New York Knicks

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially hung up a banner to celebrate their In-Season Tournament Championship ... and, as expected, it was met with some serious mixed reviews.

The team revealed Monday night the flag will stay in the rafters at Crypto.com Arena for the foreseeable future ... something that ain't exactly sitting right with plenty of fans of the storied NBA franchise.

After all, the team's won SEVENTEEN world championships -- and as you can hear in video from the pregame banner-raising ceremony prior to the contest against the Knicks, when L.A. officially hung the IST title keepsake, Lakers supporters didn't seem thrilled.

There was merely a smattering of applause ... and even LeBron James and his teammates didn't look all that pumped while watching the festivities from the court.

Of course, there were some who liked it, including Metta World Peace -- who told TMZ Sports last week he was definitely in favor of keeping the memento at the Lakers' home facility.

Several celebs in attendance at the game didn't seem to mind it much either ... Timothee Chalamet was all smiles in his courtside seat -- although his New York ballcap showed he probably could care less what L.A. does when it comes to decorating its arena.

Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman, Mookie Betts and several other A-listers were there too ... and while it's not entirely clear what their stances were on the banner -- we take it they probably don't care much either way.

Mitchell Robinson is a good NBA player, but he's an even better human being -- his high school coach just revealed he's been rooming with the New York Knicks center after his wife tragically passed away earlier this year.

Former Chalmette H.S. coach Butch Stockton shared the heartwarming story during the Knicks' win over the Pistons on Thursday ... when he spoke with a reporter about the 7'0", 240-pound big man's incredible gesture.

Stockton -- whose wife, Dawn, passed away in September after a cancer battle -- explained Robinson would visit them every day in the hospital prior to her death ... and he built a strong bond with the couple.

Coach said at Dawn's funeral, Robinson told everyone he was going to bring him to the Big Apple ... and he held up on that promise.

"He said, 'Coach, there’s no reason you stay down here in Louisiana anymore,'" Stockton said. "'You come to New York with and enjoy yourself and get your mind back straight because you know how much you loved your wife and I loved your wife.'"

"It's just been a great situation, to be honest with you."

Robinson -- who's averaging 6 points and 11 rebounds this season -- spoke about his roomie after the game ... saying they will continue to live together until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Victor Wembanyama got the opposite of a warm welcome in his first game at Madison Square Garden ... 'cause a bunch of ruthless Knicks fans made it clear they're not believing the hype surrounding the hoops phenom -- chanting "overrated" in the middle of the game!!

Of course, the San Antonio Spurs' No. 1 overall pick ruffled some feathers with the home crowd prior to Wednesday's matchup with New York ... when he said the Mecca wasn't as big as he expected.

Knickerbocker backers promised to give the 19-year-old hell as a result of his comments ... and they held true to their word throughout the contest -- booing and heckling the 7'4" hooper every chance they got.

Their efforts may have worked ... 'cause Wemby didn't have his best outing -- going 4-14 from the field en route to 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

Some people on social media weren't too pleased with the Knicks fans' antics -- saying it's wild to make such a claim eight games into his career ... especially when he's had some amazing performances in the Association so far.

It seems Ali Krieger is doin' just fine after her highly publicized split with Ashyln Harris ... 'cause the soccer star was spotted smiling ear to ear at the Knicks game Wednesday.

The Gotham FC defender was sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden to watch NY's season opener against the Celtics ... and despite everything that's going on with her, Harris, and Harris' new lover, Sophia Bush, Krieger appeared to be happy as a clam.

She had seats next to celeb makeup artist Alexandria Gilleo, and at one point, the ladies filmed themselves having an absolute blast.

Of course, things were obviously not always this way for Krieger ... especially in the last few weeks.

As we reported, Krieger was hit with divorce papers from Harris last month ... before Harris quickly jumped into a relationship with Bush.

Krieger looked to be quite bitter over it all, using a Beyoncé "Lemonade" Instagram post to imply that she had been cheated on.

The 39-year-old, though, is showing signs of moving on -- with her mind clearly now more focused on rubbin' elbows with Whoopi Goldberg than on Harris' new 'ship.

Several other stars, meanwhile, were out courtside for the game as well ... Chris Rock and Michael J. Fox sat just feet away from Krieger at MSG.

Carmelo Anthony and his son, high school hoops star, Kiyan, made an appearance too ... as did Latrell Sprewell, who played for New York from 1999 to 2003.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Yankees star Aaron Judge, Fat Joe, Lindsey Vonn and Skylar Astin also showed up for the big rivalry game.

New York stars Sterling Shepard and Julius Randle strutted down the runway during fashion week on Wednesday ... but they weren't the only highlight of the show -- their kids put their modeling skills on display, too!!

