Awards / Awards Shows

Utah Jazz superstar Rudy Gobert tells TMZ Sports that after a fourth NBA title ... Steph Curry is now entrenched in the conversation when it comes to greatest players of all-time.

"He's definitely in the very rarified air," Gobert said out at LAX just one day after Curry and the Warriors beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

"He's at the top of the list, for sure."

Curry had always been considered one of the game's GOATs -- he is, after all, the most prolific 3-point shooter ever -- but Gobert (a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year) clearly believes the win Thursday night moves him into whole 'nother legendary category.

"I'm happy for him," Gobert said. "I think he changed the game."

Rudy told us one of his favorite parts about the Warriors beating the Celtics was seeing the other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, getting to hoist the trophy.

"It's inspiring," the 29-year-old said.

Jiri Prochazka made history Saturday night -- becoming the first Czech fighter to win a UFC championship -- and thousands of delirious fans showed up to greet the home country hero on Monday.

29-year-old Prochazka was losing his UFC 275 title fight with Glover Teixeira ... but somehow, someway managed to get the 42-year-old champ's neck and force the tap-out with 28 seconds left in the 5-round fight.

The win made Jiri the first Czech-born champ ... and when the newly crowned champ arrived back in his hometown in Brno, there was a huge crowd waiting to give him a hero's welcome!

What's more impressive ... this was only Prochazka's 3rd fight in the UFC. He previously beat Volkan Oezdemir (July 2020) and Dominick Reyes (May 2021).

But, he's been fighting MMA (and other combat forms) for a long time ... going back professionally to 2012. Jiri's overall record is 29-3.

Michael Jackson's children, Prince and Paris Jackson, honored him in a special way ... sharing kind words as they introduced a tribute performance of his Broadway musical at the Tony Awards.

The duo introduced a performance from "MJ the Musical" -- the Broadway show all about the making of Jackson's 1992 Dangerous World Tour.

Prince told the audience, "A lot of people seem to think our dad Michael Jackson changed popular music forever,' before adding: 'And, who are we to disagree?"

"But, what people may not know is he loved musicals, on film and on the stage. That's why we are so incredibly honored to introduce the night's first nominee for best musical, 'MJ', which, using many of his iconic hits, looks at the complexities and brilliance of our father's process."

Paris added, it was a great honor to be on stage introducing the musical performance,  along with actor Myles Frost, who plays their dad ... and the rest of the cast. The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Jennifer Hudson is in rare company today after winning a Tony award, she's joined some huge celebs who've won 4 major entertainment awards ... aka the EGOT.

The Jennifer-produced musical "A Strange Loop" took home the trophy for Best Musical during Sunday night's 75th Annual Tony Awards ... giving her the final piece of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony pie.

Jennifer had previously nabbed 2 Grammy Awards, one for Best R&B Album in 2009 album and another in 2017 for Best Musical Theater Album for The Color Purple.

She won her Oscar in 2006 for Best Supporting Actress in "Dreamgirls" ... and a Daytime Emmy for producing the VR-animated film "Baby Yaga."

Jennifer is going down in history as the 17th person to get all 4 awards ... and she's the 3rd youngest ever to get it done, behind John Legend and composer Robert Lopez.

The former "American Idol" star's musical "A Strange Loop" follows a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer. Ya get the title now, right?

The meta-musical's been getting rave reviews since it launched off-Broadway in 2019.

It appears Lil Nas X isn't going to let the 2022 BET Awards skate after snubbing him of any nominations this year ... to the point, he's created a diss track going after the network.

A topless Lil Nas X posted a snippet of an upcoming new song on Tuesday we'd be surprised is called anything but "F*** BET."

After starting the song off with the disrespectful phrase on repeat, LNX goes into an auto-tuned flow where he brags about his riches and even proclaims he has "100 sticks" at his disposal.

Following the announcement of nominations last week, LNX went haywire when he realized he missed the Best Male Hip Hop and Pop Artist categories and no mention of his hit singles "INDUSTRY BABY" or "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)."

He blamed discrimination and Queen Latifah even agreed he should have been nominated for at least something.

LNX's gripes feel a bit heavy-handed seeing he was nominated in 2020 and got primetime exposure in June 2021 when he kissed his boyfriend.

But, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle … apparently it's "F*** BET" if you're Team Montero until further notice.

"Selling Sunset" Star Chrishell Stause has some new gold, and used her MTV victory moment to thank fans for overwhelming support after going public about dating G Flip.

Chrishell was awarded best reality star at the "MTV Movie and TV Awards: Unscripted" ceremony Sunday night, and admitted she was worried her fans wouldn't be cool with her true self after announcing it to the world.

She says she was nominated before she opened up about her sexuality, and didn't know if that would impact her chances -- but she's clearly taking the win as a show of support from fans.

G Flip was at the award show and planted a big kiss on Chrishell to celebrate her taking home the trophy. Interestingly, her costar, and ex-bf, Jason Oppenheim was in the crowd too ... along with the rest of her castmates.

