Golden State Warriors

NBA fans are calling for yet another suspension for Draymond Green ... this time after the Warriors superstar was ejected for whacking one of his opponents in the face with a hard right hand.

The incident happened in the third quarter of Golden State's game against the Suns in Phoenix on Tuesday ... when Green appeared to be trying to back down Jusuf Nurkic during an inbounds play.

As Green attempted to shimmy his way into the paint, Nurkic provided some resistance -- and in response, Draymond spun around, flailed his arms and made contact with the Suns center's head.

Nurkic immediately crumpled in pain -- and a short time later, Green was hit with a flagrant foul 2 and tossed from the action.

The ejection was the third for Green this season -- and the second one since he was given the boot for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold during the Warriors' game against the Timberwolves last month.

Following Tuesday night's latest incident, Green told media members he didn't mean to hit Nurkic -- and apologized for his actions.

"As you know, I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn't intend to hit him," Green said after the game. "I sell calls with my arms. I don't fall to sell a call. I'm not a flopper. So I was just selling the call 'cause he was grabbing me and pulling my hip back. So, I spun away and unfortunately I hit him."

Nurkic, meanwhile, wasn't pleased with the play -- though he was at least able to crack a bit of a smile about it all with media members following the game.

"Personally, I feel like that brother needs help," Nurkic said. "I'm glad he didn't try to choke me."

As you know, Green has been suspended multiple times in his career for similar acts -- including a five-game ban in November for the way he put his hands on Gobert.

Most expect a suspension to be handed down sooner than later for the Nurkic play too -- it just remains to be seen how many contests Green will be forced to sit out.

Shaquille O'Neal se niega a criticar a Draymond Green por su papel en una salvaje pelea a principios de esta semana, diciéndole a TMZ Sports: "¡¡Yo hubiera hecho lo mismo!!"

Todo el mundo se fue en contra de la estrella de los Warriors después de que pusiera fuertemente su brazo alrededor del cuello de Rudy Gobert y no lo dejara ir en una pelea de los Golden State y Minnesota el martes por la noche. Pero cuando llegamos a su evento de caridad en Los Ángeles el jueves, dijo que simplemente no podía sumarse a la mayoría.

En cuanto al porqué, Shaq dijo que es simple: "Tienes que dar la cara por tu compañero de equipo".

"Si tú y yo estamos teniendo una entrevista y alguien viene aquí", dijo Shaq a nuestro fotógrafo, "voy a tener que patearle el culo. Porque tú eres mi chica".

Por supuesto, el entrenador de los Warriors, Steve Kerr, no estuvo exactamente de acuerdo con Shaq en esto. Aunque apreció el hecho de que Green estuviera defendiendo a Klay Thompson durante la pelea, le dijo a los periodistas que el alero de los Dubs llevó las cosas demasiado lejos.

"Draymond se equivocó", dijo Kerr. "Él lo sabe. No se ve bien".

Shaquille O'Neal is refusing to criticize Draymond Green for his role in a wild fight earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports straight up, "I woulda did the same thing!!"

Everyone's piled on the Warriors star after he put Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and wouldn't let go during a tussle at Tuesday night's Golden State vs. Minnesota game ... but when we got The Diesel at his charity event in Los Angeles on Thursday, he said he just couldn't join the masses on this one.

As for why ... Shaq said it's simple -- "you've got to stick up for your teammate."

"If me and you are having an interview and somebody comes here," Shaq told our photog, "I'm going to have to whoop their ass. Because you're my homegirl."

Of course, Warriors coach Steve Kerr wouldn't exactly agree with Shaq on this one ... while he said he appreciated the fact that Green was defending Klay Thompson during the scuffle, he told reporters this week the Dubs forward just took things way too far.

"Draymond was wrong," Kerr said. "He knows that. It's a bad look."

Steve Kerr made it clear he's pissed at Draymond Green for choking Rudy Gobert earlier this week ... calling the Golden State star's actions "inexcusable."

The Warriors head coach didn't hold back when talking about Green's role in Tuesday night's on-court fight just before the Dubs' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday ... explaining to reporters he didn't find Green's actions appropriate.

"He took it too far," Kerr said. "Draymond was wrong. He knows that. It's a bad look."

Kerr added that the five-game ban that Draymond received for putting his arms around Gobert's neck and refusing to let go during the Dubs' loss to the Timberwolves was "deserved."

