San Antonio Spurs

How did Gregg Popovich deal with his Spurs missing the NBA playoffs for the first time in 22 years? By mocking Donald Trump!

Pop's squad didn't exactly thrive in the NBA's bubble environment and played their last game of the 2020 season Thursday against the Utah Jazz. They lost and will now exit the bubble.

More importantly, it means Pop will miss the NBA playoffs for the first time in 22 seasons ... and when he was asked about his historic run coming to an end, he channeled his inner Trump.

"Who told [the media] that the streak ended?" Pop joked ... "That’s fake news!!"

"That’s total fake news. Lots of guys have been telling me the streak hasn't ended. I talk to people all the time, they call me, they tell me ‘Pop, the streak didn't end.'"

"It didn't. It didn't end. I don't know where you guys are getting this."

Pretty funny, right?! Unless you're a Trump supporter.

Of course, 71-year-old Popovich HATES Donald Trump and isn't quiet about it -- blasting #45 any chance he's gotten. He's referred to Trump as a "deranged idiot" and a "coward" in scathing comments at the height of the George Floyd protests back in June.

Trump's largely ignored the coach's criticism ... but could Thursday's impression finally be the one that gets Pop a tweet from the Pres?

San Antonio Spurs star Lonnie Walker IV is sharing the serious reason behind cutting his signature hair ... saying he was using it as a "cloaking device" after he was raped and abused as a child ... and was finally ready to move on.

Walker -- the 18th overall pick to the Spurs in 2018 -- has been growing his hair out since the 5th grade ... and it eventually turned into "the pineapple," one of the most notable cuts in the NBA.

The 21-year-old decided it was time to part ways with his hair earlier this week ... and it's got a much deeper meaning than just wanting a new look.

"The real truth as to why i started doing this early 5th grade, it was a cloaking device for me," Walker said on IG.

"During the summer of my 5th grade year I was around more family ... I was sexually harassed, raped, abused, I even got accustomed to it because being at that age you don’t know what is what."

"I had a mindset that my hair was something that I can control. My hair was what I can make and create and be mine."

Walker says he used his time during the coronavirus to accept his past and forgive everyone responsible for his struggles ... calling it "dead weight."

"Me cutting my hair was more than a cut," Walker continued. "My hair was a mask of me hiding the insecurity’s that I felt the world wasn’t ready for. But now better then ever. Out with old. In with the new. I have shed my skin mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually."

Walker streamed the monumental moment ... and the hooper was overcome with emotions when the haircut was complete.

Hello, kids. This is what it's like to get DUNKED ON HARD by an actual NBA player!

Here's Spurs star Dejounte Murray just dishing out some punishment to some of his young neighbors in San Antonio ... and the video is awesome!!

Of course, this was all in good fun -- and the kids LOVED IT!

But man, the dunk show was FEROCIOUS!!

Off the wall dunks?? Yep. Reverse dunks? Mmmhmmm. In your face banger dunks? ABSOLUTELY!

Murray says he knows the local kids had been wanting to play for months ... and they finally built up the courage to ask, so he delivered.

"I Guess For The Past 2 Months These Kids Been Scared To Come To My Door To Ask Me To Play With Them And Today They Finally Wasn’t Scared To Ask And We Got To Play And Become Friends," Murray said.

"I Swear This What Makes My JOB The Best Because I Get To Connect With People All Around The World!!"

Murray even posed for pics with the kids and their families afterward.

23-year-old Murray -- who signed a 4-year, $64 million extension -- missed the entire 2018-19 season after tearing his ACL ... but he's got insane potential.

Police say they've arrested a man who allegedly heaved his drink onto the court during the Celtics vs. Spurs game Wednesday ... identifying the guy as a 22-year-old and hitting him with disturbing a public assembly charge.

Late in the third quarter of the Celtics' game at TD Garden ... Kemba Walker was ejected for arguing a non-call.

The Boston superstar was cracked on a screenplay ... and when no whistle came -- he went IN on the refs.

It didn't take long for the point guard to get tossed from the game ... and when Celts head coach Brad Stevens also got ejected for arguing the call -- a fan was so pissed, he lobbed his drink onto the court.

You can see in the video, the can -- allegedly full of hard seltzer -- BARELY missed San Antonio Spurs players ... and splashed all over the hardwood.

Meet the newest Splash Bro ... Trey Lyles!!!

Check out the San Antonio Spurs player accidentally dumping a fan's pricey beer at the Toyota Center in Houston on Monday ... and her reaction is priceless!!

It all started when Rockets star Russell Westbrook fired a pass that went into the stands -- directly crushing a woman's beer.

