Basketball

None. Zip. Zero.

That's the number of complaints AAU tournament director Gary Charles says he received about LeBron James after the NBA superstar went crazy celebrating on the court at Bronny's game.

Of course, the media went WILD over the footage ... with some people saying Bron was acting inappropriately over the weekend and taking the attention away from the kids. Some people suggested any other parent would have been reprimanded.

But, Charles, who runs the Big Time Tournament in Vegas, says the overall sentiment from people at the tourney was ... THEY LOVED IT!!!

"I thought it was awesome," Charles tells TMZ Sports ... "The way he went out there and showed pure joy."

"But what I loved about it was that I was watching a father rooting for his son's team."

By the way, Charles ain't just blowin' smoke -- he's a legend in grassroots basketball and he's worked with a TON of famous players and parents from Kobe Bryant to Lamar Odom, and others.

Charles says he was with LeBron and the family all week -- and was impressed with the way Bron not only showed love for Bronny's team, but ALL of the kids who played in  the tourney.

"I watched that family all week. They were first class every single day. I watched LeBron the way he handled himself, how he was so enthused when these kids were playing."

Charles says LeBron's energy is infectious and he's obviously welcome back to EVERY one of his events.

Jeremy Lin is getting public support from one of his Toronto Raptors teammates -- with Fred VanVleet telling TMZ Sports he believes Lin will get another opportunity to show he can ball.

Lin just made headlines because of an emotional speech in China -- where he cried when talking about the terrible season he had in Toronto.

Long story short, Lin says he hit "rock bottom" in Toronto during the championship 2018-19 season -- where he had the worst shooting performance of his career. In fact, Lin says at one point, he missed 17 3's in a row and because of that, he BARELY saw any action in the NBA Playoffs.

Lin also questioned his NBA future ... and said he felt the league has "kind of given up on me."

So, when we saw VanVleet -- a key member of that Raptors championship team -- we asked if he thought Lin was being too hard on himself.

"He was great, man," Fred told us on his way out of Catch restaurant in L.A. "He's gonna be alright. He's gonna land on his feet. He's gonna be alright."'

As for his future, VanVleet says it's ultimately up to Lin to decide if he wants to continue playing pro ball ... "He's got enough talent."

For the record, Lin has made more than $65 MILLION during his 9-year NBA career after being an undrafted free agent ... which in itself is pretty amazing.

But, Lin has said he's embarrassed of the way he played last season and doesn't feel he deserves to be called a champion because he was essentially a non-factor for the Raps.

Anthony Davis says Nike told him to kick rocks when it came to getting the #23 jersey from LeBron James ... saying the footwear giant said, "We don't care who you guys are, it's too much money!"

Davis says in a dinner date only a few days after he was traded from the Pelicans to the Lakers ... LeBron offered him his famous #23 jersey as a "Welcome to L.A." gift.

The problem? AD said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" this week, Nike told him it would cost the company WAY TOO MUCH CASH ... and said the jersey swap ain't happening.

Davis was clearly bothered by the whole ordeal, saying, "I was a little hurt."

But, AD says his solution to the problem was simple ... fire up NBA 2K and try on other jersey numbers!!

Davis says he eventually landed on #3 because it looked nice ... and it was also the digit he rocked when he first started hoopin' in elementary school.

Kevin Durant seems to be making great progress -- because the NBA superstar was out in Los Angeles on Wednesday ... cruisin' around the restaurant scene WITHOUT crutches!

Remember, Durant tore his right Achilles on June 10 during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals ... but the recovery is expected to be so tough, he could miss the entire 2019-20 season.

Which is why we were so impressed when we saw KD walking out of Catch restaurant in L.A. -- sure, there was a little hitch in his giddy up ... but overall, he was moving pretty well.

Durant didn't have much to say when we asked him about his comeback, but his legs did all the talking for him.

Of course, the last time we saw Durant ... he was leaving an office building in NYC with his leg bandaged and a medical scooter in tow.

Despite the injury, 30-year-old Durant signed a MASSIVE new contract with the Brooklyn Nets ... 4 years, $164 million.

