New York Knicks

La La Anthony is spillin' more tea on her marriage to Carmelo ... revealing this week that the Knicks trade for her former NBA superstar hubby led to the couple's "demise."

The T.V. personality went on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast on Wednesday to talk about the difficulties of being a wife of a 10-time NBA All-Star ... and she unveiled that everything was good between the two -- until New York got involved.

La La -- who married Melo in July 2010 -- says their relationship was gravy when the basketball player was starring for the Denver Nuggets ... but got dicey when he was traded to the Knicks in February 2011.

“When we lived here [in New York] under all of that [attention], that's when things became complicated," La La said.

"I think that was kind of the start. Now that I look back, that was kind of the start of the demise of the marriage."

The NY native says the bright lights of the city weren't the only things that started the problems between her and Melo, but they were some of the hardest things to deal with.

"That's not the only reason things didn't work out, but things got tough with New York. Just constantly being under the spotlight and people watching every little thing."

La La ultimately filed for divorce from Melo in 2021, citing irreconcilable differences, but she told Cooper they're still friends ... and are co-parenting their 15-year-old son, Kiyan, without issues.

"It wasn't all bad," she said. "Like, we had great, great times."

La La says she is dating again ... but is not open to NBA players anymore.

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson proposed to his longtime girlfriend like a true basketball player -- getting down on one knee and poppin' the question on a hoops court -- and it worked, 'cause she said yes!!

The NBA point guard and Ali Marks shared the news on social media on Tuesday -- revealing the proposal went down at their old high school's court in Illinois.

"you are a lifetime," said Marks, who shared pics of the couple's romantic evening on the Stevenson H.S. court.

"forever," Brunson added.

While unorthodox, the proposal's venue was absolutely fitting ... considering Brunson and Marks -- who's a physical therapist -- began dating at the high school years ago.

The two were initially there on Tuesday to see Brunson be inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.

Several NBA players congratulated Brunson following his reveal of the news -- and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban even claimed to have known it was going to happen.

"See how I predicted that," Cuban said. "Congrats 🎉🎉🎉"

There are a lot of new beginnings for Brunson recently ... the 26-year-old -- who had been a Dallas Maverick since 2018 -- just signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks in July.

Donovan Mitchell's days in Utah are over -- the NBA star has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a huge deal on Thursday.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted out the bombshell news just minutes ago -- the face of the Jazz franchise is officially on the move to northeast Ohio.

Mitchell -- who was drafted by the Nuggets out of Louisville -- spent all 5 of his seasons with the Jazz after being traded on draft night ... where he established himself as one of the game's best young stars.

The Cavs are sending Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji and three first-round picks to Utah ... and the rights to swap two other future picks in the deal.

The Knicks had been floated as a potential landing spot for Spida ... but their dreams were officially squashed after the Cavs -- who made the play-in tournament last year -- sealed the deal.

Utah appears to be in complete rebuild mode -- the team traded away Rudy Gobert, a 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, and now have shipped Donovan out of town as well.

James Dolan is shutting down all talk of selling the New York Knicks ... laughing at the notion and straight-up saying it's not happening.

The rumors started to swirl earlier this week ... when investment analyst Jonathan Boyar predicted Dolan would put the team up for sale after the new MSG Sphere opens up in Las Vegas next year.

An MSG rep was quick to deny the speculation ... saying there were "no plans" to sell both the Knicks and New York Rangers.

Dolan doubled down on the statement as he was leaving businessman Noah Tepperberg's birthday party at LAVO in West Hollywood ... smiling and saying, "no" after being asked about the rumors.

Some angry fans have been calling for Dolan to sell the team for years -- and chants have broken out at Madison Square Garden on numerous occasions.

As we previously reported, there have even been cases where Knicks supporters have been BANNED from MSG for telling Dolan to sell the team in person.

It's no secret -- the Knicks have struggled for a while now, but that could always change overnight with a superstar free agent signing or trade.

Richard Jefferson has crossed over to the other side ... the ex-NBA star made his debut as an NBA official last night during the Knicks-Blazers Summer League game.

The 17-year NBA veteran was tapped to officiate the second quarter of the contest between Portland and New York ... after the league says he attended daily Summer League Officiating Meetings in Las Vegas.

RJ was received pretty well throughout the night by the fans (except Knicks fans) in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas ... getting cheers from the crowd, but they also didn't hesitate to let the NBA champ hear it when he got a call incorrect.

One Twitter user posted a video of Jefferson being booed ... after he awarded the ball to the wrong team on an errant pass.