The Giants receiver and his two baby girls -- who he shares with ex-wife and model Chanel Iman -- took the stage at IRON23 in the Flatiron District for the 13th Annual Rookie USA Fashion Show ... and it's safe to say they had a blast.

You can see Shepard, his 5-year-old and 3-year-old do their thing in black and red Jordan gear ... and the receiver said his kiddos knew exactly what to do because they've been watching mommy's previous work.

"The girls love it," Shepard said. "Their mom was modeling since she was a young woman."

"They love doin' it. They watch videos of her all the time so they just love coming and I just love bringing them. It's been good!"

Shepard also talked Giants -- he's ready to get back on the field after going down with an ACL injury last season ... and said he can't wait for their first game against the Cowboys Sunday night.

"I got a lot of team goals," Shepard said. "I'm just looking forward to taking it week by week and trying to make a good run with the guys."

He wasn't the only NY star athlete to walk the stage ... Knicks hooper Julius Randle showed out with his wife, Kendra, and their two kids. They modeled down the runway in Nike sweatsuit outfits.

FYI, the event -- which was hosted by Kidfluencer Haileigh Vasquez -- will benefit Moms for Moms NYC on behalf of Randle ... and it provides postpartum and newborn essentials for single mothers living in poverty.

Gorilla Nems isn't feeling appreciated by the New York Knicks after lending them his trusty catchphrase ... and he's flipping them the bird as a staff, organization, and entire crew!!!

Bootleg Kev struck an apparent nerve with Nems when he asked if he gets free Knicks tickets since flipping his "Bing Bong" track into a remix for the team, and the Coney Island rapper went off.

Nems claims the NYK have "disgusting" business tactics, and are snakes in the grass ... and he says they make him jump through hoops to catch any hoops action at MSG.

He claims the team tried to offer him crappy seats after he participated in a celebrity b-ball game, but Nems says he wants courtside or nothing.

We gotta say, that's a pretty tall order -- everyone knows those Garden seats are always filled with A-listers -- and yet, Nems feels the team owes him a Spike Lee-adjacent seat.

Knicks fans know the "Bing Bong" soundbite well ... it plays in MSG every time the team makes a 3-pointer. You'd think that would make Nems a life-long Knicks fan, but that relationship's clearly soured.

Carmelo Anthony says he's unbothered that he's retiring without an NBA championship on his resume ... 'cause, at the end of the day, he feels he's "won at life" by simply making it to the league!

The 38-year-old forward announced his retirement on Monday after 19 seasons in the NBA, and despite all his accomplishments, including becoming a 10x All-Star and scoring champ, he never won a ring.

Many sports fans and even some media refuse to label a player an all-time great if they haven't won a ring. For years, it's been said about guys like Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley, because neither earned a chip.

Obviously, if you watched Chuck play, you know he's one of the best players to step foot on a basketball court.

Championships are also used to compare players ... like Michael Jordan (6 titles in 6 appearances) and LeBron James (4 titles in 10 appearances).

"I’m at peace," Melo said to Sports Illustrated after the announcement.

"That doesn’t bother me no more; that idea that you’re a loser if you don’t win a championship."

But, Melo -- who won an NCAA Championship with Syracuse 20 years ago -- said he's been a winner since the day he was selected as the third overall pick in the NBA Draft, making it out of Brooklyn.

“For me, I’ve won. I won back in 2003, the night I shook David Stern’s hand on that [draft] stage," Anthony said. "I made it out of Red Hook. I’ve won at life."

"The ring is the only thing I didn’t get. It would’ve been a great accomplishment, but I don’t regret it, because I feel like I did everything I could to get it."

Melo said he's now focused on his 16-year-old son, Kiyan, who received several offers to play college basketball ... including from Melo's alma mater, Cuse.

In fact, Melo admits Kiyan is the only reason why he signed with the Lakers for the 2021-22 season ... or he would've retired back then.

"I always told him, ’When you get to high school, I’m retiring.’ That was always our thing," Melo said.

"Then [as he started high school] the Lakers called, and he told me, ‘Dad, I’ll be O.K., you should go.’ Even with LeBron there, I wouldn’t have done it without Kiyan pushing me."

"So to be able to spend time with him in the gym, on his work ethic? With school? I can be a father to him every day. It’s perfect timing.”

New York Jets star Sauce Gardner will never forget Jessica Alba now ... 'cause just a couple weeks after he didn't know who she was during a Knicks game meetup -- he scored some custom cleats with her face all over them!!!

Sauce got the feet heat this week from artist Mike Jordan ... who thought it was absolutely hilarious that the NFL defensive back couldn't recognize her while the two were at Game 2 of the Heat-Knicks playoff series with Aaron Rodgers.

If you missed it, Sauce revealed two days after his Madison Square Garden man-date with his new QB that he truly had no knowledge of the actress as she sat right near him in a courtside seat. In fact, he said Rodgers made fun of him for it all night.