"It was a terrible visual for the league," Kerr said, "for Draymond and for everybody."

Initially, Kerr seemed to have Green's back following the brawl ... saying Tuesday night he thought his player did what was needed to protect Klay Thompson. In some ways, Kerr stood by that stance a bit on Thursday, telling media members he "had no problem" with Green getting Gobert off Thompson ... but "he's got to let go."

"He hung on for like six, seven seconds," Kerr said.

Without Green on Thursday night, the Warriors got blown out by the Thunder, 128-109.

5:52 PM PT -- The NBA is punishing Draymond Green for his putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold ... hitting DG with a 5-game suspension.

In announcing the suspension Wednesday, the NBA says ... "The length of the suspension is based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts."

Draymond will reportedly miss out on $769,970 in salary with the unpaid suspension ... and he's being fined $25,000.

Meanwhile, Rudy is being docked $25K ... as are Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels.

Draymond Green has found himself in hot water for putting his hands on someone once again.

This time, the Warriors superstar was ejected from Golden State's game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night ... because he locked Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.

The MMA move happened just seconds into the Dubs' contest with Minnesota at the Chase Center in San Francisco ... just after Klay Thompson got tangled up with Jaden McDaniels.

The two NBA stars swung each other around right in the middle of the court ... and in an effort to break it all up, guys from both teams raced in.

But, when Green got to the fracas, he appeared to escalate things further by wrapping his arm around Gobert's neck -- and refusing to let go ... this despite repeated pleas from head coach Steve Kerr.

Eventually, Green did drop Gobert ... but refs still decided to throw him out of the game for the act -- as well as Thompson and McDaniels.

After the game -- which the Warriors ended up losing -- Gobert blasted Green for it all ... calling the Golden State star's actions "clown behavior."

"It's kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph [Curry] is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected," Gobert said. "Because every time Steph doesn't play, he doesn't want to play -- it's his guy Steph. He'll do anything he can to get ejected."

Gobert then called for punishment for Green.

"I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior," Gobert said. "Not much to say. It’s clown behavior."

Of course, Green is no stranger to these situations ... he's been ejected for physical altercations several times over his career -- and, perhaps most famously, he was fined by his own team last year for getting violent with teammate Jordan Poole during a preseason practice.

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Draymond Green reportedly avoided Jordan Poole like the plague after their infamous practice altercation last year -- the Golden State Warriors star allegedly refused to make amends with his teammate, despite head coach Steve Kerr's attempts.

The details of the fallout between the two sides were laid out in an article on the Ringer ... claiming Green never spoke with Poole following the October 2022 incident, but was willing to sing like a bird about it with the media.

In fact, the feature states Kerr tried to step in and get the two to go to dinner to bury the hatchet ... but Green wasn't down.

As we previously reported, both Green and Poole have spoken about their status in the past ... with the former calling it a "work in progress."

Ultimately, those close to Poole believe the Dubs suffered on the court as a result of their severed relationship ... leading to an early exit from the playoffs.

Unlike Joe Budden, Cam’ron’s not completely retired from rapping after adopting a career in podcasting, and he’s taking a baton passed by J. Cole and running with it for his own track.

On Monday, Cam expanded on Cole’s shoutout from Lil Yachty’s track “The Secret Recipe”
where Cole saluted the Diplomats rapper with the line, "I prolly put more n****s on pause than Cam and Mason Beth.”

Later on his verse, the Harlem rapper-turned-sportscaster plugged his show while taking aim at future HOF Chris Paul jumping to the Golden State Warriors ... "Say what I want, 'It Is What It Is'/Don't care who take offense/Like Chris Paul, y'all, on Golden State, it don't make no sense/Unless he 2nd unit, when the game start, he play the bench."

Steven A. Smith recently cast doubts on CP3's ability with the Dubs, but Cam and his cohost Ma$e are disrupting the world of sports commentary from a different angle -- they can professionally rap their hot takes!!!

The track eventually bleeds into a preview of Cam's upcoming Halloween-themed video, "Get Mine Regardless" where he dons a Freddy Krueger getup to slash home his point.

At 38 years old, even Chris wouldn't argue he's past his prime, but his immeasurable experience could surely prove valuable to GS' 2024 championship hopes.

The WNBA is expanding ... the league just announced they're adding a new women's basketball team in San Francisco, and Steph Curry, the city's biggest superstar, is stoked!!!