Ironically enough, Richard's first experience as a ref came during a game involving the Knicks -- a team he tormented on the court in his career -- something rapper Joe Budden jokingly made reference to on Twitter.

"I guess no one up top has ever heard Richard Jefferson during any Knicks discussion lol… I don't care how many officiating classes he took, he should not be the official (for a quarter) at ANY Knick game ever Foh," Budden said.

Jefferson -- who retired from the Association in 2018 -- ultimately believes the more knowledge he has about the game of basketball, the better analyst he becomes.

New York Knicks legend Willis Reed's warmup jacket from Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals -- one of the most famous moments in basketball history -- is about to hit the auction block, and is expected to sell for a huge chunk of change!

TMZ Sports has learned the infamous jacket Reed wore during the "Willis Reed Game" ... as he limped onto the Madison Square Garden court for the deciding contest against the Los Angeles Lakers will soon go to the highest bidder.

Remember, Reed tore his thigh muscle in Game 5 of the series against L.A., and missed Game 6 because of the serious injury.

With Willis out, Wilt Chamberlain went off, dominating the Knicks, and forcing a deciding game 7.

The Knicks appeared to be in big trouble ... as almost no one expected Reed to play in game 7, despite the Knicks being just 4 quarters from a title.

But, after receiving medical treatment on his torn thigh, Reed somehow hobbled onto the court at MSG ... and fans couldn't believe it.

Reed, who was severely limited during the game, scored just 4 points and collected 3 rebounds ... but it was about more than just his contribution to the box score.

Willis, now a College and Basketball Hall of Famer, inspired his teammates with his heroics, leading the Knicks to a game 7 win and an NBA championship.

Fellow Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier scored 36 points, and dished 19 assists in one of the finest game 7 performances of all-time.

Throughout the historic night, from the time he ran on the court to while he sat on the bench and watched the game, Reed wore his NYK warmup.

Now, that jacket is soon to be available at Grey Flannel Auctions ... with a starting bid of $10K.

The closing price will be significantly more money.

GFA tells us the warmup jacket has been photo-matched to ensure its authenticity. Experts examined several images of Willis in the jacket, including stills from his interview with legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell during the team's championship celebration.

The size "48" and "L" jacket has the Knicks' "NY" logo in orange and blue on the left chest ... and the words "New York" are on the back in the same colors as the front.

Reed's iconic jacket officially goes up for auction on May 16.

Mitchell Robinson's dad is missing ... and the New York Knicks center is asking everyone for help finding him.

Robinson -- who was drafted in the second round by the Knicks in 2018 -- expressed concern on social media ... saying his dad, Mitchell Robinson Jr., has been MIA since Feb 13.

"My dad is missing if you have info on his whereabouts please contact 850-436-9620," the number for the Escambia County Sheriff's Dept., Mitchell wrote.

Days later, Robinson once again took to social media ... pleading with the public to help him locate his father.

"Don't know a place the devil will hide you ... Come home pops," Robinson wrote on his Instagram story.

The Escambia County Sherriff's Office is aware of Robinson Jr.'s disappearance ... and reports that Robinson Jr. was actually last seen on Feb 11.

The sheriff's office is currently investigating the manner ... and shared a photo of Mitchell's dad, as well information surrounding his last whereabouts on its Facebook page.

Robinson has played in 53 games for the Knicks this season ... and has seen an increase in his productivity and efficiency across the board.

A Colin Kaepernick hater heckled the former NFL star on his way out of Madison Square Garden on Wednesday -- calling the ex-QB a "bum" and saying, "You could never throw a football."

The jerk was heard loud and clear as Kaepernick left the Knicks game in New York and got into his ride ... with the man yelling twice, "You're a bum."

"Get in that car," the heckler added.

Kaepernick never acknowledged the man ... and quietly walked through a swarm of people on his way out of the NBA game and into the waiting car.

Inside of the arena, Colin clearly had a much better time -- he sat next to Spike Lee, and was also spotted chatting it up with former MLB star CC Sabathia before tip-off.

During the game, ESPN Films announced a new docuseries was in the works about Kaepernick, with the production company saying Lee had been tapped to direct it. Officials promised it would tell Kaepernick's story in a way that's never been heard before.

New York fans can thank James Dolan for never landing LeBron James ... so says Knicks legend Charles Oakley, who claims the King's main reason for not signing in the Big Apple was the controversial owner.

Oakley recalled a conversation he had with Bron during the 2014 season in his new book, 'The Last Enforcer,' ... which happened after Oak met Dolan for the first time.

