Basketball

A youth basketball coach who was overseeing a team full of kids 10 years old and younger was fired over the weekend after he appeared to choke a ref during a game.

The wild scene all went down Saturday at the Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif., when the coach of the Cavs Youth Basketball's 10U team appeared to snap on a ref following a controversial call.

The founder of the Cavs' org., Darryl McDonald, tells TMZ Sports his coach was hit with two technical fouls ... and then a verbal altercation ensued.

McDonald, who was not at the venue at the time of the incident but says he launched a thorough investigation into it all, tells us after a back-and-forth between the coach and the refs ... his coach put his hands around the ref's neck.

Video from the scene shows the man was locked on the ref for several seconds ...  before another ref came in and appeared to punch the coach to get him to let go.

McDonald says the fight was broken up just moments later.

McDonald tells us he immediately suspended the head coach, and after a probe into the incident, he ultimately fired the guy on Sunday.

"It was unfortunate," McDonald said. "Our program has been around for over 30 years and before it even went viral, the coach was no longer part of our program. It's completely unacceptable to behave that way in front of our youth. There's no excuse, I don't care what someone says to you. You have to find a better way to handle that particular situation."

McDonald says it does not appear that anyone was seriously injured in the incident. He did not know if criminal charges were being pursued.

WNBA star Liz Cambage is fed up -- the Australian pro hooper just ripped the league over its pay, griping about how new Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon is making exorbitantly more cash than the players.

"ahhh yes the @WNBA," Cambage said in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, "where a head coach can get paid 4X the highest paid players super max contract."

"lmao and y’all think imma spend another season upgrading my seat on a flight to get to games out of my own pocket."

Hammon -- who served as an assistant under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs -- recently signed a historic deal with the Aces that was reportedly worth around $1 million.

Some considered it a great and progressive move for the league, but Cambage clearly thinks otherwise ... considering the highest-paid player in the WNBA right now is Diana Taurasi, who's reportedly making around $228K to play for the Phoenix Mercury.

Liz -- who earned a salary of $221,450 last year -- seemingly feels players' pay should have been bumped up before Hammon received her huge salary.

Former NBA star Chris Bosh says he's so pissed off over the lack of Black head coaches in the NFL -- he's straight up done watching it until things change.

The 37-year-old ripped the league on Monday via his newsletter "The Last Chip" ... accusing NFL owners of treating Black coaches differently than white ones.

In his post, Bosh said the firings of Brian Flores in Miami and David Culley in Houston were unjust ... saying he believes if the two men were white, they'd still have jobs right now.

"Watching the way the NFL is treating Black coaches has me pissed off," Bosh said. "Plain and simple. Until they fix this, I cannot keep spending my weekends supporting the league."

Bosh noted there's now just one Black head coach in the league -- Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin -- something he called "appalling."

"I'm happy anytime anyone gets a job," the ex-Miami Heat forward said, "but it sure seems like the white guys are having an easier time becoming head coaches and general managers nowadays, while Black coaches are held to an entirely different standard."

The two-time NBA champ says he will no longer spend his Sundays watching ball -- at least until he and his kids see more coaches on the sideline that look like them.

"I want them to know that the next great strategic mind might belong to a coach who isn’t necessarily white," Bosh said. "Because I know they're out there, future Belichick's and Lombardi's and Madden's who happen to not be white men."

NBA legend Allen Iverson got emotional at a signing event over the weekend ... after a young fan handed him a poster that featured an image of him with the late Kobe Bryant.

The cool moment was all captured on camera while Iverson was out in Texas.

You can see in video, after the kid handed him the picture -- which showed the two basketball players together on the court -- he paused to appreciate the image.

"Damn, whose is this?!" Iverson said of the photo. "This yours?!"

"Man, you going to give me one? You got another one for me? Man, I need one of these!"

Iverson eventually autographed the piece ... and then he gave some advice to the kid about always listening to his parents.

Allen's great relationship with Kobe, meanwhile, has been well documented -- the two were both a part of the 1996 draft class -- and competed against each other for decades.

Bryant -- who spent his entire career with the Lakers -- battled AI's 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals, and although The Answer was able to steal a game from Shaq/Kobe ... Philly ultimately lost the series, 4-1.

Lamar Odom is still holding out hope for this season's Lakers ... telling TMZ Sports despite their struggles, the Purple and Gold are still his pick to win the NBA title.

LeBron James and Co. have underperformed so far in 2021-22 -- they're far from the top of the Western Conference and can't seem to find a rhythm.

Odom -- who won 2 titles with the Lakers -- says he's not concerned about the Lake Show's lack of success so far ... and it's all thanks to the talent on the roster.

