NBA

Sonya and Dell Curry's relationship is still clearly fractured, 'cause Steph's parents sat in completely opposite sections for their son's record-breaking night Tuesday.

Dell had a seat near the hardwood at Madison Square Garden in NYC for the Warriors star's big game against the Knicks -- while Sonya sat in a different part of the arena several rows back.

The two never appeared to speak to each other, or even look at each other for that matter, despite Steph breaking Ray Allen's mark for most 3-pointers in a career early in the evening.

To his credit, Steph was able to find both of his parents following the record-setting shot ... handing the game ball to his pops and then going in another direction to share a long embrace with his mom just off the court.

As we previously reported, Sonya filed for divorce from Dell earlier this year ... and court docs showed the two did not have a clean breakup at all.

Both parties accused each other of cheating ... with Dell saying Sonya began dating a former New England Patriots player while they were still together.

And, if their actions toward each other Tuesday were any indication, it's obvious things still haven't been repaired between the two.

NBA baller J.R. Smith is a star on the court, on the links AND in the classroom ... 'cause the champ just got his grades back for his first semester of college -- and he got a 4.0!!!

Smith -- who skipped college to go straight to the NBA in 2004 -- decided to revisit the opportunity to get an education and enroll at North Carolina A&T this past summer.

So far, he's been crushing it as a student ... announcing his grades are better than what most people even dream of.

"I can't even describe the feeling," Smith said on Tuesday. "I ain't even gon' lie to you, a lot of hard work went into that s***."

The 36-year-old former Cavs guard had originally enrolled at the prestigious HBCU with the intent of making it on the golf team ... but the sense of achievement he feels from his perfect GPA is deeper than anything he could have hoped.

"I ain't gon hold you, this s*** is a heavy one right here lifted, especially when you always hear about your disabilities and all this s*** that plays a part in why you can't think the way you want to, calculate s***, formulate s*** the way you want to."

Smith said he worked his ass off all day, every day to make it happen ... and all that hard work has paid off big time!!!

He was meme'd throughout his career for silly moments ... but now, he's getting the last laugh.

You probably can't hoop like LaMelo Ball ... but thanks to his new watch partnership, you can at least now tell time like he does -- if you've got a lot of cash laying around.

TMZ Sports has learned ... after partnering with Hong Kong watch brand Memorigin, the Charlotte Hornets superstar has just released two new luxury watches.

One of the timepieces is loaded with 226 diamonds and will likely cost in excess of $15K -- though we're told the final price is yet to be finalized. The other, a more modest black, steel version, will cost around $6,800.

And, they're both sick -- featuring all kinds of Melo-themed elements.

The dial features depictions of Melo's tattoos, "FEAR" and "GOD." It also has Melo's name, an image of his face, and a drawing of him in a #1 jersey with wings.

The piece also comes with a red camouflage rubber strap -- and, fittingly, it's been dubbed the "Melofaith," which is inscribed on the watch's tourbillon.

The watch company tells us in addition to providing extra swag to outfits ... Ball is hoping the watch helps inspire his fans to have a strong belief in faith and religion.

"His faith is his source of strength," the watch co. tells us, "inspiring him to face the challenges of every game with determination and perseverance. LaMelo Ball hopes to share his philosophy with fans through the creation of his brand."

Warriors guard Gary Payton II just earned the respect of one NBA fan in Indiana ... 'cause after he accidentally spilled the person's drink, he made sure a replacement got sent over ASAP!

The 29-year-old -- who just so happened to be mic'd up when the interaction happened -- inadvertently knocked over the Truly while he was leaning over some railing on Golden State's sideline.

The son of Hall of Famer Gary Payton was immediately embarrassed, saying out loud, "My fault! My fault!"

But, seconds later, he made things right.

"What'd you have, a Truly?" Payton II asked, before flagging down a staffer to send over another drink.

Payton II then handed the fan a towel to clean up the mess ... before cameras later caught him apologizing again, and even dapping up the fan.

As for the game ... Payton II and the Dubs knocked off the Pacers, 102-100, thanks to some late-game magic from Stephen Curry.

Fred VanVleet is making a path for underprivileged kids who want to go to college and get their dream job ... by starting an academic scholarship with the University of Toronto.

