Basketball

Kobe Bryant "honestly" believes there's a handful of WNBA superstars who could seriously compete with men in an NBA game ... and he's naming names.

"I think there are a couple of players who could play in the NBA right now honestly," Mamba said while talking to CNN about his 13-year-old daughter Gianna's basketball ambitions.

"There's a lot of players with a lot of skill that could do it ... Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne."

He continued, "There's a lot of great players out there so they could certainly keep up with them."

Of course, the 3 women Kobe named are some of the best players in WNBA history, with resumes like ...

-- Taurasi -- 4-time WNBA champ, 2-time Finals MVP, regular-season MVP, 9-time All-Star and 5-time scoring champ.

-- Moore -- 4-time WNBA champ, Finals MVP, regular-season MVP, 6-time All-Star

-- Delle Donne -- 2-time regular season MVP, 1-time champ, 6-time All-Star, 4-time All-NBA First team.

Clearly, they're all super talented ... but could they seriously compete on the same court as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, etc???

Delonte West looks to be in need of serious help.

Check out these disturbing videos appearing to show the former NBA player getting beaten up in the streets of D.C.

It's super sad ... Delonte is apparently saying someone came at him with a gun while he was walking down the road. He then starts ranting and keeps saying "I don't give a f***" when pressed for more details about what went down.

Magic Johnson choked back tears as he addressed the NBA legends at David Stern's memorial service in NYC on Tuesday ... telling the crowd, "I'm going to miss my angel."

Everyone who's anyone attended the event at Radio City Music Hall ... from Michael Jordan to Bill Russell to Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki.

Several NY Knicks players and staffers were there -- same with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and NFL commish Roger Goodell.

"We all know he is the greatest commissioner to ever live," Magic told the crowd ... "But, he’s a man that stood for what is right."

As we previously reported, Stern passed away on Jan. 1 after suffering a brain hemorrhage in December at a New York steakhouse.

The day after Stern's death, Magic posted a tribute -- calling him a "history maker."

"When I announced in 1991 I had HIV, people thought they could get the virus from shaking my hand. When David allowed me to play in the 1992 All Star Game in Orlando and then play for the Olympic Dream Team, we were able to change the world."

Stern -- who served as commissioner from 1984 to 2014 -- has been praised as one of the greatest commissioners in American history. He's been credited with growing the NBA into a multi-billion dollar international powerhouse.

Originally Published -- 9:32 AM PT

LaVar Ball has HUGE plans for BBB in 2020 -- with a new BBB cartoon, new footwear and even a line of custom car rims ... and he's got some powerful supporters behind him.

Ball -- along with Master P and Metta World Peace -- joined the guys from the office for "TMZ Roundtable" ... where they talked about everything from getting their sons to the NBA, to how basketball has helped build their businesses off the court.

Of course, all the guys have kids who are rising hoop stars -- and all 3 men have made radically different decisions on how to get their sons to the pro level.

LaVar says he not only stands by his decisions to take LaMelo Ball out of high school in the United States (he went to Lithuania and Australia) ... but says he's convinced Melo will be the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Ball says his dream would be for the NY Knicks to hire Mark Jackson as the next head coach -- who would then take Melo with their first pick.

In fact, Ball says he sees a world in which all 3 of his sons sign with the Knicks and play in Madison Square Garden. He thinks his fam can save the franchise.

Metta World Peace says Ball's youngest son is the real deal -- and thinks he'll be a force to be reckoned with at the top levels.

As for Master P, his 2 sons are rising up the ranks too -- but P says even if his kids don't make it to the NBA, he's setting them up for success in the business world. You gotta hear his plans.

LeBron James will never be in the dark again ... 'cause the LA Lakers superstar just copped a SICK new diamond pendant -- and it LIGHTS UP!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Bron is the proud new owner of a "Lion Gatekeeper" pendant ... complete with 130 grams of 14k gold, encrusted with 35 carats of VS1 diamonds.

We're told LBJ hit up celeb jeweler Iceman Nick when he was in Houston to play the Rockets ... and the dude pulled out all the stops to come up with a pendant fit for a king.

Of course, LeBron's always been a fan of using lions in his brand ... and Nike once even had a "Heart of a Lion" campaign starring James.

Iceman Nick has a huge list of celeb clients -- from Errol Spence to Tyler Herro to Lonzo Ball, just to name a few.

Not only is it iced out, it's also fully functional -- the eyes of the lion light up and the door knocker moves too!!

LeBron's a big fan of jewelry and can always be spotted with some diamonds on him ... but the light-up piece is gonna change the whole game.

Some fan threw trash on Bronny James during his H.S. hoops game on Monday ... and now LeBron is calling out the fan for being a hater.

LBJ was in the stands when Bronny and Sierra Canyon were in the 3rd quarter of their game against Paul VI Catholic (VA) at Springfield College in Massachusetts ... when the person in the stands threw an item at the 15-year-old.

The ref who saw it happen immediately stopped the game and had security eject the fan ... and LeBron (surrounded by around 5 security guards) shook his head as he watched it all go down.

James went to Twitter to call out the fan ... saying, "Hating has no age limit! #JamesGang is build for it and well equipped. As we proceed."

As for the game ... SC lost 70-62, giving the Blazers their 3rd loss of the season. Duke commit Jeremy Roach had 16 points and 7 assists.

Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons suffered several serious and permanent injuries after getting hit by a drunk driver last week ... and now his NBA future is in jeopardy, his attorney claims.

The 31-year-old was on his way home from practice around 2:00 PM on January 15 when a man -- who admitted to drinking and had alcohol in his car -- hit Parsons and caused a 3-car wreck.

Parsons' attorneys, John Morgan and Nick Panagakis, say he may never fully recover from the accident ... claiming he suffered a brain injury, disc herniation and a torn labrum.

"All these other idiots who don't play basketball and never played basketball, when they say you wanna judge a guy's greatness by number of championships ... they're idiots."

It's safe to say Robert Horry is fed up with NBA fans using rings instead of common sense in debates ... telling TMZ Sports titles don't mean a damn thing when talkin' G.O.A.T.s.

"Here's the thing that people are so stupid about. They measure great players by how many championships they win. It's the stupidest thing," Big Shot Bob told us at the California Strong charity softball game on Sunday.

Of course, the reason we brought it up with Horry is because his old teammate, Kobe Bryant, recently joined the "All The Smoke" podcast and admitted he's "pissed" he didn't catch Michael Jordan in the ring count.

But, Horry says the whole debate over championships is pointless ... 'cause not everyone is able to win in their careers.

"That's like saying Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing are not great players."

Horry points out using that logic would make him one of the greatest hoopers to ever walk the earth, considering he's got 7 championships.

Big Shot Bob says Kobe having one less ring than MJ should have ZERO impact on his legacy ... but admits Mamba has always compared himself to Jordan.

Charles Barkley's incessant attack on Draymond Green has entered 2020 ... with Chuck straight-up roasting the Warriors star for "averaging that triple-single."

A bit of a history lesson -- Barkley absolutely LOVES to insult Day Day with a burning passion ... it's so real that he once said he wanted to "punch him in the face so bad."

The 2 ended up squashing that beef (kinda) back in 2018 ... but the Hall of Famer decided to bring life back into their drama by calling out Green's stat line during Thursday night's "Inside the NBA."

“Draymond don’t talk as much since he averaging that triple-single," Barkley said.

FYI -- Green's stat line so far this season is 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

Shaq and the guys rightfully lost it ... with everyone on the desk laughing.

The Carushow may be making a stop in Chicago ... 'cause the 3rd round of NBA All-Star Game fan votes have been released ... and Alex Caruso is near the top of the list!!!

FYI, fans account for 50% of the overall All-Star voting. NBA players account for 25% and a media panel gets 25%.

The L.A. Lakers guard has become a phenomenon in the NBA over the past few seasons ... there have been memes, highlight reels and a bunch of other tributes to the 25-year-old from his cult following.

It's gotten to the point where LeBron James even calls his teammate the "G.O.A.T." every time they run into each other.

Caruso Mania has taken another step on Thursday ... 'cause the beloved player has gotten more All-Star fan votes than superstars like Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry (who has only played 4 games this season due to injury), Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell in the West.

As of this post, Alex has more than 894k fan votes!!! Seriously, the dude's even beating guys in the East like Kyle Lowry, Ben Simmons and Bradley Beal.

Yes ... it's that wild.

FYI -- 5 starters and 7 reserve players get picked for the game ... and Caruso is currently 4th in the conference for guards.

Realistically, Caruso probably won't make the final All-Star squad ... but it's fun to watch!!

Oh, and the "Bald Eagle" ain't the only fan favorite getting major love ... the 7'6" Boston Celtics giant Tacko Fall is still a possibility to make it in the East ... he's 6th in the frontcourt with more than 757k fan votes!!!

Shaq's decision to pass on signing 'NSYNC after helping the boy band get off the ground is still tearing up Lance Bass' heart -- but he says there still would've been one major issue.

We got the singer at Villa Blanca in Bev Hills and our guy asked about Shaq coming thiiis close to signing 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys way back in the '90s.

Shaq's already said not signing the group is one of the biggest mistakes he's ever made, and Lance told us ... he couldn't agree more.

