Basketball

LiAngelo Ball and both of his UCLA basketball teammates just FULLY ADMITTED to stealing in China ... and THANKED President Donald Trump for getting them back to the U.S.

Ball -- along with Cody Riley and Jalen Hill -- spoke to the media for the first time since being arrested in Hangzhou for stealing sunglasses from Louis Vuitton.

As TMZ Sports reported, the guys stole from MULTIPLE STORES -- not just Louis Vuitton -- and LiAngelo Ball acknowledged that in his apology.

"I'm sorry for stealing from the stores in China."

All three men said they were extremely sorry for shoplifting -- didn't dispute the allegations one bit -- and promised they will redeem themselves moving forward.

Each player thanked Trump by name for the work he did behind the scenes.

Head coach Steve Alford announced all 3 players are suspended indefinitely -- will not practice, suit up or travel with the team until a complete review is done by school officials.

Sounds like there is a chance the guys will still be allowed to play this season -- as Alford did not give a timeline for their return.

LiAngelo Ball might just be the answer to world peace ... 'cause Al Sharpton is actually BACKING Donald Trump after POTUS' involvement in the LiAngelo-China saga.

"I think that President Trump speaking to (President) Xi to make whatever arrangements were made ... was good," Sharpton told TMZ Sports in NYC. "He did the right thing."

But, don't expect to see Donald and Al hitting the links anytime soon ... 'cause Sharpton says "even a broke clock is right twice a day."

Also, probably worth noting that we got Sharpton BEFORE Trump publicly demanded 'Gelo and his UCLA bros show him some love.

Still ... it's a start.

Donald Trump has a message to the UCLA basketball players who got out of China -- SHOW ME SOME DAMN LOVE!!!

"Do you think the three UCLA basketball players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" Trump tweeted.

Earlier this week, it was reported Trump personally spoke with the President of China to help free LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley after they were arrested for shoplifting in Hangzhou.

The players were released from China on Tuesday and touched down in L.A. late Tuesday night. They're expected to address the media Wednesday at 11 AM PT.

LiAngelo Ball and his 2 UCLA basketball teammates are finally back on U.S. soil after getting the green light to leave China ... one week after they were arrested for jacking sunglasses.

TMZ Sports has video of Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley leaving LAX moments ago following a 13-hour flight out of Shanghai ... the guys stay straight-faced and mostly silent as they're hit with a barrage of questions and camera flashes from reporters.

The players had been holed up at the Hyatt Hangzhou -- while some of the most powerful people in the world, from President Trump to President Xi to Jack Ma, worked on their release.

Chinese officials reportedly dropped the shoplifting charges on Tuesday and allowed the guys to return home. UCLA says the school will launch its own investigation to decide whether or not to discipline the players.

Been a hell of a week. And with reports saying they could've faced 10 years in Chinese prison, guessing they're all gonna sleep pretty well tonight.

LiAngelo Ball's still got 1 person 100% behind him after his embarrassing arrest in China -- and we're not talkin' about LaVar, Lonzo or LaMelo.

LiAngelo's high school sweetheart, Isabella "Izzy" Morris, just shared a pic of her and 'Gelo with the caption, "Old pic, same love" ... essentially confirming she's stickin' by her man through the hard times.

Her timing's pretty on point -- the middle Ball bro is literally in the air flying back from Shanghai ... after Donald Trump hit up Chinese President Xi Jinping to help bring LiAngelo and his 2 UCLA teammates back to the States.

LiAngelo Ball's a free man, but it ain't got a damn thing to do with Donald Trump -- so says Lil Yachty.

We got Yachty at LAX ... and the rapper told us LiAngelo's about to be back in the U.S. 'cause of his Big Baller bankroll -- NOT 'cause Trump hit up the President of China.

"F**k Donald Trump, bro. Nobody give a f**k about Donald Trump," Yachty told TMZ Sports. "It's money, bro -- you got money, you can get outta anything."

Yachty would know after blowing up this past year -- though that didn't stop him from asking LaVar for some free BBB merch!!

Leslie Jones REALLY likes Dwyane Wade -- or maybe she's just an undercover sneakerhead??

Probably both -- 'cause check out the 'SNL' star fangirling out like a teeny bopper at a Britney concert when D-Wade hooks her up with his game-worn shoes ... after his Cavs took the Knicks' souls Monday night at MSG.

Wade gets down on a knee for the proposal ... and Leslie LOSES IT.

"It's my shoooeees! I get my shoooeees!"

"Will you accept my shoes?"

"YES!"

FYI, Leslie gave away 1 of Wade's Li-Ning kicks -- but NO WAY she was saying bye to both.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of LiAngelo Ball and his 2 UCLA teammates at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai minutes before boarding their flight to the United States.

Ball -- along with Jalen Hill and Cody Riley -- were dressed in sweats and sporting UCLA team backpacks and sneakers as they made their way toward the boarding area Tuesday evening (local time).

The person who shot the video says the guys appeared pretty relaxed -- and it's reflected in the video.

All 3 men were arrested last Tuesday for allegedly shoplifting at Louis Vuitton and reportedly faced up to 10 years in Chinese prison if convicted.

Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping and Jack Ma were all involved -- and tried to get the charges reduced. They were successful -- all charges were dropped.

Here's Ben Simmons & Joel Embiid proving that nothing says criminal justice reform quite like beating the Clippers, 'cause after doing just that, the two young NBA stars want everyone set free.