The Toronto Raptors guard made the announcement on Monday ... saying it's key to help the youth in underprivileged communities as they may not have the same advantages and opportunities as others -- especially when it comes to education.

"This scholarship is important because it's going shine light on some of those who may be underserved or underprivileged in certain communities and aspects," VanVleet said via IG.

"We know there's a selection process to a lot of different scholarships and sometimes that counts people out."

The scholarship will assist a black or Indigenous student who's interested in management with four years of tuition at the local university ... as well as a $1,000 stipend for books each year.

"I would love for the scholarship to be the catalyst to start a young person's career," he added.

"That platform that they need to get access to the resources, information and education. Hopefully, they go on to do many bright and important things."

There's also an amazing bonus -- one-on-one mentoring with VanVleet, which he says is an important way to motivate those who look like him.

No matter what you think about LaVar Ball's antics when it comes to his sons, you gotta respect it ... so says Matt Barnes who tells TMZ Sports at the end of the day, he got 'em all to the NBA.

Remember, LaVar has aways been his boys' official hype man for years -- praising Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo any chance he gets ... promising fans (and haters) they would all be in the big league.

LaVar ended up being right ... Gelo is on a G-league team, Zo is dominating with the Bulls and Melo has brought the Hornets back to life.

Barnes applauds LaVar for it, telling us he's a great dad for making sure his kids got to the top level.

Even if he did do a lotta trash talk.

"As far as him being a great dad and helping his kids to where they're at to succeed, I definitely salute him," the 41-year old tells us at LAX this week.

"The kids are very talented. Hope Gelo gets a real chance to make an NBA team but to have 2 kids in the league that are doing well and a hopeful third..."

"I can do nothing but respect that."

LeBron James just gave a huge spotlight to somebody controversial in the rap world -- and that'd be one Tory Lanez ... who's embroiled in a legal fight with Megan Thee Stallion.

LBJ took to IG Saturday to do what he often does when he stumbles across some new tunes ... blasting it in the car and vibing out. In this case, he was playing TL's new album, 'Alone at the Prom,' and gave it a big endorsement ... showering Tory with compliments.

He captioned one of his Tory videos with, "MAN THIS BOY COLD AS HELL MAN!!! ALONE AT THE PROM IS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥" Later in the clip, LeBron films himself, seemingly singing along to Tory's lyrics.

Normally, this would be NBD -- like we said, LeBron does this all the time. The difference here ... Tory is very polarizing right now, but that doesn't seem to bother the King.

It's interesting ... LeBron is outspoken over just about everything these days, but he's been mum on the drama between Tory and Meg -- and now, he appears to have shown he's cool with Tory (or at the very least, his music) despite the allegation against him ... namely, that he shot MTS in the foot.

The L.A. District Attorney has charged Tory with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm ... also claiming he caused great bodily injury as it relates to Meg. He's pled not guilty and maintained his innocence.

Delonte West has just cut a deal with prosecutors -- agreeing to pay $100 and keep his nose clean in order to close out his police station meltdown case next month.

The agreement is all spelled out in new court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, which show the former NBA guard is close to putting his most recent criminal case behind him.

According to the documents, prosecutors have agreed to stop pursuing the case if West forks over $100 to the court and avoids any new arrests or criminal law violations.

West had initially been hit with misdemeanor obstruction/resisting as well as misdemeanor disorderly intoxication after cops say he threw a drunken fit outside of a police station in Boynton Beach, Fla., on Oct. 19.

Video of his interaction with officers was disturbing ... West can be heard on camera hurling anti-gay insults at cops -- while also claiming he's "was better than LeBron James."

West, through his attorney, had initially pled not guilty to the charges earlier this month.

Kyle Kuzma's middle finger just cost him -- the NBA just hit the Wizards forward with a $15,000 punishment ... after he flipped the bird at a fan earlier this week.

The incident took place when Kuzma -- a native of Michigan -- was in town playing against his hometown Detroit Pistons.

The Wizards were winning 94-88 in the fourth quarter when Kuz nailed a corner three ... then turned around and gave a fan the middle finger gesture.

Unclear what, or even if, the fan said something ... but you can tell Kuzma did it deliberately.

The game went to overtime -- Kuzma finished with a team-high 28 points and his team secured the W, 119-116 ... but let's be honest, the bird was the highlight of the night.

