TMZ Games

Ben Simmons, DeMarcus Cousins and Giannis Antetokounmpo were just SOME of the massive NBA stars refusing to be scared away from a video game event in NYC ... in the wake of the Florida tragedy.

The NBA stars -- along with rapper Travis Scott -- hit up the NBA 2K19 launch event at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in NYC on Wednesday night ... partying the night away while gaming it up.

The party went down less than a week after a disturbed gamer opened fire at a Madden tournament in Jacksonville, killing 2 people and injuring 11 more.

Several tournaments have either been canceled or postponed since the shooting -- but the NBA 2K19 event decided to move forward as planned.

It's a good thing too -- everyone seemed to have a great time without incident.

Just another reminder ... video games are supposed to be fun.

Ex-NBA star Roy Hibbert is a big video gamer and was clearly upset about the tragedy at the Madden tournament in Florida ... but tells TMZ Sports don't blame violent video games, GUNS are the real issue.

"The conversation shouldn't be on video games," Hibbert says ... "It should be on the other thing. And you know what the other thing is."

24-year-old David Katz opened fire at the Madden 19 NFL tourney in Jacksonville -- killing 2 people and injuring 11 before turning the gun on himself.

Katz was reportedly furious after losing in the tournament earlier that day. Some people are pointing the finger at vide game addiction -- saying it's a real problem that drove Katz to murder.

But, Hibbert isn't buying that excuse and says he won't let the tragedy stop him or his kids from playing video games. In fact, Hibbert says he would still support his kids trying to be pro gamers, if that's what they wanted ... citing the 6-figure salaries some pro gamers are making.

As far as the shooting, officials say the FBI is involved in the investigation and President Trump has already been briefed on the situation.

The two people who were killed in the shooting have been identified as 27-year-old Taylor Robertson (winner of last season's Madden Classic) and 24-year-old Eli Clayton, a former high school football player at Calabasas High School.

YBN Nahmir has racked up more than 250 MILLION views on YouTube after exploding onto the rap scene ... and says he's living proof the next place to find huge rap stars is in video gaming.

Here's the deal ... Nahmir would showcase his freestyle skills while playing games like Grand Theft Auto and people loved it. He blew up and now the 18-year-old is becoming a force in the hip-hop world.

But, Nahmir is not some anomaly -- telling TMZ Sports there are TONS of super talented young rappers using video game streaming services to get noticed ... and it's a matter of time before big record labels start heading to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network to start hunting for talent.

"You see how I blew up? Off the game," Nahmir says.

"These motherf**kers are everywhere that's like unknown ... It's a whole 'nother thing coming."

As for his own gaming career, don't expect him to go back to full-time for a VERY long time. Nahmir is traveling the world doing hip-hop -- performing in front of massive crowds.

Right now, Nahmir says it's all about the music.

Steve Wozniak went up against the real-life "Molly's Game" ringleader, but the look on his face says it all ... he can win the pot like the best of 'em.

The Woz and Molly Bloom spoke at the cryptocurrency convention, ChainXChange, at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, but had a meeting of the poker minds backstage before going onstage.

If you're unfamiliar with Molly ... she's a badass. Molly's the inspiration for Aaron Sorkin's first film as a director. He also wrote the script to the flick starring Jessica Chastain as Molly.

Molly ran a high-stakes poker game back in the day at the famed Viper Room in L.A. ... frequented by celebs like Ben Affleck, Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio ... and the freakin' Russian mob.

See, badass.

We're told the meeting between Wozzy -- an avid poker player -- and Molly played out more like a mutual admiration society. And, for the record ... no real money changed hands ... it was all in fun.

EA Sports has fixed the Colin Kaepernick "mistake" -- removing the edit that scrubbed the QB's name from a song that's on the soundtrack for the Madden NFL 19 video game.

As we previously reported, Colin's name is a part of the original lyrics for YG's track, "Big Bank" -- which is featured in the game. But, on the version released on Madden, Kaep's name was mysteriously absent.

EA Sports claimed they made "an unfortunate mistake" when "members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks."

EA added, "We messed up, and the edit should never have happened. We will make it right, with an update to Madden NFL 19 on August 6 that will include the reference again."

Turns out, EA kept their word on that -- and now, Colin's name can be heard on the song in the game.

Colin Kaepernick's name will be added back to the soundtrack on Madden 19 ... according to a statement by the video game's developers.

According to EA, it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding. The company's taking the blame for Colin's name being scrubbed from YG's song "Big Bank" on the game.

EA says ... "We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack. Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks."

The company adds the edit never should have happened, and apologized to Kaep, the NFL, players and fans ... along with YG and Big Sean.

Colin Kaepernick won't be seen OR heard on the new Madden NFL 19 ... 'cause the free agent QB's name was pulled from a Big Sean verse on the game's soundtrack.

The game doesn't officially drop until next week, but people who have gotten their hands on an early copy have noticed Kaep's name was scrubbed from Sean's verse on YG's song "Big Bank" featuring 2 Chainz and Nicki Minaj.

What you're supposed to hear is "Feed me to the wolves now I lead the pack and sh*t. You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick" ... but aside from the obvious edits to keep the lyrics rated PG, the game also took the Kaep shout-out off the track.

A video has been going viral on social media ... and most people are assuming it has to do with Kaep's involvement in kick-starting the National Anthem controversy.

As for Kaep appearing in the game as a player ... that won't happen until he's signed to a team. So, don't hold your breath.

Pro gaming star FaZe Censor just chose Duty over booty -- breaking up with his smokin' hot celebrity weathergirl GF, Yanet Garcia ... so he can focus on playing video games.

