NBA

The locker Kobe Bryant used during his historic NBA career has found a new owner ... and the final price was a whopping $2.88 MILLION!!

The bidding for the extremely rare piece of Kobe memorabilia closed on Friday, August 2 ... the same day the Black Mamba is slated to be honored with a second statue outside the venue he made famous, with this iteration featuring his daughter, Gianna.

The final price for the locker -- which was removed from the Staples Center during renovations in 2008 -- was $2,880,000, far exceeding the estimated amount.

Chris Paul unloaded his California mansion -- a massive estate with awesome amenities including a saltwater pool and home theater -- for over $15 million!

The future Hall of Famer, who last played for the Warriors before signing with the San Antonio Spurs in July, put the Encino property on the market this summer with realtor Ikem Chukumerije ... and now TMZ Sports has learned it sold for $15,150,000 this week.

If it's ever possible for $15 mil to be a bargain, it's here. The 12,830 square foot property comes with eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and a kitchen that'd make Gordon Ramsay jealous.

Bronny James is already ballin' with LeBron in the NBA -- at least, in the Association's virtual world -- check out the new trailer for NBA 2K25 ... the guys are connecting on sick alley-oops!!

The teaser for the insanely popular hoops video game dropped on Thursday ... and all the usual suspects were featured in it -- including Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyrie Irving.

LeBron, of course, was all over it as well ... but if you take a closer look at who one of his most prominent teammates was in the footage -- it was none other than his 19-year-old son, Bronny.

Kobe Bryant's last NBA game was iconic ... and now the warm-up the Lakers legend rocked before dropping 60 points on the Jazz is on the auction block!

The famed game went down on April 13, 2016 at Staples Center ... when a 37-year-old Bryant led his Lake Show squad to a second-half comeback after trailing Utah by 15 points.

Mamba went 22 for 50 from the field, and 10-12 from the free throw line ... and he was unstoppable late in the contest. It was the last time Bryant was on the hardwood as a player ... capping his nearly unmatched 20 season career.

It sure looks like Marcus Jordan's got a new woman in his life ... Michael's son was seen out with a pretty lady in France this week -- and their subtle PDA suggests they're certainly more than just friends.

Check out some videos Instagram model Ashley Stevenson posted to her social media page Wednesday night ... she and MJ were out at Bâoli Cannes getting awfully close.

The two sat next to each other at a table -- and at one point, she stroked his inner thigh while they grinned ear-to-ear for a camera.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards got an early scouting report on Team USA table tennis ... pulling up to watch Lily Zhang win her round-of-32 matchup after he challenged the whole squad to a showdown!!

Edwards made the appearance after the hilarious exchange he had with the star table tennis athletes on the River Seine during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics ... when he expressed his interest in testing his talents against them -- much to Stephen Curry's pleasure.

"They said they can smack you 21 nothing," Curry said.

LeBron James and Coco Gauff didn't let rain ruin their big moment at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony ... the two raised the American flag high and proud on the Team USA boat -- with big smiles on their faces!!

The tennis superstar and future basketball Hall of Famer were selected to be the flag bearers earlier this week ... and when it came time to shine on the Seine River on Friday -- they didn't disappoint.

The pair rocked white Ralph Lauren Olympic fits -- and despite sleeting rain -- they grabbed the Star-Spangled Banner and led the way for all of the Americans who will compete in the upcoming Games.

TNT isn't about to lose its media rights deal with the NBA without a fight ... it just sued the basketball org. -- claiming it has a "contractual right" to continue to broadcast its games going forward.

The media company -- whose parent organization is Warner Bros. Discovery -- filed the lawsuit in New York on Friday ... just days after Adam Silver revealed the NBA is moving on with Amazon Prime Video.

In their suit, TNT officials claim the NBA legally cannot accept Amazon's deal -- as they say they matched the offer to a T.

Charles Barkley is finally speaking out on the NBA's breakup with TNT ... and it's clear as day, he's pissed over the split.

