NBA

NBA guard Cameron Payne dialed 911 just before he was arrested in Arizona last month ... and in a tense conversation with dispatch, he said his name was "Terry Johnson."

The chat with the Scottsdale Police Department -- which lasted more than five minutes -- happened on June 14 at around 2:30 AM ... after the 29-year-old hooper said he had gotten into a verbal dispute with his girlfriend.

Initially, you can hear in audio of the call -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- that Payne wanted officers to come to his house ASAP. But, in an ensuing back and forth with dispatch, Payne pled with the official to drop the matter.

Bronny James is getting buried on social media over his less-than-stellar Summer League performances to kick off his Lakers career ... but he's got at least one BIG supporter standing firm in his corner -- Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.

It's no secret -- LeBron James' eldest boy isn't necessarily taking the Association by storm after going No. 55 overall to the Purple and Gold last month ... averaging just 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in four appearances -- not to mention going 0-15 from three-point range.

While those kinds of numbers won't garner a ton of praise, it seems some haters are going extra hard on the 19-year-old hooper due to his famous pops and claims of "nepotism."

Steph Curry and Drake have a lot in common these days ... both dudes are really tired of hearing Kendrick Lamar's smash hit, "Not Like Us."

The Golden State Warriors superstar made his disdain for the tune known while he and Team USA were gearing up for a pre-Olympics tilt with Serbia in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday afternoon.

As the point guard was settling in for the matchup, the PA announcer blared K. Dot's Drake diss track ... and almost immediately, Curry groaned.

11:38 AM PT -- Kobe's wife, Vanessa Bryant, just addressed Joe's passing ... sharing her condolences and reflecting on his relationship with the family.

"We hoped things would've been different," Vanessa said on Tuesday. "Although the times we spent together were few, he was always sweet and nice to be around."

"Kobe loved him very much."

The Las Vegas heat wasn't enough to stop Jordyn Woods, Karl-Anthony Towns, Paul George and his wife Daniela from gettin' lit in Sin City ... the foursome partied all weekend long, and we got the pics!

Woods -- who has been dating KAT since 2020 -- posted BTS photos and videos of the weekend in America's Playground ... and revealed the couple was hanging with PG and wifey.

And, the ladies were stunning ... Woods wore a glitter champagne-colored dress while Daniela -- who married the Sixers forward in 2022 -- wore a revealing white satin dress.

Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis is welcoming his new teammate, DeMar DeRozan, to the squad with open arms ... telling TMZ Sports he's totally stoked about the new addition.

We caught up with the three-time All-Star at LAX fresh off the three-team deal that went down this week ... which sent Harrison Barnes to the San Antonio Spurs and Chris Duarte and two second-round picks to the Chicago Bulls -- and, of course, DeRozan to Sac-Town.

It's safe to say the league's back-to-back rebounding leader approves of the deal ... 'cause he couldn't say enough good things about it.

Tara Davis-Woodhall is on her way to the 2024 Olympics ... and there's one athlete she really wants to meet -- LeBron James -- telling us she must meet the NBA superstar who changed the world of sports!

TMZ Sports spoke with the track and field athlete this week before she heads to the City of Light for her second Olympics ... where Tara's stoked to compete for the gold medal.

Business aside, she's also hyped to meet some of the other elite athletes from around the world ... especially King James, who's playing in his third Olympics with the U.S. Men's National Basketball team.

Britney Spears was being used by her ex, Hoda Kotb wants a shot at Kevin Costner and Glen "Big Baby" Davis is getting ready to do a bid ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down Britney's break up with her ex, Paul Soliz.

Jaylen Brown and Kysre Gondrezick sure look like an item ... the two pro basketball players pulled up to the ESPYs together arm-in-arm -- and even appeared to get ready for the event inside the same hotel room.

The annual sports award show is going down Thursday evening at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles ... and the Boston Celtics star and the WNBA player were seen preppin' for the event at Pendry West Hollywood.

Check out a photo TMZ Sports obtained of the two on a balcony just hours before they hit the ESPY red carpet together ... they seemed to be sharing the same room as they got dolled up.

Barack Obama's living in a 'Key & Peele' skit ... the former President reenacted one of their most hilarious bits as #44 showed love to LeBron James and Team USA!

If you haven't seen it (shame on you!), Jordan Peele, portraying Obama in the 2014 skit, is met by fans after delivering a speech. Peele, as BO, greets supporters with handshakes -- but the style of shake differed depending on race.

Formal with white people ... Black supporters were dapped up.

Former Toronto Raptors power forward Jontay Porter just pleaded guilty to a criminal charge stemming from the gambling case that got him permanently banned from the NBA.

Porter formally issued the plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud while inside of a federal courthouse on Wednesday in New York.

At the proceedings, the 24-year-old -- who had been accused of pulling himself early from games in order to help make his gambling associates a ton of coin -- admitted to wrongdoing ... saying before a judge, "I know what I did was wrong, unlawful, and I am deeply sorry."

The man who claims he was hit by Kelly Oubre in a late-night car wreck earlier this year wants the 76ers star to pay up for the damage he says the hooper caused ... and if the NBAer doesn't open his wallet soon, the guy tells TMZ Sports he's going to sue.

Siddh -- a 21-year-old college student -- says he was driving a 2023 Hyundai Elantra at around 1:45 AM on April 23 in Philadelphia when Oubre ran a red light and plowed into him in his purple Lamborghini Urus.

Siddh claims Oubre -- who had just competed against the New York Knicks in a playoff game hours earlier -- was driving at such a high rate of speed ... it rocked his car and caused injuries to himself and one of his passengers.

All eyes in the political world are on Kamala Harris right now, but the Vice President made time to hang out with the Team USA basketball squad ... meeting up with a ton of NBA superstars!!

Harris -- who walked in alongside head coach Steve Kerr -- was a V(I)P surprise guest at UNLV's basketball facility ... where she chopped it up with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry and more.

The squad seemed to be in great spirits as they conversed with Harris ... getting a bit of a pep talk about making the country proud at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

If Red Bull gives you wings, Logan Paul and KSI's Prime Hydration is a rocket ship ... and the brand has literally (and figuratively) made its biggest move yet -- signing NBA great and future first-ballot Hall of Famer Kevin Durant to a sponsorship deal that'll see the seven-footer get his very own drink!

KD joins an already super impressive list of Prime partners ... including Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Judge, Tyreek Hill, and Israel Adesanya, among other stars from baseball, football, soccer, boxing and MMA.

“What the PRIME team has built in such a short time is incredible, and I’m as excited about the growth of their business as I am about the product,” Durant said of the partnership, adding, “I’m looking forward to working together.”

Karen Read gets good news in her murder trial, Margot Robbie has good news on the family front and two NBA players got into it overseas ... all this on TMZ Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down the bombshell revelation from Karen's legal team ... the jury in her murder mistrial unanimously voted to acquit her on the murder charge.

NBA players Ivica Zubac and Dario Saric were NOT the aggressors when all hell broke loose at a nightclub in Greece ... so says Team Croatia, which claims the two hoopers were forced to act out of self-defense.

TMZ Sports obtained a statement from the Croatian Basketball Federation on what went down at the Bolivar Beach Bar near Athens after the squad's Olympic Qualifying Tournament loss ... and from the org.'s side of things, Zubac and Saric were not looking for a fight -- but had no choice.

"While hanging out at a club in Athens, some of our players were verbally and then physically attacked, prompting them to defend themselves," the CBF tells us. "The incident was brief, thanks to the quick intervention of the club's security staff."