Jordan tells TMZ Sports ... he wanted to commemorate the funny ordeal by drawing up some Alba-themed kicks for the 22-year-old cornerback.

On one of the Nike Vapor spikes, Jordan featured a depiction of Alba in her movie "Honey." On the other, he drew Alba from her Susan Storm role in the "Fantastic Four."

Jordan says both shoes took a few days to complete ... and he ultimately ended up dropping them off for Sauce at the Jets' facility on Tuesday.

"I wanted to do something fun," Jordan said of the spikes. "I hope Jessica likes them, too."

Kenyon Martin has a bone to pick with Julius Randle ... and it's a weird one -- the former NBA star says it irks him when the Knicks forward kisses his wife after playoff games.

Martin unleashed the bizarre tirade against Randle on the "Gil's Arena" live stream on Thursday ... hours after the NY star was seen smooching Kendra Randle following the Knicks' Game 5 win over the Heat.

"I saw something last night at the end of the game and it bothered me," Martin said on the show. "We just got done playing a hard-fought game in a playoff series, and the first thing you do is you go kiss your wife."

"Like," he added, "that's the first thing you do?! Where's your mind at?!"

Martin said Julius should have been more focused on celebrating the victory at Madison Square Garden with his teammates ... instead of loving on his significant other.

"I'm sitting there watching the game with my wife, and I'm like, 'I love you to death,'" the 15-year NBA veteran said, "'but ain't no way in that instance I'm going to walk over. I'm going to be with my guys -- we just got done winning. I'm not even thinking about you.'"

For what it's worth, there weren't many others on the show that seemed to agree with Martin's take ... they pointed out to the 45-year-old that Kendra is Julius' most ride-or-die supporter, and deserves the postgame love.

Jessica Alba isn't phased Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner didn't know who she was ... and says after meeting the Jets' star cornerback, she understands why he has the nickname!

ICYMI, Sauce hit up the Knicks playoff game against the Heat Tuesday night (game 2) with his new quarterback, 39-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who had some fun with the 22-year-old for not knowing who Alba was.

"He was just picking on me for being young," Sauce told reporters Wednesday. "We was getting seated, and he was like, 'We about to sit by Jessica Alba.'"

"I'm just like, 'Oh, I don't know who that is.' He looked at me like I'm crazy. That whole night he'd keep asking me, 'Do you know who that person is?'"

On Thursday, the 42-year-old actress -- who got her breakthrough on the big screen in the 2003 film "Honey" -- spoke glowingly about Gardner ... despite the former 1st round pick being unfamiliar with her work.

"Lol -I totally see how this kid Sauce got his name," Alba tweeted. "But in all honesty he was actually very polite with his elder @AaronRodgers12 and everyone else in the room."

"It was nice meeting you," she added.

What won Jessica over was when Sauce -- the '22 Defensive Rookie of the Year -- asked one of Alba's friends ... "How can I get caught up when I'm the catch?"

Alexey Shved -- a Russian-born basketball player who hooped in the NBA -- was hospitalized after he was attacked outside of a Moscow restaurant ... but thankfully, he's on the road to recovery.

According to Shved's Russian basketball team, CSKA Moscow, the 34-year-old was attacked by a "hooligan" on Monday night ... and "suffered a serious head injury as a result of the fall."

Alexey --- who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks -- was transported to the hospital by ambulance.

Shved, wearing a neck brace, seemed in relatively good spirits as some of his teammates and coaches visited him in the hospital.

Shved's team said he contacted the police to investigate the incident ... and added he would not be able to participate in the squad's next round of matches.

The 6' 6" shooting guard spent his final season in the NBA with the Knicks in 2015, averaging 14.8 points per game in 26.4 minutes for the Knickerbockers.

Aaron Rodgers appears to already have a new Jets BFF -- he went on a man date with NY star Sauce Gardner to the Knicks game Tuesday ... and it sure felt bromantic to us!!

After months of recruiting the quarterback to the Big Apple, Gardner finally got some alone time with his new teammate ... and the two seemed to certainly hit it off.

According to Rodgers' IG, the guys got some grub at Carbone ... before they pulled up to Madison Square Garden for the Knicks' huge playoff game against the Miami Heat.

The two had great floor seats -- they sat next to "Entourage" star Jerry Ferrara -- and they even got to rub elbows with Carmelo Anthony and his son, Kiyan.

The guys were later shown on the jumbotron during the game -- where they received a massive ovation from the nearly 20,000 fans in attendance.

The dudes appeared to be good luck for the home team, too ... as NY beat up the Jimmy Butler-less Heat, 111-105.

Both guys gushed over the evening afterward on social media, with Rodgers writing, "Another great day and night in the city with my boy @saucegardner."