As you know ... 'NSYNC owes a lot of its early success to Shaq. Lance revealed their connection a couple years ago, telling us the NBA superstar lent them the recording studio in his Orlando mansion when they were starting out.

Lance says he 100 percent wishes the big fella pulled the trigger and signed them -- but adds he's not certain Shaq could've saved them from manager Lou Pearlman and his infamous ponzi scheme.

Ahhh, hindsight.

Chase Young -- one of the top prospects in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft -- got a taste of the Hollywood life Tuesday ... hanging with some serious power players at the Clippers game.

The former Ohio State defensive end -- likely the #2 overall pick -- was sitting courtside Tuesday at Staples Center, right next to Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul, the guy who reps LeBron James.

20-year-old Young also posed for a picture with UTA talent agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer ... while sitting in spitting distance from Disney head Bob Iger and Hollywood legend Billy Crystal.

In other words ... welcome to the A-List, Chase!

As for the game, the Clippers beat the hell out of the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers ... the Cavs' second blowout loss this week!

On Monday night, the Cavs got smacked by the Lakers at Staples Center while Kim Kardashian heckled Tristan Thompson from her courtside seats.

Kim later said it was all in good fun and she didn't mean any harm.

Derrick Rose just got slapped with a $25k fine ... all 'cause the Pistons star got pissed and heaved a pen into the stands at an NBA game.

The incident went down Monday night in the Motor City ... where the Pistons and Pelicans were battling down the stretch in overtime.

With 17 seconds left in OT, Pelicans guard Nicolo Melli knocked down a long jumper ... all but handing the Pistons an L.

Detroit called a timeout ... and Rose walked over to the scorer's table, grabbed a pen, and launched it across the court and into the stands.

The game might've been over, but the league was still watching ... and NBA Executive VP Kiki VanDeWeghe just doled out some ol' fashioned punishment to the tune of $25k.

Sure, it sucks ... but the 31-year-old star had a solid game (he scored 23 points), and he's making over $7 million this season.

So, $25k ain't all that bad.

That said ... get this man a pen so he can sign the check.

Steph Curry's alleged recruiting pitch to Giannis has NOBODY in Milwaukee concerned ... so says the Bucks owner's daughter, who tells TMZ Sports Antetokounmpo is loyal!

If you missed it ... Curry went viral after cameras appeared to catch the Warriors superstar trying to recruit Giannis to Golden State after their game on Jan. 8.

If ya watch the video ... it's pretty clear, Curry says "let's do it. Come on, man."

Of course, Steph has played off the tampering allegations by saying he was actually recruiting Giannis to play video games!!

But, when we got Wes Edens' daughter, model Mallory Edens, out at the California Strong celeb softball game earlier this week ... she sure seemed like she wasn't buyin' Curry's explanation.

"I don't think Giannis plays video games," she told us.

So, is there any worry Curry's pitch might actually work? Mallory doesn't seem to think so, saying, "Life is good in Milwaukee right now. They're winning. I think everyone's happy."

Forget NyQuil ... Bad Bunny is apparently the perfect cure for the flu -- 'cause after he brought LeBron James onstage Sunday -- the Lakers star looked magically cured!!!

LBJ has been battling a bad cold this past week ... and he was feeling so crappy over the weekend, he missed L.A.'s game against the Thunder on Saturday.

But, on Sunday, clearly, all the guy needed was some Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton to feel better ... 'cause when Bad Bunny brought him onstage at Calibash at Staples Center, LBJ raged his face off!!

Watch the video ... LeBron sure looks like he's feeling okay to us -- boppin' around and getting the crowd fired up. He even got in a little dance sesh with Bad Bunny himself!!

The Lakers play the Cavs on Monday night ... and based on Bron's performance Sunday -- we're pretty positive he'll make his return to the hardwood for the game.

Sorry, John Beilein.

Here's Colby Covington proving he's okay after having his face broken at UFC 245 ... playing a full basketball game just a little more than 3 weeks after breaking his jaw!

Colby hit up a Lifetime Fitness in Boca Raton, Fla. on Wednesday to get in a little rec-league run ... and while he wasn't exactly Michael Jordan on the court, he looked pretty good considering the injury he suffered on Dec. 14.

Remember, Covington's jaw was broken during his scrap with Kamaru Usman in a super violent welterweight title fight. Due to the injury, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has suspended him from fighting until at least Feb. so he can heal up.

But, Covington looked to be all right on the hardwood this week ... shooting jumpers, getting rebounds, playing defense and mixing it up in the paint.

In fact, one person who saw him play Wednesday tells TMZ Sports Colby didn't look beat up at all ... and other than a small cut near his eye, "he looked fine."

Covington himself told us the ball night went off without a hitch ... saying, "Basketball is great. You don't have to be good or in shape. Just woke. Ask LeBron."