NBA

Shaquille O'Neal got his wish by running into Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl ... but he seemed a bit more infatuated with the pop superstar's plus-one on Sunday -- revealing he has a big ol' crush on Ice Spice!!

The four-time NBA champ told TMZ Sports last week he wanted a seat right next to Travis Kelce's girlfriend for the Big Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers ... and while that didn't happen, he still got to rub elbows with her on at least two different occasions throughout the night -- even gifting her a Judith Leiber bag, which comes with a $4,500 price tag.

Shaq made sure to show his appreciation for his run-in with Swift -- who ended up sitting with the "Think U The S*** (Fart)" rapper, Kelce fam and Blake Lively instead -- going to Instagram to share the interactions with his followers ... as well as his a special shoutout to 24-year-old IS.

"and @icespice is so dam fine thanks @taylorswift," Shaq said on social media ... which undoubtedly sounds like shooting his shot.

His comment section was flooded with similar takeaways ... with one user joking, "Shaq shot his shot… but it was a free throw 😞"

Another added ... "The last thing I’d expect on my page is Shaq saying ice spice is fine."

Unclear what Ice thought of the gesture ... but gotta respect Shaq's courage to throw it all out there, even if it goes over like a "fart" in a windstorm.

Shaquille O'Neal cumplió su deseo de encontrarse con Taylor Swift en el Super Bowl, pero parecía un poco más encaprichado con la acompañante de la superestrella del pop el domingo, ¡revelando que tuvo un gran flechazo con Ice Spice!

El cuatro veces campeón de la NBA le dijo a TMZ Sports la semana pasada que quería un asiento justo al lado de la novia de Travis Kelce para el gran partido entre los Kansas City Chiefs y los San Francisco 49ers, y aunque eso no sucedió de todos modos pudo codearse con ella al menos en dos ocasiones diferentes durante la noche. Incluso le regaló un bolso Judith Leiber, que viene con una etiqueta de $4,500.

Shaq se aseguró de demostrarle su agradecimiento a Swift, quien terminó sentándose con la rapera de "Think U The S*** (Fart)", la familia de Kelce y su amiga Blake Lively, yendo a Instagram para compartir la interacción que tuvo con la estrella del pop con sus seguidores, así como un saludo especial a la cantante de 24 años, Ice Spice.

"y @icespice está tan condenadamente bien gracias @taylorswift," dijo Shaq en las redes sociales, lo que sin duda suena como que está lanzando sus fichas.

Su sección de comentarios se inundó con interpretaciones similares, con un usuario bromeando: "Shaq disparó su tiro ... pero fue un tiro libre 😞"

Otro añadió: "La última cosa que esperaría en mi página es Shaq diciendo que Ice Spice está buena".

No está claro lo que Ice pensó de todo esto, pero hay que respetar el coraje de Shaq para decir todo esto, incluso si se va como un "pedo" en una tormenta de viento.

Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević was laid to rest on Monday ... and hundreds paid tribute to the beloved figure at his funeral in Serbia, including Steve Kerr.

The GSW head coach was spotted in the rain at a Belgrade cemetery almost a month after Milojević suffered a fatal heart attack while dining out with the team in Salt Lake City.

You can see the 58-year-old Kerr standing amongst mourners, wearing a DM tribute pin on his black blazer.

Former Warriors players Zaza Pachulia and Mike Dunleavy Jr., who is currently the Warriors general manager, were also in attendance.

Kerr will miss the Warriors game tonight against the Jazz in Utah.

Milojević -- known as Deky -- became a Warriors assistant coach in 2021 ... after a career coaching and playing in Serbia.

The NBA was devastated by Deky's shocking death ... with commissioner Adam Silver calling Milojević "a beloved colleague and dear friend to so many in the global basketball community."

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Natasa, their children, Nikola and Masa, and the Warriors organization during this tragic time."

The Warriors paid tribute to Deky in a bunch of different ways, including wearing the beloved coach's initials on their jerseys.

Consider Baron Davis on Stephen Jackson's side in his beef with Austin Rivers ... 'cause the former Hornets and Warriors star tells TMZ Sports he believes pairing LeBron James with his son, Bronny, would work wonders for the young hooper.

TMZ Sports caught up with B. Diddy just days after Rivers claimed it would be bad if King James' team drafted the USC standout ... which was met with heavy criticism from the "All the Smoke" podcast host, who referred to the former Clipper as "trash."

Davis -- who played 15 seasons in the NBA -- weighed in on the debate while out in Vegas for the Super Bowl festivities ... and he's optimistic about the potential pairing.

"Your daddy is LeBron James," Davis said, "I think it will do nothing but help him."

"You say it'll enable him because your daddy on the team, but like, nah, that s*** different. That's LeBron. LeBron's a coach, a basketball genius and that's his seed."

