Basketball

Kawhi Leonard says he knew the pilot on Kobe Bryant's doomed helicopter -- and had flown with him regularly -- even describing the guy as "one of the best."

The L.A. Clippers star opened up about his business relationship with Ara Zobayan during a media session after Wednesday's practice ... clearly still emotional about the tragedy.

"[I had] flown with him a lot," Leonard told reporters ... "Great guy. Super nice. He was one of the best pilots."

Leonard says Zobayan would often joke about how he was dropping off Kawhi and going to pick up Kobe ... and would pass along messages between the two NBA superstars.

"He'll drop me off and say he was about to pick up Kobe -- 'Kobe said hello!' -- Or, he'll just be like, 'I just dropped Kobe off and he said hello!' You know, vice versa."

Leonard added, "He was a good dude. I'm sorry for everybody."

As we previously reported, Zobayan was an experienced pilot and certified flight instructor who had logged over 8,000 hours of flight time.

Officials believe Zobayan got caught in extremely thick fog on the morning of the fatal flight -- and crashed into a mountain while trying to fly out of the bad weather.

9 people were killed in the wreck including Zobayan, Kobe, his daughter Gianna and others.

When asked if he would continue to use private helicopters to travel, Leonard admitted he was still thinking things through ... saying, "There's a lot of thoughts in my head."

Leonard has previously talked about the major influence Kobe had on his NBA career -- and how Mamba motivated him to win a championship during his run with the Toronto Raptors.

LeBron James is back to doing what Kobe Bryant would probably want him to do -- putting in work at the Lakers practice facility to gear up for his big game on Friday.

Bron and Lakers teammate Anthony Davis were grinding hard outside the team facility in El Segundo, CA on Wednesday ... working on their abs, footwork and even doing some soccer drills.

The Lakers haven't played since Saturday -- and a game scheduled for Tuesday was postponed in the wake of Kobe's death.

But at this point, the Lakers are still scheduled to play on Friday at Staples Center against Carmelo Anthony's Portland Trail Blazers ... in what will certainly be an emotional event for the players and the fans.

We're told the Lakers are planning on paying tribute to Kobe in some way on Friday, but the details are still being worked out. You can expect a moment of silence at the very least.

The last time LeBron took the court, he passed Kobe on the NBA's all-time scoring list ... moving up to #3.

After the game, Kobe tweeted at Bron saying, "Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother."

It was Kobe's final tweet.

Kobe was not only close with LeBron and several other Lakers players, but was super-tight with Carmelo. And he played with Trevor Ariza during TA's time with the Lake Show.

Rick Fox says the rumors he had died on the helicopter with Kobe Bryant Sunday "shook" his family ... with Kenny Smith saying he exploded into tears when he found out Fox was alive.

"It was hard to deal with," Fox said on TNT's "Inside the NBA" special Tuesday night. "It shook a lot of people in my life."

Shortly after Kobe's chopper went down in Calabasas this weekend ... reports began to swirl that Fox -- Bryant's ex-teammate -- was on-board with the NBA legend in the fatal crash.

Fox says the rumors turned his family upside-down ... with his best friend, Monmouth men's basketball head coach King Rice, calling him frantically to make sure he was OK.

"I said, 'I'm going to talk to my best friend' and I answered it and I said, 'Hey, man, this is crazy about Kobe,'" Fox said. "And he just was bawling."

"And I started crying. And he was like, 'You're alive!' And I'm thinking, 'Yeah, like, what do you mean?' And it was in that moment that my phone just started going."

Fox said his mom, his brother and his sister all called, adding, "Look, this has been a lot to process for all of us."

Smith said his experience with the rumors were an emotional ride as well ... and he broke down on the set talking about the relief he felt when Fox finally texted him back that he was alive.

"The race to be first and tell a story, you don't know what it does to people," Smith said.

Demand for Kobe Bryant memorabilia is surging like crazy in the wake of his death -- with collectors paying INSANE prices to scoop up valuable items, TMZ Sports has learned.

