TMZ Sports

Kobe Bryant's daughter, Gigi, would have turned 18 years old on Wednesday ... and the basketball legend's wife, Vanessa, is remembering her late child with an emotional tribute -- saying she continues to inspire countless people every day.

"Happy birthday to my gorgeous girl, Gigi!" Vanessa said on Instagram. "I love you. I miss you. I'm so proud of you."

The post is truly heartbreaking ... with Vanessa lamenting over what Gigi would be experiencing at this point in her life -- high school graduation and college decisions.

Travis Kelce is weighing in on becoming the highest-paid tight end in the NFL ... saying he's truly grateful for the historic contract, not only because it'll pave the way for his position for years to come -- but also since it'll keep him "home."

Kelce agreed to a $34.25 million, 2-year extension with Kansas City on Monday ... and on his "New Heights" podcast with brother, Jason, this week, he poured his heart out for those who got him to this point in his career -- including team ownership.

"The Hunt family's been absolutely unbelievable to not only myself and this Kansas City community, but they've just been so generous since I've been here and making it feel like home," Kelce said on the episode.

Caitlyn Jenner is popping off about the ongoing pro-Palestine protests at college campuses across the country -- and she's got a strong take ... ship these folks to the Middle East!!!

The former Olympian fired off a strongly-worded opinion on all the demonstrations happening at American universities -- particularly those who are using LGBTQ+ imagery as a way of standing in solidarity with what's going on in Gaza.

Specifically, she commented on a video of protesters at Cal Poly Humboldt -- where students were being asked to disperse ... with one spinning around a rainbow-colored umbrella.

LaMelo Ball is vying to be the NBA's most tatted hooper ... the Charlotte Hornets star just got his entire back tattooed, and the space-themed ink is awesome!

TMZ Sports has learned the All-Star guard went to his go-to guy, Herchell L. Carrasco -- AKA RockRollG -- at Pachuco Tattoo in Orange, California ... after months and months planning the huge tattoo.

Ball wanted to keep with the space-themed tats ... so RockRollG had friends Niz Carrillo, Jorge Garibay, Juan Nambo, Jonas Aguilar, and Elvis Ramos help him bring the concept together.

12:37 PM PT -- Hilton joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Wednesday to break down his big night ... and while he says Hollywood hasn't come calling, he explained why he's perfectly fine with sticking to his day-to-day.

As for the first pitch ... well, that's sort of a touchy subject.

Can you bee-lieve this?!?

The start of the Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks game was delayed by nearly two hours on Tuesday ... and it's all 'cause a massive swarm of bees infiltrated the diamond.

The insects first began hovering around Chase Field's home plate just minutes before the first pitch was slated to go down in Arizona ... and after a while, so many of them congregated, officials had to press pause on the action in order to get an expert out to the field.

The birds were flyin' at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday ... all thanks to diehard Knicks fan Tracy Morgan, who couldn't help but share his frustrations with Sixers star Tyrese Maxey by giving him the finger!!

The hilarious (not so much for New York fans) moment went down in the closing seconds of the Knicks' Game 5 matchup against Philadelphia ... when the former Kentucky Wildcat pulled up from behind the arc to tie things up at 97.

The shot completed the Sixers' late-game push ... coming back from down six in the last 30 seconds to force overtime.

Former Super Bowl champion Jay Ajayi has traded in his cleats for a mic -- officially entering the music game with a debut rap single this week -- and he's hoping the response to the tunes is so good, it'll lead to a future collab with Travis Scott.

The ex-Philadelphia Eagles star first got into the booth full-time following his retirement from the NFL in 2022 -- rapping under the pseudonym "Finesse" -- and on Tuesday, he released his first single, "PEAK."

The former running back tells TMZ Sports he's taking the new career very seriously ... with the goal of featuring "some trap, south side beats, heavy 808s, and just a lot of vibes" on his tracks.

Conor McGregor is now part owner of BKFC, and star bare-knuckle fighter Ben Rothwell couldn't be more excited ... telling TMZ Sports the move is a huge coup for the promotion!

42-year-old Rothwell, 3-0 in BKFC, had no idea the huge announcement was coming, saying, "I got told with all of you and I was just excited. I'm more excited, I think, than most people. It was awesome to see all the media and everything talked about. It was all BKFC, Conor McGregor. It's awesome for us."

Ben continued ... "For me, I know what this means. I know where we're going to go with this. And I just couldn't be more excited to be a part of this right now."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will have a bit of extra motivation through the rest of the playoffs -- the Oklahoma City Thunder star is a new dad!!

The MVP candidate and his longtime girlfriend, former college soccer player Hailey Summer, revealed they were expecting last December ... and on Tuesday, SGA announced to his 3.2 million fans on Instagram their son has arrived.

"Ares Alexander 🤍," SGA said in the caption.

Ares was born on April 25, 2024 ... which was right in the middle of the Thunder's first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Luckily, SGA was off that day ... as the Thunder were fresh off a Game 2 win the night prior.

SGA's fans think this will be like a superpower for the Canadian baller ... with many flooding the comment section to give their two cents on the impact the family milestone might have on his game for the rest of the postseason.

"Shai is about to get a fatherhood attribute boost," one follower said.

Shai averaged 30.1 points and 6.2 assists per game this season ... so it would be great news for OKC fans, who are celebrating their first playoff series win since the 2015-16 season.