And by everyone we mean Meek Mill & LiAngelo Ball (BTW, at the time this is being written 'Gelo is reportedly on his way back to the U.S. with his teammates, so Embiid is getting his wish).

The young 76ers hit up Poppy in West Hollywood Monday night after their victory in Staples, and our guy decided to ask Simmons about Mill and Embiid about Ball.

Embiid was down with cutting Ball a break (interesting considering his history with the family) and Simmons was all about Meek getting out from under his 2-4 year sentence.

6:06 AM PT -- President Trump was asked about the UCLA situation before boarding Air Force One ... and praised Chinese President Xi for helping out.

The 3 UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China are finally leaving the country Tuesday -- and flying back to the United States, this according to the Wall Street Journal.

LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were spotted at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai early Tuesday -- getting ready to board a Delta plane bound for Los Angeles.

The players had been confined to their hotel after officials say they jacked sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store during the team trip to China.

Donald Trump's absolutely doing the right thing by trying to bail out LiAngelo Ball and his UCLA teammates after their shoplifting arrest in China -- so says Kenyon Martin.

"That's his obligation. That's his responsibility," K-Mart told TMZ Sports ... when we asked him about POTUS hitting up Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the situation.

The ex-NBA star says LiAngelo and his bros are only guilty of being young and dumb ... and "shouldn't be punished" for that. Not by China, at least.

Kenyon says he fully expects UCLA to drop the hammer -- and that should be enough.

It's all water under the bridge for Allen Iverson and the BIG3 basketball league -- we're told the NBA legend will RETURN after a rocky 2017 season.

Iverson -- who was a player coach last season -- was in the BIG3 dog house after no-showing for a game without a reason. He was suspended 1 game.

It seemed his future with the league may have been in doubt at the end of the season -- but now we're told he WILL get another go ... this time as a coach only.

One of Iverson's issues ... he gambles A LOT. He was spotted out in a casino in almost every city he traveled to during the BIG3 season and there are concerns the gambling could have interfered with his commitment to the league.

Want the ultimate proof that heated rivals can become total bros??

Michael Jordan not only attended Patrick Ewing's head coaching debut for Georgetown on Sunday ... he got invited into his locker room for a post-game photo op!!

Pretty dope shot -- M.J. huddled up with the G-Town ballers up front ... while all 7 feet of Coach Ewing kept as low of a profile as humanly possible so his guys could fanboy out.

Classy move from Pat -- who went toe-to-toe with His Airness for years way back when the Bulls and Knicks were the beasts of the East ... and before that in college:

The UCLA shoplifting situation has been escalated to the White House -- with President Donald Trump calling Chinese President Xi Jinping to ask for help.

Trump spoke with President Jinping about the issue while in Beijing last week -- one day after LiAngelo Ball and 2 teammates were arrested for allegedly stealing sunglasses from Louis Vuitton.

According to the Washington Post, President Xi promised to look into the issue -- and said the players would be treated fairly.

Sources told the Post charges against the players have already been reduced and a resolution is expected shortly.

As TMZ Sports previously reported, Alibaba founder Jack Ma -- one of the richest and most powerful men in China -- has also personally gotten involved to help get the players home quickly.

If convicted, Ball and the other players could reportedly face up to 10 years in prison.

The college track scene is already champing at the bit over Chad Johnson's 12-year-old daughter -- with programs offering scholarships to the NFL star's blazing fast kid.

TMZ Sports has been following Cha'iel for years -- besides 3-peating at the Junior Olympics, she also set an AAU record in the girl's 800m race over the summer.

SHE'S FAST AS HELL.

And now Ochocinco tells us major colleges have noticed that speed, and are already making a play to recruit her.

But Chad's following LeBron's lead -- and hitting the schools with the stiff arm until Cha'iel is older and ready to make a decision.

FYI, Bron's basketball star son LeBron Jr. had offers from Duke and Kentucky when he was 11.

The LiAngelo Ball shoplifting arrest was NOT captured by the family's reality TV crew -- and now producers are debating whether to even cover the arrest on the show at all, TMZ Sports has learned.

"Ball in the Family" producers initially sent cameras to China to document the family as they support LiAngelo during his first game with the UCLA basketball team. LaVar and LaMelo were also on the trip. It was supposed to be the usual zany Ball family drama.

But we're told LiAngelo's trip to the Louis Vuitton store was NOT on the production schedule -- and there was no crew in tow when he (and two teammates) allegedly jacked expensive sunglasses.

We're told the subsequent police raid on the team hotel -- which resulted in LiAngelo's arrest -- was also NOT captured by the reality show cameras.

Instead, the TV crew followed LaVar and the rest of the family on several China outings -- from sightseeing to shoe promotions.

Here's the problem ... LaVar has already reportedly gotten LiAngelo in deeper trouble by publicly downplaying the incident. He was reportedly told to shut his mouth and keep a low profile on the matter until the legal issue is resolved.

So, to shoot ... or not to shoot? That is the question for the reality show.

Obviously, producers know covering LiAngelo while he's being investigated would be reality gold -- but it could also send the wrong message to Chinese officials that he's not taking the matter seriously.

One "Ball in the Family" source says show honchos are still trying to come up with a plan -- "It's too early to say how, or if, the incident will be covered in the show."

If LiAngelo is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison -- or as little as 20 days under house arrest in the team's luxury hotel.