But, with the high demand comes scam artists looking to push fakes ... and the market is already on high alert.

We spoke with multiple high-end collectible dealers who are all saying the same thing ... people are clamoring for anything Kobe ... and they're paying anywhere from 2x to 20x the price Kobe stuff was fetching before his death.

For example, a game-worn and signed Kobe jersey from the 2004-2005 season was expected to hit $6,000 before his death ... but pre-bidders have already bumped the price to a starting $6,500 and the auction still runs for another month!

Another high-end dealer who didn't want to be mentioned by name says an extremely rare Kobe basketball card (which was originally expected to sell around the $2,500 range) has sold in the private market after Kobe's death for nearly $50,000.

Other dealers have told us straight-up they're pressing pause on selling Kobe items because it doesn't feel right to capitalize on emotional fans.

As for the fakes, multiple dealers have told us it's not uncommon for forgers to push out fake items and fake signatures on eBay and other platforms.

LeBron James' son honored Kobe's legacy in the best possible way Tuesday night ... throwing down an insane dunk and showing big love to his NBA pops afterward.

Bronny James was playing in his first high school game since Bryant tragically passed in a helicopter crash Sunday ... and the scene at Sierra Canyon was emotional.

LeBron was able to attend after the Lakers postponed their game against the Clippers to mourn Kobe's death ... and Bronny and his team honored the legend throughout the night.

Sierra Canyon wore Lakers and Kobe shirts in the pregame warmups ... and the team -- along with its Campbell Hall HS opponents -- took a 24-second shot-clock violation to start the night as a tribute to Bryant.

But, the most amazing ode to Kobe came during the 3rd quarter ... when Bronny took a lob from his teammate and hammered it home so hard, the gym exploded.

It looked awfully familiar ...

Bronny's squad ended up rolling to a victory ... and afterward, LeBron was loving the moment with his fam -- sharing an incredible embrace with LBJ Jr. and his wife, Savannah.

LeBron said earlier this week Bryant's death was SUPER tough on him, writing in an emotional goodbye to the 41-year-old, "I promise you I’ll continue your legacy man!"

"I’m not doing well. I’m sick."

That's Shaquille O'Neal admitting he's really struggling after the death of his "brother" Kobe Bryant -- saying he hasn't eaten or slept since finding out the horrible news.

"It just hurts," Shaq said on his "The Big Podcast with Shaq" show ... noting that he was already in bad shape because his sister, Ayesha, also passed away recently.

"I’m just getting over the death of my sister. You guys told me the other day when I came in, I looked like I needed some rest. And I haven’t been sleeping after Ayesha’s death."

Shaq opened up and talked all about his relationship with Kobe -- the good times and the bad times -- saying despite the way it looked in public, it was all love behind-the-scenes.

"All the stuff that is documented between us .. this is what brothers do."

"I love Kobe Bryant. I'm the first to say ... I've got 4 rings ... I couldn't have gotten 3 without him."

Shaq says he's glad the two became closer in recent years -- but wishes they would have communicated more because he really loved and respected KB.

Kobe Bryant's high school will honor the NBA star with a 33 second moment of silence at Tuesday night's basketball games ... to honor the man who used to wear #33.

A rep for Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia area tells us the boys and girls varsity teams will take on Upper Darby High at the Kobe Bryant Gymnasium starting at 7 PM.

This is the first home game for the LMHS Aces since Kobe's death -- and school officials plan to address the community before the games tip-off.

"Principal Sean Hughes will read a statement on behalf of the school community. The statement will be followed by 33 seconds of silence, as 33 was the number worn by Mr. Bryant when he was an LM Aces player."

School officials ultimately decided NOT to cancel the games because they believe Kobe would WANT the players to compete.

In fact, head basketball coach Gregg Downer met with the players in private on Monday and said -- "Kobe would want the balls bouncing, the sneakers squeaking and you doing what he loved and what you love."

Kobe played for LMHS from 1992 to 1996 -- where he racked up 2,883 points and led the team to a state championship in 1996.

After his stellar high school career, Kobe went straight to the pros -- drafted 13th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft.

Kobe's #33 high school jersey was retired by Lower Merion in 2002 at a ceremony attended by his parents, teachers and even Shaquille O'Neal.

Several NBA stars paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on Monday by customizing their sneakers with messages about the Black Mamba ... and it's heartbreaking.

Sacramento Kings star Buddy Hield wore Nike Kobe 4s against the Timberwolves -- and used a black pen to write various messages about his friend.

"R.I.P. Kobe," Hield wrote ... "Mamba 4 Life. #24."

Miami Heat player Goran Dragic marked up his Adidas kicks with "#Mamba" and "#Mambacita" -- a tribute to Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, who also died in Sunday's helicopter crash.

Kobe Bryant had already made plans for his daughter, Gianna -- AKA GiGi -- to follow in his legendary footsteps by filing to trademark her very own hoops nickname.

TMZ Sports obtained the paperwork Kobe filed for "Mambacita" on Dec. 30, 2019. Of course, the name is both a tip of the hat to GiGi's father -- the Black Mamba -- and also to her own growing prowess on the hardcourt.

According to the docs ... the plan was to put "Mambacita" on all sorts of sportswear -- shirts, shorts, hats, jerseys, sweatpants, sweatshirts and hoodies.

Kobe had started referring to his 13-year-old daughter by that handle on social media. In fact, one such post, back in November, is eerily poignant today. Kobe praised GiGi's offense, and also the defense of Alyssa Altobelli.

Alyssa, her mother and father -- Keri and John Altobelli -- all perished on the chopper Sunday. Alyssa, like GiGi, was a star player at Kobe's Mamba Academy.

Kobe ended the post by shouting out the "familiar fade" shot by his beloved daughter ... "#Mambacita."

See, President Obama ain't the only ex-Prez into hoop ... check out Bill Clinton at the Lakers game!!

#42 was sitting courtside at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday to watch the Nets get smashed by the L.A. Lakers ... and judging by the smile on his face, Bill loved it!

After the game, Clinton went on to the floor and chopped it up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ... and yeah, that's Michael Strahan right behind 'em!

In fact, 73-year-old Clinton kicked it with a ton of stars at the game -- including Matt Barnes, Dwight Howard, Marv Albert and more.

It doesn't appear Hillary was at the game -- unclear what she was doing instead.

The Lakers are still in 1st place in the NBA's Western Conference ... winning 8 out of their last 10.

Rick Fox is backing his former teammate Kobe Bryant on WNBA stars playing in the NBA ... tellin' TMZ Sports women can DEFINITELY ball out in the men's league!!!

"Skills are skills," Fox says. "I mean, you try some of these WNBA ladies and they'll give you the business, fam!"

The Black Mamba said earlier this week there are some WNBA players who can compete with the guys in the Association ... specifically naming Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne.

When we got Fox leaving Wally's in L.A. on Wednesday ... he told us he couldn't agree more, saying, "Skills have nothing to do with your sex or your race."

In fact, Fox says he's seen some pro women bust NBA players on the court before with his own two eyes!!!

"I can think of a couple women that have held their own in pick-up games and competed well," Fox tells us. "So, it's not a new thing."

As for how some of the women are feeling about a possible jump to the men's league ... we got Delle Donne at Reagan Airport on Thursday -- and she told us she's flattered by the comments, but she's got no plans to try out for the NBA just yet.

Chandler Parsons is leaving the Atlanta Hawks and heading back to California for treatment ... after the NBA player claims he suffered serious and permanent injuries in a car accident with a drunk driver.

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.

The Hawks provided an update on Parsons' condition Thursday ... saying he will head back to his home in California for recovery.

"Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons remains in the first stage of the NBA’s concussion protocol and has not progressed to exertional challenges, such as light conditioning."

The team added ... "Additionally, Parsons continues to receive treatment for symptoms of whiplash and the associated cervical disc injury."

"After discussing with Parsons, his medical team and the doctors at Emory Sports Medicine, it was agreed by all parties that it would be best for Parsons’ recovery for him to return home to California and continue to recover and rehabilitate under the treatment of a team of doctors and therapists overseen by the Hawks and Emory Sports Medicine staff."

Vanessa Hudgens was the life of the party in the crowd at the Knicks vs. Lakers game ... cheering and snappin' pics while Kyle Kuzma played.

Hudgens hit up Madison Square Garden on Thursday for LA's matchup with New York .. one day after she was spotted at an intimate dinner with Kuz in Brooklyn.

The recently single actress made sure to check out her new man(?) at work ... cheering him on and drinkin' a beer as he scored 10 points and picked up 7 rebounds.

Other huge names in attendance include J. Cole, Spike Lee, Sterling Shepard, Howard Stern, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Jim Gaffigan ... so yeah, the big names came out of the woodwork to see LeBron James and Co. ('cause who's coming to see the 12-33 Knicks??)

Back to Hudgens -- no word on whether things are getting serious with the 24-year-old hooper ... but she has been getting a lot of Kuz in her life this week.

Kansas Jayhawks player Silvio De Sousa is breaking his silence following the bench-clearing brawl on Tuesday night ... saying straight-up, "I messed up and I am sorry."

De Sousa received the harshest punishment handed down for his part in the melee ... getting slapped with a 12-game suspension.

Remember, De Sousa stood over DaJuan Gordon after a chase-down block, which kickstarted the brawl. During the fight, the 21-year-old is seen holding a stool over his head before a coach yanks it from his hands.

De Sousa owned up to his actions on Wednesday, saying there is no excuse for what he did.

"Yesterday, during the Kansas State game, I displayed highly unacceptable behavior that was a poor representation of my team as well as my own character. There is no excuse for my behavior, and I cannot justify the unreasonable choices that I made yesterday on the court. I not only showed a lack of sportsmanship, but I put myself, my teammates and the fans in danger."

He added ... "I am truly embarrassed by my actions and have let everyone down who has supported me on my basketball journey. There is no amount of regret that I can express that will correct this mistake."

"I understand that I am extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity to play for KU and I recognize that I never should have let my emotions get the best of me, but unfortunately that is what happened. By doing so, I put the Kansas reputation at stake because of a moment of weakness and inconsideration."

"I will continue to support my team and do everything I can to help while serving my suspension."

"I messed up and I am sorry."

Shareef O'Neal is done at UCLA ... Shaq's son just announced he's transferring from the school after less than two years -- and it's unclear where his next stop will be.

"A part of my heart will always be at UCLA figuratively and literally," Shareef said in an emotional goodbye letter to the university. "I'm looking forward to the next chapter, wherever that may be."

Shareef came to UCLA in 2018 with sky-high expectations ... the 6-foot-9 forward was nationally ranked and had superstar potential.

But, his freshman season ended before it began after UCLA doctors discovered an irregularity with his heart ... and he was forced to undergo scary surgery to fix the issue.

All hell broke loose at the end of the Kansas vs. Kansas State game on Tuesday ... with the players getting in a bench-clearing brawl.

It all got started in the closing seconds of the Jayhawks' 81-60 win ... when K. State's DaJuan Gordon stripped the ball from Kansas' Silvio De Sousa to try for a last-second bucket.

De Sousa ended up catching up with Gordon, stuffed his layup attempt ... and then proceeded to stand on top of his opponent.

The 2 players started going at it -- and then both teams rushed over to defend their teammates.

That's when MAYHEM ensued ... with players, coaches and other staff members getting involved. Punches were thrown, kicks and even one player thought about using a stool before an assistant coach yanked it from him.

Cops on the scene eventually broke up the fight after several minutes ... and both teams went to the locker room to cool off.

The craziest part??? The teams ended up having to come BACK out on the court to finish the last 0.1 seconds left in the game so K. State could shoot technical free throws.

Of course, there WILL be punishment handed down ... so it's just a matter of time before the teams find out the consequences of the melee.