Davis used Ken Griffey Jr. as an example ... as the former MLB legend played with his dad on the Mariners in the 90s -- making them the first father/son duo to play on the same Major League Baseball team together.

"There's a certain type of swag, there's a certain type of s*** that you really didn't get to see as a kid," Davis said.

"Now you there, you get to see your dad's whole layout."

At the end of the day, Davis feels Rivers' own comparison to being coached by his dad is totally different than Bronny playing with his pops ... and the James duo will benefit whichever franchise they play on.

"[Bronny] already got the DNA. Now you got the whole layout, the whole trajectory, and the blueprint laid out for you."

Shaquille O'Neal organizó la mayor y más alocada fiesta previa al Super Bowl en Las Vegas, convirtiendo el evento en su "Shaq Fun House" anual, ¡y que contó con la actuación de nada menos que Lil Wayne!

La retirada leyenda de la NBA dio inicio a su velada del viernes en el club nocturno XS, en el Strip de Las Vegas, con hordas de gente abarrotando el local para presenciar la maestría de Shaq como DJ seguida del enérgico espectáculo de Wayne.

Echa un vistazo a este video obtenido por TMZ, Shaq, que también se hace llamar DJ Diesel, puso en marcha el tocadiscos y pinchó algunas canciones para hacer vibrar a la multitud.

Luciendo grandes joyas alrededor de su cuello, Shaq se encargó de la música house durante un rato hasta que Diplo tomó el mando como DJ antes de que llegara el momento de sacar al icono del hip hop, alias Wayne.

Después de que Wayne subiera al escenario, rapeó como si no existiera el mañana, logrando que la multitud se pusiera frenética.

Wayne interpretó algunos de sus mayores éxitos, como "6 Foot 7 Foot" y "John". Y al público le encantó, y por supuesto, grabó todo con sus celulares.

Hubo un momento conmovedor en el que Shaq se emocionó al hablar de la inauguración de la nueva estatua de la superestrella de la NBA Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O'Neal threw the biggest and craziest pre-Super Bowl party in Las Vegas, turning the event into his annual "Shaq Fun House" -- with a major performance by none other than Lil Wayne!

The retired NBA legend kicked off the Friday night soiree at XS nightclub on the Vegas strip with hordes of people packing the venue to bear witness to Shaq's master skills as a disc jockey followed by Wayne's energetic show.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ ... Shaq, who also goes by the name DJ Diesel, revved up the record player and spun some tunes, getting into the groove with the crowd.

Wearing some major bling around his neck, Shaq kept the house music going for a while until Diplo took over the DJ duties before it was time to bring out the hip hop icon ... AKA Wayne.

After Wayne took to the stage, he rapped like there was no tomorrow, getting the crowd all worked up into a frenzy.

Wayne performed some of his biggest hits, such as "6 Foot 7 Foot" and "John." And the audience just loved it, recording the whole gig with their cell phone cameras.

There was one touching moment when Shaq got emotional while talking about the recent unveiling of late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant's new statue.

Jason Kidd lit NBA Twitter/X on fire for saying Luka Doncic is better than Dirk Nowitzki ... but Shawn Marion is coming to his defense -- telling TMZ Sports the Mavs coach's comments were simply based on skill set, not accolades.

ICYMI, Kidd -- who started coaching the Mavs in 2021 -- recently said Doncic has surpassed Nowitzki in his eyes ... as the 24-year-old "does things that Dirk could never do."

Kidd was ripped for his comment ... especially since Dirk -- a 7-foot forward who can drain threes -- led the Mavs to their first NBA Finals title in 2011.

But Marion -- who was on that championship squad with Dirk and J. Kidd -- said people were mixing up what Jason truly meant ... and he doesn't think it was meant to downplay all Nowitzki did for the franchise.

"He's talking about the whole package," Marion told TMZ Sports. "He's talking about his skill set."

"He's not approaching [Dirk] in the accolades. There's no comparison [there]."

Marion is not taking anything away from Doncic ... pointing out the Mavs guard has amazing highlights at just the age of 24, including his recent 73-point game -- his career-high and franchise record.

Of course, old-school NBA fans would say Doncic can get so many points up because of the lack of defense in today's game ... but Marion -- who played 16 seasons -- says the game is just evolving at a faster pace.

"Layups are almost becoming null and void," the 45-year-old said. "They're making a conscious effort to get shots up within two passes."

"We ran systems, we had sets [in our era]. It's a big difference when you just running to score."

Nike's "Just Do it" days are gone ... the Swoosh has a new and improved tagline, "TOUGH S***"

Okay, not exactly ... but this is pretty cool.

The day after Kobe Bryant was honored at Crypto.com Arena with just the 7th statue in the organization's ridiculously rich history, the sportswear giant hooked Vanessa Bryant up with a hoodie bearing her quote from the emotional ceremony.

Remember, Vanessa warned fans who might be thinking about complaining about the statue, saying, "Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see, so if anybody has any issue with it, tough s***."

The clip went viral ... and on Friday, Nike sent Bryant a 1-of-1 hoodie with the phrase.

"Lol. Thx for my new hoodie @nike 😃💜💛," Bryant said in the IG caption on Friday, posting a photo of the garment.

It's unclear if Nike plans to sell the design ... wouldn't be a bad idea -- they'd sell like crazy.

NLE Choppa has unlocked the code to prevent being bored in bumper-to-bumper Los Angeles --- stage a fan meet-and-greet on the spot!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Mr. Cottonwood posing for pics and signing autographs for his adoring public from the backseat of a car in DTLA at the let out of the Lakers game last night ... after they got smacked by the defending champs Denver Nuggets.

The fans were geeked to get up close and personal and NLE's giving them more than enough reasons to stay excited in 2024.

On Friday, the Memphis rapper released his new "City Lights" single -- a tribute to his slain friend Deonte' "Tae Grape" Fletcher and hits the road later this year with A Boogie Wit da Hoodie for the 'Better Off Alone' tour in May.

Tracy McGrady is adamant Kobe Bryant is a top-five NBA player ever ... and he says anyone who disagrees with that sentiment should "get the f*** outta here!!"

The seven-time All-Star went on an expletive-laden rant on the topic on his Instagram page this week ... explaining that anyone who thinks Kobe doesn't deserve a spot amongst basketball's GOATs is just being "disrespectful."

He said those who argue that Bryant's resume deserves to be knocked down due to the talent surrounding him don't have any leg whatsoever to stand on.

"Did Magic Johnson play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was an all-time leading scorer?" McGrady said. "But you want to sit here and talk about Kobe playing with Shaq?!"

McGrady -- who played 15 seasons in the NBA -- continued to make his point ... saying Bryant won two NBA Finals without O'Neal. He added that if Kobe is widely considered the closest thing to Michael Jordan, how can he not be considered a top-five player?

"Tell me the other motherf***er that's close to MJ that played the game?!" he said. "Ain't nobody else close to MJ."

"So how is [Kobe] excluded out of the conversation if he's close to MJ and MJ is the greatest of all time?! Help me understand that ... They so disrespectful when it comes to Bean."

Fans and NBA stars all over agreed with T-Mac in the comment section of his post ... with Stephon Marbury, Richard Hamilton, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson all leaving notes of support.

Fans in Detroit are still lickin' their wounds after the crushing NFC Championship loss ... and things didn't get any better for Motor City sports fans last night when they were trolled by the Sacramento Kings!

But, Big D got the last laugh!

The last place Detroit Pistons were in Sactown Wednesday night, and for some reason, the Kings (29-21) chose video violence, playing lowlights from the Lions' loss to the San Francisco 49ers during player introductions.

The Kings played the key Brandon Aiyuk catch, where the ball bounced off Lions DB Kindle Vildor's helmet ... a miraculous play that ended up being the start of the end for the Lions, who blew a 17-point lead, losing 34-31. Crushing. And, they put it on repeat.

The bright side for Detroit fans ... the Pistons players seemed to take things personally.

Jaden Ivey balled out, scoring a career-high 37 points. Ivey’s breakout performance gave Pistons fans some sweet revenge, shocking one of the better teams in the NBA, 133-120.

Just the Pistons winning alone is news ... they're having a historically bad year, once losing 28 consecutive games.

Heat player Haywood Highsmith was involved in a car accident following Tuesday night's game in Miami ... a crash that reportedly left one man in critical condition with a partially amputated leg.

The Heat say 27-year-old Highsmith -- an undrafted free agent out of Wheeling University in 2018 -- got in the wreck heading home from their contest against the Orlando Magic, in which he recorded three minutes of action in the 121-95 win.

According to local reporter Andy Slater, Highsmith hit a man who was helping another driver who was stuck in the middle of the road.

The man who was struck remains in critical condition, the report added.

The Heat released a statement on the incident ... saying, "Our hearts go out to those who were injured."

Highsmith will sit out Wednesday's matchup against the San Antonio Spurs due to "personal reasons."

Highsmith -- who has also suited up in the G League and overseas -- has appeared in 37 games this season ... averaging 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds so far. It's unclear when he is expected to rejoin the team.

Kyrie Irving went off in more ways than one in his return to Barclay Center Tuesday night ... dropping 36 points against his old Nets team AND also taking a jab at NYC Mayor Eric Adams!

