Basketball

Kevin Durant just confirmed what everyone was hoping wouldn't be true -- he ruptured his Achilles in Game 5 of the Finals ... but made it clear he WANTED to play, despite still recovering from a calf injury.

The Warriors superstar posted a post-surgery pic on Wednesday ... saying everything went well and he's looking forward to the recovery process.

"Surgery was today and it was a success, EASY MONEY," Durant says.

"I got my family and my loved ones by my side and we truly appreciate all the messages and support people have sent our way."

KD's right calf popped during the 2nd quarter as Golden State took on the Toronto Raptors. There has been a lot of talk about whether KD should've even been on the court when the injury happened ... but he says it was his decision to play.

"Basketball is my biggest love and I wanted to be out there that night because that’s what I do. I wanted to help my teammates on our quest for the three peat."

KD says he gave it his all and is proud of his teammates for pulling out the win.

"It's going to be a journey but I'm built for this. I’m a hooper."

"I know my brothers can get this Game 6, and I will be cheering with dub nation while they do it."

Kevin Durant's Achilles injury has the Warriors superstar down in the dumps ... so says his own mom, Wanda, who says, "He's having a rough time right now."

KD fought like to hell to return from a calf injury he suffered last month to play in Game 5 against the Raptors on Monday ... but he appeared to pop his Achilles just a few minutes into the 2nd quarter.

Wanda says the whole ordeal has taken a toll on her son ... saying on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that KD ain't doing so well after the injury.

"Emotionally, it's a little tough for him," Wanda says ... "He's having a rough time right now."

Of course, the Durants are still waiting on MRI results to tell them how severe the injury is ... but Wanda says, "With the love of our faith and our God and our family, we're going to be okay."

Wanda was also asked if she thinks Warriors team doctors rushed Kevin back to play too soon ... but she said she needs more information on her son's injury to make that call.

"They said that he could play," Wanda says ... "And, so we still have to analyze that and see if they made the right decision. That's kind of up in the air right now."

Khloe Kardashian hit back against allegations she cheated with Tristan Thompson at the expense of his baby mama, Jordan Craig.

Khloe says she was reluctant to continue seeing Tristan when he confessed to a pregnant ex ... but believed him when he and his people told her he and his ex were done.

"He pleaded with me that the relationship was over before we met," Khloe says. She claims he showed her evidence ... and had her talking to his lawyer, mother and friends to convince her they were through.

"This is MY TRUTH," Khloe says, insisting she truly believed Tristan was single when they started dating ... and if he wasn't, she is "so completely and utterly sorry," but pins the blame on those who lied to her.

"I pray my truth is in fact that," she wrote. "Lord knows I pray but now, I really don't know what to believe."

Jordan Craig claimed in court documents obtained by Radar Online she found out Tristan was cheating just a month after discovering she was pregnant ... and said Tristan had denied even knowing Khloe before she saw them together in paparazzi pics.

Khloe, of course, would face a similar experience with Tristan on the heels of giving birth and after.

What do 2 millionaire ex-Kardashian friends do together on a random Thursday afternoon?? They go check out expensive luxury cars together!!

NBA stars Ben Simmons and Tristan Thompson hit up the Lamborghini dealership in Beverly Hills recently ... and it just goes to show that even though they're no longer with the Kardashians, they still got time for each other.

Of course, TT and Khloe went through a nasty breakup after the whole Jordyn Woods drama ... and Kendall Jenner and BS just cut things off for good last month.

But, these guys were bros way before dating KarJenners ... they're both Klutch athletes and have been hanging out in the same circles for years.

We're told the duo looked at cars for about an hour before driving off in Ben's Ferrari ... so it's unclear if they found anything they liked.

After all ... the dude REALLY loves Ferraris.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is moving on from that crushing Conference Finals loss to the Raptors by getting right back in the gym ... and dancing his ass off!!

The Greek Freak and his fellow NBA playing brother, Kostas, channeled their inner MadeinTYO for their workout cooldowns ... bustin' out the woah dance while "Chucky Cheese" blasts in the background.

If you have no idea what these kids are trying to accomplish, check out this vid.

Giannis is obviously one of the best players on the planet right now ... but that doesn't make him immune to the IG trolls ... with some people joking his moves look like a grandpa trying to be cool.

Worth noting -- if you think these guys are good hoopers, the Antetokounmpos have a younger brother, Alex ... and Giannis previously told us he's gonna be the best in the bunch!!

From #1 to not even listed ... Floyd Mayweather is NOT one of Forbes' highest-paid athletes of 2019 ... after taking the top honors one year ago.

The business magazine released its list of the richest ballers of the year ... and surprisingly, the boxing superstar nicknamed "Money" ain't on it.

The top 3 spots belong to footballers Lionel Messi ($127 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($109 million), and Neymar ($105 million) ... and Canelo Alvarez ($94 million) and Roger Federer ($93.4 million) round out the top 5.

Look, this ain't a shot at Floyd -- considering he made more than double what Messi made this year in 2018 (he raked in $285 million thanks to the Conor McGregor fight) ...but it's interesting to see him fall out of the top 100 altogether.

Other notable athletes in the top 10 include Russell Wilson ($89.5 million), Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million) and LeBron James ($89 million).

McGregor made the list at #21 with $47 million earned (last year he was #4 with $99 million).

As for cash made straight off endorsements, King James ain't at the top -- it's Federer, with $86 million made off the tennis court.

While the rest of the Toronto crowd was CHEERING Kevin Durant's horrible Achilles injury during Game 5 of the NBA Finals ... Drake was actually really upset -- and even tried to console the NBA star.

KD's right calf popped midway through the 2nd quarter as the Golden State Warriors took on the Toronto Raptors ... and it was pretty obvious the injury was serious.

Raptors fans cheered as if the injury was a GOOD thing (gross) -- but you can see Drake was obviously devastated for his friend.

As Durant hobbled past the rapper to get to the locker room, Drake reached out and grabbed KD's shoulder while offering up some words.

You can see Drake mouth the word "F*ck" as he realizes Durant's injury is really bad.

After the game, it was reported KD will miss the rest of the Finals because of the injury -- the real question is how much of next season will he miss?

Durant posted a statement on the situation saying, "Dub nation gonna be loud as f*ck for game 6."

Victor Page -- the ex-Georgetown star who was caught on video brutally attacking a woman -- just agreed to a plea deal that will lock him behind bars for 20 YEARS ... prosecutors tell TMZ Sports.

As we previously reported ... Page -- who played with Allen Iverson at Georgetown -- was arrested after a 17-year-old girl claimed he violently assaulted her back in December.

43-year-old Page was allegedly at the victim's apartment in Camp Springs, Maryland on Dec. 30 when she claims he tried to rape her inside the home.

She was able to flee ... but as you can see in a video obtained by TMZ Sports, he followed her outside and smothered her while she was on the ground for roughly 2 minutes.

Page was arrested a few days later after the victim went to authorities ... and he was eventually hit with several serious charges -- including assault, attempted rape and child abuse.

He was facing up to LIFE in prison.

But, a spokesperson for the Prince George’s County State Attorney's Office says Page cut a deal this week ... and is pleading guilty to 1st-degree assault and 4th-degree attempted sex offense.

In exchange, the spokesperson says Page will get 20 YEARS in prison and another 5 years of probation when he gets out.

We're also told Victor will be required to register as a sex offender and provide a DNA sample for 15 years upon his release.

Zion Williamson is about to be an instant millionaire ... and who better than "Shark Tank" star and wealthy businessman Kevin O'Leary to give the future NBA superstar some investment advice!!!

So grab a pen and paper, Zion ... 'cause Mr. Wonderful is about to give you a crash course in being rich AF.

-- Hire an advisor to handle all the boring stuff ... "over time, build a real estate portfolio, some really boring bonds and some large cap to the pink stocks." ... whatever that means.

-- NO ENTOURAGE ... sorry, Drama and Turtle -- O'Leary says it's better to keep your circles small ..."Walk around with 2 people, not 20. Most of the money goes to people you forget after a while ... support your mother, not your friends!!"

-- Look rich ... "You want a sharp suit," O'Leary says. "Get a great watch ... If you wear an Apple Watch, you're 20-percent off retail when you start, before you've said anything. You wanna show them the designed flair and that gives you market value that people will want to advertise with you."

Common says NBA teams are RIGHT for moving away from the term "owner" -- telling TMZ Sports the title "never sat right with me."

We broke the story ... multiple NBA teams -- and even the NBA league office -- have replaced the title with words like "Managing Partner" and "Chairman" over feelings that "owner" is racially insensitive in a league where the majority of the players are black.

So, when we saw Common at Matsuhisa in L.A. on Thursday, we asked if he felt the change is a good thing ... or an unnecessary overreaction?

"I'm so pleased," Common told us ... "The term owner -- it didn't sit right with me."

"The history of what we have and we are as black people in this country ... it's just not really being considerate of the history."

Common says he was impressed with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver -- who referred to one team's majority investor as "Governor" instead of "owner."

He's also giving credit to Draymond Green for speaking out about the issue on LeBron's show "The Shop" in late 2018 ... when he explained why the term "owner" should go the way of the Dodo.

Kevin Love knows firsthand how LeBron James can change a franchise -- and he's telling TMZ Sports why NBA fans would be dumb to count out the Lakers in the 2019-20 season.

The Cleveland Cavs star is back in L.A. where he went to college (UCLA) -- so, we had to ask if he was reuniting with his old teammate while he's in town.

Love says there are no plans to get a workout in with #23 -- but he's still a big fan of James ... explaining what the Lakers need to do in order to get back to relevancy next season.

We also spoke with Love about those ongoing trade rumors and if he ever gets bothered by the rumblings he could get shipped out CLE.

Love also talks about his friendship with current UCLA star Shareef O'Neal and why he could be the next big thing in basketball.

They're gonna need a higher ceiling at the Dean Smith Center for next year ... 'cause Greg Anthony's basketball star son, Cole, put his dunking skills on display on Friday ... and the dude can fly!!!

He may be an ex-NBA player's son, but the North Carolina Tar Heels commit has already made a name for himself ... and if you're watching the video above, you know exactly why.

The 19-year-old was the McDonald's All-American game and Jordan Brand game MVP ... and was easily considered one of the best high school hoopers this past season.

Beyonce's publicist is calling for Bey's insanely faithful followers to fall back ... and stop harassing and threatening people like the wife of the Golden State Warriors owner.

Yvette Noel-Schure responded to the Beyhive's hateful Instagram bullying of Nicole Curran by reminding them of better times. Attempting to silence the buzz, she posted a #tbt photo of Bey and Jay-Z from their last tour, and then lectured them about spewing hate in their queen's name.

Yvette reminded the hive the On the Run II Tour "was a place of joy, unimaginable entertainment from two of the best performers in the world, and a place of love." Nice, calming touch.

Then she went in ... "I know your love runs deep but that love has to be given to every human. It will bring no joy to the person you love so much if you spew hate in her name. We love you."

As we reported ... the hounding of Nicole began after a TV camera showed her leaning over Beyonce to talk to Jay-Z. The moment went viral due to the perceived side-eye from Bey.

Curran tried to clear things up and pled for everyone to "help and support each other," but the Beyhive was so relentless she deactivated her Instagram account, saying the barrage of insults and cyberbullying also included death threats.

All this, Curran says, because she was asking Jay what he wanted to drink and leaned closer because she couldn't hear him.

The Dunking Deutschman is goin' American ... 'cause Dirk Nowitzki has officially started the process to become a U.S. citizen!!!

The recently retired 40-year-old Dallas Mavericks superstar and his Swedish wife, Jessica Olsson, are working on getting their green cards together ... which is the first step in a VERY long process to becoming a citizen.

"So once we accomplish that, then you have to be a green-card holder for, I think, over five years before you can even think about doing that [becoming a U.S. citizen]," Dirk told the Dallas Morning News.

"So we're going to do that and see how it goes. But obviously our [three] kids were born here and they all have U.S. passports and the wifey and I have been on a visa for the last few years. So hopefully that's going to be accomplished soon."

According to the Dept. of Homeland Security, Dirk's right ... he can apply for full citizenship 5 years to the day of obtaining his green card.

Dirk has previously said he won't give up his German citizenship -- the goal is to be a dual-citizen.

"But we're living here [in Dallas]," Nowitzki told DMN ... "This is where life is. We're going to continue to travel a lot in the summers, but once the school year starts, my oldest [daughter Malaika] is going into first grade next year."

Dirk and his wife won't be able to vote or hold a U.S. passport until they become official citizens in 5 years -- but they're not worried.

Until then, Nowitzki will fill his days eating ice cream and chilling with his family.

Al Sharpton says NBA teams are 100% right to scrap the "owner" title ... saying the term is historically insensitive and disrespectful to a large number of players and should be gone.

TMZ Sports reported that multiple NBA teams have gone away from calling their majority stakeholders "owners" because some believe the term has a negative connotation.

We got Sharpton in ATL, and he not only tells us he agrees with the move but gives us a history lesson on why the rest of the league should follow suit.

"Many of the NBA players are descendants of people that were enslaved. When we hear the term owner, it's a much different connotation than other people."

There are a lot of people who think the league is being too "woke," saying the word is used solely to describe the person in charge, and the NBA is nitpicking.

Sharpton says those people are wrong, and any league that's 75% black should do it's best to care about what its employees think.

Houston Rockets player P.J. Tucker ain't happy with the NBA's 1-year ban against Golden State Warriors part-owner Mark Stevens ... telling TMZ Sports, "It should be more!"

As we previously reported ... in addition to the 1-year ban, Stevens was also fined $500,000 for pushing Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of the NBA Finals after Lowry dove into the crowd trying to save a loose ball.

Lowry says Stevens also cussed at him several times during the interaction.

Tucker says the NBA's punishment feels very light -- and says everyone should be outraged by Stevens' conduct.

"Don't put your hands on people," Tucker says ... "There's nowhere in the game for that."

Tucker says he's not sure what the punishment SHOULD be ... but noted, "If a player put his hands on a fan, it would be a lot harsher."