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert broke the news on Thursday ... explaining the new squad will be an expansion of the Golden State Warriors, making them the sixth NBA franchise to also have a WNBA team.

"We are thrilled about expanding to the Bay Area," Engelbert said, "and bringing the WNBA to a region with passionate basketball fans and a strong history of supporting women’s basketball."

Curry's excited about it, too ... and welcomed the new squad to the Bay Area minutes after the announcement.

"Looking forward to having y'all," the 4x NBA champ said via social media. "Can't wait to see y'all thrive at the highest level. Let's get it!"

The new team is the first new WNBA franchise since 2008 ... and their inaugural season will begin in 2025. They'll play at the Chase Center.

They will also use the Warriors' practice facility as their headquarters.

"The Bay Area is the perfect market for a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” Warriors' CEO Joe Lacob said.

"The WNBA continues to solidify itself as the preeminent women’s professional basketball league and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world and our team starting in 2025."

There's no debate ... Steph Curry is the greatest point guard of all time -- at least, that's what the Golden State Warriors star himself believes.

Curry joined Gilbert Arenas on the ex-NBA star's "Gil's Arena" podcast this week to make the proclamation ... putting himself ahead of Magic Johnson on the GOAT PG list.

"It's me and Magic?" he asked Arenas. "Is that the conversation?"

The guys then kicked around the topic for a few moments -- but Curry made it clear, in his eyes, he's No. 1.

Of course, he's definitely got a case ... he's a four-time NBA champion, a two-time MVP, a nine-time All-Star, and the league's greatest-ever 3-point shooter.

Johnson, meanwhile, is a five-time champ, a three-time MVP, and a 12-time All-Star.

But Curry told Arenas he just has to put himself on top ... saying, "I have to answer it that way."

"But I really feel like, to your point, Magic's resume is ridiculous," the 35-year-old added. "So the fact that we're even having that conversation that's a place I never thought I'd be in."

Stephen Curry turned into an emo boy at the Paramore concert on Monday ... joining the band onstage and belting out "Misery Business" -- and the NBA superstar killed it!!

The four-time champ and his wife, Ayesha -- who just celebrated their 12-year anniversary with a trip to Greece -- made their way to the Chase Center after landing back on U.S. soil ... but Chef Curry was no bystander.

The two-time MVP joined Hayley Williams and the gang in the middle of the concert ... grabbing the mic and showing off his pipes for their most popular song.

Curry got REALLY into the performance ... reciting every word and jumping up and down as the crowd enjoyed every second of it.

As it turns out, Curry is a big fan of the rock band -- back in 2018, they performed at his 30th birthday celebration.

Curry has been all over the music industry this offseason -- the 35-year-old was also spotted at Drake's concert, and more recently, he appeared in Tobe Nwigwe's music video.

Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, are celebrating their 12-year anniversary in the best way ... enjoying a romantic getaway in Greece -- and their pics from the trip will make you jealous.

The Golden State Warriors superstar and his partner have been living it up in Europe all week ... and they haven't shied away from documenting the whole vacation on social media.

The Currys appear to be without their three kids during the trip ... and if that's the case, they're taking full advantage of the uninterrupted time together -- with boat trips, fancy dinners and plenty of wine.

Ayesha posted about their anniversary on July 30 ... saying, "12 years of being married to my best friend and love of my life. 15 years of dates and making memories."

"So much more to go. I love this man so much!!! Feeling blessed beyond measure ... okay back to celebrating."

And they did just that ... 'cause the Currys have been soaking in the R&R for days, and it doesn't look like they're slowing down anytime soon.

Stephen Curry's not ashamed to say he's gone fishing this offseason ... the NBA legend grabbed his boat and pole to star in Grammy-nominated lyricist Tobe Nwigwe's new video -- which is the theme song for his new documentary!!!

On Tuesday, Steph starred in the "Lil Fish, Big Pond" music vid, which Tobe directed to exclusively accompany the soundtrack of "Stephen Curry: Underrated" ... the documentary about Steph's life and career.

The two-time MVP is cool, calm and collected in his bucket hat while lip-syncing the song's lyrics that define his greatness on the court -- "They know I'm the one/Daddy taught me how to flick my wrist, I'm my father's son/Think I'm pistol-packing, how that ratchet on me like a gun/They should put the basket in a casket after I am done."

Tobe has built a reputation for having colorful visuals and 'Lil Fish' is no exception. It also really allows Steph to revel in his offseason ... he doesn't touch a single basketball in the whole clip!!!