"I think they're good enough to win a championship," Odom tells us. "They're still my pick to win the championship. I don't know if that's Laker pride or me just being a Laker at heart. But they're still my pick."

"Anytime you have LeBron James on the court and a healthy Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony as your 6th man, I think they'll give you a really good shot."

Odom -- who recently launched the Savvy Talent Management Group -- says the team needs to pick it up defensively ... and would like to see LeBron lead the team like Kobe Bryant did for 20 years.

"Of the teams that I played for that won championships, we had a tremendous leader in Bean Bryant," Odom adds. "A lot of his will, tenacity ... it kind of rubbed off on us. I would like to see LeBron James' will and tenacity and his will to win rub off on these Laker guys."

"I think once that happens, once they coincide that, they'll be all right."

The power of K-Pop is real ... just ask Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins, who landed a spot in the NBA All-Star Game starting lineup with the help of one of the genre's biggest stars -- Got7 member BamBam.

The starting 5s for the ASG in Cleveland were officially announced on Thursday ... and while LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant and Steph Curry unsurprisingly made the cut for the West, many were wondering how Wiggins landed the honor.

So, how did it happen?? As the SF Gate points out, BamBam -- who became the Dubs' global ambassador this season -- called on his millions of social media followers to vote for the 26-year-old baller on Twitter earlier this month ... and the Ahgase fan base clearly delivered.

Of course, the 2014 #1 overall pick is having a great year -- 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists per game -- and may very well deserve All-Star recognition this season, but getting the third-highest fan votes (3.45 million) among frontcourt players in the conference was completely unexpected.

But, if you know anything about K-Pop fans, they're the most loyal supporters in all of music ... and proved it by tweeting their fingers off to lock in the spot for Wiggins on Thursday.

FYI -- fan votes counted for 50% of the final results, with players and media accounting for the other half.

Wiggins finished with 46 votes from the players -- less than 1/3 of the other frontcourt starters -- earned 4 total votes from the media, and had 1 million more votes than the next frontcourt player, Draymond Green.

BamBam wasn't the only celeb trying to get their favs into the ASG -- Kendall Jenner rallied her millions of followers to vote for her boyfriend, Devin Booker ... but he came up short of Curry and Morant.

Shaquille O'Neal is fed up with Ben Simmons -- the NBA legend wrecked the 76ers star with a rant on Thursday ... calling the baller nothing but a "crybaby."

Shaq's comments on "Inside the NBA" came during a conversation about Joel Embiid ... which turned into a comparison between the two teammates.

"The difference between [Embiid] and his soft partner is he can take criticism without being a crybaby and he still wants to play," O’Neal said.

"The other guy I don’t respect," Shaq said in reference to Simmons. "And I’ve been thinking about it. You’re missing the whole season because they asked your coach a question – can we win without you?"

"And your coach gave a funny answer. That should tell you, in the summertime, you need to work on your game."

The moment Shaq is referring to is a postgame interview with Doc Rivers, when he was asked if Simmons could be the point guard on a championship team ... to which coach responded, "I don't know the answer to that right now."

Shaq pointed out he was criticized by guys in the media over the course of his legendary career ... but he didn't let it get to him, and it motivated him to get better.

“You don’t think I haven’t been criticized by you guys and Stephen A. [Smith] and haven’t been criticized by LA media and New York media?" the Diesel said.

"Great players get criticized but the great players also step up to the criticism and perform."

Carmelo Anthony needed to be restrained from going after fans in Philadelphia on Thursday night ... and it's all because he says some of them called him "boy."

As the L.A. Lakers were down big to the 76ers in the fourth quarter of their game in Philly ... Melo stopped playing and began walking toward a group of Sixers fans that appeared to be talking trash.

At one point, it looked like Anthony was going to enter the crowd and get face-to-face with the men ... but, fortunately, referees grabbed him before he could get to the fans.

Arena security ended up booting the men from the area before it could escalate further ... and when Melo was asked about the incident following the game, he told the L.A. Times that he was called "boy" by the men.

Melo added in his postgame interview that he believed all of the smack talk crossed lines.

"Some things were said -- unacceptable," Anthony said. "I'm cool with fans heckling, fans talking trash, cheering for their team, booing the other team, I'm all for that."

"But when you cross certain lines, as a man, you just, that's what you're going to see. That's what you're going to get, as you saw there."

Anthony continued, "There's just certain things you don't bring to any type of sporting event. There's just certain things you don't say to anybody. If I was outside and I bumped into you and you said those things to me, then it would be a totally different story."

It's unclear if the fans will face further discipline from the 76ers.

Of course, this is far from the first time this season that players have gotten into it with fans ... even Carmelo's own teammate, LeBron James, had hecklers kicked out of their seats earlier this season.