Lil Nas X unloaded on BET over his 2022 BET Award nom snubs earlier this week ... and he's got at least one royal supporter in Queen Latifah.

We caught up with the legendary rap star promoting her new flick "Hustle" outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and while she feels LNX's talent is literally "amazing," it doesn't appear she agrees with his complaints his sexuality caused the snub.

The "Industry Baby" was a couple dynamite sticks short of nuclear on Wednesday when he accused the network of sharing into the world's problems — by excluding Black gay artists from top recognition.

His complaints were only amplified when it was discovered Jack Harlow, (yep, the White guy) was nominated for Best Male Hip Hop Artist alongside Drake, Future, Kanye and more ... causing fans on Twitter to have a field day.

It's not like LNX hasn't been on the BET Awards' radar. In 2020, he earned a Best New Artist Award and last year, went viral by kissing his ex-boyfriend Yai Ariza during his performance on live TV.

Tracy Morgan got a rare, high honor Friday night ... a coveted Friars Club award, and he did not miss an opportunity to tell a couple of hilarious jokes about his near-death experience.

Tracy received the Icon Award in NYC, where 500 people showed up to honor the comedian. Among them ... Sherri Shepherd, JB Smoove, Chris Kattan, Allan Houston, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Paul Shaffer, Ben Vereen, Bill Boggs, Carol Alt, Joe Piscopo, Geraldo Rivera, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Vincent Pastore, Brian Quinn, Joe Gatto, Rudy Giuliani and Anthony Weiner.

NYC Mayor Adams presented TM with a framed document declaring May 26, 2022, as Tracy Morgan Day. Friars Club President, Arthur Aidala, honored Tracy with an Icon Award trophy.

His speech was great! As you know, Tracy was in a limo that was hit by a truck and it was touch-and-go for a while ... Tracy's rehab was arduous and long, but he bounced back, clearly NOT losing his sense of humor.

He explained when you fall down, you have to get right back up, unless you're hit by a truck and then you just lay there and wait for a lawyer!!!

The gala event was held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown on Thursday night.

Not many celebs have received the award ... among them -- Sinatra, Cary Grant, Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise. The award's only been bestowed 9 times in the history of Friars.

The event also honored Betty White and Bob Saget.

Sean Paul is all set to release his new album "Scorcha" tomorrow, but he's also waving the flag for Jamaica's reggae artists, and demanding they get their due.

The legendary dancehall reggae hitmaker was on "TMZ Live" Thursday talking about his genre's prevalence now in hip hop and pop music. As we've all heard for years now platinum artists such as Drake and Ed Sheeran have adopted it, and, of course, Rihanna's infused the sounds she grew up with in Barbados.

Sean da Paul (ya gotta say it that way, right?) says Drizzy's never reached out personally, but he does give him credit for recording with Jamaican artists like Popcaan. However, when it comes to the awards shows, he says they tend to bypass his homeland of Jamaica and it's native artists. Translation: Where's the respect?

He also spoke on "bridging the gaps" of reggae and reggaeton by recording with current superstars such as J Balvin and Anitta.

The latest single combines the best of both worlds with legends Damian Marley and Nicky Jam assisting for the track "No Fear."

Diddy is all about "love" these days ... maybe a little too much, because 2 women in his life are going at each other now after both were in Las Vegas where he hosted the Billboard Music Awards.

In one corner, City Girls rapper Yung Miami, and in the other Diddy's muse, model Gina Huynh -- Miami was at the BBMAs as a presenter, while Gina was a very interested spectator. She posted from the show, saying "Baby Daddy is hosting Billboards."

Diddy after-partied hard Sunday night with Yung Miami, but things got messy Tuesday when Gina shared a pic of Brother Love's lips on her cheek -- and prompted YM to fire off more than a few subtweets.

Most notably, she's saying she will continue to see Diddy no matter how many pics Gina drops on the 'Gram.

And, then it got nasty as Gina invited Miami to dine on male genitalia -- not Diddy's we're guessing -- and eventually plugged her own rap song.

Diddy, for his part, has remained mum about the women sparring over him ... at least, publicly. Seems wise.

UFC fighter Carla Esparza was rockin' more than just a ring at her wedding ceremony over the weekend -- she threw on her new championship belt as she walked down the aisle!!

Carla -- AKA the "Cookie Monster" -- won the title at UFC 274 last week ... when she defeated 29-year-old Rose Namajunas via split decision.

The 34-year-old improved her career record to 20-6-0 with the dub -- and the timing couldn't have been better ... as her wedding day was approaching.

Esparza wore a beautiful white dress for the ceremony -- in addition to the shiny new title -- and was all smiles as those in attendance cheered for her special moment.

In video from the ceremony, you can see fellow fighter Felice Herrig place the title around Carla's waist as she prepares to walk down the aisle ... with the crowd cheering for the champ.

