Basketball

NY Knicks player Taj Gibson is stepping up to help finance the funeral of Davell Gardner Jr. ... after the 1-year-old boy was tragically shot and killed in Brooklyn last week.

Gardner was shot around 11:30 PM on July 12 when two gunmen opened fire on a family barbecue at the Bedford-Stuyvesant playground. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died a short time after.

Gibson -- who also organized a peace walk against gun violence in Bed-Stuy after Gardner's death -- will pay for the pay the funeral and wake, a rep for the NBAer told the Brooklyn Paper.

The report also says the 35-year-old will work through his Taj Gibson Foundation to provide Gardner's family with additional financial support while dealing with the tragedy.

Gibson has been vocal against gun violence in his home city ... and uses his charity to help provide "resources and inspiration to the youth of New York City to help keep them healthy and to help them reach their full potential in life," according to its website.

The NBA courts for the 2020 season restart have been revealed ... and, as promised, feature a massive "Black Lives Matter" paint job front and center.

The league and the NBPA came up with the idea to display the message at all 3 arenas used inside the bubble ... as a way to show solidarity with the social justice movement.

Along with the BLM paint ... the sideline benches have been spread out to provide 6-feet of distancing for team staffers and players as a form of precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of course, commish Adam Silver previously suggested banning several coaches -- including Mike D'Antoni (69) and Gregg Popovich (71) -- from the sidelines due to their age ... but eventually scrapped the idea.

The NBA's set-up also features huge video boards and its "Whole New Game" slogan for the restart.

While no fans will be able to attend games, at least players have the chance to fill up some seats.

Senator Ted Cruz is doubling down on his attack of Mark Cuban and the NBA -- claiming the league SAYS it's all about social justice ... until it comes to China.

"When it comes to communist China, [the NBA makes] a crap ton of money from China so they silence everybody," Cruz said ... "They're not willing to say a word."

Cruz is referring to the NBA's 2019 dust-up with China -- when the country blackballed the league because Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey dared to tweet support for protestors in Hong Kong.

Cruz thinks the NBA doesn't really care about freedom or free speech -- because its leadership and top players have not publicly criticized the injustice in China the same way they've rallied together for social issues in the U.S.

"Show me an NBA player who's allowed to put 'Tiananmen Square' on the back of his jersey, then I'll be impressed with their commitment to free speech."

Cruz says Cuban's decision to stick up for his players -- while dismissing fans who are offended by the anthem protests -- is wrong and disrespectful.

"The answer is for the NBA to show one, one-billionth of the spinal fortitude they show kissing up to and apologizing for communist China."

Cruz -- wearing a Houston Rockets mask -- also said straight-up the anthem kneeling protests are disrespectful to police and military members ... despite people like Colin Kaepernick explaining it's only meant to spotlight social injustice and police brutality.

And, Cruz issued this warning to Cuban and the rest of league ... if you ignore anti-kneeling fans, you're going to pay the price.

Breonna Taylor's mother tells TMZ Sports ... she's VERY aware of the NBA and WNBA stars who are constantly keeping the spotlight on her daughter's killing -- and she's hoping it finally leads to justice.

"Everyone raising their voices for justice are what keeps this family going each day," Tamika Palmer tells us.

"What is being done by the NBA and the WNBA is amazing. Now, it’s time for the attorney general to listen, to charge everyone responsible for Bree’s murder and to get overdue justice."

"Bree should be with us. The world was a better place with her."

Tamika is specifically referring to pro ballers like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Tobias Harris, Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving and more who have spoken out publicly to put pressure on Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to charge the police officers who shot and killed Breonna in March while executing a no-knock warrant.

In the WNBA, the entire league is wearing warm-up shirts with Breonna's name as a tribute.

And, get this ... Tamika was also involved in a zoom call over the weekend with more than 30 NBA players, according to family attorney Lonita Baker ... who tells us they all spoke about how to continue to use their platform to get results.