That's when Lyles went over to retrieve the ball -- which was under a seat -- and as he flipped it up to himself, he knocked ANOTHER woman's beer right out of her hand ... sending beer suds everywhere!

You can see the woman's face ... she ain't happy (Hey, beer at NBA games ain't cheap!!!)

Hopefully, SOMEONE (hint, hint Spurs) hooked up a replacement brew for the fan -- and maybe some towels for everyone in the area who got soaked in the process!

As for the action ON the court -- the Rockets eventually won the game 109 to 107.

Add DeMar DeRozan to the list of athletes against visiting Donald Trump ... 'cause the NBA superstar says even if he was still on the Raptors, he wouldn't celebrate their title at the White House.

Raps coach Nick Nurse said last week the team is setting up a trip to be honored by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ... but said they're undecided on going to 1600 Penn.

However, over the weekend Raptors star Danny Green told Yahoo Sports he's a "hard no" on visiting Trump.

Despite playing for the Spurs now, DeRozan is on board if the team decides not to go ... telling TMZ Sports -- "Sh*t, I wouldn't go, either!"

DeRozan joins a growing group of athletes who have spoken out against visiting Trump -- the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James, Red Sox manager Alex Cora and players like Mookie Betts, David Price and Jackie Bradley Jr. have all been vocal about not going -- just to name a few.

Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green might piss off a couple different groups with what he just said to our cameras and it all has to do with Kawhi Leonard and their two shared NBA titles.

First off, he said definitively that Kawhi is the best player in the NBA, so all the LeBron, Durant, Giannis, and Harden fans are BIG MAD right now.

Secondly, our guy asked Danny in NYC which NBA title felt better -- his 2014 run with the San Antonio Spurs (Kawhi was there for that one too) or the one he just scored with the Toronto Raptors.

"This one, 2019 for sure."

Now, if you're in San Antonio, you're prolly HUGE MAD right now, because Danny just said the ring he won with you guys is like Robin, Garfunkel, Oates, and Watson ... famously second fiddle.

How do you one-up LeBron's famous Banana Boat pic? Ya can't ... but this is close!

Manu Ginobili and a bunch of his old Spurs teammates hopped on a giant inflatable hot dog Friday to pay tribute (?) to the most famous flotation device pic ever taken!!

Here's the order from front to back ... Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills and Manu pulling up the rear.

They've even nicknamed themselves the "WienerBoatBoys" ... a nod to Bron's "Banana Boat Crew."

Remember, Bron -- along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Gabrielle Union -- hopped on that big yellow floatie back in 2015 in a pic that IMMEDIATELY went viral.

The funny thing about the new pic ... is Manu and his wiener-mates were all part of that San Antonio Spurs team that beat LeBron and D-Wade's Miami Heat team in the NBA Finals back in 2014!

By the way, the Spurs squad posted about the hot dog ride ...

Kawhi Leonard's mother reached her boiling point at the Spurs game Thursday night -- going off on a heckler ... calling him an "a**hole" and telling him to "shut up."

It all went down in San Antonio -- where her NBA superstar son returned for the first time with his new team, the Toronto Raptors.

The fans were ruthless to Kawhi during the game, chanting "traitor" and booing him almost every time he touched the ball.

At least one heckler recognized Kawhi's mother, Kim -- wearing a Leonard jersey -- and started running his mouth.

You can see in the video, Kim can't take it and starts yelling back -- "A**hole, shut up!" -- all while continuing to eat her snack ... without spilling a drop!

Unfortunately for Kim, the Raptors ended up losing the game ... 125 to 107. Kawhi put up 21 points and 5 assists.

NBA superstar Pau Gasol pulled from half court and proposed to his longtime girlfriend ... and she said YES!!!

The San Antonio Spurs forward announced the engagement to Cat McDonnell on Tuesday, saying "Words cannot express how happy and excited we are!"

"She said YES!! I’m so lucky to be engaged to such a wonderful woman and look forward to a lifetime together! "

The 38-year-old Pau and the former USC cheerleader have been IG official dating back to 2016 ... and have been inseparable ever since -- taking hot vacations together and other mushy coupley stuff.

The pair took a trip to Pau's home turf in Spain back in August ... and Cat's been working on her Spanish. So, seems like she may have had a clue this was coming.

¡Felicidades!

LeBron James is straight-up PISSED that one of his NBA rivals lost a great player ... dropping an f-bomb when he learned Spurs baller Dejounte Murray was done for the season.

Murray's right knee buckled as he went up for a layup against the Rockets in San Antonio's preseason game Sunday ... and the team announced Monday he suffered a torn ACL.

Bron wasn't the least bit pleased to know one of his Western Conference rivals took that big of a blow, saying, "Man I feared that would be the case when I saw the play! F*#% man!"

