NBA

Celtics fans did the most to show Kyrie Irving he's not welcome in Boston, bringing a blow-up doll with the NBA star's face on it to Game 1 of the NBA Finals ... and stomped it out after they won.

The blowup doll was spotted on the Beantown streets on Thursday ahead of the first game of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.

The doll's dressed in KI's number 11 Celtics jersey (his old threads) ... with a cut out of Ky's face. At one point, fans chanted "F*** Kyrie!" using a loudspeaker.

Denver Nuggets star Aaron Gordon's latest addition to his body art collection is a truly special piece -- dedicating part of his chest to his late brother, Drew, who tragically died in a car accident last week.

Gordon debuted the ink in an Instagram post on Thursday ... his first public appearance since it was announced Drew passed away at just 33 years old.

The new tat is a screaming gorilla on his pec ... with Drew's initials featured in the lower left corner.

The L.A. Lakers want UCONN head coach Danny Hurley, and despite a fat new contract and an opportunity to go back-to-back-to-back, the coveted coach needs to listen to Lake Show execs, according to Dan Dakich, former Indiana University player and coach.

Dakich, host of Outkick's "Don't @ Me," joined Babcock on "TMZ Sports" (airs nightly on FS1) on Thursday -- only hours after news of the Purple and Gold's interest in Hurley rocked the basketball world -- and we asked the longtime player, coach, and media personality about the bigtime development.

"Well, you got to listen. You got to listen. I mean, you're talking the highest-paid NBA coach is [making] 17 and a half million. I don't give a damn. You got to listen," Dan said.

If Alex Rodriguez needed cash -- he's now got it in spades -- 'cause the baseball legend struck a deal with Michael Bloomberg, one of the richest people in the world, who has now joined A-Rod's Timberwolves ownership group ... as the men intend to buy an 80% stake in the team.

The Athletic broke the news on Thursday (and TMZ Sports has since confirmed), revealing the 82-year-old billionaire and former NYC mayor has agreed to link up with Rodriguez and his business partner, Marc Lore, in their quest to acquire majority control of the T-Wolves organization.

FYI, Alex and Marc bought a 40% stake in 2021, and ultimately planned to buy nearly the whole team (and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, too) ... until 83-year-old majority owner Glen Taylor accused the men of missing a payment and called off the deal.

9:21 AM PT -- The Fairfax County Police Department tells TMZ Sports ... Delonte West suffered a medical emergency as cops were attempting to arrest him Thursday morning.

Police say officers had been trying to serve a warrant on the former NBA star for violating the conditions of his release ... when he took off.

According to the FCPD, during an ensuing foot pursuit, they lost sight of West briefly, before they ultimately discovered him "unresponsive."

Drake might've lost the Kendrick Lamar beef, but the 6 God is looking to get back in the win column with his latest bets ... putting a combined $1 MILLION on the Dallas Mavericks and Edmonton Oilers to win it all this season!!

The musician took to Instagram early Thursday morning to show off his jaw-dropping receipts -- he unloaded 500k to win $1.375 million if Luka Dončić and Co. handle the Boston Celtics ... and another 500 stacks to earn $1.025 milli if the Oilers defeat the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

Drizzy explained his reasoning behind the bets ... saying, "Dallas cause I'm a Texan, Oilers are self explanatory."

Move over JJ Redick ... the Lakers reportedly have their eyes on a new man for their vacant head coach role -- Dan Hurley!!

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning Los Angeles is so enamored with the idea of making the UConn honcho their next bench boss ... it's preparing to send "a massive, long-term contract offer" his way.

According to Woj, the two sides have already engaged in preliminary talks ... but they're expected to ramp up those conversations in earnest in the coming days.

A trio of "Jeopardy!" contestants clearly needed to brush up on their sports knowledge prior to appearing on the game show Tuesday night ... 'cause they missed on some serious softballs, including one that simply asked them to identify NBA superstar Russell Westbrook.

The category that the three hilariously botched was titled "21st CENTURY SPORTS" ... and it became very clear quickly why it was the last subject the contestants took on in the first round of the contest.

In one of the first clues, host Ken Jennings asked the three which MLB team won the 2008 World Series. It offered up hints that the squad featured superstars like Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard.

