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Memphis Grizzlies' star Brandon Clarke was supposed to face an Arkansas judge -- set for just days after his sudden death yesterday ... and court records show the late NBA player had been staring down a series of serious criminal charges.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, Clarke had been charged with felony trafficking a controlled substance ... after authorities say they discovered illegal narcotics -- including popular painkiller Kratom -- during a traffic stop in April.

Prosecutors also hit Clarke with a felony count of fleeing in a vehicle or conveyance exceeding the posted speed limit ... with authorities saying he attempted to evade cops during the alleged incident.

Brandon Clarke's body has officially been cleared to be released to his family ... but the mystery surrounding his sudden death remains unclear.

According to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's website, the ME has declared the NBA star's body ready for release, however his cause and manner of death is currently deferred ... pending additional testing as authorities investigate.

As we previously reported, Clarke’s death came just days before he was due in court to face multiple criminal charges, including trafficking a controlled substance and felony fleeing.

The Los Angeles Fire Department PIO confirmed to TMZ Sports they responded to a medical emergency call around 5 PM on Monday ... and when paramedics got to the scene, the 29-year-old male was declared deceased.

TMZ Sports confirmed his death is being investigated as a possible overdose ... with officials finding drug paraphernalia inside the home the Memphis Grizzlies player was staying at.

Keke Palmer and LaKeith Stanfield tried putting the pedal to the metal on some good deeds Tuesday ... but their free gas event ran into a little road rage when cops got called to the scene!

The stars pulled up to a Shell gas station in L.A. to promote their upcoming movie "I Love Boosters" Tuesday ... offering free gas to the first 70 drivers who rolled through -- although one latecomer ran outta fuel after missing the cutoff and called the police!

Thankfully, officers were able to pump the brakes on the complaint and other side dramas pretty quickly ... while Keke and LaKeith kept the vibes cruising smoothly.

And honestly, the event still looked premium grade. One lucky person even drove off with a full $100 tank ... while Keke posed for adorable pics with fans and babies.

Meanwhile, LaKeith kept things heartfelt -- talking about the importance of community support during tough economic times and calling attention to rising prices squeezing everyday people.

Jason Collins -- the NBA's first openly gay player -- has died at 47 years old after a battle with brain cancer, the league announced.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement on the loss ... saying, "Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations."

"He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador," he added. "Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others."

Jimmy Kimmel let the jokes fly at Disney's upfront event on Tuesday ... telling the advertisers he was just as surprised to see them as they were him, given all the recent drama with President Trump and the White House.

According to multiple people at the event ... Kimmel also quipped that the only way to get tossed off the air at ABC was to throw a chair at your Mormon boyfriend -- an obvious shot at Taylor Frankie Paul's drama that led to her season of "The Bachelorette" being pulled.

As we reported ... Trump and the First Lady once again pushed for ABC to pull Kimmel from the air for a joke he made about Melania being a widow ... a joke he made days before a suspect opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Kimmel clarified his joke was about the couple's age difference.

Brandon Clarke -- power forward for the Memphis Grizzlies -- died on Monday, TMZ Sports has learned. He was only 29 years old.

His passing is being investigated as a possible overdose.

Clarke was the 21st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and immediately traded to Memphis.

Turn Up Tuesday is comin' in hot!!! Can you guess which Hollywood hottie posted this shameless selfie in her brown bikini?!

The A-list celeb threw up an Instagram carousel captioned, "The last month from my camera roll," and we're buckled in for every pic!

Clearly this hot mama jet-sets in style ... and always takes the high Rhode!

Hayden Panettiere's ex Brian Hickerson says reading about his abusive relationship in her upcoming memoir was brutal ... but he also thinks alleged abusers need to hear stories like his the most.

Hickerson spoke with TMZ's Charlie Neff ahead of the release of Hayden's memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning" ... and admitted there was one particularly dark moment from their relationship he requested her to leave out of the book -- but it made the final cut anyway.

According to Brian, the passage details a drunken incident where he allegedly threatened to throw a phone at Hayden. He recalled telling her, "I'll give you 10 seconds to run as fast as you can before I throw it at you."