We're told Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony were just 2 of the players on the call -- and at one point, CP3 discussed how players were considering not playing this season to keep the focus on social justice issues.

Dwyane Wade is honoring Kobe Bryant with his latest sneaker colorway ... paying homage to the late Lakers legend with a touching tribute.

Wade and the Black Mamba were great friends during their time in the NBA ... and were teammates when Team USA won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.

Wade showed off a sneak peek of his unreleased Way Of Wade kicks over the weekend ... which are decked out in Lakers colors and feature Kobe's numbers on the tongues.

The inner soles also share one of Kobe's most famous quotes -- "Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses."

Kobe died in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas on January 26. He was 41 years old.

Wade -- who has a shoe deal with Li-Ning -- is known for making a statement with his kicks ... and even worked with his daughter, Zaya, to come up with a Pride design in her honor.

LeBron James is now officially the G.O.A.T. in the trading card world ... an insanely rare piece from the King's rookie season just fetched $1.8 MILLION -- making it the most expensive card EVER!

According to officials at Goldin Auctions, which smashed the gavel on final bidding over the weekend, the LeBron card topped the previous leader -- a Mike Trout rookie piece -- by nearly $900,000.

The James card is pretty amazing ... coming out of the 2003-2004 Upper Deck Exquisite collection, it's only one of 23 ever produced.

It features a piece of a jersey cut from a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform he wore during a photo shoot during his rookie season ... and it also has LBJ's autograph clear-as-day in blue ink on the front.

It has a grading of 9.5, meaning the card is in near-perfect shape too ... which is why bidding soared from a $150k start to a $1.8 million finish in just a few weeks.

Pretty cool for LeBron ... but even cooler? The Lakers superstar said on social media he has "a couple of those exact" cards still laying around his house too!!!

COULD YOU IMAGINE BEING SO RICH THAT YOU HAVE A COUPLE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CARDS JUST LAYING AROUND?!

Amazing.

By the way, the winning bidder was reportedly Leore Avidar -- a super-rich guy who co-founded Lob.com.

NBA prospect Cassius Stanley just copped a new piece that would make the Gloved One proud -- a diamond pendant of Michael Jackson doing his iconic tilt from the "Smooth Criminal" music video!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the projected 1st round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft hit up Clarity Custom Jewelry, a Black-owned business in L.A., to get himself a personal gift before jumping to the pros.

Jeweler Courtney Roy tells us the ex-Duke guard is a HUGE fan of the King of Pop ... so it was easy to decide what he wanted to get -- a pendant in the shape of Jackson's tilt pose from the 1988 music video!

You know what we're talking about ... about 7 minutes into the vid, MJ and his dancers defy gravity by leaning at a 45-degree angle. It's insane.

Roy tells us it took 3 different designs to get it right for the 20-year-old baller ... but ended up with a product that's decked out with white gold and 3 karats of VVS diamonds.

Roy -- who also designed jewelry for Shareef O'Neal and Patrick Beverley -- says this MJ piece is one of his favs and was thrilled (haha, MJ pun) to make it come together.

No word on how much the piece cost ... but the dude's just months away from cashing in ... so treat yo' self!!

Congrats!!

James Harden says he was NOT making a statement with his Blue Lives Matter mask in the NBA bubble this week ... saying he only wore it because it "looked cool" and covered his beard.

"I just felt like it was something that covered my whole face and the beard," the Houston Rockets superstar told reporters. "I thought it looked cool, that was it."

FYI, Harden has been catching a TON of heat over the mask after social media sleuths found out the mask is called the "Blue Line Skull" -- the design appears to be a nod to Blue Lives Matter.

Harden says he was unaware the mask even had an association with police officers ... and added, "Honestly, I wasn't trying to make a political statement."

James says he's struggled to find face coverings during the pandemic ... because most don't fit over his giant, famous beard.

But, the one he wore Thursday in Florida worked perfectly.

"I just wore it because it covered my whole face and my beard," Harden said.

There was tremendous backlash on social media -- even Trey Songz went after James saying the mask was "certified clown sh*t."