A man who attended a recent comic convention in China wore a Kobe Bryant helicopter crash costume to the event ... and, as you can imagine, it's sparked a ton of outrage here in the States.

The unidentified person created the crass and offensive ensemble for the festival in Hangzhou ... using plastic bottles, cardboard and a No. 24 Bryant Lakers uniform for the piece. He also capped it off with a Kobe Bryant mask.

Somehow, as he walked through the venue with it all strapped to his person ... other attendees seemed OK with it.

NBA legend Alonzo Mourning underwent surgery to have his prostate removed recently ... revealing he was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer.

The Hall of Fame center opened up on the procedure he had back in March ... explaining he was forced to take action following a routine prostate cancer screening that showed a rise in his PSA scores.

A second appointment confirmed Mourning had a Gleason score of eight ... which is a high grade of prostate cancer.

Cam'ron just returned fire after Anthony Edwards called out the New York rapper in his latest Adidas commercial ... going OFF on the Timberwolves superstar in a scathing freestyle.

The 22-year-old guard -- who signed with Adidas after turning pro -- released an ad shortly after Minnesota was eliminated from the playoffs last week ... where he clapped back at the people who criticized him by sharing, quite literally, receipts.

One of the naysayers mentioned was Cam'ron ... who said on his "It Is What It Is" podcast that Edwards wasn't a superstar yet.

Seems Karl-Anthony Towns is hoping a little retail therapy will help him get over the Timberwolves' Western Conference finals loss ... 'cause the Minnesota star was seen going on a shopping spree Sunday -- one in which he appeared to buy loads of luxury items.

The four-time NBA All-Star hit Topanga Mall in the Los Angeles area to apparently find comfort in his credit card ... just a couple days after the Dallas Mavericks unceremoniously ended his season.

KAT's longtime girlfriend, Jordyn Woods, joined him for the excursion ... and it's clear the two spent some big bucks as they officially kicked off the basketball player's offseason.

Look out, future athletes -- WNBA star Brittney Griner says her baby on the way will 100% be involved in sports ... telling TMZ Sports it's a no-brainer!!

The Phoenix Mercury center has been a basketball star her whole life ... from recording 52 dunks her high school senior year to winning a title at Baylor in 2012 and earning a WNBA championship two years later.

Now that Griner and her wife, Cherelle, announced they're expanding their family ... we had to ask if the kiddo will follow in her footsteps and grow up with a ball in his hands.

LaMelo Ball just added another whip to his collection that'll make ya jealous ... TMZ Sports has learned the NBA star copped a custom Tesla Cybertruck -- that's loaded with all kinds of sick features!!

Ball worked exclusively with Dreamworks Motorsports to get the ride tricked out to his liking ... and take a look at the finished product he received this week -- it's got ALL of the bells and whistles built into it.

It has his "LaFrance" clothing brand logo all over ... even stitched into the car's headrests. It also has the words "Rare" and "1 Of 1" slapped on it -- an homage to the unique tattoos the hooper has on his hands and back.

Some scumbag pretending to be NBA prospect James McCain has been scamming fans out of their hard-earned money on Snapchat ... and now, the REAL James McCain's team is working to get the account removed from the app.

TMZ Sports has learned -- someone completely unaffiliated with 20-year-old McCain has been reaching out to people on the platform recently ... and after weeks of talking and building up trust, the user will eventually offer gifted items from SKIMS and other companies at a discounted price.

We're told some users have fallen for it -- after all, Kim Kardashian's brand recently partnered with the NCAA for March Madness ... and McCain was all over the campaign.

SKIMS also has a relationship with the NBA ... McCain's next employer.

If Luka Doncic was hopin' his viral moment with a postgame beer Thursday night would lead to some free suds ... he can stop holding his breath -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the company that makes the beverage says it's got no plans to send a care package his way.

A rep for Fulton Beer tells us while they appreciated that Doncic grabbed one of their Lonely Blonde ales following the Mavericks' big Game 5 win over the Timberwolves, they're not hooking him up -- because, simply, they're fans of the losing team!

The company is actually based out of Minnesota ... so, needless to say, Doncic can stop waiting for an on-the-house goodie bag of the tasty brews now.