Basketball

LeBron James might soon pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time scorer, but the dude still has a long way to go to be truly great as a role model ... so say KAJ.

The Lakers legend shared his pointed criticism at LBJ Sunday amid his presentation of a new trophy bearing his name ... which he bestowed upon Carmelo Anthony for his social justice work during the 2021-22 season.

It seems that after the ceremony, Kareem stuck around and talked to reporters ... who asked him how he felt about the idea of LeBron overtaking him as the points leader, which is likely to happen sometime next season -- barring any prolonged sitting out on LeBron's part.

Kareem said he had no problem with Bron taking the mantle, but where he (still) has issues is with LeBron's legacy as a whole -- including his off-the-court comments/antics/stances ... some of which Kareem said were "beneath him" in the grand scheme of things.

While he praised LeBron for some philanthropy work he's done -- including sending TONS of kids to college on his dime -- Kareem said there are still some things the King should be embarrassed about.

He's also quoted as saying this ... "Some of the things he's done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see." Kareem adds, "Some of the great things that he's done, he's standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he's committed himself to a different take on everything. It's hard to figure out where he's standing. You've got to check him out every time."

Now, as for what exactly Kareem may be referring to -- it's no secret if you've been following along. Dude's been openly critical about LeBron's apparent vaccine hesitancy, not to mention his waffling on where he stands with COVID in general, a la that Spider-Man meme.

At the time, Kareem wrote an essay ... saying LeBron's joke was a blow to his legacy, asking he do better -- especially as a leader in the Black community. He's also opined about LeBron celebrating on the court (particularly in dancing), saying that's not G.O.A.T.-worthy.

It was bedlam on the streets of Chapel Hill Saturday night, after the Tar Heels snagged a spot in the NCAA men's basketball National Championship game.

10 people, and maybe more, were hurt after the game ... 4 were injured badly enough to require hospitalization.

Chapel Hill cops planned for a big celebration -- shutting down streets in advance -- but it got out of hand as it turned into a wild block party. There were around 40,000 fans who were reveling in the Tar Heels 81-77 win over Duke in the Final Four.

It got real when some fans started bonfires in the streets.

So, now the real dead ... North Carolina faces off with the Kansas Jayhawks Monday for the brass ring. Ya gotta wonder who Chapel Hill cops will be routing for!

Got plans tonight that don't involve Duke vs. UNC? Chris Duhon clearly thinks you're going to regret that -- telling TMZ Sports the Final Four game could be one of the biggest contests in sports history.

The Blue Devils are slated to play the Tar Heels in an NCAA Tournament semifinal game for the first time in the two rivals' history ... and Duhon -- a Duke legend -- says it's going to be can't-miss TV.

The two schools hate each other, it could be Coach K's last-ever game ... and there are future NBA players all over the court -- making it, according to Duhon, an event worth clearing the calendar for.

"It's going to be epic," Duhon tells us. "I think everybody is going to be there, everybody is going be watching. I think there's a possibility of being the most-watched event in sports history."

In fact, the game is so big, country music star Eric Church has actually already canceled a concert so he can watch his beloved Tar Heels.

As for Duhon's message to the Blue Devils to calm the nerves before the huge game -- watch the clip, Chris seems to have some great advice for his former squad ahead of the big matchup.

Don't let these two similar shots of 2 Chainz and Stephen Jackson flossing courtside distract you from the task at hand .... Take a (free throw) shot and guess the differences in these similar snaps of the famous rapper and former NBA player.

The hitmaker and b-baller sat in the stands as fans for the sporting event ... but might have stolen the show with these top-notch looks ... can you look past the fashion-forward friends to find the different little looks?

Yes, the photo is a vibe, but can you pass the check and spot the differences?

Eric Church is extending an olive branch to thousands of pissed off fans for scrapping a concert to attend the North Carolina vs. Duke game ... by scheduling a completely FREE show later this year for anyone impacted by the cancelation.