For his part, Harden told reporters Thursday night he was in favor of the nationwide protests following George Floyd's tragic death ... saying, "The marching and everything that we’re standing for is very powerful."

Pro basketball star Amar'e Stoudemire is both Black and Jewish -- and says he's uniquely positioned to help "bridge the gap" between the two groups.

Stoudemire has been living and playing ball in Israel since 2016 -- but he's been paying attention to the recent wave of anti-Semitic comments from high profile people like DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson and Nick Cannon.

All 3 of the above-mentioned stars have apologized -- but Amar'e says moving forward, there should be a focus on educating young people about the SIMILARITIES between Black people and Jews.

"There's more similarities with the African Americans and Jewish people than there are differences. I went over a few of them -- the Holocaust and the transatlantic slave trade. There's post-traumatic stress between both from those events. Think about all the persecution, it's always the Jews or the blacks," Stoudemire says.

Stoudemire suggests a "lack of leadership" in the Black community has led to many Black people turning to Louis Farrakhan for leadership, which is problematic because of his long history of anti-Semitic comments.

"Amongst the African-American community, there's not a lot of leadership," Amar'e says ... "So, they gravitate to a leadership factor that help keep people off the streets, right? So, Farrakhan is seen as one of their leaders in their African-American community."

"But, I do think, I know with me being in the position where I am where being an African American Jew who's learning at a high level, I think there's a narrative shift that's happening."

"We have to figure out a way to now teach the next generation on positivity."

There's more ... Amar'e explains why he's down to have conversations with both DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson.

Damian Lillard turned the big 3-0 on Wednesday -- and celebrated with a big party inside the NBA bubble in Orlando!

The video is pretty fun ... a bunch of Dame's Portland Trail Blazers teammates, coaches and staff are crowded into a dining room to sing "Happy Birthday" to the superstar.

There was cake, champagne, balloons ... good times had by all!

Then, when it came time for a speech -- Dame reminded everyone why they're in Orlando ... TO WIN, BABY!

"My only ask as a birthday gift is let's not waste our f**king time out here!"

Dame then blew out the candles -- and we're pretty sure we know what he wished for.

By the way, no masks or PPE in the clip ... likely because the players feel safe due to the protocols in place -- which includes constant testing.

Still, probably not a good idea to blow all over the cake that people are going to eat, right!?

Of course, Portland is currently a 9th seed and 3.5 games out of the playoff hunt ... but they have "regular season" games left in the bubble to claw their way into the post-season.

A lot of people believe they could be EXTREMELY dangerous if they can get into the playoffs ... Dame included.

ESPN host Rachel Nichols was unknowingly recorded in her hotel room while on a private conversation ... and video was sent to a media outlet in an apparent attempt to damage her career.

Nichols -- host of "The Jump" -- is currently covering the NBA restart at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida ... where she has been shooting segments from her hotel room.

But, Nichols was unaware a video feed was recording her while she was on a recent private phone call in her room -- and the video was later captured on cell phone by someone who had access to it.

Some of the footage -- roughly 4 minutes -- was sent to the website Deadspin, according to the site.

"Nichols is clearly unaware the video feed set up in her room for remote filming of her show is running while she discusses internal ESPN matters," Deadspin reports.

ESPN has already issued a statement supporting Nichols and condemning whoever is leaking the footage.

"We are extremely disappointed about the leak of a private conversation. It’s indefensible and an intrusion on Rachel’s privacy."

The network added, "As for the substance of the conversation, it is not reflective of our decision-making on staffing assignments for the NBA, which has largely been driven by the circumstances of the pandemic."

It's not the first time a high profile ESPN personality has been secretly recorded in their own hotel room.

Back in 2008, Erin Andrews was videotaped nude through the peephole of her hotel room in Nashville.

The man responsible for the video was later sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison.

Jrue and Lauren Holiday are making a MAJOR donation with his remaining game checks this season ... with the Pelicans guard contributing up to $5.3 MILLION to social justice causes and Black-owned businesses.