"One of the best days/nights I had in a while man❕I appreciate you my guy🤞🏾," Gardner added in the comment section.

"F*** Miami!!! F*** Miami!!!"

New York Knicks fans celebrated like they won the NBA Finals after their beloved team advanced to the second round of the playoffs on Wednesday ... and they made it clear how they felt about their next opponent as they partied in the streets.

The Knicks made it to the semifinals after beating Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers to complete their first-round series in five games ... and their loyal fan base let their emotions loose right near Madison Square Garden.

The whole bash was caught on video ... and you can see a ton of fans in orange and blue jumping up and down shortly after the final buzzer rang.

The hyped-up crowd chanted many things, including "F*** Miami" ... and even Trae Young, a longtime nemesis of the Knicks fandom, caught a few strays.

Fans even booed a Heat supporter, who happened to be in the crowd wearing a Jimmy Butler jersey ... and former Knicks president Phil Jackson also got thrown into the chants as folks reminisced over his bad tenure with the team.

People even treated the victory like Warped Tour ... as one fan jumped on top of Knicks fans and started crowd surfing.

The fans have every reason to celebrate -- it's the first time in 10 years the Knicks made it to the second round ... and there's a bit of history between NY and Miami going back to the '90s.

Rick Pitino's phone was BLOWING UP Sunday ... the legendary hoops coach was seen giving out his phone number during the Knicks game, and lip-readers nabbed his digits, and wouldn't stop texting him.

Pitino was at Madison Square Garden to watch the team he coached from '87-'89 take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of their first-round playoffs series.

As is customary, the broadcast showed the vast array of celebrities in attendance at MSG, but when the cameras panned to Pitino, he could be seen mouthing his phone number while having a convo.

"So yesterday I was enjoying the Knicks game n someone read my lips on TV giving out my phone number," the 70-year-old head coach tweeted Monday.

He continued ... "Over 300 plus messages came in - here’s the bizarre news, 95% were nice n positive. I got a lead on 7 new recruits. My new cell is….."

Rick is one of the greatest coaches ever. He won National Championships with Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013 -- was vacated for an NCAA violation). His coaching career spans 40+ years, dating back to his time as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii (1974).

In March 2023, 70-year-old Pitino was named head coach of St. John's ... after coaching at Iona for three years.

Pete Davidson's New York Knicks took home a big win, but one fan might wanna take a lesson in personal space ... cuz he got wayyy too far into Pete's zone.

Check out the video, Pete was posing for pics and high-fiving a bunch of his fellow Knick fans as he left Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon. You see Pete appears to pose for a pic with one dude in a pink shirt and blue cap and continues to move through the crowd.

That clearly wasn't enough for the fan though, who continued to follow Pete ... putting his arm around the comedian and resting his head on Pete's shoulder.

Pete tries to stay cool, taking more pics with others, but when the overzealous fan continued to get all up in his grill Pete understandably snaps ... shoving the dude away and telling him to back off.

Finally, the fan takes a hint and leaves Pete alone.

While his exit was stressful, the good news for Pete is the Knicks defeated Cleveland to take a 3-1 series lead ... not to mention, he got to share a seat next to (and likely some laughs with) Jon Stewart.

Larry Johnson loves what he sees with the NY Knicks (granted, we talked to him before the Magic loss) ... and says if they keep hooping like they've been, he sees Jalen Brunson's squad making a run in the playoffs!

"I'm very happy with what we look like this year," the Knicks legend told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) earlier this week.

"I do believe Jalen is the best player or he's definitely the most valuable, running the team and getting the people to their right spots."

Brunson -- who Johnson calls "nephew" (LJ was teammates with Jalen's dad, Rick Brunson) -- has been playing lights out since signing with New York for $104 million last July. At the time, pundits called him overpaid. Now, it's called one of the most team-friendly contracts in the sport.

Jalen's averaging 23.8 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.

During the season, the Knicks traded for Jalen's former Villanova teammate, Josh Hart ... and Johnson loves the move, lauding the former Blazers forward for being "a dog on defense."

"That's that New York mentality," Johnson said.

With Brunson playing like an All-Star, Hart's hustle, and the Knicks in fifth position in the East,  Johnson doesn't believe the Knicks will be a one-and-done playoff team.

But, he doesn't foresee a ticker-tape parade, either.

"Definitely don't see them winning the championship this year. I see them going far," the 54-year-old said. "I can definitely see them winning the first series."

We also asked Larry -- an NCAA champ at UNLV -- about this year's tourney and the endless shocking upsets ... like number-one seeds Purdue and Kansas, amongst other teams, being sent home early.

"I like that," the former #1 overall draft pick said. "I like it being more competitive. I mean it didn't happen as often when I was around."

"I much love this more competitive tournament than like a blowout tournament."