NBA

Doctors have gotten to the bottom of Bronny James' cardiac arrest, saying after extensive testing they've discovered a congenital heart defect that CAN be treated ... and the James family hopes he can continue his basketball career.

After consultations with some of the top heart doctors around the country, physicians believe they've identified the cause of Bronny's cardiac arrest.

"It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated," a statement released by the family said.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... 18-year-old Bronny's heart stopped on July 24 during a workout on USC's campus in L.A.

James spent the weeks after getting evaluated at the Mayo Clinic and other medical institutions ... all in an effort to find out why he went into cardiac arrest.

Bronny appears to be doing much better. He's been spotted out around Los Angeles, most recently attending a Dodgers game and Drake concert with his dad.

As for his basketball future, the family is optimistic he can return to the court.

Gorilla Nems isn't feeling appreciated by the New York Knicks after lending them his trusty catchphrase ... and he's flipping them the bird as a staff, organization, and entire crew!!!

Bootleg Kev struck an apparent nerve with Nems when he asked if he gets free Knicks tickets since flipping his "Bing Bong" track into a remix for the team, and the Coney Island rapper went off.

Nems claims the NYK have "disgusting" business tactics, and are snakes in the grass ... and he says they make him jump through hoops to catch any hoops action at MSG.

He claims the team tried to offer him crappy seats after he participated in a celebrity b-ball game, but Nems says he wants courtside or nothing.

We gotta say, that's a pretty tall order -- everyone knows those Garden seats are always filled with A-listers -- and yet, Nems feels the team owes him a Spike Lee-adjacent seat.

Knicks fans know the "Bing Bong" soundbite well ... it plays in MSG every time the team makes a 3-pointer. You'd think that would make Nems a life-long Knicks fan, but that relationship's clearly soured.

Forget game-worn memorabilia ... how about a leather outfit rocked by an NBA legend?!

Wilt Chamberlain's two-piece disco suit, worn by oner of the coolest athletes of all time, is on the block at SCP Auctions ... and is expected to sell for a pretty penny (bids start at $20k)!

SCP described the suit as one of the "most unique" items from the Big Dipper ... a fit he not only wore on multiple occasions including during a visit to the Playboy Mansion, but he was also photographed in the threads over the years.

The blazer and pants are in "wearable condition" and come with horse hair and feather tassels attached. Instead of buttons, the designer used stones and leather.

"This suit certainly aligns with Chamberlain's larger-than-life attitude," SCP said, "and can be photo-matched to multiple images of Wilt enjoying the nightlife in the 70s."

SCP got its hands on the rare fit from a private owner who obtained it at auction in the early 2000s.

Of course, anything worn by Wilt is gonna cost you ... the Philadelphia-born baller, a 4x league MVP, is considered one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball.

Wilt earned many accolades during his 14-year career. He made 13 All-Star teams, was a 7x scoring champion and 11x rebounding champion. He won 2 NBA titles and was the Rookie of the Year. Chamberlain could do whatever he wanted on the court.

Off the court, Wilt was known for his alleged exploits with the opposite sex ... claiming to have slept with over 20,000 women. With the disco suit, we're inclined to believe him.

Dennis Rodman just added more ink to his body to honor his girlfriend ... this time, he got a huge photo of her face tattooed right on his butt cheek.

The NBA legend hit up an artist in Florida this week to get the piece done -- the second time this summer he's gotten a tribute tat for Yella Yella placed on his body.

You'll recall, the first time was back in July -- when he got her portrait put on his face. This time around, he opted for his backside ... while adding a photo of his face to the imagery as well.

Rodman shared a video of the whole process on his social media pages on Thursday ... revealing Yella Yella had no idea of his plans when the two went on a late-night venture to the tattoo parlor.

In the footage, you can see the tats came out great ... taking up one-half of the 6-foot-7, former basketball player's butt.

The best tennis player in the world is no match for Jimmy Butler -- the NBA superstar proved he's got serious skills on more courts than just the hardwood ... by scoring a point off Carlos Alcaraz during a U.S. Open charity event!!

The Miami Heat hooper was serving as an honorary ball boy for the Spanish star's contest against Frances Tiafoe at the Stars of the Open at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday ... when all of a sudden, he decided to step in and show off his tennis game.

Okay, so Butler might not be the next Federer ... but he certainly held his own as he rallied with the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz, who was obviously taking it easy on the six-time All-Star.

At one point, Butler asked Alcaraz to hit him with a fast serve so he could prove he could successfully return ... but didn't get his wish, as his opponent put in about 5% power on his attempt.

But, it was Jimmy Buckets who got the crowd roaring by the end of the point ... sneaking a shot past Alcaraz to come out on top!!

Kimberly Van Gundy -- the wife of former NBA coach and analyst Stan Van Gundy -- tragically died last week, the family announced.

She was 61.

Stan, who coached the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans over the course of his career, met Kimberly at Castleton State College in Vermont in the mid-1980s ... where he was the head coach of the men's basketball team at the time.

Kimberly and Stan got married on May 28, 1998 ... and celebrated their 25th anniversary earlier this year.

"I lost my big sister Kimberly Abbott Van Gundy on Wednesday," Kimberly's sister, Catherine, said in a statement last week. "She was one of my favorite people and I will forever miss her. Rest in peace, Kim."

Kimberly's obituary page reads ... "Kimberly's kindness and love for all around her was shown through her charitable works and activism."

A cause of death was not announced.

Kimberly leaves behind her husband and four children -- Shannon, Michael, Alison and Kelly.

The tributes are pouring in on what would have been Kobe Bryant's 45th birthday ... with the late Lakers legend's wife, Vanessa, sharing an emotional post.

"Happy birthday, baby. I love you always & forever. ❤️ #82378," Vanessa said on Instagram alongside several pics of the couple together.

Bryant's former teammates like Caron Butler and Carlos Boozer showed love in the comments ... as well as Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, who said, "A timeless and inspiring love story ❤️❤️❤️❤️."

Bryant has been the center of countless social media posts on Wednesday ... as many have been sharing their favorite memories.

Kobe and Vanessa first met on a music video set back in 1999 ... and were married 19 years before the five-time champion's death in 2020. They had four kids together -- Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri.

Drake paid homage to LeBron James on Monday night, but on Tuesday, he tipped his cap to another Laker legend -- Kobe Bryant -- and the impromptu tribute to the Mamba was pretty cool.

Drizzy was performing yet another show at Crypto.com Arena as part of his "It's All A Blur" tour -- his sixth stop in the City of Angels this month -- and when someone threw a black, Bryant Lakers jersey on stage ... he paused his show to remember the Hall of Famer.

The 36-year-old rapper picked up the No. 24 uni and told the sold-out crowd at the venue where Bryant played almost all of his home games for his entire NBA career, "I'mma hold this up 'cause we got to show love to Kobe one time."

"Ya'll make some noise for Kobe at this time," he added.

The fans in attendance roared for several moments ... before Drake continued on with his performance.

It's the second time in as many days that Drake has urged his crowd to support the Lakers -- at Monday's show in Crypto, he featured James and the L.A. star's son, Bronny, a couple times during the concert.

Tuesday's tribute, though, was perhaps the most fitting ... considering this week is a special one for Bryant and his family.

The split between Nia Long and Ime Udoka is getting nastier ... the actress is now asking for primary custody of the couple's child -- after she claims the NBA head coach has been failing to support the kid.

Long made the allegation in a court filing in Los Angeles last week ... while requesting a judge give her primary legal and physical custody of their 11-year-old son, Kez.

According to the docs, however, she did ask the judge to allow Udoka a reasonable opportunity to visit their kid to the extent "consistent with the child's best interest."

A ruling on the petition has not yet been handed down. Udoka has yet to respond.

As we reported, the couple broke up in late 2022 after 13 years together ... following allegations that Udoka had an affair with a team staffer while he was the Boston Celtics' coach.

Long had said at the time that the scandal was revealed that she was heartbroken ... adding that it was all "devastating" to her and her family.