Ex-NBA player Kwame Brown is livid with Dwyane Wade's daughter's fashion tribute to Kobe Bryant ... saying her #8 jersey dress was "disrespectful" to the Lakers legend.

14-year-old Zaya Wade showed love to the Bryants in an Instagram post on Wednesday ... wearing the outfit and captioning the post, "always remembering and honoring Kobe and Gianna."

Seems harmless, right?? Not in Brown's eyes ... as the 2001 #1 overall pick unleashed on Dwyane during his "Bust Life" YouTube show on Thursday ... saying the ex-Miami Heat star doesn't "level up as a man."

"You are letting your woman control your house," Kwame said ... claiming Kobe's wife, Vanessa, and kids would not honor Kobe the same way Zaya did.

Kwame strongly believes Zaya's tribute does a disservice to everything Kobe stands for ... citing his work ethic, masculinity, and faith.

"I'm not saying there's anything against homosexuals, but [Kobe] is a heterosexual man. Why is he being honored by making his jersey into a dress? Wear his goddamn jersey for the day to honor him without the dress part," Brown added.

"Let's please not show our Black brother in this light. This is no offense to nobody else. This man was a heterosexual man with a wife and a family. There's no reason for this to be tied to Kobe Bryant. None whatsoever."

D-Wade has been nothing but supportive of Zaya ... and has spoken out about how the family has grown in understanding over the years.

The most dominant duo in NBA history will never speak to each other again -- so says ex-teammate Charles Oakley ... who truly believes Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have no chance at burying the hatchet.

Scottie has made it clear for months how he really feels about #23 ... saying he deserves much more credit for the Chicago Bulls' 6 NBA championships ... and claiming MJ used the "Last Dance" doc to say young fans into thinking he's better than LeBron James.

Oak -- who played in Chicago from 1985-88 -- was asked if the relationship between MJ and Pip could ever be fixed ... and it sure sounds like a lost cause.

"No, I think it's over," Oakley said on The Bill Simmons Podcast this week. "Yeah, I think it's over. It wasn't great from the get-go."

Oakley says the "Last Dance" doc left a bad taste in Pip's mouth ... as the Hall of Famer felt left out of the story.

"I think he feels like they didn't present him more in the Last Dance," the 58-year-old said. "I think they did Dennis Rodman more than Scottie and Steve Kerr."

"But my thing to that is, Kerr did way more off the court than Scottie. Dennis probably has, too. But on that court, Scottie did a lot more than both of them, but Scottie felt like he was left out of there."

"And he felt like Jordan wouldn't have six rings if it wasn't for him."

In Scottie's words, he said last year in his memoir, "Unguarded," that the popular Netflix doc didn't put an emphasis on the rest of the squad.

"They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates," the 58-year-old said in his book.

Despite the public criticism from Pippen, Oakley thinks MJ will avoid responding to his nemesis.

A sculptor in Los Angeles has honored the anniversary of the deaths of Kobe and Gigi Bryant by placing a statue of the two at the site where they tragically passed away in 2020.

The artist, Dan Medina, tells TMZ Sports he created the 160-pound bronze figure and pulled it up to the scene in Calabasas via a wagon on Wednesday.

The sculpture is only a temporary piece -- Medina says he'll haul it back down at sunset -- but the artist tells us he's hoping the city will allow him to put up a larger, more life-sized version permanently at the site.

The artwork, while smaller than what Medina hopes it'll ultimately end up being, is incredible -- it's a depiction of Kobe in a Lakers uniform with his arm around Gigi, who's also in a basketball uniform holding a ball.

At the base of the statue, Medina added the names of all nine of the victims who tragically died in the helicopter crash on the Calabasas hillside on Jan. 26, 2020.

"Heroes come and go," words on the base of the statue read, "but legends are forever."

As we previously reported, Kobe, Gigi and the others were on their way to a girls basketball game, when the chopper suddenly wrecked in the terrain.

Tributes to the Bryants and the other victims of the crash have poured in on the anniversary Wednesday, with athletes and celebs from all over remembering them all on social media.

In fact, Kobe's old Lakers teammate, Lamar Odom, was gifted a diamond pendant on Wednesday to honor and remember the Bryants.

NBA champ Lamar Odom is looking to share his experience with the next generation of celebrities -- he's launching his very own talent management company.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the ex-Lakers star teamed up with his manager, Tonita B, to kickstart the Savvy Talent Management Group with the intent to help young ballers and entertainers find their way in the industry.

We spoke with L.O. about his decision to get involved ... and he said he wants to prevent young talent from making the same mistakes he did during his career.

"I wish I would have learned how to save my money a little bit more," Lamar tells us.

"I wish I would have been able to do my due diligence on how to read people the right way, so I can keep the right people in my life that deserve to be there."