The MASSIVE Tar Heels fan came under fire earlier this week for bailing on his upcoming gig ... all so he could watch his beloved team play in the Final Four against their hated rivals and coach Mike Krzyzewski (for the very last time).

Fans were super upset, though, with many storming his Facebook page to blast him for the decision.

The country star released a statement regarding the controversy on Friday ... saying he's grateful for the opportunity to check out the game -- and promises to make up for it.

"Thank you San Antonio for letting me take my family to this game," Church said. "It took a minute to figure out how and when I could properly express my thanks."

Church says he'll return to Texas in September for a "one of a kind" free gig for anyone who bought tix ... in hopes of getting back in good graces with the Church Choir.

Will it work?? We'll see ... but at least EC can now enjoy the game without feeling too guilty.

St. Peter's star Doug Edert is striking while the iron's hot -- the NCAA tournament hero is cashing in on his new fame by charging $100 for personalized vids on Cameo!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 22-year-old Peacocks hooper is raking in the dough on the video platform ... and so far, he's getting great reviews.

In fact, 17 reviews have been left on Edert's page ... and they're all 5 stars!!

The price tag is pretty interesting -- especially considering North Carolina star Armando Bacot charges 60 bucks.

But, it shouldn't be too shocking -- Edert became a fan-favorite during St. Peter's Cinderella run in the tourney ... as he helped knock off 2-seed Kentucky in the first round with 20 points.

The Peacocks ended up making it all the way to the Elite 8 before being booted by UNC.

During their epic run, Edert also made the best of his spotlight by securing deals with Buffalo Wild Wings and Barstool Sports.

Shout-out to the NCAA's new NIL rules ... 'cause now athletes can finally get what they deserve.

Add another accomplishment to Chris Paul's resume -- President Biden just appointed the Phoenix Suns guard to his Advisory Board for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the White House announced Thursday.

Joe tapped the NBA star to serve alongside 17 other new members -- including actress Taraji P. Henson, who was also asked to join the board -- as the Biden administration continues to put a focus on advancement through HBCUs.

According to the White House, the goal of the Advisory Board is to advance the HBCU Initiative, which was started by the Carter administration in 1980.

Joining CP3 on the board will be the presidents of five HBCUs -- Alabama State University, Virginia State University, Norfolk State University in Virginia, Dillard University in New Orleans and Prairie View A&M University in Texas -- as well as Delaware State University's own Tony Allen -- who serves as the chair.

Allen, president of DSU, says the board "will be will be an eclectic mix of the talent and commitment that defines Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) and those who recognize our tremendous value in higher education and in a smaller, more connected global community."

Paul, who served as head of the National Basketball Players Association from 2013-2021, has made it a point to actively and publicly support HBCUs throughout his career.

CP3 was a part of the push to get HBCU schools featured during the NBA's All-Star Weekend ... and as a result, the men's basketball teams for Morgan State and Howard played each in the inaugural NBA HBCU Classic in Cleveland.

The game aired on ESPN2 and TNT, and both schools received a $100,000 donation from the NBA and AT&T to support student-athletes continuing their education.

This will give you the feels ... NCAA tourney breakout star Shaheen Holloway, now former coach of St. Peter's, got some unexpected support during his introductory press conference at Seton Hall University -- his entire former team showed up to cheer on their coach.

And, in what was a really special moment, Sha asked the crowd at Walsh Gymnasium on SHU's campus in South Orange, NJ to give the players a round of applause, and the pumped-up crowd obliged.

"First, I wouldn't be up there if it wasn't for those fifteen young men right there," Shaheen said, alluding to his St. Peter's players who were in the crowd.

The crowd cheered ... just not loud enough.

"Pirate Nation we can do better than that. Pirate Nation, those fifteen young men right there, stand up. Get up!"

Of course, 45-year-old Holloway led 15-seeded St. Peters, a small private school from Jersey City, NJ, with little funding, and unheralded players, to a win over the mighty Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of March Madness.