The Thunder are now waiting for the Clippers and Mavericks series to end ... and the winner will meet them in the conference semifinals.

12:01 PM PT -- A rep for Amazon MGM Studios tells TMZ ... "Dwayne Johnson and Seven Bucks have been incredible partners on 'Red One' -- a film that audiences of all ages are going to love this holiday season. Our testing has been very strong -- the reaction from CinemaCon speaks for itself -- and we couldn’t have made it without Dwayne’s constant work and support."

They add, "Any reporting that implies that we got to this point with him showing up 7-8 hours late to set is both ridiculous and false."

The Rock got into a tiff with Ryan Reynolds while they were working on a movie together years ago -- and while it wasn't a blowup fight as has been suggested, it was a real thing.

New York Jets star Sauce Gardner is letting out a big yawn after checking out Kendrick Lamar's new Drake diss ... saying after taking three weeks to drop, it should've been MUCH better.

Social media is freaking out over Kendrick's surprise response to Drizzy's "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle" tracks on Tuesday ... with people torn between whether it was enough to give him the upper hand in the rap beef.

Gardner -- who says he appreciates both artists -- is clearly siding with the 6 God so far, 'cause he shared his opinion on Kendrick's "Euphoria" ... and it wasn't a very glowing review.

Xavier Worthy just made sure he'll never forget NFL Draft night 2024 ... getting a tattoo to immortalize the moment the Chiefs took him with their first-round pick.

The former Texas Longhorns wideout hit up a parlor over the weekend to get the ink done -- just days after Kansas City made him Patrick Mahomes' newest target.

In a video posted to his TikTok page, you can see Worthy had a Chiefs logo put down on his forearm ... as well as the letters and numbers "R:1 P:28" -- a nod to the 28th overall selection K.C. used to get him.

Worthy -- who ran a 4.21 40-yard dash at the NFL's scouting combine last month -- was clearly thrilled with how the artwork turned out ... sharing it with all of Chiefs Kingdom on his social media page.

Worthy, of course, is no stranger to going under the needle -- he's got plenty of tats all over his body ... including one of the NFL's shield just above his newest piece.

Magic Johnson is painting a dire picture for the Los Angeles Lakers ... saying if the team doesn't completely revamp its roster this offseason, they're in serious risk of getting left in the dust.

Fresh off L.A.'s elimination from the playoffs at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers legend gave his two cents on the disappointing season on Tuesday ... and he's not sugar-coating anything.

"Laker Nation, we have a problem," the five-time champion said on X. "All the good teams in the West are young and talented: the Nuggets, the Timberwolves, the Thunder, the Clippers, and the Mavs."

Diana Taurasi is standing by her comments on Caitlin Clark and the learning curve she'll inevitably face as a pro, despite a wave of backlash, with the former MVP describing fans of the rookie hooper as "really sensitive!"

In case you missed the OG comments ... the WNBA legend was recently on TV following 22-year-old Clark's selection as the number one overall pick, where Taurasi cautioned Caitlin would face her fair share of struggles.

"Reality is coming," Taurasi said earlier this month. "There's levels to this thing. That's just life. We all went through it."

"You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds, but you're gonna come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time -- not saying that's not gonna translate."

Taurasi added, "There's gonna be a transition period where you're gonna have to give yourself some grace as a rookie."

Clark fans didn't appreciate the take -- unloading on the Phoenix Mercury star -- though Taurasi isn't taking a single syllable back, despite the hate.

"The new fans are really sensitive these days," Taurasi told reporters, adding, "You can’t say anything."

"It’s kind of like when you go to kindergarten to first grade, there’s a learning adjustment. When you go from high school to college, there’s a learning adjustment."

"I don’t think I said anything that’s factually incorrect. Like anything, greatness is going to translate. And she’s proven that at every level. I don’t see why that’s going to be any different in the WNBA."

Of course, it'd probably behoove Clark to listen to 41-year-old Taurasi -- who was given the "White Mamba" nickname by Kobe Bryant -- is one of the greatest female hoopers ever ... with 3 WNBA Championships, 2 Finals MVPs, 10 All-Star nods, 10 All WNBA First team bids, and a league MVP, amongst many other accolades.

The UConn legend also knows a thing or two about coming in and being an immediate difference-maker. The number one overall pick went on to win Rookie of the Year in 2004.

Travis Kelce seems head over heels in love with Taylor Swift ... so much so that he made a very public display of affection toward his pop superstar girlfriend -- and it was all caught on video!

As the world already knows, the famous couple was hanging out this weekend at a charity event in Las Vegas -- where Travis couldn't keep his paws -- or his lips -- off Taylor.

Check out this new footage posted to X ... Travis is standing behind Taylor with his hands all over her as she tries to speak to someone next to her.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tried to to find the silver lining after the Lakers' early exit from the playoffs ... congratulating the Purple & Gold on winning the In-Season Tournament a few months ago -- but it was met with so much backlash, she ended up scrubbing the post from her page.

LeBron James and Co. got booted from the postseason on Monday ... falling to the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of their first-round matchup.

Bass attempted to share some positivity shortly after the final buzzer ... pointing out the Lake Show had a bit of success earlier in the 2023-24 campaign when L.A. won the meaningless mid-season competition in December.