James Harden's bank account is 5 zeros lighter this morning ... the NBA slapped the perennial All-Star with a huge 100 grand fine for saying he wouldn't play for the Philadelphia 76ers, despite being under contract.

"The NBA announced today that Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for public comments on August 14 and 17 indicating that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team," the Association announced.

"The league’s investigation, which included an interview of Harden, confirmed that these comments referenced Harden’s belief that the 76ers would not accommodate his request to be traded."

Of course, it was just last week when the 2018 NBA MVP blasted the Sixers exec while at an Adidas event, saying, "Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of."

In case there was any doubt, James doubled down.

"Let me say that again. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

Once James returned to the States, he was asked whether the relationship with Morey and the team could be salvaged ... to which he said no.

Harden is set to be a free agent after this season ... but he's made it clear, despite being owed over $30 million, he won't play for the 76ers.

LeBron James may not wear No. 6 anymore, but he's still got love for the 6 God -- the Lakers superstar and Bronny were front and center at Drake's concert in L.A. on Monday ... escorting the rapper out to the stage at the start of the show!!

Drizzy has made it a thing throughout his "It's All a Blur" tour ... enlisting famous celebs and friends to walk out with him before his performance.

Fittingly enough, Drake decided to give the James Gang the honor at Crypto.com Arena ... and judging by their faces, the ballers were thrilled with the rockstar treatment.

It's great to see Bronny at yet another public outing ... considering he suffered cardiac arrest at a USC workout less than a month ago.

Drizzy also gave Bron a big shout-out during the show ... thanking the four-time champ for being a day one supporter.

The war between Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon on HBO's "Winning Time" was blown way out of proportion ... so says one-half of the former Lakers duo, who tells TMZ Sports that's not how it went down in real life.

Season two of the hit show has been largely centered around the terrible relationship between the veteran point guard, Nixon, and Johnson, the team's young star. One scene even depicted Michael Cooper breaking up a locker room fight between the players.

So, when we saw the 2x All-Star outside LAX on Monday, we asked him whether the show got things factually correct.

"Naw," Nixon responded ... "Not even close."

Norm, who is portrayed by his son, DeVaughn Nixon, isn't the only former Lake Show star who isn't exactly a big fan of the hit show.

In fact, we recently talked to Hall of Famer James Worthy ... who doesn't count himself as a viewer.

"I just think [Winning Time] could have been done really, really good. And I was disappointed that it wasn't," Worthy told us.

Back to Norm, we also asked the 2x NBA championship-winning PG about Steph Curry's recent claim that he was the greatest point guard ever.

Nixon averaged nearly 16 points, 8+ assists, and 1.5 steals a game over his 10-season NBA career. He obviously also played with Magic (who he didn't hate ).

Reggie Miller is 57 years old, but the NBA legend is still pushing himself to the limits athletically ... Reg just crushed a 100-mile cycling race that he says absolutely kicked his ass!

"The [SBT GRVL] race Blue course was the hardest race for me to date on a bike, Mother Nature kicked my A$$," Reggie wrote on social media.

The race is ridiculously difficult. Aside from pedaling a bike over 100 miles, the race surface is primarily gravel. To make matters worse, the course isn't flat. No ... there's nearly 7,000 feet in elevation gain.

"I was in survival mode after mile 55 when leg cramps made themselves a huge race presence. We started the race at 9 AM and it was already warm, it got up to 89 degrees for most of the race. So yes, hardest day for me, but also this was the most fulfilling I’ve ever felt on 2 wheels"

Despite it being a competitive race, Miller -- who serves on the USA Cycling Board of Directors -- says his fellow riders were awesome ... with many offering to help, sometimes at the expense of their own race times.

"At least 50 to 60 riders would roll up to me clearly seeing me in distress, a lot offered their own salt tabs stash, water, food, etc. This is why I will ALWAYS come do SBT GRVL, the gravel community is unmatched with so much inclusiveness. They weren’t helping me because I was 'Reggie Miller', all they saw was another rider needing help."

Ultimately, it took Reggie 6 hours and 55 minutes to finish the course ... a race he completed in 5 hours and 46 minutes last year.