But, that wasn't all ... the Peacocks went on to beat 7-seed Murray State in the 2nd round, before toppling 3-seed Purdue, sending them to the Elite 8.

Purdue has Jaden Ivey who many experts believe will be the first pick in the NBA Draft in a few months ... but the Peacocks held the stud guard to just 9 points, forcing 6 turnovers.

Unfortunately for Sha and the players, the magic ran out against UNC ... and St. Peters was sent home.

However, it was one of the most improbable and inspiring runs in sports history ... so when Holloway was hired by his alma mater, Seton Hall -- his dream job -- the players he just led clearly wanted to show their leader support.

Back in the late '90s, Holloway was a star at SHU. He spent 4 seasons with the Pirates where he averaged 14 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds.

The Pirates coaching gig opened up when traitor Kevin Willard (we kid), who was at the helm for 12 seasons and led SH to 5 tourney appearances (would've been 6 if the NCAA Tourney wasn't canceled over COVID in 2020).

Before getting hired as the head guy in Jersey City, Sha was an assistant coach under Willard. He only left when the opportunity to become a head coach became a reality.

For many at Seton Hall, and for Holloway, the plan was always for him to come home.

Charles Barkley better keep his head on a swivel -- Shaquille O'Neal says he'll follow Will Smith's lead and slap the hell outta his TNT co-host ... dropping the playful threat in a hilarious freestyle rap.

The Big Aristotle made the comment at his surprise belated birthday party at Steak Market in Atlanta on Wednesday ... when the crowd of about 250 people asked him to get up to the DJ booth and give them a set.

The NBA legend ended up grabbing the mic and spitting off the dome for about 10 minutes instead ... name-dropping his "Inside the NBA" friends and referencing the infamous Oscars moment in the process.

"Tomorrow I'm on TNT, with f***ing Kenny, with f***ing Chuck, I might Will Smith his ass I don't give a f***," Shaq raps.

Unlike the real interaction, everyone loved the reference ... cheering and laughing after Shaq dropped the line.

Now, Shaq and Chuck have had a playful rivalry for years ... with both Hall of Famers going back and forth at every possible opportunity.

O'Neal was letting the insults fly on more than just Barkley, though -- he even brought up LeBron James while dissing a dude's hairline ... which was a crowd favorite as well.

The whole bash looked fun as hell -- it was sponsored by D'usse, so you know the adult beverages were flowing.

Celebs like Bobby Valentino and 2 Chainz were also in attendance ... as well as a tiger.

As for Shaq's birthday, it was March 6 ... but hey, better late than never!!

Lil Baby knew where to go for jump shot rehab -- the McDonald's All-American Game in Chi-Town -- featuring 24 of the best girls basketball players in the country ... where Baby got tips from future Duke University star Ashlon Jackson.

Baby was at the All-Star game in Chicago to perform during the halftime show of the high-profile sporting event Tuesday night. But, before the "Drip Too Hard" rapper performed, he took pics with the players and hoisted up a few shots.

5-star guard and Duke recruit, Ashlon Jackson, ranked the 16th best player in the nation, posted a video of her and Baby shooting around ... and with help of the sharpshooter, the hip-hop stars' J looked on point.

The video shows Jackson working on Baby's form and follow through ... before he proceeded to knock down a long jump shot.

And, Baby went to the right person for help. Ashlon who won the McDonald's 3-Point contest.

Baby clearly appreciated the advice ... and posed for a ton of pics with players and coaches.

FYI, the McDonald's game is a big deal. Everyone from Candace Parker to Skylar Diggins to Sabrina Ionescu have played in the McDonald's game (and on the guys side -- LeBron, Kobe, KG)

Of course, we've seen Lil Baby in action before ... when he played with fellow hooping rapper 2 Chainz in a game against Quavo & Jack Harlow in a 2-on-2 charity basketball game. Baby and 2 Chainz -- who played college basketball -- lost 21-7, and the Internet let Baby have it for a perceived lack ok skills.

