NBA

Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk were destined to be world champions ... so says their former middle school gym teacher, who tells TMZ Sports he recognized long ago that there was something special about the two.

The Boston Celtics hooper and Florida Panthers left winger -- who both won their respective titles in the NBA and NHL this month -- both attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, MO as kids ... and Michael Derkits -- who also coached Tatum on the basketball team -- got an early look at their potential.

Derkits said Tatum and Tkachuk hit it off as soon as the former transferred to Chaminade as a 7th grader ... and he credits to them having similar personalities.

Rich Paul says Bronny James would be in the NBA even if his name was John Smith ... downplaying all the critics' claims of nepotism playing a major role in LeBron James' son getting drafted to the Lakers.

Bron and Bronny's agent touched down at LAX on Friday -- just 24 hours after the rookie had his name called with the 55th pick in the draft.

Paul talked all about the highly-publicized selection for the Purple and Gold ... saying first and foremost, he's thrilled for the 19-year-old hooper -- 'cause he definitely deserved the opportunity.

Here's the first look at Bronny James in Purple and Gold -- LeBron's son will wear No. 9 for the Lakers ... as well as "Jr." on his nameplate.

L.A. just released visuals of its newest rookie on Friday ... showing the 19-year-old guard proudly donning the threads.

The digit is interesting -- Bronny rocked No. 6 with the USC Trojans last season, but that is retired leaguewide in honor of NBA legend Bill Russell.

Savannah James got emotional watching the Lakers draft her eldest son, Bronny James, on Thursday night ... needing a tissue to wipe away her tears of joy.

LeBron's wife was seen standing just behind the 19-year-old hooper when it was revealed L.A. took him with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft ... and just after she handed her boy a Lakers hat, the waterworks started flowing.

Check out the clip, Mom couldn't have been more proud!

Bronny James -- son of NBA superstar LeBron James -- is a Los Angeles Laker ... being selected with the 55th pick in the 2024 Draft.

This makes LeBron and Bronny the first-ever father-son duo in NBA history -- and they're on the same team.

The big moment went down minutes ago ... with league deputy commissioner Mark Tatum taking the dais at ESPN's Seaport District Studios in Manhattan to announce the move.

Bronny James might not have been one of the handful of prospects at the Barclays Center for the NBA Draft, but he's still living it up in the Big Apple this week ... getting spotted out in NYC prior to Wednesday's event.

Right around the same time Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Ron Holland and the rest of the rookies were getting dressed to the nines ahead of the first round ... Bronny and his brother, Bryce, hopped out of an SUV decked out in stylish streetwear.

Both of LeBron's kids rocked jeans, sneakers and white tees ... with the 19-year-old former USC guard also including a purple hoodie with his 'fit.

Antonio Brown used offensive language on his social media page yet again on Wednesday night ... calling Jared McCain a homophobic slur during the NBA draft.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers star typed out the f-word as McCain -- an ex-Duke guard -- was being taken by the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 17 overall.

The post -- which was made on top of a McCain TikTok that showed the hooper dancing around with a shower cap and painted nails -- appeared to be an attempt by Brown to be funny ... but there weren't many laughing in the comment section.

The Lakers job might be JJ Redick's first foray into coaching, but Chris Duhon says he's almost positive his former teammate is getting a big assist on how to navigate the new gig from none other than Mike Krzyzewski.

Duhon -- who played with Redick at Duke and then again with the Orlando Magic in the NBA -- tells TMZ Sports ... he thinks it's more than likely Redick hit up Coach K for advice on what his first moves in L.A. should be.

"I'm pretty sure he may be getting some type of guidance from Coach K," Duhon said. "Who's saying, 'Hey, make sure your staff is X, Y and Z as far as that fits your personality.'"

The most popular prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft class is without a team for at least one more day -- LeBron James' son, Bronny, was not taken in the 1st round ... meaning he will have to wait until Thursday to learn his professional fate.

The first 30 selections just had their names called ... with French baller Zaccharie Risacher going No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

Alex Sarr -- also from France -- went to the Washington Wizards at No. 2 ... and Kentucky's Reed Sheppard joined the Houston Rockets in the third spot.

Ron Holland is making sure nobody misses him at the 2024 NBA Draft ... 'cause the former G League baller wore a snazzy, sparkly suit for the big night -- and topped it off with a massive diamond chain!!

The 6-foot-8 forward -- who is expected to be a 1st-round pick -- was spotted at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday ... ahead of the league's first night of draft festivities.

Holland came prepared for the big event ... wearing an all-black suit with gems scattered all over his jacket.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is flat-out denying he called a woman the N-word while a member of the Duke men's basketball team ... saying the interaction simply never happened.

Halleemah Nash -- an author, speaker, and Duke alum -- dropped the bombshell allegation on social media on Tuesday ... claiming, "I've only been called the N word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team."

"And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world."

JJ Redick is a content creator no more -- the Los Angeles Lakers head coach just announced he's putting his podcasting career on hold after accepting his new gig with the Purple and Gold.

The former NBA sharp-shooter revealed the status of his "Mind The Game" podcast with LeBron James during his introductory press conference on Monday ... and it's bad news for fans of the show.

"For the time being, and hopefully it's a very, very long time, I am excommunicated from the content space," Redick said minutes ago. "There will be no podcasts. We'll do something when I have a breather from what we have coming up -- I'm gonna be drinking from a fire hose for the next month."

Jalen Green and Draya Michele aren't letting the haters on their relationship get to them ... telling TMZ Sports the critics can think what they want!!

We caught the couple -- with their new baby girl in tow -- as they were out and about in West Hollywood this week. While many people have voiced their opinion on the couple's 17-year age gap ... they are not letting the haters get to them.

"We try to stay off the internet and not really listen to that kind of stuff," 39-year-old Michele said. "We block it out and mind our business."

A Los Angeles-area home belonging to NBA guard Talen Horton-Tucker was broken into earlier this week ... and law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports cops believe the suspect made off with $170,000 in jewelry.

We're told the break-in -- or at least part of it -- was actually captured on camera ... showing the thief entering the property by jumping over a back fence -- before leaving out of one of the residence's side yards.

Thankfully, our sources say no one was home at the time of the burglary -- as Horton-Tucker was not in town. We're told it was a house sitter who discovered it and reported it to police.

A Boston Celtics mural in Massachusetts that was defaced by some jerks just got a facelift -- getting a fresh coat of Joe Mazulla's grill to hide all the vandalism!!

The OG art -- displayed in Cambridge -- featured Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Mazzulla ... but at some point during the Celtics' playoff run the last few weeks, it was destroyed by a curmudgeon.

In pics of the defacement, obtained by TMZ Sports ... you can see the individual scribbled, among other things, "F*** Celtics" all over the image of Tatum.

The Boston Celtics' championship parade came and went -- and while it was a pretty laid-back affair, the big takeaway is who joined Jaylen Brown for the celebration.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted WNBA star Kysre Gondrezick sitting in Brown's duck boat as it made its way from TD Garden through the Beantown streets on Friday in honor of the Celtics' 18th NBA title.

Kysre -- a member of the Chicago Sky -- looked rather thrilled to be with the Finals MVP ... smiling as Brown waved to the tons of fans in attendance.