Oak claims the Knicks owner refused to shake hands or even look at him throughout the interaction at All-Star Weekend ... and when he relayed what happened to LeBron, the Chosen One had words of his own.

"I walked back to LeBron and said, 'This motherf***er (Dolan) wouldn't shake my hand,'" Oakley claims. "All LeBron said was, 'This is why I'm never going to New York.'"

Oakley says he was shocked by Dolan's coldness at the time ... saying, "You would have thought I did something to his wife."

"I didn't do anything to this man. What did I ever say that was so bad that he would ignore me like that? I wondered. Man, I wanted to hit him in the head."

Of course, Oakley and LeBron have been good friends for quite some time ... so it's no surprise the 4-time champ would have the Cleveland native's back in the feud.

Tension between Dolan and Oakley reached a boiling point during an incident at Madison Square Garden in 2017, when Oak was hauled out of the arena and arrested by NYPD for getting physical with security staffers.

Oakley -- who spent 10 seasons with the Knicks -- was banned from the Garden (at the behest of Dolan) ... and while the ban was lifted, he has not yet returned to the Mecca.

Kemba Walker getting benched isn't his problem, it's his coach's ... so says Kenny "The Jet" Smith, who tells TMZ Sports the guard is a Ferrari and Tom Thibodeau doesn't know how to drive it.

The 31-year-old hooper was removed from the Knicks rotation earlier this week ... as he's been averaging career lows in almost every major category this season.

Once backup Alec Burks came in and balled out with 23 points against the Hawks on Saturday, Thibs decided to pull Walker out of the starting lineup AND the rotation altogether.

We spoke with Smith about Kemba's benching, considering he signed a 2-year, $20 million deal this past offseason ... and he says this is not a testament to Walker's skills.

"The guy's a great offensive player and you just don't know how to use him," Smith told us at LAX. "That's really what you're saying. You're not saying that he can't play."

Smith says Thibs just flat-out doesn't know how to use the baller ... and can be of use for a team that knows what to do with his talents.

"It's the coach and the organization just not understanding what value of a guy like this, what they paid for."

To put it in simpler terms, Smith has an analogy.

Knicks star Julius Randle was just slapped with a $15K fine for tossing the basketball into the stands, in celebration, after NY downed the rivals Boston Celtics in a double-OT thriller.

The game went down Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden ... and Randle played out of his mind, dropping 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists.

As the clock wound down on the nail-biter of a game, Randle tossed the ball from one end of the court, high into the air, and into the stands past the opposing basket.

Unfortunately, the NBA wasn't in the mood to celebrate ... and they hit Julius with a $15K fine.

"New York Knicks forward Julius Randle has been fined $15,000 for throwing the game ball into the spectator stands," Byron Spruell, President of League Operations announced on Thursday.

But, don't cry too much for JR ... he scored a 4-year, $117 million extension this off-season, meaning he makes over $250K every game.

Derrick Rose just secured the first win at Madison Square Garden this season ... 'cause the hooper proposed to his girlfriend on the court -- and she said, "YES!!"

The Knicks guard shared the awesome news Tuesday night ... posting a photo of him and 26-year-old Alaina Anderson wining and dining privately at half court.

"Just got engaged in MSG nothing major!" Anderson said on IG. "A WIFE!!!! I love you!!!! 😍😍😍 MRS ROSE TO YALL LOL"

And, you can't help but notice the absolutely huge diamond ring on Alaina's ring finger!!

Alaina says she wasn't expecting it, even with the private dinner at MSG -- 'cause Rose gave her a promise ring the day before saying, "hopefully one day I can get you the real thing."

Very sneaky, D Rose!!

Rose wrote a poem to his future wife ... saying, "Believe the words that I will have your back and love u forever. When I FIRST saw you I told Ryan that we were gon be together."

"I will always love you becuz you go above and beyond. We built a beautiful family and a unbreakable bond. Thank you Queen."

The lovely couple has reportedly been together since his Chicago Bulls days in 2016 ... and welcomed their daughter, Layla, in 2018 and son, London, in 2019.

The Brooklyn Nets are poised to win an NBA championship with or without Kyrie Irving this season ... so says Charles Oakley, who tells TMZ Sports the star's availability won't derail the team's title hopes.

Of course, Irving -- who is not vaccinated -- could miss more than half of the season due to COVID vaccine mandates in NYC and California ... which has folks like Shaq saying the Nets should get rid of him.

Oakley doesn't think KI's absence will be that big of a deal, though ... after all, it helps they still have Kevin Durant and James Harden.

