NBA

Jordan Poole must've been having Draymond Green flashbacks Tuesday night ... 'cause the Wizards guard QUICKLY retreated after pushing a much bigger Pistons player during an on-court scuffle!

The incident went down at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit ... when the teams began pushing and shoving about midway through the first quarter. Poole decided he was going to get involved in the scrap ... walking up to Jalen Duren and pushing him in the chest.

Duren, who is 6'10" tall, quickly shot Poole a stare as he began walking towards 6'4" Poole, who started to retreat, clearly wanting no smoke.

Cavs rookie Jaylon Tyson learned the hard way to NEVER forget the doughnuts -- 'cause the young hooper got a car full of popcorn after Cleveland's win over the Brooklyn Nets ... and he should've seen it coming after some solid foreshadowing from Donovan Mitchell.

Spida -- who sat out of Tuesday's contest as he deals with a groin injury -- documented the postgame hijinks on his Instagram ... showing the 22-year-old Cal product walking up to his whip as his teammates playfully scolded him for not providing pastries for them to enjoy.

Once Tyson opened his door, he knew just how big of a mistake he made ... discovering a bunch of popped kernels throughout his car's interior.

Dwyane Wade doesn't have a single issue with the way LeBron James publicly beefed with Stephen A. Smith last week ... in fact, he tells TMZ Sports he would have done the exact same thing if he were in the Lakers superstar's shoes.

Bron, of course, ignited the feud with the ESPN commentator while the two were at Crypto.com Arena for L.A.'s March 6 tilt with the Knicks ... after he had gotten upset over the way Stephen A. had previously spoken about Bronny James.

Video from the scene showed LeBron got inches from Smith's nose -- and yelled at him in an apparent effort to get him to stop being critical of his relationship with his oldest son.

Former NBA player and billionaire businessman Junior Bridgeman has passed away at 71 years old after suffering a medical emergency at a public event on Tuesday.

The Louisville great was participating in an interview at a benefit luncheon for the Lincoln Heritage Council, Scouting America at the Galt House Hotel when it occurred, according to WLKY.

During the Q&A, Bridgeman told reporter Kent Taylor he thought he was having a heart attack.

12:08 PM PT -- LiAngelo Ball is clapping back at his ex ... telling her to "Quit tht soft sympathy s***."

"I watched the kids more than her n ima grown man wit my own shi, I don't have to call her to conversate wit my babies who can only say dada," he said ... adding his youngins "will be at the mansion soon."

Gelo also briefly touched on how things went south between them ... claiming she talked so much about older guys who love her, "so I freed her."

Nikki didn't take it sitting down ... replying, "Raise them kids and be a father. Just cuz you hate me don’t mean u gotta be absent in their life. Weirdo."

Nikki Mudarris' feud with her ex, LiAngelo Ball, is heating back up -- this time, the reality star is accusing the rapper and athlete of being radio silent toward their kids for more than a month.

Ex-NBA lottery pick Noah Vonleh is on a "malicious harassment, defamation and extortion campaign" against his former sports agency ... so says the organization's legal team, which tells TMZ Sports the athlete is entirely in the wrong.

The 29-year-old Indiana Hoosiers product has been on an incessant rant against the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanghai Sharks and the Pensack Sports agency on social media in recent months ... claiming the team and his reps stiffed him out of money he was owed and treated him like crap.

Vonleh even posted video to his social media page ... attempting to display mistreatment at the hands of the Sharks after his contract was terminated in February 2024.

A Lakers fan walked out of L.A.'s big win Thursday night $100,000 richer after nailing a half-court shot during a break in the action ... and he tells TMZ Sports he plans to use the earnings to help recover some cash from his wedding!!

We caught up with lifelong Purple and Gold supporter Mike Ball after his whirlwind 24 hours ... and he told us all about the highlight from his POV.

Bell admitted he blacked out after the ball went through the net ... but luckily, there was plenty of footage to capture the moment.

While he didn't want to disrupt the players huddled up while it went down, he said he was able to celebrate with some of the big-name celebrities courtside for the contest against the Knicks.