If he does make it back for next season, Durant will join Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan on a Brooklyn team that could be VERY dangerous.

Lamar Odom's professional days on the hardwood might finally be over ... so says BIG3 coach Reggie Theus, who tells TMZ Sports he just doesn't think LO wants it badly enough.

"I just don't know if he's hungry enough if that's what he really wants to do," Theus says.

Odom just got the boot from the BIG3 earlier this month ... and our sources tell us it's because the 39-year-old just wasn't in shape to play.

When we got Reggie -- who coaches the league's Bivouac team -- out at LAX this week, he echoed those sentiments ... telling us he didn't really get the vibe Odom was taking the whole pro basketball thing seriously.

"You gotta be hungry," Theus says ... "You can't play this game not being hungry."

For his part, Odom acknowledges his whole BIG3 career was a "setback" ... but he told the guys on "TMZ Live" last week he still has his sights set on playing overseas.

Theus ain't so sure that's going to work out for the ex-NBA star ... telling us straight-up, "He's got other stuff going on -- sometimes you just got to be able to make a pivot."

"You can't play forever."

WARNING -- If you come within 10 feet of Ben Simmons, there's a 100% chance he's gonna dunk on your ass ... and some kids in Australia found that out REAL QUICK!!

The NBA superstar attended the Helping Hoops charity basketball event in Melbourne on Wednesday ... and turned it into an absolute dunking CLINIC on the kids in attendance.

The vid is awesome ... Ben dribbles the ball up the court and puts his defender on a poster. The players lost their minds and Simmons playfully taunts his opponent for even jumping to block the inevitable dunk.

But, it's not like anyone was getting embarrassed by Simmons' rim shakers -- it looks like they WANTED the challenge of going face-to-face with the Sixers stud ... lining up to go against the 6'10" hooper.

Hey, it's not every day you can get dunked on by an All-Star ... can you blame 'em?!

By the way, Helping Hoops is all about supporting kids from underprivileged backgrounds through basketball -- basically, they run free hoops programs for more than 1,000 kids.

It's been 3 years since Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine's epic slam dunk contest at NBA All-Star Weekend ... and the Orlando Magic star tells TMZ Sports he's ready to RUN IT BACK!

The face-off between the 2 rim shakers is one of the greatest matchups in the event's history ... and a lot of people think Gordon got robbed after completing what might be the best dunk ever executed in the contest.

Of course, Dikembe Mutombo somehow disagreed and gave AG a '9' ... and LaVine eventually ran away with the title after the second round of tiebreakers.

TMZ Sports spoke to Gordon about whether he'd throw his hat back in the ring for next year's contest -- which LaVine's Chicago Bulls just happen to be hosting -- and he says he's DOWN!!

"I think so, it's starting to look like that," Gordon says. "It's really up to the NBA, but we're gonna do it."

We asked who he'd like to face off against ... and he name-drops his dunk foe, LaVine, and Zion Williamson!!

You can count on Kemba Walker being on the floor for Team USA during the FIBA World Cup ... because the NBA superstar made it very clear to us he ain't going anywhere!!!

With other superstars like James Harden, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard opting to sit this one out ... we asked the Boston Celtics stud if he would be following suit.

But, great news ... Kemba says he's ALL IN!!!

"I'm excited, USA basketball is something that I've been wanting to do for a very long time," Kemba told us at the legendary Rucker Park courts in New York.

"So, to get this opportunity, I'm excited. I won't be dropping out."

BOOM!!!

Walker noted that he does have other obligations ... but "I'll be there as much as I can. I'm looking forward to taking on that challenge."

As for making a prediction about another undefeated run for Team USA, Walker wouldn't commit to that ... but said, "I'm just gonna go out there and play!"

Walker will be joined on Team USA by other NBA stars like Kyle Lowry, Kyle Kuzma, P.J. Tucker and his Celtics teammate, Jayson Tatum.

We also spoke with Donovan Mitchell who told he's also stoked to play for Team USA -- and can't wait to represent the Red, White and Blue.

They may be estranged, but La La Anthony is still sticking up for her husband, Carmelo Anthony ... at least when it comes to basketball.