Of course, this isn't the first time Kuz has gone at fans this season -- he nailed a dagger three against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and blamed hecklers for motivating him to knock down the game-winning shot.

Kuzma is typically a good sport ... when social media roasted him for wearing that oversized pink sweater, Kyle seemed to go along with the jokes.

Memphis star Dillon Brooks went off on the officials who threw him out of the Grizzlies' game vs. the Mavericks on Wednesday -- calling the refs' actions straight-up "bulls***."

The 25-year-old wing didn't hold back in his postgame press conference -- which took place just minutes after he was ejected from the Grizzlies' contest -- accusing the refs of not protecting the players on the floor throughout the night.

"I felt like this crew came out there and just made it about them and that's bull," Brooks said of the refs, who called a total of 44 total fouls during the game.

"This crew did not protect the players," he continued. "They just wanted to get the game over with and that's bulls***. That's bulls*** from the very beginning. That's bull."

Brooks was tossed from the Grizzlies' loss late in the 4th quarter after he screamed at refs over their whistles.

In video of the ejection, you can see Brooks was so furious, he needed to be held back by Memphis assistants as he charged toward the referees.

No punishment for Brooks has been announced yet ... but you can bet a fine is coming for the Grizzlies player as early as later today.

Shaquille O'Neal says the current Los Angeles Lakers don't deserve to play at the Staples Center ... admitting he's HAPPY about the arena's name change because LeBron James and Co. are stinking up the place.

"I'm glad they taking the name of the Staples Center down," the NBA legend said on "The Big Podcast with Shaq." "That was our building."

"Congratulations to the owners on getting a new deal," he added. "But, hey, Staples Center belongs to Shaq and Kobe. Forever."

Of course, it was announced last month that the iconic building is changing its name to Crypto.com Arena as part of a $700 million deal.

The switch is already underway, as the Staples sign started coming down earlier this week.

Shaq said his tenure at Staples was a blessing -- he reflected on moments like playing in front of his favorite actors and actresses, scoring 61 points on his birthday, and winning three championships in a row for the city -- but ultimately, he says he's glad the name Staples Center is no more.

Shaq doesn't seem to care what the building is called ... 'cause the Diesel says he has no intentions of watching his former squad play.

"I'm not even going, I'm not even going anymore," O'Neal said. "Who wanna watch them people play?" he asked the host.

The Lakers -- who suffered an embarrassing loss to a Grizzlies team without Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks on Thursday -- fell to 13-13 on the season. The Lake Show is currently in 7th place in a top-heavy Western Conference, while the Warriors -- who Shaq prefers to watch -- have the best record in the NBA.

"I don't celebrate seventh place at all. I celebrate Steph Curry. I'll go to Golden State and watch him play."

L.A. Clippers rookie Brandon Boston Jr. had the best game of his young career against the Celtics on Wednesday ... and dedicated his performance to the late Terrence Clarke.

The guard went off on the Cs in the 114-111 win ... scoring 27 points (including 5 3-pointers, going perfect from the free throw line and earning 4 steals in just 25 minutes off the bench!

The effort resulted in career-highs in points, threes and steals ... and after the game, Boston Jr. devoted the stellar performance to Clarke, his former Kentucky teammate.

"He would of called or screamed," " BJ said to reporters during post-game interviews. "Just excited with a bright smile on his face, just telling me, 'I told you! I told you! You the best in the world! Just keep going.'"

"That's the type of relationship we had."

Boston and Clarke both played college hoops together for the Wildcats -- and were both set to enter the 2021 NBA Draft.

However, Clarke was tragically killed in a car accident in Los Angeles on April 22 -- just months before the draft. Boston witnessed the crash as he was riding behind him.

"He always pushed me to be my best self so I always keep that in the back of my mind," BJ added.

"I actually like dedicated this game [to him] cause he's from Boston and he wanted to play for Boston."

"So, just going out there and carrying that chip on my shoulder. His energy just carried me along the way."

BJ has been honoring his close friend in many ways since his death -- including a tribute tattoo on his left leg featuring Clarke's UK basketball photo and "TC World."

One of sports TV's power couples has broken up -- ex-NBA player Jalen Rose filed for divorce from ESPN host Molly Qerim, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records show Rose filed docs earlier this year ... kickstarting the process to end their 2 and a half year marriage.

Sources tell us the breakup was amicable and both sides remain cordial.