Eric Church has canceled a huge concert this weekend so he can watch his beloved UNC basketball team play Duke in the Final Four ... and the country music superstar's fanbase is not happy with his decision.

Church announced the cancellation in a message to his supporters Tuesday -- explaining he wants to watch the Tar Heels game on Saturday night so badly that he won't be able to perform at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Church called the move "the most selfish thing" he's ever asked of his fans in a statement to them ... but he implored them to understand because the game just means that much to him.

"I've watched Carolina and Duke battle over the year," Church said, "but to have them matchup in the Final Four for the first time in history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast's dream."

Some fans, though, were not understanding ... as several stormed his official Facebook page to let off their frustration.

Some called him a "clown," while others said they'd boycott his concerts going forward.

To be fair to Eric, the game is being heralded as one of the biggest college basketball games ever -- and the dude does love Carolina (he's got a hit song about it!).

Frustrations have clearly reached an all-time high for Russell Westbrook ... because after yet another Lakers loss Tuesday night, he got into a very uncomfortable and heated talk with a journalist over a question.

The tense exchange all went down in the press conference area following L.A.'s 128-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks ... when LA Times reporter Brad Turner asked Russ, "What changes going forward?"

Westbrook immediately bristled, saying, "Nothing, man, nothing" before he eventually turned the question on the reporter.

"What do you think should change?" Westbrook asked Turner.

When Turner responded, "Winning," Russ got up from his chair and confronted the reporter off the podium.

The two then went back and forth for several seconds -- before Russ finally diffused the situation by asking other reporters if they filmed the entire interaction.

Westbrook and Turner eventually shook hands, before the star point guard left to head back to the team's locker room.

The incident is yet another lowlight for Russ in his first season with the Lakers -- he's played so poorly for most of the year that he's had to fire back at hecklers repeatedly on the streets and at games.

In fact, the jeers have gotten so bad recently, Westbrook had to plead for fans a few weeks ago to stop calling him "Westbrick."

Drake pulled a rare, 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card -- and 5 other valuable MJ's -- live on Instagram, and they're worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!!

The hip-hop superstar -- who's been heavy into card collecting lately -- busted open a bunch of boxes of top-of-the-line cards, including Flawless and 1986 Fleer boxes with Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions.

FYI, a box of Flawless alone goes for $46K ... and Drizzy had 10 boxes.

Goldin was opening cards while Drake sat alongside watching. Then, it was Drake's time to take over cracking the packs.

First pack ... a 1986 Fleer MJ rookie that could be worth well in excess of $200K! Depending on the grade, the card has sold for anywhere between mid-50K to over 700K.

Talk about good luck. But, there was more.

Drake ultimately hit on 6 Jordan's ... 3 rookie cards and 3 stickers, before he and Goldin shut down the IG Live.

Shaquille O'Neal and Steph Curry just added some more hardware to their incredibly decorated trophy rooms -- the two NBA legends just won Oscars for their roles in "The Queen of Basketball" documentary.

The short film was a production of The New York Times, which Shaq and Curry helped produce, about Lusia "Lucy" Harris -- one of the greatest women's basketball players ever.

The film earned the Academy Award on Sunday night for best short subject documentary.

Shaq and Curry helped make the 22-minute doc ... highlighting Harris' incredible achievements on the hardwood -- which included her being the first woman to score a point in the Olympics as well as the first woman to ever be drafted by an NBA team.

Of course, the two are not the first NBA players to win the coveted Hollywood award ... Shaq's former teammate, Kobe Bryant, famously won an Oscar in 2018 for best animated short film, "Dear Basketball."

Kevin Durant and Mike Conley also won in 2021 for producing "Two Distant Strangers," the winner in the best live action short film category.

