NBA

Galveston, TX is returning fire after Charles Barkley took a shot at their "dirty" beaches on national television ... with the city clapping back, saying millions of people visit for their "beautiful shoreline."

ICYMI, the NBA legend roasted the city, nicknamed the "Queen City of the Gulf," located about 50 miles southeast of Houston ... after the New Orleans Pelicans disappointing 106-85 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

"They didn't even try, man," Barkley said on NBA on TNT. "We're not giving them no plane ticket to the beach."

LeBron James says he's yet to make a decision about his NBA future following L.A.'s playoff exit Monday night ... telling media members he's not sure if he'll return to the Lakers in 2024.

LBJ played coy when he was asked multiple times about his plans for next season ... even at one point ducking a question from a reporter who wanted to know if he considered the possibility of the Game 5 loss to the Nuggets being his last in the Purple and Gold.

"I'm not going to answer that," he said.

The Wells Fargo Center looked and sounded more like Madison Square Garden on Sunday ... 'cause Knicks fans took over the Sixers' arena for Game 4 of their NBA Playoff series -- and Joel Embiid's pissed!

The Knicks beat the Sixers, 97-92, taking a 3-1 series lead ... and their fanbase let their presence be known.

During the live broadcast, you could hear the Knicks faithful cheering -- louder than the Sixers fans -- as the Knicks won the pivotal game behind Jalen Brunson's epic 47-point performance.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were forced to finish their series-clinching win over the Phoenix Suns without Chris Finch -- the head coach suffered a painful knee injury after his own player crashed into him on the sidelines ... and it was so bad, he had to be helped off the court.

The unfortunate incident went down in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter on Sunday ... when Wolves guard Mike Conley took the ball up the court and bumped into Suns star Devin Booker.

Conley tumbled toward the sideline right where Finch was standing ... and the momentum forced him down to the hardwood, despite the hooper trying to brace his fall.

Sonny Vaccaro says he believes Caitlin Clark could have gotten a much better deal from Nike -- telling TMZ Sports he's sure the former Iowa superstar could've inked a pact similar to the one Michael Jordan got back in the day.

The shoe industry legend, of course, knows all about the deal MJ received -- he was the one who helped negotiate it. And, when he heard Clark only received $28 million over eight years to be with Phil Knight's co., he was surprised it wasn't more.

Vaccaro tells us she could've landed a contract that not only gave her more annual money -- but also allowed her to take a cut of every Clark-branded item sold ... just like Jordan got with his initial Swoosh agreement in 1984.

Kelly Oubre Jr.'s recent car accident has raised some questions within the Philadelphia Police Department ... and now, an internal investigation has been launched.

TMZ Sports has learned -- the PPD's Internal Affairs Division is looking into the handling of Monday night's crash involving Oubre and another driver ... specifically officers' response and actions while at the scene.

As we previously reported, cops told us Oubre's Lamborghini ran a red light and hit a 2023 Hyundai Elantra ... with both cars being towed from the scene.

Philadelphia 76ers hooper Kelly Oubre Jr. is considering handing over the keys after his recent car accident ... revealing he's mulling over the idea of hiring a personal driver.

Oubre -- who had 15 points and 7 rebounds in Thursday night's Game 3 matchup -- spoke about his wreck after the Sixers' big win ... saying he's doing fine, but will likely make some drastic changes to his day-to-day as a result of the incident.

"Everything is good," the 28-year-old said, according to reports. "I'm okay. The people that were involved were okay, but I need to probably get a driver or something and just stay off the road and behind the wheel, but everything is good. I'm good."

Kelly Oubre Jr. lost a playoff game Monday night and then he lost his beloved car ... TMZ Sports has learned he wrecked his Lamborghini in a crash just hours after the Sixers fell to the Knicks in Game 2 of their postseason series.

The Philadelphia Police Dept. tells us the wreck happened at around 1:45 AM on Tuesday ... shortly after Oubre and the 76ers dropped a heartbreaker at Madison Square Garden, 104-101.