7:07 AM PT -- Stephen A. Smith just revealed the pregame squabble with LeBron James stemmed from previous comments the ESPN hoops analyst had made about Bronny James.

Stephen A. said the Lakers superstar was furious over "what he thought he had heard" him say about his eldest son on his "First Take" show ... and he explained The King's language was so vulgar, he couldn't repeat it on national airwaves.

Stephen A. made it clear he wished LeBron had talked to him about the issue in a more private setting ... though he added he understands where 'Bron was coming from as a father.

Things are gonna be pretty awkward at the ESPN office holiday party next year ... 'cause Charles Barkley went off on the network and future coworker Kendrick Perkins in a passionate rant on Thursday's "Inside the NBA" -- calling the ex-NBAer a "fool" and an "idiot."

The Chuckster unloaded on Perk and the network as a whole ... claiming they're putting way too much focus on the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors this season -- when they SHOULD be talking about the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Barkley set his sights on Perkins initially while talking with Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny "The Jet" Smith ... before opening fire on the same company that will house his beloved show next year.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are hoping to make a fan-favorite phrase their own ahead of the NBA playoffs -- the team submitted paperwork to trademark the term "Cavalanche."

According to the USPTO, the filing was made on Wednesday ... the same day the team beat the Miami Heat to became the first in the Association to punch a ticket to the playoffs this season.

The filing stated it would be used for clothing items -- most likely once the NBA postseason kicks off in a few weeks -- but no additional details were provided.

Andy Isaac -- a popular Detroit sports fan -- has passed away after a nearly two-decade battle with cancer.

The announcement was made to his X account Thursday morning ... with his loved ones saying, "Andy passed away peacefully this morning beside his loving family. We thank you all for your support and love over the years."

The news comes on the heels of Isaac announcing he was entering hospice care, as his battle with the disease "has finally taken its toll on me, it has finally stripped me of my quality of life."

Jared Goff and Christen Harper spent one of their final baby-less days taking in some ball -- they hit the Intuit Dome Wednesday night for the Clippers vs. Pistons matchup -- and the former L.A. Rams star made it clear his allegiances are firmly with Detroit.

Goff sported a Tigers ballcap for date night with his pregnant wife ... and even though the two were clearly rooting against the home squad, the Lions quarterback sure felt big love inside Steve Ballmer's new building.

Fans begged him for autographs ... and, at one point, he got to go onto the court to snap some pics with Pistons legends Rip Hamilton and Jalen Rose.

A true piece of basketball history is about to hit the auction block!

Michael Jordan AND Kobe Bryant's first game-worn NBA jerseys will soon be available to bidders at Sotheby's ... with experts estimating the two tops could combined fetch up to $20 million!

TMZ Sports has learned that Jordan's Bulls jersey is from his NBA preseason debut on October 5, 1984 ... where His Airness dropped 16 points at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois.

Barack Obama took in a Clippers game Wednesday night in Los Angeles, without his better half by his side.

The former prez was seated courtside with L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his spouse, Connie Snyder, but Barack's famous wife -- Michelle -- was nowhere to be found.

Still, Barack had a good ol' time watching the Clippers beat the Detroit Pistons 123-115 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

LeBron James made the buckets, but it's a lucky fan who will reap the reward ... 'cause Topps has created a 1-of-1 trading card, complete with the NBA legend's autograph, and a piece of his arm sleeve from the historic game!

The collectible company showed off the rare piece in a tweet on Wednesday -- hours after Bron surpassed the mind-blowing milestone -- a card that contains James' John Hancock and part of his white Nike shooting sleeve.

LeBron also inscribed "50K Points" under his signature.

A man allegedly impersonating an NBA agent was arrested last week ... after he was accused of stealing $769,000 in earrings -- and then swallowing them when he was confronted by cops.

The Orlando Police Department claimed in court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, the wild incident unfolded after Jaythan Gilder cruised into a Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia and told clerks he was shopping for some jewelry on the behalf of an unnamed Orlando Magic player.

Cops say the store manager told officers Gilder was taken to a VIP room by two store associates to browse some high-end items. Soon after, though, Gilder allegedly grabbed a ring and some earrings valued at over $769K and attempted to flee.