Jim Norton has some simple advice for Russell Westbrook in his war against heckling fans ... telling TMZ Sports if the Lakers star wants the trolling to stop, then he has to play better.

We spoke with the comedian -- who knows a thing or two about getting an earful from fans -- and he tells us the best way for Russ to shut 'em up is to elevate his game.

Of course, it's been a rough year for Westbrook in his first season with the Purple and Gold ... and spectators (L.A. especially) have been giving the former MVP a hard time.

Russ' numbers have dipped -- he's struggled to shoot the ball from the perimeter and at the free-throw line and is among the league leaders in turnovers.

Most recently, Russ pled with fans to stop calling him the name "Westbrick" ... saying he often let it slide, but it's to the point where he wants it to die.

But, even that didn't stop fans from rolling up on Brodie in the street -- A fan recorded himself telling Russ he wants him to play better, but the All-Star guard wasn't feeling it all.

Jim tells us Russ needs to start going back at fans in a war of words -- encouraging the baller to "attack these losers" who are yelling at him.

Jim said there are plenty of nights in his industry he doesn't bring it, so he never gets mad at fans for heckling him if he deserves it.

"Well that's why I said, 'play better,'" Morton says, "because if I'm on stage, there's plenty of nights when I suck."

"I kind of know when I suck. So if I'm having a really bad set and someone yells, 'you suck,' then I'll address it, and I'll be mean to the person."

New Orleans Pelicans star Jaxson Hayes is being dragged to court by his ex-girlfriend ... with the Instagram model accusing him of getting physical with her.

Hayes, the 8th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is being sued for assault and battery by Sofia Jamora, who claims he roughed her up on multiple occasions during their relationship ... including the night he got into a scuffle with cops.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Jamora claims they started dating in October 2020 and the NBA stud first got violent with her on Valentine's Day 2021, violently abusing her in a Dallas hotel room.

In the docs, Jamora claims she traveled with Jaxson for his NBA game and shared a hotel room, and when he returned to the room he flipped out when she joked about a lack of Valentine's Day flowers. She claims he cussed her out, hit her with a suitcase he tossed across the room, physically prevented her from leaving the room and broke down a bathroom door to rip her phone out of her hand.

In her suit, Jamora claims Jaxson apologized for the Valentine's Day 2021 incident and swore he would never get physical with her again ... but she says more abuse followed as their relationship continued.

According to the docs, Jamora claims Jaxson, his two dogs and his cousin were staying at her Los Angeles home on July 27, 2021 when he got violent again.

In the suit, Jamora claims she left Jaxson at the home during the day while she was at a photoshoot and came home to find her dog severely injured, blaming the bite wounds on Jaxson's much bigger dogs. She says Jaxson was "passed out from a drug-induced stupor" when she got home, and while he was asleep she put his dogs in crates.

In the docs, Jamora claims Jaxson eventually woke her up at midnight and asked what happened to the dogs before flying off the handle. She says they got into a verbal argument, which escalated into Jaxson allegedly threatening for his cousin to rape her.

In her suit, Jamora claims Jaxson got physical with her and her puppy, throwing the pup to the ground and grabbing and shaking her, to the point where she told him he was hurting her. She says she locked herself in a bathroom, but he broke the door down and roughed her up.

Jamora claims Jaxson chased her all around the house and the property, grabbing her multiple times, tossing her around and dragging her down some stairs. She says he became enraged and started breaking anything he could get his hands on.

According to the docs, Jamora claims she locked Jaxson out of the house but he broke in through a window and she texted her cousins, begging them to call the cops.

In her suit, Jamora claims cops eventually arrived and Jaxson started interfering with the police investigation, getting into an altercation with officers where he was tased.

TMZ broke the story ... Jaxson was arrested that night, and he recently entered a no-contest plea for a resisting arrest and false imprisonment charge.

Jamora is suing Jaxson for assault, battery and infliction of emotional distress ... and she's going after him for damages.