year since," a fan said on Twitter after the trade. "Regardless of return, I’m very disappointed."

Another fan tweeted, "I am literally dead inside. Not Marcus Smart. There’s no way we traded Marcus Smart. I refuse to believe it."

Unfortunately for Celtics fans, the trade's real ... and now Smart gets a fresh start in Bluff City.