Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks' Magic City Night was canceled, but the clothes were still coming off in the NBA on Monday ... when a Pelicans fan lost his shorts during a dance competition.

The moment went down during a break in the second quarter of the New Orleans' home matchup with the Dallas Mavericks ... when four spectators were picked to take part in a "freeze dance eliminator" challenge on the video board.

The rules were simple -- do an Irish dance and stop in your tracks when the music stops. If you don't, you're out.

"Magic City Night" at the Atlanta Hawks game is no more -- the NBA just swooped in and canceled the highly anticipated March 16 promotion due to concerns raised throughout the league about giving a strip club the spotlight.

Commish Adam Silver made the announcement minutes ago ... saying, "When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks' scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale."

"While we appreciate the team's perspective and their desire to move forward, we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners, and employees."

A legendary Magic City dancer tells TMZ Sports it's clear Luke Kornet's never visited the strip club ... 'cause if he did, he wouldn't have criticized the Atlanta Hawks' promotion honoring the place.

We spoke with Gigi Maguire -- one of Magic City's greatest performers -- this week to discuss the noise surrounding the NBA team promoting her former workplace during their game against the Orlando Magic on March 16.

Kornet -- a Kentucky native and San Antonio Spurs center -- called the tribute disrespectful to women ... but Maguire argues that Luke and other critics have never truly experienced Magic City, so their judgment is based only on what they've seen in movies.

"He should see it for himself," Maguire said. "I think that a lot of people that have a negative in their mind about strip are the ones that have never been."

Killer Mike is going to bat for Atlanta’s most famous strip club -- firing back at critics of the Atlanta Hawks’ controversial Magic City promotion … and he’s not mincing words.

The Atlanta rapper and activist weighed in on the debate surrounding the team’s “Magic City Monday” theme night -- and made it clear to TMZ Sports that outsiders should mind their business when it comes to ATL culture.

“So you come to Atlanta … and they say they like the girls and the chicken wings, and the city doesn't have a problem with it, shut the f*** up,” Mike said.

He even took a swipe at NBA players who have criticized the idea.

Luke Kornet's passionate plea to the Atlanta Hawks isn't stopping them from hosting Magic City Night -- the team tells TMZ Sports its tribute to the local staple isn't going anywhere.

But don't worry, Luke -- not a single stripper will be working this party.

The San Antonio Spurs center spoke out on Monday ... calling on the Hawks to scrap its plan to honor the iconic strip club when they host the Orlando Magic on March 16 with wings, food, merch and a music performance from T.I. -- claiming it sends a bad message to women.

The Atlanta Hawks' "Magic City Night" announcement had the whole NBA talking ... but not everyone's on board with honoring a strip club during a game -- with Spurs big man Luke Kornet bashing the move as disrespectful to women.

The 30-year-old center wrote a letter to the organization on Medium ... where he stated he would "like to respectfully ask that the Atlanta Hawks cancel this promotional night with Magic City."

"The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world," Kornet said. "We should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love."

The Atlanta Hawks are bringing the iconic Magic City strip club vibes to State Farm Arena -- stay with us, we're not kidding -- the team just announced it is honoring the local "cultural institution" at a game next month!!

The NBA franchise revealed the one-night collab on Thursday ... saying the party will go down on March 16 when the Hawks face the Orlando Magic -- and T.I. is slated to make an appearance.

"As part of this celebration, the Hawks have worked with Magic City to bring the ‘best of’ the phenomena for fans in attendance at the award-winning State Farm Arena," the team said.

To start the party, the Hawks will have DJ Esco blasting music at the game and a halftime performance from ATL's own Tip Harris, who is hyped to do this for Magic City.

Here's hoping Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu has a good dental plan ... 'cause the big man took an elbow to the face Wednesday night during the team's clash with the Celtics, leading to his teeth getting knocked out!

It all went down during the fourth quarter of the Hawks' 117-106 win over the Celts. As Jaylen Brown attempted to keep the ball away from Okongwu, his elbow connected with the right side of his face, drawing a flagrant foul.

When he stepped to the free-throw line ... you saw the full extent of the damage to his money maker.