The couple announced the gesture to ESPN on Wednesday ... saying they are starting the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund, which will aid communities in Indianapolis, New Orleans and the L.A. area.

Of course, Lauren -- former US soccer team member -- is from Indianapolis and both of Jrue’s brothers (Aaron and Justin) play for the Indiana Pacers.

Los Angeles was chosen because the Holiday family is from there ... and Jrue and Lauren met in the City of Angels while attending UCLA.

The Holidays say they will be giving the majority of the money to nonprofits, Black-owned businesses and local initiatives with missions dedicated to "equitable outcomes for Black and Brown communities."

Holiday -- who is in the middle of a 5-year, $131,805,000 deal -- is set to make up to $5.3 million through the rest of the 2020 season ... so it's a huge contribution.

Here's the breakdown -- up to $1.5 million will go to Black and Brown communities in NOLA, another $1.5 million to Los Angeles ... and $1 million will go to similar communities in Indianapolis.

The Holidays will also donate another $1 million to Black-owned businesses throughout the country ... and $500k to HBCUs and other educational institutions.

"God has blessed us with so much. We know a couple of things that are important are time and money, and right now, we have both," Holiday told ESPN.

Pray for whoever is staying under Jimmy Butler's hotel room in the NBA bubble ... 'cause the Miami Heat star got busted by security for making too much noise ... and it was all because of a hardcore workout sesh.

Of course, players and staffers who entered the Orlando bubble are forced to quarantine in their rooms for 48 hours before being allowed to roam the campus ... and Butler decided to use it as an opportunity to hone his ball-handling skills.

The 30-year-old -- who is known to take his practice VERY seriously -- was dribbling throughout his room last week ... which led to someone snitching to security about a loud bumping noise.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, security had to go check on Butler ... who was decked out in practice gear and drenched in sweat when he opened the door.

"He was dribbling a basketball throughout his room the whole time," Haynes said.

Now that the quarantine period is over, Butler can practice the old-fashioned way ... and whoever is staying under him can finally get some rest.

The Big Diesel played the role of Big Samaritan yet again this week ... Shaquille O'Neal stopped to help a stranded driver in Florida -- and the cool act was all caught on police vid.

According to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, a person had crashed their car on I-75 in the Gainseville area Monday, when Shaq witnessed it and sprang into action.

Cops say the former NBA superstar -- who has a home in Florida -- hung out with and comforted the driver until officers arrived on the scene.

In police footage from the accident, you can see the 7-footer clear as day when cops rolled up ... and in typical, awesome Shaq fashion -- he gave the officers a fist bump!!

Of course, this is nothing new for O'Neal ... he's been known to play the good Samaritan role at crash scenes whenever he can.

Remember, back in 2018, we got a photo of him helping out at a wreck in Los Angeles ... where we're told he did what he could to help drivers out there.

The situation reminds us of Kobe Bryant ... who would also go out of his way to help people in traffic accidents in Orange County, CA back in the day.

On multiple occasions, we got video of Kobe helping console victims and help out on the scene at crashes he wasn't even involved in. Dude just liked to help out.

Drake is drawing more fans to a basketball court these days than his beloved Toronto Raptors, and he's just playing a pickup game ... in Barbados!!!

Drizzy got his entourage together and flew his private jumbo jet down to his ex, Rihanna's home turf -- and decided to get in a little outdoor hoops. No small feat on a July day in the tropics!

Champagne Papi slipped on some Nike gear -- sneakers, socks, shorts, jersey, headband -- and showed off his sweet jump shot ... but as the crowd continued growing, Drake paused the game and donned a face mask while snapping pics with locals.

He's easily the biggest draw on Barbados -- far as we know Rihanna's not down there -- and unlike the NBA's restart in its Disney bubble in Florida, Drake put some butts in the seats!!!

Dude's got game too ... looks like Drake's been practicing on his insane home indoor basketball court.

Check ball!!!