Despite being an hour slower due to the conditions, Miller still finished in a very respectable position... crossing the finish line in 375th place finish out of 926 racers. His average speed was 14.46 MPH.

After the race, Reggie shared some inspiring words, writing ... "Always find a silver lining in your efforts that don’t stack up to your expectations, because you can always learn from them and use them next time you’re in that situation. #DamnDevilCramps"

Lonzo Ball hasn't played an NBA game since January 2022 -- and with no return in sight -- the #2 overall draft pick sat down with Trae Young and opened up about the serious knee injury that's threatened his career, and the guilt he feels over not being on the court for the Bulls.

"I feel bad just for the GM's, because I feel like they made the perfect team around me," Zo told Trae on his "From the Point," podcast on Monday.

"I finally got the perfect team that I felt could fit my game and play my way, and really just do what I wanted to do. That injury, I'm still going through it right now, but that one messed me up early just because I felt like we really had a chance, and we never got to see what it really was," Ball told the All-Star shooting guard.

Of course, 25-year-old Ball has undergone three surgeries on his left knee since the beginning of 2022 (cartilage transplant, torn meniscus repair, arthroscopic debridement) ... and it's totally derailed his career.

Lonzo only played 35 games during the 21-22 season and missed all of the 22-23 season. Despite the procedures, the Bulls, who initially acquired Lonzo in 2021, said they don't believe he'll be on the court for the 23-24 season.

"Going into the offseason, our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season,” Chicago exec Arturas Karnišovas recently told reporters.

When he has played, Ball's averaged 13 points, over 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

As for when he does return to the court, Ball's clearly in good spirits and believes he will once again play on the United Center's hardwood ... whenever that may be.

"I've always loved playing basketball, it's just basically something that got taken away from me. It's gonna be a whole new joy again. I'm gonna be hella happy to be back out there. I never took the game for granted, so for me, it's just getting your love back."

The entire interview is interesting ... injury talk aside, Ball also discusses his brothers LaMelo and LiAngelo, and their dad LaVar. The guys also chop it up over the Big Baller Brand, and where BBB went wrong.

There's no debate ... Steph Curry is the greatest point guard of all time -- at least, that's what the Golden State Warriors star himself believes.

Curry joined Gilbert Arenas on the ex-NBA star's "Gil's Arena" podcast this week to make the proclamation ... putting himself ahead of Magic Johnson on the GOAT PG list.

"It's me and Magic?" he asked Arenas. "Is that the conversation?"

The guys then kicked around the topic for a few moments -- but Curry made it clear, in his eyes, he's No. 1.

Of course, he's definitely got a case ... he's a four-time NBA champion, a two-time MVP, a nine-time All-Star, and the league's greatest-ever 3-point shooter.

Johnson, meanwhile, is a five-time champ, a three-time MVP, and a 12-time All-Star.

But Curry told Arenas he just has to put himself on top ... saying, "I have to answer it that way."

"But I really feel like, to your point, Magic's resume is ridiculous," the 35-year-old added. "So the fact that we're even having that conversation that's a place I never thought I'd be in."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has already made a ton of money in the NBA, but he's looking to rake in even more in retirement ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to take his talents to Saudi Arabia.

It's becoming quite the trend in sports ... with soccer and golf stars getting massive checks made out to them to play in the Middle Eastern country -- like Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and all the LIV Golf guys.

Giannis has cracked jokes in the past after seeing the offers being thrown at the biggest names in sports ... so when we caught up with him in L.A. this week, we asked if he was really down to suit up in Saudi Arabia after his NBA days.

"Of course," the 28-year-old said with a smile on his face.

"If the NBA worked out, maybe like a trade between the NBA and Saudi Arabia League, I'm there!" the champ said ... although it's unclear if he meant suiting up for a hoops team, or alongside his buddy Neymar on the soccer pitch.

Giannis isn't the only NBA superstar who likes the idea -- after French soccer star Kylian Mbappe was offered $776 million to play for Al-Hilal, LeBron James tweeted he was also heading to Saudi Arabia.

While it may all be in good fun, many see a serious issue with players going to Saudi Arabia for a big payday ... considering the country's history of human rights violations.