Trae Young is opening up on his trade to the Washington Wizards ... explaining to Hawks fans the suffering he experienced in Atlanta was much stronger than his fear of starting fresh somewhere else.

Young released the message on Instagram Friday morning ... saying, "The last few years weren't how I wanted them to be."

"Bringing a championship to Atlanta was always my goal. However, between the injuries, the setbacks, and situations that didn't make sense, we never truly got to see our full potential."

Trae Young’s mid-game trade from the Hawks to the Wizards had the entire NBA world talking -- and superfan Boosie Badazz reacted courtside in real time.

During their 117-100 win over the Pelicans on Wednesday, the Hawks swapped Young for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, ending a seven-plus season stint in Atlanta for the four-time All-Star.

The Louisiana rap star -- a staple at Hawks games -- turned to social media to share his immediate thoughts on a surreal moment for players and fans alike.

"They just traded Trae, man?" he said. "He's down there dribblin' the basketball with his clothes on. Damn ..."

The L.A. Clippers played their first game after Chris Paul's surprise departure on Wednesday ... but the future Hall of Famer was on the home crowd's minds -- with Atlanta Hawks fans hurling chants asking where the heck CP3 was during the game!!

A group of Hawks backers broke out in the jeers while Ivica Zubac was at the free-throw line for L.A. ... with "Where's Chris Paul?" clearly ringing through the arena.

Luckily for Zubac, it didn't have much effect ... as he made both shots from the line. The biggest news of the day also didn't hurt the Clippers' play ... as they went on to get the 115-92 win against Atlanta.

12:21 PM PT -- The Hawks gave an update on the fan to TMZ Sports on Wednesday ... saying, "We have reached out to the season ticket member injured last night while participating in an on-court game during a timeout."

"He is in good spirits and expects a full recovery."

An ATL fan appeared to suffer an ACL injury on Tuesday night ... going down with what seemed like a bad knee ailment during a challenge at the Hawks game.

The painful scene took place amid an intermission at the Hawks vs. Trail Blazers tilt at State Farm Arena ... when an Atlanta-backer was picked to participate in a basketball version of Tic-Tac-Toe.

The guy -- wearing a Hawks sweatshirt -- was supposed to hit a few layups before his opponent ... and score a Tic-Tac-Toe win in the process.

The Trae Young vs. Knicks fans rivalry is back in full effect -- the Atlanta Hawks star jawed at a couple of New York supporters after their first matchup of the season -- telling 'em to skedaddle back to the Big Apple!!

The Knicks were in Atlanta to face the Hawks on Wednesday ... and their diehard supporters made the trip to check out the action -- making their hate for Young known throughout the contest.

But the three-time All-Star got the last laugh ... 'cause the Hawks won 121-116, with help from his 23 points.

Ex-NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim is opening up on his brother Amir's tragic death ... saying his loved ones are thankful for everyone who has shared their support following the news.

"On behalf of my family, I want to express our gratitude to all who have reached out regarding Amir's passing," the former Atlanta Hawks forward and current G League president  said in a brief statement on his X account.

"Please remember our family in your prayers. As @sunsetAMIR would say, to God be the Glory."

Atlanta Hawks fans let D'Angelo Russell know they're not down to trade Dejounte Murray for him ... chanting "We don't want you" at the Lakers guard during Tuesday's game!

The cold-blooded moment happened at the Lakers vs. Hawks game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta ... when Russell walked to the free-throw line after being fouled.

"We don't want you! We don't want you!" a chorus of fans in the upper bowl yelled ... a moment that was captured on video by reporter Dave McMenamin.

The chants stem from rumors the Lakers are shopping DLo ... and the guy they want in return is Murray, an All-Star guard, who agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension with the Hawks last July.

Russell -- who is in his second stint with LA -- is averaging 17.1 points and 6.1 assists this season.

Nonetheless, no trade has been agreed to ... so for now the Hawks fans get their wish. But, the Lakers have until the Feb. 8 deadline.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder refused to respond to the trade rumors ... telling reporters at pre-game, "I think I made it clear that I don’t comment on rumors and speculation. It’s not something I get involved with."

Heckling aside, Hawks fans left happy ... their team beat the Lakers, 138-122, thanks in part to an off game from Russell (he only scored 9 points on 3 of 11 shooting).