The former Phoenix Suns superstar unloaded on the Association in a statement on Friday morning ... nearly two days after Adam Silver's league decided to move on from Turner Sports in favor of a new media rights deal with Amazon Prime Video.

Barkley -- who's been a part of TNT's wildly popular "Inside the NBA" program for decades -- called the league's decision greedy ... while accusing its officials of never really giving TNT a fair shake in the negotiation process.

Gilbert Arenas is issuing a direct mea culpa to Luol Deng for his xenophobic comments about South Sudan's men's basketball team ... this after the African former NBA star released a powerful statement addressing the whole ordeal.

As we previously reported, Arenas faced a ton of backlash for going on an offensive rant on Saturday ... shortly after LeBron James and Team USA squeaked by South Sudan prior to the Olympics. Celtics legend Paul Pierce also found himself in hot water for making similar remarks during an appearance on "Undisputed."

The ex-Bulls and Lakers forward -- who serves as the president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation -- broke his silence on both Arenas and Pierce's controversial words directed at his native country's team ... saying he wasn't upset or angry by their words, but more "disappointed" it came from two former colleagues he's always respected.

2:45 PM PT -- TNT isn't going down without a fight ... saying it will take appropriate action after the league "grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights" regarding their relationship moving forward.

"We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do so, and do not believe the NBA can reject it," the company said in a statement.

The NBA just announced it has reached a media rights agreement with Amazon Prime Video for 2025 and beyond ... saying Warner Bros. Discovery's bid simply wasn't up to snuff.

The deal means the upcoming 2024-25 season will be the league's last with TNT ... bringing the beloved "Inside the NBA" program to an end.

"Warner Bros. Discovery's most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon," the league said in a statement.

Team USA's starting Olympics flag bearer lineup is set ... two days after the Americans picked LeBron James to be the male one -- they announced Coco Gauff will be the female one.

The two will hold the Stars and Stripes high and proud at the Games' opening ceremony festivities on Friday in France ... and when the tennis star learned of the honor on Wednesday, she was pumped.

After some initial shock, she told TODAY she had "no words, honestly."

Gilbert Arenas went on a rant filled with xenophobic tropes following Team USA's win over South Sudan ... and he's now facing backlash for the remarks, including from Joel Embiid, who's calling the comments "disappointing."

The former NBA star unleashed the offensive tirade on Saturday ... just after LeBron James and Co. squeaked by South Sudan in an Olympics tuneup, 101-100.

James' squad was supposed to win big at O2 Arena in London -- they were, after all, 43-point favorites -- but instead, they needed a last-second layup from the Lakers superstar to get them by.

The Olympic gold medal that Clyde Drexler won as a part of the famed 1992 "Dream Team" can now be all yours ... and while you don't have to be a baller like The Glide to get your hands on it -- ya better have some deep pockets!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the piece of basketball history just hit the block at Goldin Auctions on Monday -- and with a starting bid of $250,000, it's expected to fetch a small fortune when the final gavel comes down.

Unclear why Drexler parted ways with the piece -- but he did fill out a letter of authenticity back in April proclaiming he had no intentions of fighting to get the prize back at any point in the future. He also stated in the LOA that he'll never seek a reproduction of it through the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The medal is now being sold by a consigner.

LeBron James can add yet another accomplishment to his extensive résumé -- the Lakers superstar was just revealed as a flag bearer for the 2024 Paris Olympics ... becoming the first Team USA men's basketball player to receive the honor.

King James -- who was nominated by Stephen Curry and the rest of the national team -- got word of the selection on Monday ... and he said it's something he isn't taking lightly.

"It's special in the fact that you get an opportunity to represent your country in another fashion," Bron said.

Kobe Bryant fans have an opportunity to get their hands on a truly rare piece of memorabilia ... the Black Mamba's Staples Center locker -- and it could sell for over a million bucks!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the locker -- which was set to be destroyed during renovations at the Staples Center in 2018 -- was saved by a maintenance worker who realized it belonged to the Hall of Famer.

The worker kept it in storage for years until an American collector, who had the locker nameplate, purchased it to reunite the two pieces.