And, no, this wasn't a random diss directed at the mayor ... there's some bad blood here.

The drama began when a fan sitting courtside asked Irving ... "Why you didn't play like this when you were on the Nets?"

The Mavericks star had a response ... "Thank Mayor Adams for that, bro."

Of course, Irving, an 8x All-Star, spent parts of 4 seasons with the Nets ... but despite having two of the best players in Kyrie and Kevin Durant, the team didn't win, and Ky was ultimately traded to Dallas last season.

Irving's response to the fan was certainly referring to Adams' COVID-19 vaccine mandate policy during the pandemic ... which meant Ky, who chose not to get the vax, couldn't play any home games (or games in New York).

Not having Kyrie was a blow to the Nets team on the floor during the 2021-2022 season ... but it was also the root of a ton of controversy, given the polarizing nature of the vaccine mandate issue.

Despite the shot during the game, after the game, 31-year-old Irving talked positively about his return to BK.

"I don't think about it too often now," Irving told reporters, adding, "Pretty much at peace with what happened and spending time here. I wish a lot of guys well and a lot of people that I've gotten a chance to get to know."

"Got to see a lot of smiles. Got to make some kids really happy and that's what this job's about."

Not everyone was smiling, though ... before Irving's shot at Adams, some fans booed their former star guard during player introductions.

Ex-NBA star Stephen Jackson just unloaded on Austin Rivers ... calling him "trash" and a "scrub" for comments he made about Bronny James.

Rivers recently gave his take on LeBron's dream of playing alongside his son in the NBA ... revealing he hopes it doesn't happen, as it could do more harm than good for a young hooper still developing his skills on the court.

Rivers compared the situation to playing for his father, Doc, during his time with the L.A. Clippers ... and claimed Bron and Bronny suiting up together might welcome a ton of criticism directed at the current USC star.

Stak took major issue with Rivers' comments ... teeing off on him in the comment section of an Instagram post this week.

"And your daddy not LeBron," Jackson said. "Shut up."

"Difference is you trash, Bronny not. You can’t compare to him, scrub."

Some folks are upset with the 2003 NBA champion's response ... considering Rivers was a former top recruit and earned a ton of accolades at Duke before going No. 10 overall in the 2012 Draft.

Bronny is still early in his college career ... averaging nearly 6 points and 3 rebounds a game in 14 appearances after suffering cardiac arrest during a workout in July 2023.

A special week for Lakers fans just got better ... the same night the purple and gold unveil the Kobe Bryant statue outside Crypto.com Arena, LeBron James and Co. will rock Mamba uniforms, designed by the late legend himself!

The Lakers made the announcement Tuesday morning, saying the squad would wear their Black Mamba uniforms vs. the Denver Nuggets on February 8, the same night the team will introduce Bryant's bronze statue in Star Plaza outside of the arena.

Aside from the jerseys looking fresh, they're extra special because Kobe actually helped create them back in 2017 ... borrowing elements from the Lakers uniform he wore during his rookie season in 1996-1997.

The Mamba unis, which the team will wear on 2/8/24 (another nod to the legend), feature a black, snakeskin-like print ... and also include "LA 24" on the belt, with Kobe's number 8 and 24 stitched on the leg of the shorts.

It won't be the first time the Lakers have worn the uniforms ... they debuted them in January 2018. They also wore them again during the 2020 championship season following Bryant's tragic death.

As cool as the uniforms are, the statue is also a huge honor.

Una semana especial para los fans de los Lakers acaba de mejorar. La misma noche que el equipo inaugure la estatua de Kobe Bryant afuera del Crypto.com Arena, LeBron James y compañía lucirán uniformes Mamba, ¡diseñados por la propia leyenda!

Los Lakers hicieron el anuncio el martes por la mañana, diciendo que el equipo usaría sus uniformes Black Mamba contra los Denver Nuggets el 8 de febrero, la misma noche en que el equipo presentará la estatua de bronce de Bryant en Star Plaza afuera de la arena.

Además de que las camisetas se ven frescas, son extra especiales porque Kobe ayudó a crearlas en 2017, tomando prestados elementos del uniforme de los Lakers que usó durante su temporada de novato entre 1996-1997.

Las Mamba unis, que el equipo usará el 8 de febrero de 2024 (otro guiño a la leyenda), cuentan con una impresión negra, similar a la piel de serpiente, y también incluyen "LA 24" en el cinturón, con el número 8 y 24 de Kobe cosido en la pierna de los pantalones cortos.

Esta no sería la primera vez que los Lakers usan estos uniformes. El equipo los estrenó en enero de 2018 y los volvieron a usar durante la temporada 2020 del campeonato, después de la trágica muerte de Bryant.

Igual de genial que usar estos uniformes, es la estatua, qu también es un gran honor.