Carla said that fans gave her the idea to wear the belt if she was victorious against Rose ... and she did just that!!

All in all ... it was a joyous day for the 2-time strawweight champion -- she got married to her husband, Matt, in front of her manager Brian Butler-Au, who officiated the ceremony.

Travis Scott's comeback is officially in full effect -- the guy just hit the Billboard Music Awards, marking his first televised gig since the Astroworld tragedy.

The rapper performed "Mafia" and "Lost Forever" Sunday at the show, in a highly anticipated moment in the show. For TS standards, the performance was very tame, mostly centered in a small room on the stage. Diddy and French Montana intro'd Travis.

As for how he was received -- fans seemed to love it, and the crowd cheered as he was introduced, and was roaring when finished up.

TS has been creeping back into public life little by little these past few months -- he made his first full-blown public performance last week in Miami ... and has been doing small sets here and there throughout 2022.

Travis also performed at Zouk Nightclub Saturday night, where he joined resident DJ Zedd.

As you know ... he's due to headline a major festival in South America later this year, so there's no doubt that this appearance on a national award show helps in that regard.

Another controversial artist that hit the stage Sunday ... Morgan Wallen. He performed two songs earlier in the show, and he too got a decent reaction from the audience.

Travis Scott is in Las Vegas ready to take the stage at the Billboard Awards, and he looks mighty happy.

Travis was at the Encore Beach Club Saturday, hanging out with Marshmello and his crew. He was all smiles as he left with his entourage and hotel security.

As you see in the pics, as he left the hotel, a guy came up to Travis and shook his hand.

Travis will take the stage Sunday at the Billboard Awards ... the first awards show he's performed since the Astroworld tragedy last November.

Diddy, who's hosting and exec producing the show, has said he's canceling cancel culture, saying, "So one of the things I'm doing directly is uncanceling the canceled. That's breaking news because people haven't been about uncanceling. But canceling is a trend that needs to stop."

Toward that end ... he's also invited Morgan Wallen to perform. As you know, Morgan was persona non grata at last year's Billboard Awards after a video surfaced of him using the n-word.

Nikola Jokic will truly never forget winning the 2021-22 NBA MVP award ... because the Denver Nuggets surprised him with the trophy while he was out riding a horse in Serbia!!

The surreal moment was documented by the team on Wednesday ... showing Jokic was (seriously) out on a horse carriage in his home country when the NBA officially named him the league's most valuable player.

And, when Jokic returned from his jaunt ... he teared up at the sight of the trophy -- with Nuggets video revealing the 6-foot-11 center was very emotional outside of his horse stable.

In the clip, you can see Jokic wiped away tears and hugged all of his family and friends in attendance ... and even earned an "M-V-P" chant from some of them while he admired the trophy.

Jokic went on to do an interview with media members from inside the stables ... where a coughing dog actually interrupted one of his answers!!

Of course, Jokic is used to all the animal chaos ... he's owned horses for years and has talked repeatedly about how amazing the pets have been for him.

The MVP award, meanwhile, is the second one in as many years for the 27-year-old ... and, it was expected. After all, Jokic killed it this year, averaging 27.1 points per game, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists.

Mary J. Blige absolutely cannot be stopped in 2022.

Fresh off her Super Bowl LVI appearance and the release of her 14th studio album, "Good Morning Gorgeous" ... Atlanta's bestowed the Queen of Hip Hop Soul with her very own "Strength of a Woman Day."

The slogan is borrowed from Mary's previous album and marks the official kickoff to the Live Nation and Pepsi-sponsored "Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit" this Mother's Day weekend.

Thursday night's celebration went down with ATL City Councilwoman Keisha Sean Waites presenting an award to MJB ... as 2 Chainz, Kandi Burruss, celebrity stylist Misa Hylton and music exec Kenny Burns attended.

Mary will perform this weekend ... along with Chaka Khan, City Girls, Ella Mai and a host of other standout women of color. The festival will also have musical and technological workshops to inspire and educate.

Next month she's getting the Icon Award at Billboard Music Awards ... which her longtime pal and mentor Diddy is hosting.

Ludacris is officially a Panther for life -- he just got some southern hospitality at his alma mater Georgia State University: an honorary degree in Bachelor of Science in Music Management!

The 'Fast & Furious' legend addressed more than 800 master’s degree graduates on Wednesday to kick off the school's Commencement Week.

Despite attending GSU for a couple of years, Ludacris isn't your average college dropout. He actually left the Music Management program in the mid-90s ... because he signed a record deal with Def Jam Records and released his 2000 breakout single "What's Your Fantasy."

The rest is hip hop history. Luda would go on to release several multi-platinum albums and become a staple in Hollywood (including the aforementioned multi-billion Fast & Furious' franchise) and a happily married father of four.

Still, with all his success, Luda was clear to let the graduates know his heart never left the campus and signing to Def Jam was a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.

He saluted GSU for not only having its first African-American President in nearly a century, but also for graduating more African-Americans than any other university in America!