Censor and Yanet started dating 3 years ago and have become one of the most famous couples in the gaming world ... because they're both insanely good looking.

But, the love train is OVER -- with Censor saying he broke up with the 27-year-old Mexican meteorologist because he wants to direct all of his energy on winning a Call of Duty championship.

In a 10 minute speed rant, Censor praised Garcia as an "awesome girl" -- who's smart and talented -- but says they're just not on the same page anymore.

"I gotta do what's right for me," Censor said ... explaining that Garcia recently took a job in Mexico City where she can focus on growing her career as a model and an actress.

Censor made it clear his eye is on the prize -- "I'll do whatever it takes to be a champion."

Dude ... after this move, you BETTER win.

Wanna piss off an NFL player?? Tell him his new Madden ratings.

Wanna REALLLLLY make an NFL player upset?? Make his avatar look like a fat tub of lard.

The creators of Madden 19 did both to Dallas Cowboys stud Tyrone Crawford ... and the results of T.C.'s ensuing rage were hilarious.

"YO @EAMaddenNFL we need to have a talk," Tyrone posted on social media. "This is unacceptable. Forget my stats. What’s up with the photo? Who on your staff felt it ok to make my body look like humpty-dumpty? I DEMAND A REVIEW!"

The Cowboys' D-lineman IS 290 pounds ... but he makes it look svelte in real life -- something Madden developers clearly overlooked.

BUT ... there might be a happy ending here! Madden's official Twitter account just responded to Crawford -- saying their play on this matter is officially "UNDER REVIEW."

Pro gaming legend Ninja says he's not going out like Antoine Walker -- telling TMZ Sports he's saving every penny of the FORTUNE he's making playing video games so he doesn't end up broke.

Ninja is considered the best Fortnite player on the planet -- and rumor has it he's making around $500k PER MONTH murdering people at Tilted Towers and Paradise Palms.

So, when we saw him out in L.A. this week, we asked what he's doing with all that cash -- and it's clear he's learned from Nic Cage's insane spending mistakes.

"We've been very smart with [our money] and just kind of saving it until we eactly know how we want to move forward," Ninja told us.

"Nothing lasts forever, and we're making sure that we're taken care of."

Baker Mayfield's ex-Oklahoma teammate is going to bat for the Browns QB ... with Sterling Shepard telling TMZ Sports his boy is really NOT fat -- despite a very unflattering photo on social media.

The Cleveland Browns rookie has been getting criticized over a pic he took Tuesday night with gaming legend Ninja -- in which he appears to be a little thick around the midsection.

So, when we got Shep out in NYC on Thursday -- the Giants receiver told us the camera angle must've been distorted ... not Mayfield's waistline.

"He lookin' good, man, I've been training with him," Sterling says.

"He's been grinding. I already know my man's going to be ready. Ain't worried about that."

Spud Webb wiped the casino floor with a bunch of sports stars in a blackjack tourney Wednesday night -- but the best part ... all of his winnings are going to charity.

The ex-NBA star took on guys like Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Ron Harper and Dr. J at the grand opening of the Live! Casino and Hotel in Maryland.

Webb was the last (and shortest) man standing when all the cards fell ... winning the $5,000 grand prize, which he donated to the Boys & Girls Club.

The whole thing was pretty cool ... and Dr. J even roasted his pal, Ron Harper, with a funny golf story.

Baker Mayfield's former Oklahoma wideouts ain't gonna like this ... the new Browns QB is taking pop shots at ALL of them ... saying he can catch better than any of his ex-Sooner teammates!!

Baker was asked what he thought his Madden 19 rating should be ... and he had HUGE issues with his 38 catch rating, saying, "I can catch better than all my receivers at Oklahoma."

He didn't just stop there ...

"Now [in Cleveland] I have some better ones."

FYI ... Baker did snag a touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl in January ... but his tight end Mark Andrews was a third-round pick and his top wideout, Marquise Brown, is a projected 2019 first-rounder!!

Warner Bros. got in bed with a tech company that jacked codes in order to fast-track and produce its "Westworld" mobile app ... so claims another company in a new lawsuit.

The gaming company, Bethesda Softworks, is suing the media giant and Behaviour Interactive and, in the suit, says Behaviour stole its designs, artwork and codes ... and used them in the "Westworld" game.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Bethesda says it hired Behaviour first, in 2014, to work on its popular mobile app game, "Fallout Shelter." Later, after "Westworld" premiered in 2016 ... Behaviour went on to create the "Westworld" game for Warner Bros.

Bethesda's issue, according to the suit, is that Behaviour used its "Fallout Shelter" coding for the "Westworld" game. And, Bethesda believes there's a smoking gun -- the same bugs that appeared in an earlier version of 'Fallout' also showed up in the "Westworld" game.

The Drake and Pusha T beef is squashed ... so here's Lil Yachty to kick-start some new drama for the 6 God!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the King of the Youth at the Fortnite Pro-Am in L.A. on Tuesday ... and naturally, we had to ask which spitter was best at the uber-famous battle royale game.

While Lil Boat didn't know who should be deemed the best, he DID know Drizzy's far from earning the title ... and has some words for the dude's game.

John Mayer's taking his show on the road ... to make a special guest appearance on the popular live trivia game, HQ Trivia.

Sources close to the singer-songwriter tell TMZ ... he'll join host Scott Rogowsky -- aka Host Malone, aka Quiz Khalifa, aka Trap Trebek -- Sunday night to turn the daily game show into a wonderland ... with a prize of $25,000.

We're told John's set to queue up a question or 2 for all the HQties out there ... much like Robert De Niro did recently. Other celebs like The Rock and Jimmy Kimmel have guest hosted as well. We've learned John will also belt out a tune during the show's broadcast.