Odom -- who played in the NBA from 1999-2014 -- has high aspirations with STMG ... and he's been studying up on other success stories in the industry.

"The vision I got is sort of like LeBron James and Rich Paul with Klutch Sports."

Odom says he's looking to work with both athletes and celebrities in navigating their young careers ... and he knows firsthand that "the fame game is for real."

"There's so many talented people out there -- [I want to work with] whoever needs guidance and help at being an entertainer or celebrity. It's not easy."

As for partnering with his manager, Odom says the decision was a "no-brainer."

"I'm the beauty, she is the beast. Together we get the job done," he says.

Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes has been hit with 12 misdemeanor charges in Los Angeles -- including domestic violence and using violence against a police officer -- all stemming from an incident involving Jaxson, his GF, and police.

TMZ Sports has learned 21-year-old Hayes was charged by the city attorney in L.A. County ... 6 months after he tussled with police.

Hayes has been charged with 12 counts ... including inflicting corporal injury (domestic violence charge), destroying property, use of force, resisting a police officer, using force and violence against an LAPD member, amongst other charges.

Remember, back in July 2021, Hayes' girlfriend alerted her cousin that Jaxson was acting erratically, and the GF was worried for her safety.

LAPD responded to the L.A. home where Hayes was staying. However, Hayes wouldn't allow them inside ... and a struggle ensued. Jaxson appears to push an officer into a wall -- sustaining an injury to his arm.

One officer used his Taser ... and Hayes -- the 8th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- was finally taken into custody.

During the arrest, Hayes claimed he couldn't breathe. The claim sparked a use of force investigation within the LAPD.

The results of that investigation are not yet known.

It's safe to say Alex Rodriguez is fitting in as part-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves ... 'cause rookie guard McKinley Wright IV tells TMZ Sports it's a huge advantage!!!

We spoke with Wright out in NYC this week ... and asked the 23-year-old how it is to have the Yankees legend on board.

"Big blessings," Wright said. "One of the G.O.A.T.'s on the baseball field. It's a blessing."

Wright -- who's in his first season with the team after 4 years at Colorado -- mentioned that he and Alex have spoken ... and the 2-time MVP gave him some sound advice.

"Just continue to be yourself," Wright says A-Rod told him, "And be who you are. Don't change for nobody. Do what you gotta do to win games."

Of course, A-Rod's tenure as an NBA owner got off to a pricey start -- back in November, Minnesota was slapped with a $250,000 fine after he hosted a team gathering at his Miami mansion during the offseason.

Unfortunately, for Alex and Co., the NBA had a rule in place that prohibited teams from organizing or paying for offseason practices -- in addition to restricting teams from conducting workout sessions outside of their market.

Charles Oakley says Devin Booker was right to get pissed off about the Toronto Raptors mascot's free throw antics ... telling TMZ Sports the dino was crossing the line.

We spoke with Oak about the Phoenix Suns star's ongoing feud with mascots across the league ... and he says the 25-year-old should be left alone -- especially when fans aren't in the stands.

Of course, Oakley is referring to when Booker called on officials to move the Raptor from underneath the basket while at the charity stripe last week ... during a game that was played in Toronto's empty arena due to COVID-19 protocols.

Oak says if fans aren't in the stands, there's no need for the dino to be hanging out around the court ... and it definitely shouldn't be trying to impact the game.

The Knicks legend says if things get worse between Booker and mascots across the league, he thinks the NBA will intervene and tell the furry creatures to cut it out.

We also spoke with Oak about his book, "The Last Enforcer," which drops next month ... and he says he's dishing on what went down with some of the biggest names in his era.

"Tyrone Hill, Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley Pat Riley. Everybody in the book. Bringing 'em out."

And, what'll happen if those guys get upset over what's in the book?

The Los Angeles Lakers might be a dumpster fire right now, but that hasn't stopped fans from buying up all their gear ... with the Purple & Gold leading the NBA in merchandise sales this season.

The league just released its list of most popular fan purchases through the 2021-22 season so far ... and LeBron James sits at the top of the throne for player jersey sales, with the Lakers coming in at #1 for overall team merch sold on the NBA Store website.

It's pretty interesting, considering the Lake Show has stunk up the place this season -- they're 22-23 and head coach Frank Vogel is on the verge of losing his job.

But, it's clear fans aren't going anywhere ... stocking up on their swag as the team falls apart.

Stephen Curry comes in at #2 in jersey sales, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic rounding out the top 5.

Russell Westbrook -- who's had a pretty tough year -- didn't make the list ... but Anthony Davis was able to come in at #7.

The Dubs, Bucks, Nets and Celtics follow the Lakers in team sales.