Steph's downtime without b-ball has literally been par for his course this summer ... the sports world is still reeling from the hole-in-one he sank a few weeks back.

Baron's getting into boating!!!

Ex-NBA star Baron Davis has officially invested in a new team in the sailboat racing league SailGP ... and he's fired up over it all, telling TMZ Sports the action is like "Formula 1 on water."

Davis' new squad promises to be unique -- it'll actually be one he'll share with a bunch of other fans, who can buy into the franchise just like the former Golden State Warriors point guard.

According to SailGP, Davis -- along with the other fans who invest -- will have a say in the team's day-to-day operations, hirings and firings ... and even what the team's name will be.

The new squad will debut in 2024 -- and when we got Davis out in Beverly Hills earlier this month ... it wasn't hard to see he's stoked for it, telling us he actually knew he wanted to get into it all after watching a race in St. Tropez last year.

"For me," the 44-year-old said, "it was just like, I was fascinated by it. I got a chance to, like, follow the boats. So it was a cool experience."

In addition, Davis said he sees an opportunity for big growth in the league.

Draymond Green says his mid-practice attack on Jordan Poole was not the result of one single comment ... claiming his former teammate was pushing his buttons way before the altercation.

The Golden State Warriors star addressed the October 2022 incident on Barstool Sports' "Pat Bev Podcast" this week ... and he explained he isn't the type of guy to just unleash at the drop of a dime.

"I don't just hit people," Green said. "Dialogue happens and dialogue happens over the course of time. You usually ain't just triggered by something like that fast to that degree. This is a team, ain't nobody on my team triggering me in an instant."

Green didn't disclose what was said prior to the punch, but insinuates Poole crossed the line.

"We know stuff that you don't say amongst men," he added. "We know things that you have to stand on. As I've admitted before, I was wrong in the way I handled it for the situation where we were."

Draymond went on to say he has no hard feelings toward Poole ... and wishes him well at his new home with the Washington Wizards.

Despite the olive branch, Poole's dad didn't seem to care for his comments on the altercation ... going off on Draymond in a fiery tweet late Tuesday night.

"I'm stand on this that's is some bs," Anthony Poole said. "Jp was his guy and he avoid me all last yr."

"He is a soft as bitch and I'm standing on this and he didn’t apologize to me and my wife. So he lame and me and him can meet anytime he want."

Steph Curry's hot streak rolled right into Monday night ... 'cause just one day after he scored a huge win at a prestigious celeb golf tournament, he got an epic shout-out from Drake!!

The Golden State Warriors star was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Drizzy's "It's All A Blur" tour some 24 hours after he nabbed the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe ... and the rapper actually paused his show to give the hooper love.

Drake called Curry his "brother" and complimented his looks ... before he told the sold-out crowd to "make some noise" for the four-time NBA champ.

Drake also shouted out Ayesha Curry and Sonya Curry -- who had VIP seats right alongside Steph at the concert.

The Currys all seemed to love it -- arena cams caught them grinning ear-to-ear -- before Drake started spittin' on the microphone once again.

The moment was just one of many big ones for Steph in the last few weeks ... he's had a hell of a summer so far -- first appearing on The Match in late June, then hitting a hole-in-one on Saturday ... before earning the ACC crown on Sunday.

Things are only looking up from here too ... Steph revealed Monday his Gentleman's Cut Bourbon is launching worldwide later this month as well.

Steph Curry sinks it from deep on the basketball court, and he can do the same on the golf course too ... just take a look at what he did in Tahoe this weekend.

The Warriors star was playing in the American Century Championship tournament Saturday, and he took a big swing on the 7th hole ... which is a whopping 152 yards to the green. Welp, he had no issue getting the ball there -- in fact, the dude hit a freakin' hole-in-one!!!

Check it out ... he lets off a beautiful swing, and the ball goes soaring where it needs to be. As the announcers note, he can really play ... proven by the fact that he sunk it in one shot.

His celebration was just as awesome ... SC goes running toward the green with his arms extended, this as the crowd goes wild all around him. Steph takes a victory lap around his landing zone and hugs it out with his team and caddies. Indeed, it was quite something.

BTW, the dude's been pulling off crazy trick shots like this throughout the tournament ... including a fantastic putt yesterday, which looked magical as it veered left and went right into the hole. Movie stuff, really.