Rose first went public with the "First Take" host in June 2016 ... and they tied the knot at a lowkey NYC ceremony in July 2018.

Jalen filed April 30, 2021 ... just months after the couple starred in a Gatorade commercial together. Jalen says in court docs the marriage broke down irretrievably after Qerim moved to Connecticut.

It should be known -- in the docs, Jalen does not want alimony and doesn't want Molly to have it, either. We're told there was not a prenup and Molly does not want any spousal support.

The breakup signs were all over social media -- Molly previously included "Rose" in her name on Instagram and Twitter, but has recently scrubbed it from her accounts.

On top of that, the couple hadn't been photographed together much at all in the months leading up to the filing ... and Jalen and Molly also haven't posted each other on their pages for months.

However, Qerim has shown public support for Rose even after the filing -- in June, she spoke out about his struggles with deaths in the family in an emotional segment on "First Take."

Rose played in the NBA from 1994-2007 before taking his talents to television. Qerim previously worked at NFL Network.

Forget popcorn and beer, Ben Affleck got a side of Jennifer Lopez at the Lakers game on Tuesday ... with the Oscar winner getting some serious PDA from J Lo all night in front of LeBron James!

Ben and Jen sat courtside for L.A.'s tilt with the Boston Celtics at Staples Center ... and cameras caught them getting cozy throughout the evening.

Early in the game, the two were seen on the broadcast cameras -- with J Lo holding Ben's hand while LeBron was just feet away playing on the hardwood.

In the middle of the game, the couple was spotted on the jumbotron, and their flirtatious convo was viewed by everyone in the venue's packed crowd.

And, after the game, J Lo was seen wrapping her arms around Ben, snuggling her man as everyone filed out of the venue where the PDA continued at an event sponsored by PrettyLittleThing.

Of course, it was all lovey-dovey ... but Ben didn't exactly get to go home super pleased -- his beloved Celtics were blown out by LBJ and the Lakers, 117-102.

Tristan Thompson is trying to keep a tightly-sealed lid on info from his latest paternity case -- asking a judge to silence the woman who claims she's carrying his child from leaking info about the case ... while he continues to blast her as being out for fortune and fame.

The NBA star filed an emergency petition Tuesday in Harris County, TX -- asking the judge to issue a gag order in the case ... barring the parties (himself and Maralee Nichols) from speaking out about the case as it plays out in court.

Tristan points to multiple instances in which he believes Maralee has violated what he claims is a confidentiality order the judge orally granted earlier in the case after she sued him over paternity.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Tristan claims Maralee has been doing interviews with the media, leaking personal info and even taking to IG and other social media to spread what he says are blatant lies about himself and his family. Specifically, he claims certain Snapchat messages -- which Maralee has claimed were sent to her by Tristan -- were fabricated.

The reason Tristan thinks she's doing all this is "to achieve some sort of notoriety and gain for herself in this lawsuit."

Bottom line ... Tristan wants to keep this entire proceeding under wraps, including any discovery or evidence submitted by either side. He also wants the court to sanction Maralee for the alleged leaks.

To hit that point home, he wants a judge to force her to fork over a $30k bond to ensure she has some money on the line if she breaks the confidentiality order.

Kyle Rittenhouse says he's no longer a fan of LeBron James ... saying the Lakers star's shade toward him during his trial "really" ticked him off.

"I liked LeBron," the Kenosha shooter said Monday on The BlazeTV's "You Are Here" show. "And, then I'm like, 'You know what, f*** you, LeBron.'"

If you missed it ... LBJ mocked Rittenhouse after the 18-year-old gave an emotional testimony on the stand during his homicide trial last month.

Rittenhouse fought back tears while explaining how the Aug. 25, 2020 shootings in Wisconsin unfolded ... and then he got so choked up, the judge actually paused the court proceedings for several minutes.

LeBron, though, didn't believe Rittenhouse was actually remorseful or even crying at all ... writing in a social media post, "What tears????? I didn't see one."

"Man knock it off!" James continued. "That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court."

LeBron added several crying emojis to the post as well.

When Rittenhouse finally spoke publicly about James' comments -- he made it clear, he now despises the NBA superstar over it all.

"I was a Lakers fan too before he said that," Rittenhouse said. "I was really pissed off that he said that."