Cops say Oubre's 2021 matte purple Lambo "disregarded a red traffic signal" ... and plowed into a 2023 Hyundai Elantra.

Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes' Cancun vacation looks like a scene outta "High School Musical" ... 'cause the hooper showed off his awesome singing abilities during a karaoke session!!

The 2021 No. 4 overall pick's offseason started early after the Dinos failed to make the postseason ... but he seemed to be in great spirits nonetheless -- belting out the classic Maroon 5 hit, "This Love."

Barnes put 100% into the performance ... dancing along to the song and doing his best to hit Adam Levine's high notes.

Cops are continuing to make headway in their investigation into Nikola Jokic's brother ... telling TMZ Sports they've located the man who Strahinja Jokic punched in the face earlier this week.

A spokesperson for the Denver Police Dept. said on Thursday morning they've "been in communication" with the fan who Strahinja socked after Game 2 of the Lakers vs. Nuggets game at Ball Arena on Monday night.

The rep did not reveal, however, if the man is seeking to press charges -- or if he's formally filed a police report.

Bronny James might've already figured out his next college move -- at least, that's what some people are thinking after Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce's latest social media post ... which included a clear nod to the young hooper's NBA superstar pops.

Joyce -- a member of LeBron's Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School championship teams back in the day -- shared quite an interesting GIF on Wednesday ... showing him doing King James' signature chalk toss with a caption that teased a huge announcement.

The post could mean anything, but plenty of folks believe it means Bronny is slated to team up with his dad's longtime friend and former teammate for his sophomore season of college ball.

No, Devin Booker did NOT shoot his shot with a famous actress in the middle of the playoffs ... but his fans apparently had to make sure for themselves -- rushing to "Squid Game" star Hoyeon Jung's Instagram and leaving comments after a fake meme made rounds this week.

The Phoenix Suns guard has been the butt of jokes throughout the start of the playoffs ... with some hoop fans criticizing Book for shooting just 25% from three in the first two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The trolling continued on Wednesday ... when a fake NBA news account shared an altered screenshot of Booker publicly hollering at Hoyeon on her most recent post -- just to get rejected.

Caitlin Clark was slated to make AT LEAST $15 million if she had agreed to suit up for Ice Cube's Big3 ... so says league co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz, who's revealing more eye-popping details on the lucrative offer.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former Iowa basketball superstar was presented a historic $5 million deal to play just 10 games for the 3-on-3 organization last month -- while still being able to pursue a WNBA career.

Kwatinetz revealed in an article for OutKick he believes the "male agents and executives controlling the sport" never actually told Clark about the contract ... which is a big loss for her bank account.

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton says his little brother was called the n-word while he was sitting in the stands watching Indiana's game vs. Milwaukee over the weekend.

The two-time All-Star made the revelation during a meeting with reporters following Indiana's playoff victory over the Bucks on Tuesday night ... saying the racial slur was hurled at some point in Game 1 of the series in Wisconsin on Sunday.

Haliburton didn't go into detail about how it all went down ... or how his family and the Bucks reacted ... but he did say his brother "has handled that the right way" in the wake of it all.

8:20 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has learned ... the NBA is currently looking into the situation.

Nikola Jokic's brother was in no mood to celebrate the Nuggets' comeback win over the Lakers on Monday ... 'cause he straight-up punched a fan in the stands at the playoff game -- and it's all on video.

According to witnesses, the violent incident went down shortly after Joker and his Denver teammates completed their 101-99 win against LeBron James and co. to go up 2-0 in the first-round series.

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart loooooves his Mike and Ike ... and the feeling is mutual -- 'cause the candy brand tells TMZ Sports it's always making sure to keep the hooper "well-stocked" on supply!!

Hart had social media in stitches after the Knicks’ down-to-the-wire playoff win over the Sixers Monday night -- celebrating the victory with a box of the fruit-flavored sweets during his postgame press conference, just like he did last postseason.

The 29-year-old couldn’t wait until he left the podium to enjoy his favorite treat ... forcing Jalen Brunson to hilariously get distracted as he answered questions.