In fact, the Lakers superstar made sure the 22-year-old knew he can lean on him if he needs him through the recovery process.

"You know how to reach me and where to find me if needed. Love lil bro!!"

As for Murray ... he was keeping his head up, writing on social media, "I Will Attack This Process Every Single Day And Use This Time To Become Even Sharper In All Aspects."

BTW ... Murray's still dating Jilly Anais ... which has gotta soften the blow at least A LITTLE bit, right??

Manu Ginobili might be retired ... but San Antonio Spurs star Pau Gasol's clearly still in his prime ... taking his insanely attractive GF out for a romantic trip to Ibiza ... and the pics are straight fire.

38-year-old Pau is dating Cat McDonnell -- a former USC cheerleader who has a background working for a big-time finance company. They've been IG official since 2016.

The couple looked to be having a great time on Pau's home soil ... going on boat rides, cozy dinners and other mushy stuff.

And also, she looks absolutely INSANE in a bikini.

Not like Pau can't afford to take amazing trips like this for the rest of his life -- he's currently in the middle of a 3-year, $48 MILLION contract with the Spurs.

And get this ... career earning for Pau? $199 MILLION!!!!!

That's just about $34 million less than LeBron James has made through NBA contracts (though James has made a TON more in off-the-court deals).

For comparison, Kobe Bryant reportedly made $323 MIL in NBA contract money. Manu Ginobili made $114 mil over 15 seasons.

DeMar DeRozan took Drake's "In My Feelings" challenge to a whole 'nother level last week ... going to the song's creator himself to figure out his feelings after the Raptors stunningly traded him.

The ex-Toronto superstar revealed one of the first people he confided in after the Raptors sent him packing to San Antonio was none other than the 6 God.

"The day it came out, I went to Drake's house," DeRozan told ESPN.

"Sat and talked for a couple hours, man. Not even on the hoops stuff, just my partner. Just to hear the words that come from him being the person that he is in this world, especially in Toronto. What I meant to the city -- it was what I needed."

Drake's one of the Raptors' biggest fans ... and he took the DeRozan news tough too -- writing on Instagram, "Thank you for being an incredible captain and an even better friend."

Of course ... Toronto did get Kawhi Leonard in the deal -- and he IS one of the best players in the NBA.

Sooo ... feelings might be down now, but something tells us Drake will come out of it fine.

Master P says the Raptors' GM is about to be fired ... 'cause he thinks there's no way in hell the DeMar DeRozan trade works out -- telling TMZ Sports, DeMar "was bigger than Vince Carter" in Toronto!!

We got P out at L.A. Live ... and he didn't mince words when it came to his disdain for the swap that sent DeMar to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard.

"Kawhi Leonard's a hell of a player, but he showed the team he was on that he didn't want to be there, so what you think they going to get?"

P tells us DeMar was so good for the Raptors ... they need to build a statue of him in Canada, and they need to do it before one of V.C. is raised.

"He still deserves a statue," P says. "He put that city on the map -- the country on the map as far as basketball."

DeMar DeRozan is getting a touching goodbye message from his good friend, Drake ... with the Toronto Raptors ambassador pouring his heart out for the freshly traded NBA star.

The 6 God weighed in on the face of the franchise getting shipped to San Antonio in exchange for Kawhi Leonard on Thursday ... saying, "To my brother @demar_derozan I want to say 10 million thank you’s on behalf of YOUR city. You are a fixture in Toronto forever and you gave everything you had."

"Through your leadership we had the most exciting years in franchise history. I am grateful to have witnessed your combination of skill, persistence, and loyalty from the same seats every night. Thank you for being an incredible captain and an even better friend."

It's a nice gesture from Drake ... but, DeRozan is reportedly super pissed about the deal ... and feels the team lied to him about their plans for the future.

Mallory Edens -- the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens -- tells TMZ Sports ... when Becky Hammon is hired as a head coach, pro sports in America will never be the same.

And she says that moment could be sooner than you think.

Edens, who's been around the NBA and writes about women in sports, says ladies are destined to have more voices at the top levels in major sports leagues ... and the hiring of Hammon will speed the process.

"I'd love to see a female commissioner one day. There are so many roles in the NBA that are yet to fill. I think even if we start to fill a few of them we'll start to see a positive change."

Edens also told us Hammon's reach could transcend basketball, and maybe make women in power positions more of a thing in sports in general.

In a step in the right direction, Hammon was promoted to lead assistant coach on the San Antonio Spurs.

And BTW ... Mallory won't just be on the sidelines, she told us multiple times she wants to follow in her dad's footsteps and own a team one day ... CONTROLLING ALL ASPECTS OF THE FRANCHISE.

"I think that I'd be all up in it, everyday."