La La -- who wasn't wearing her wedding ring at LAX -- was asked about Melo not getting an invite to join Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, which kicks off later this year.

Instead of trashing Melo, La La defended him ... explaining that he's the greatest Team USA player of all time, according to the stats -- and should have gotten the call-out of "respect."

For the record, Melo is the only Team USA basketball player to compete in 4 different Olympics and he's also the first Team USA player to win 3 gold medals.

He also ranks 1st in games played (31), points (336), FGs made (113), FGs attempted (262), rebounds (125), free throws made (53) and he's 2nd in 3-pointers (57).

Melo also ranks 2nd in scoring all-time among all of FIBA Americas championship players.

Not too shabby ...

"Out of respect, they should [invite him]," La La said ... "Who was a better Team USA player than he was? Nobody."

La La says she doesn't know if Melo would accept at this point, but they should make the offer anyway.

Lamar Odom isn't ready to hang up his sneakers just yet ... the embattled ex-NBA star says despite getting cut from Ice Cube's BIG3 league, he WILL play pro basketball again.

Lamar was booted from the 3-on-3 org. earlier this month ... and our sources told us LO just wasn't in good enough shape to hang with the rest of the league.

But, the 2-time Lakers champ says it's not the end of his hoops career ... telling the guys on "TMZ Live" that getting kicked out of the league won't be the last stop in his pro hoops journey.

"I'mma play professional basketball again. Maybe in the Philippines or something like that. But, that's just another setback. When one thing gets taken from you, another beautiful thing pops up."

Jeremy Lin says he's hit rock bottom in NBA free agency -- and also feels like the league has given up on him.

The veteran point guard made an appearance at a Taiwan event over the weekend, where he opened up and spoke candidly about his off-season woes. Lin was onstage coming to tears as he explained that free agency was getting harder and harder for him.

He also said his personal bottom in professional basketball keeps getting lower and lower.

Through a translator, Lin said that each year he gives more of himself to God -- but despite that each year gets harder. He also makes reference to an American saying -- when you hit rock bottom, the only way is up -- but sadly said that wasn't the case for him.

He admits that this latest round of free agency has been tough on him, and in some ways ... he feels like the NBA has abandoned him. It's an incredibly vulnerable moment.

Ya hate to hear about Lin's struggles, 'cause he's a good dude, and he started out promisingly with the Knicks way back in 2012 ... when "Linsanity" was a thing for a sec. Since then, he's been relegated to a role player, and has become a journeyman in the league.

He's also been plagued by injuries, possibly career changing ones at that.

This past year, he was coming off the bench with the Toronto Raptors, but hardly saw any playing time in the playoffs, let alone the Finals. Still, the dude's got a ring ... even though he's openly questioned whether he deserves it or not. Hey, a ring's a ring.

Anyway, Lin remains a free agent on the market for now, but it doesn't sound like anyone's giving him a call. Time will tell if a team shows interest as camps start to get going later this summer, but as of now ... he's drifitng. There are rumors teams in Europe want him there, and he's even entertained the idea of playing in Asia, alongside his brother.

Wherever he goes ... hopefully he finds success. Best of luck, man.

LeBron James is living vicariously though his son's AAU team -- dancing up a storm when they score a bucket ... and low-key willing them to victory from the bench.

The King was in Vegas Saturday for a basketball tournament that Bronny Jr. and his Blue Chips teammates are competing in right now -- and killing in, BTW -- where he was wearing his dad hat and coach hat at the same time, dishing out pep talks from the sideline.

In this video -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- you can see Bron Bron high fiving the coaching staff and fellow players as they played against the New York New Heights Youth team, which was coming in hot at 5-0 ahead of Saturday's game. The Blue Chips were coming in undefeated as well (reportedly 4-0), although it's unclear if this was a final or not.

Either way, LeBron was definitely treating it like an important match, coaching up his boy before tipoff, and giving suggestions to players on the court as they D'd up against NHY.

At one point ... Bron even did a high-knee celebration dance after we're told his team made a huge dunk on the other end of the court.