"Wild 'N Out" star Justina Valentine hijacked "TMZ After Dark" over the weekend ... and she didn't just prove she's a freestyle beast ... she also made sure Nick Cannon caught a few hilarious strays along the way!

The shots at Nick weren't random either ... considering it was Mother's Day weekend, Justina wasted no time clowning her boss the second she hopped on the bus -- joking the holiday was basically Nick’s Super Bowl.

Justina REALLY sent the party into meltdown mode when she compared Nick to Oprah Winfrey ... except instead of giving away cars, she joked he's handing out kids. "You get a kid! You get a kid! YOU get a kid!!!" ... and yeah, the whole bus lost it!

Kash Patel pulled out some schoolyard-level debate tactics on Tuesday when he was grilled about allegedly drinking on the job.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday, Democratic Senator from Maryland Chris Van Hollen raised concerns about reports of the FBI director's alleged excessive drinking.

Patel tried to flip the script on Van Hollen ... talking over him, slamming him for meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia -- the Salvadoran man wrongfully deported by the U.S. government last year -- and accusing him of "slinging margaritas" and running up a $7K bar tab "on taxpayer dime."

Tiffany Haddish had "so much fun" at the Kevin Hart roast on Sunday ... but we wanted to know how she felt about that controversial George Floyd joke.

Tiffany told us she was preoccupied, having to pee, and didn't catch it when Tony Hinchcliffe made a crack about Floyd -- who was killed in 2020 when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck until he couldn't breathe.

TH claims she didn't hear the joke, so she didn't comment on the controversial quip itself. But she did note that people who seem to be complaining are comedians who weren't invited to the show.

Brandon Clarke's death is being investigated as a possible overdose ... with officials finding drug paraphernalia inside the home the Memphis Grizzlies player was staying at on Monday, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical emergency call around 5 PM on Monday ... and when paramedics got to the scene, Clarke was declared deceased, first reported by NBC4.

An autopsy will determine the cause and manner of death.

A handyman who claims he was injured at Lisa Vanderpump's $14 million mansion is now demanding a hefty sum in court ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Eric Nieto filed a lawsuit back in November against Lisa and Ken Todd over an alleged incident at the couple's 5-bedroom, 8-bathroom, 8,801-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills on November 25, 2023.

Nieto claims he was hired to perform handyman work at the home and says he was required to use an interior stairway leading down to the basement.

Six people who were found dead inside a Union Pacific train container in Texas have been identified -- and officials say a 14-year-old boy was among the victims.

The Webb County Medical Examiner's Office released a grim update Tuesday after the bodies were discovered Sunday at a Union Pacific railyard in Laredo ... revealing the group included five men and one woman believed to be from Mexico and Honduras.

Authorities have positively identified five of the six victims so far -- including a 14-year-old Honduran boy, a 29-year-old Mexican woman, a 24-year-old Honduran man, a 45-year-old Mexican man and a 56-year-old Mexican man. One additional male victim has not yet been publicly identified. Officials did not release the victims' names.

The NBA is devastated by Brandon Clarke's death ... with the Memphis Grizzlies player's teammates over the years sharing heartfelt tributes on social media.

Kyle Anderson, who had two stints with the Grizzlies, said he was "so f***in hurt" by the loss ... adding, "I love u so much brother i wish i coulda been there for u im so f***in hurt man."

Ja Morant published a picture of them together with a caption that read, "love you broski. gone way too soon. it's bigger than basketball."

"still our goat BC15."

Kim Zolciak doesn’t seem too bothered by whatever’s going on in ex Kroy Biermann’s personal life ... because she’s fully locked in on her own romance these days

Check out the pics -- Kim was spotted packing on the PDA with boyfriend Kyle Mowitz during a romantic Mother’s Day dinner Sunday ... leaning in for kisses and looking completely wrapped up in each other.

The two looked totally inseparable throughout the dinner ... getting cozy, exchanging affectionate looks, and acting like they were the only two people at the restaurant. Except they weren’t!