"I think they can still win it with him playing this way," Oakley said on TMZ Live this week.

"You still have James Harden and KD -- 2 of the top 5 best players in the league."

Oakley -- who's coming out with his own cooking show, "Chopping It Up with Oakley," added, "They wasn't healthy last year, so you think if James Harden comes back healthy this year with KD healthy, they still can win it even if Kyrie play only half of the season."

Besides missing playing time, KI is gonna lose a TON of money -- $380k per game!

So, we asked the NY Knicks legend if he was on the Nets would he talk to the point guard about his decision ... he says he would but at the end of the day -- "he's a grown man."

"He knows he losing 300, 400 thousand a game and it's not about the money. We see that."

"He believe what he believe in."

Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela just went HAM on the New York Knicks ... calling out the players for trying to "play tough" and guaranteeing to boot them from the playoffs!!!

The Knicks vs. Hawks series has been chippy and rough through 4 games to say the least ... and when the 27-year-old baller was asked about the Knicks playing physical, Capela unloaded.

"They try to play tough, push our guys around and talk s***, but we can do that, too," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"We show them as soon as they came back here. We can push guys around, too. We can talk s*** as well, so whatchu gonna do about it? -- and we can get a win with it."

Capela insists the Knicks' style of play hasn't posed a serious threat ... and guarantees a victory in Game 5 to send the Knicks packing on Wednesday.

"And now we’re coming to your home to win this game again and send you on vacation."

DAMN, CLINT!!! Tell us how you really feel!!!

There's more ... Clint had words for Knicks star Julius Randle shoving Danilo Gallinari during Game 4 as "retaliation" for hitting Reggie Bullock's neck on the previous possession.

"You’re trying to look physical, but it’s not working. It’s the last solution," he added.

"You don’t get your star player making dirty plays. Of course, that was a dirty play, retaliation or not … we all can shove someone. You can play hard but within the game."

As for the Knicks ... they're not taking the bait.

Randle responded shortly after, saying, "Why would I give a hell what Clint Capela has to say?"

Derrick Rose added ... "I’m 32 years old. I’ve never talked s*** like that in my life."

"I’m too old for that."

Knicks and Hawks tip-off at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Getcha popcorn ready.

The NY Knicks have determined an idiot fan SPIT on Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young during Wednesday night's game at MSG ... and now the mouthy fan has been banned indefinitely.

It all went down with around 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter of the Knicks vs. Hawks playoff game ... when Young was trying to inbound.

Video footage shows someone sitting behind 50 Cent appear to spit at Young -- leading Young to comment after the game, "Damn ... crazy!"

Young also asked 50 Cent if he was "good" following the incident.

The NY Knicks were disturbed by the footage and launched an investigation to see if the fan had spit at Young intentionally -- and now, they have detrained it was, in fact, on purpose.

"We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who is not a season ticket holder, did indeed spit on Trae Young," the team announced Thursday.

"And for that reason, [the fan] is now banned from The Garden indefinitely."

"We apologize to Trae and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for this fan's behavior. This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue."

The team notes cops are now involved saying -- "We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities."

In theory, the fan could be prosecuted if officials decide to pursue a case against him.

So far, the fan has not been publicly identified.

Story developing ...

Just when you thought the trash talk in the Hawks vs. Knicks series couldn't get any better ... here's NYC mayor Bill de Blasio throwing more fuel on the fire, shading the hell out of Trae Young!!

The 60-year-old -- rockin' a NY Knicks ball cap -- took time out of his daily press briefing Tuesday to take shots at the Atlanta star ... and it was aggressive!

The mayor accused Young of crying for calls ... and told him to straight-up stop.

"Stop hunting for fouls, Trae," de Blasio said. "I want to quote Steve Nash -- great player, great coach -- he says, ‘That’s not basketball.'"

de Blasio continued, "Trae, that hawk's not going to fly in New York City. Come on. Play the game the right way."

Of course, Trae ripped the soul out of the Knicks during the first game of their playoff series on Sunday ... hitting a game-winning floater and talking all kinds of smack to the crowd at Madison Square Garden afterward.

Even Trae's Dad got involved ... puffing out his chest and celebrating BIG-TIME after the shot.

NY fans -- who chanted "F*** Trae Young" throughout the game -- have since fired away all over social media ... and it's all getting REALLY good.

Clearly, de Blasio thinks his Knicks can back up all the talk, though ... he continued to Trae during his rant Tuesday, "I think the Knicks are going to teach you a lesson."