Looks like the cheerleading paid off ... we're told the Blue Chips beat the New Heights 60 to 47 Saturday, with Bronny Jr.'s stat line at 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

New York Knicks owner James Dolan is getting a lot of hate from fans ... but it's ALL LOVE when it comes to his players -- just ask Allonzo Trier!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the 23-year-old hooper about the state of the Knicks -- from their playoff chances (they won just 17 games last year) to RJ Barrett to their rivalry with the crosstown Nets ... but the most interesting answer came when we asked about the team's controversial owner.

"I like James Dolan," Trier says.

It's interesting to hear what the players think -- considering we know what most fans and some former players (see Charles Oakley) think of the guy ... and we DEFINITELY know what he thinks of hecklers.

But, it all seems to be okay with the dudes in the locker room ... at least, according to Trier -- who, BTW, has a sick Bentley.

Kobe Bryant's quest to take over the non-basketball world continues ... this time the Oscar-winner (still feels weird) is dipping into J.K. Rowling's pond ... releasing a new series of young adult novels.

Mamba's multimedia company, Granity Studios, is putting out 2 works in the next 12 months, the first centered around a young female tennis prodigy who has to save a magical kingdom.

Both stories were created by Kobe himself, with the first, "Legacy and the Queen," to be written by ex-squash player Annie Matthew, and set to be released in September.

The second book "Epoca: The Tree of Ecof" comes out two months after that -- and it's about two kids from opposite sides of the tracks that form an unbreakable bond.

Here's the thing ... we know how deep Kobe is into the movies, and we also know how successful young adult books converted into movies are ('Hunger Games,' "Maze Runner" etc.) so who knows how big this could be for Mamba?!

Jordyn Woods likes what Khloe Kardashian likes ... stars on the hardwood, because she's hangin' with another of Khloe's exes.

Kylie Jenner's former bestie danced and smoked hookah alongside NBA star James Harden in Houston Wednesday night, and, if you're not keeping track ... Harden's another ex-boyfriend of Khloe's.

We're told Jordyn and James were partying together at Belle Station, and were cozying up in the same booth. At one point, Jordyn stood up and danced in front of him while taking a hookah hit.

We're told the 2 have hung out in the past -- pre-Khloe's split with Tristan -- and Jordyn allegedly told friends Khloe was cool with it ... our sources say Khloe never even knew about it. What's unclear is if Jordyn and James have taken it a step further.

Jordyn took Chernobyl-type heat for contributing to the breakup of Khloe's family after allegedly cheating with her baby daddy, Tristan Thompson, at a house party.

Woods claimed it was just innocent fun, though, and said he only kissed her once. Khloe first blamed Jordyn for destroying her fam, then took it back.

Things got so bad between Jordyn and Kylie ... Kylie kicked Jordyn out of her guest house.

Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife has pled GUILTY to facilitating the murder of the former NBA player -- and she'll be locked away for at least 9 years.

Wright -- the 7th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft -- was shot to death in 2010. His body was discovered in a swampy field 10 days after he went missing.

Officials say his body was riddled with bullet wounds.

Investigators eventually pointed the finger at Lorenzen's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, and a male friend, Billy Turner. The two attended the same church.

But, officials say Sherra called the shots in a diabolical murder plot. Sherra initially planned to kill Lorenzen at his Atlanta home but when that plan failed, she conspired with Turner to murder him in Tennessee instead, prosecutors say.

Both Wright and Turner were charged with 1st-degree murder among other charges and she was facing up to 100 years behind bars.

But, Sherra cut a deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to plead guilty to facilitation of murder and facilitation to commit attempted 1st-degree murder.

In exchange for her plea, Sherra got 30 years in prison ... but will be eligible for parole after 9.

Outside court Thursday, Sherra's attorney told reporters she had planned to argue that Lorenzen was a violent man who beat her for years and she was pushed to the edge.

However, Lorenzen's family members have accused Sherra of offing the basketball player in hopes of collecting a $1 million life insurance policy.

Wright played in the NBA from 1996 to 2009 ... most famously playing for the Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers.