Basketball

Pete Davidson and Emily Ratajkowski have gone as public as you possibly can in Hollywood -- attending an NBA game together ... sitting courtside, no less.

The new couple -- who've been maintaining a relatively low profile lately -- blew the doors wide open Sunday by crashing the New York Knicks' showdown with the Grizzlies, snagging the best seats in the house ... and not trying to hide the fact they were a pair whatsoever.

While there didn't seem to be any obvious PDA between them ... Em and Pete were all smiles, and not shying away from cameras either. In fact, the Knicks' own Twitter account posted a photo of them cheesin' it up, and tagging EmRat too.

It's pretty funny ... their presence was actually acknowledged during the broadcast, although the TV guys didn't seem to know who Emily was, 'cause they skipped over in the namedrop.

They also didn't seem to know PD all that well either ... completely butchering his name.

They were sitting next to Ben Stiller and Jordin Sparks -- so there was a lot of star power in the house. But for Pete and Emily to pop is a big deal, seeing how they've seemingly been trying to lay low as they've hit the town in and around NYC.

They were spotted hanging 2 weeks ago in Brooklyn -- the first time they'd been seen on camera amid rumors they were linking up. Pete did something similar with Kim Kardashian ... trying to keep it on the DL for a while, then finally embracing the spotlight.

Seems like he's fast-tracking things this time around, though ... nothing says we're dating like a night out at MSG during primetime TV.

Say hello to the hottest new item in the Big Apple!

Kobe Bryant's 19-year-old daughter is getting court-ordered protection from an alleged stalker ... who her team says has an obsession with her and with guns.

Natalia Bryant got a judge to sign off on a temporary restraining order against 32-year-old Dwayne Kemp.

TMZ broke the story ... Natalia claims Kemp has been under the delusion they're in a relationship ... she says the harassment has been going on for 2 years, and escalating. She says he recently showed up at USC, creeping around buildings where she's taking classes. He's even shown up at her sorority house.

What's especially scary ... according to court docs, Kemp has been convicted of at least 4 crimes, including one involving a firearm. Cops say he's in the process of buying a gun, and he's made clear on social media he's interested in an AK-47 and/or a fully automatic Glock.

Natalia says Kemp once sent her a DM with an image of her late father Kobe and wrote, "Thankful For Him Birthing You, Hopefully We Can Birth Him… 'Kobe,'" adding a red heart to the message. The docs say Kemp had the hopes of having "a Kobe-like child together."

A Texas school district is investigating claims that disgusting, racist noises were made toward a Black female basketball player during a H.S. game over the weekend ... after the student section appeared to make monkey sounds as she shot free throws.

The alleged incident went down during East Central's matchup against Marble Falls on Friday ... when EC senior Asia Prudhomme was lined up at the charity stripe.

Students in attendance can be heard on video shouting during Prudhomme's free throws ... seemingly imitating monkeys.

Prudhomme shared the clip on social media after the game ... saying, "This is sad, heartbreaking and uncalled for."

"Can't even play basketball without ignorance and racism in the stands. This really broke my heart, my coaches and teammates."

ECHS athletic director Suzette Arriola told WFAA Marble Falls officials were alerted about the students' actions ... but no one was removed from the game.

Arriola also claims the noises were made several other times throughout the game.

Marble Falls announced Monday an investigation is underway.

"Marble Falls School District has an unyielding commitment to love every child and inspire them to achieve their fullest potential, and this applies to children outside of our school district as well."

"We will continue to work with administration at East Central High to fully investigate and hold students accountable for their actions."

Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan got an earful from a troll at the Chargers game on Sunday ... when a heckler went after the reality TV star for dating Michael's son -- and it's all on video.

48-year-old Pippen and Jordan, 31, were posted up in some solid seats during their date at SoFi Stadium ... but at one point, a fellow spectator decided to share his two cents on Larsa dating Scottie's nemesis' son.

"Hey Larsa, that's what you're doing?" the fan said. "You're with the boy, Mike's son? You a cold motherf***er, ain't you! You're cold as a motherf***er, homie."

The couple appeared to take it in stride ... with both brushing off the verbal jab. Ex-NBAer Chandler Parsons had a close look at the whole thing ... but seemingly thought it best to mind his own business.

Of course, the heckler is referring to Scottie and MJ's ongoing beef ... which was reignited following the release of the "Last Dance" series.

Pippen was miffed over the doc ... saying he deserved much more credit for his role with the team, and claiming MJ used the show to persuade the younger generation of hoop fans into believing he was better than LeBron James.

Their relationship is so bad ... their former teammate, Charles Oakley, believes the two sides will never speak to each other again.

Now that Larsa and Marcus have gone public with their romance, some have called her out for dating someone close to her ex's biggest enemy.

But, we're told that doesn't really matter to the couple ... as they've gotten really close over the past few months -- which was made clear with cozy trips to Rolling Loud and, more recently, the beach in Miami.

Kyrie Irving, suspended since November 3rd, has rejoined his Nets teammates and is expected to play Sunday night ... nearly a month after posting a link to a controversial movie.

30-year-old Irving was at Nets shootaround Sunday morning -- hours before BK plays the Grizzlies at Barclays -- once again told reporters he wasn't antisemitic.

"I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is going against the human race," Irving said.

"I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us and I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions, because there was a way I should have handled all this and as I look back and reflect when I had the opportunity to offer my deep regrets to anyone that felt threatened or felt hurt by what I posted, that wasn’t my intent at all."

Of course, it was way back on October 27th Kyrie tweeted a link to the movie "Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" ... a film full of antisemitic tropes.

Irving eventually deleted the tweet ... but refused to apologize for giving the movie attention. After multiple missed opportunities to apologize, the Nets suspended Kyrie on November 3, saying he was "unfit" to be a Net.

But, after meeting several criteria ... including a face-to-face with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the Nets organization believes Kyrie has done enough.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is breathing easier heading into the holiday season ... TMZ Sports has learned he will not face charges stemming from his drug arrest.

According to court documents, a grand jury declined to charge him with possession of a controlled substance last week. Days later, prosecutors dismissed the gun charges he was facing related to the case as well.

Prince was initially pulled over by the Arlington Police Dept. in Texas back on May 19 ... after officers said he was driving with an expired registration. During the stop, cops say the basketball player told them he had two handguns in the car ... so officers asked him to get out of the vehicle.

During an effort to retrieve the guns from the car, cops say they found a vape pen ... and searched his ride further. They say they then found a canister with marijuana inside.

Following test results on the vape pen, cops obtained a warrant for Prince's arrest -- and in Miami in August, the 28-year-old was taken into custody over it.

"The charges were dropped because the search was clearly illegal," Prince's attorney, Kent Schaffer, told us in a statement on Friday. "On top of that, carrying a gun is legal in Texas, if not encouraged, and the amount of marijuana alleged to be in the vehicle was probably les than a usable quantity."

Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to practice free throws after his Bucks squad lost to the 76ers ... and when several arena employees got in his way, he lost it, knocking over a 10+ tall ladder.

And the whole incident was captured on video by some fans who were still in the Wells Fargo Center Friday night in Philadelphia.

The Bucks lost to the Sixers, 110-102 ... and Giannis dropped 25 points. But, he was awful from the free throw line, shooting 4-for-15 (27%) from the charity stripe.

So, after the game, Antetokounmpo clearly wanted to work on his free throws. But, several employees (unclear if they're with the arena or team) were standing next to a large ladder, seemingly about to do something to the hoop.

Giannis walked up to the ladder and pushed it under the basket. A worker, appearing confused, moved the ladder back near its original spot. Antetokounmpo, clearly pissed, approached the ladder again, emphatically yelled something to the guy, and tossed the ladder, causing it to fall.

The video ends a few seconds later as GA is putting up a free throw.

Another video on social media appeared to show Sixers forward Montrezl Harrell's reaction to Giannis ... and he was hot.

Luka Dončić continues to break records on and off the court ... his 2018 National Treasures Rookie NBA Logoman Patch card, a 1-of-1, just sold for $3.12 million at auction!

The ultra-rare card sold at a PWCC auction Thursday night ... and set a new all-time record for a basketball card sold at a public auction.

The card features an image of the 23-year-old hoops star on the front, along with an actual patch from a jersey he wore during his rookie year and an autograph. The back has a quote from Luka's rookie season ... when he joked he'd retire if he dunked on LeBron James.

"This is the highest price ever realized for a basketball card sold in a verified public auction," said Jesse Craig, Vice President of Sales at PWCC Marketplace.

"When this card went to the block, we purposefully avoided speculation on a price because this was an important moment for the market to decide on the value of Luka's best trading card."

In 2021, this same Luka card reportedly sold at a private sale for $4.6 million, but PWCC's auction was the first chance bidders had to acquire the commodity on the open market.

Speaking of LBJ ... the all-time record for a basketball trading card is $5.2 million -- which a collector paid in a private sale (not at auction) for an Upper Deck Exquisite LeBron James card.

As for Dončić -- he's again having an MVP-caliber season in Dallas, and it's clear Lukamania isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The therapist who claimed Joshua Primo exposed himself to her on multiple occasions has now settled her lawsuit with the former San Antonio Spurs player and the NBA org. ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The woman's attorney, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement Thursday afternoon all parties "agreed to resolve this matter." Details of the settlement were not released.

The lawsuit was initially filed just two weeks ago in Bexar County, Texas -- and in it, Hillary Cauthen accused Primo of wrongdoing nine separate times.

She said he would expose his genitals to her during individual private sessions -- each time growing "progressively more extreme."

Cauthen claimed in her suit that she complained about Primo's behavior to Spurs officials, but said they turned a blind eye to it and refused to punish the 19-year-old because he was an up-and-coming player with big potential.

She sued for unspecified damages.

For Primo's part, his attorney William J. Briggs II, said in a statement shortly after the lawsuit's filing that the basketball player never intentionally exposed himself to Cauthen. He called her allegations "either a complete fabrication, a gross embellishment or utter fantasy."

The Warriors are in an absolute tailspin this season solely because of Draymond Green ... so says Greg Anthony, who revealed Wednesday he thinks DG's preseason punch has caused massive problems for the champs.

The NBA TV analyst made his opinion known loud and clear following the Dubs' 130-119 loss to the Suns, explaining he believes that when Green rocked Jordan Poole during a practice dispute in October, it changed everything for Golden State.

"That is a seminal moment for me," Anthony said. "When that stuff gets out in the public, and it's there for all to see, it hits differently."

The Warriors are now 6-9 this season and have yet to win a game on the road. And, outside of Steph Curry -- who had 50 points in Wednesday night's loss -- nobody, including Green and Poole, is playing all that well.

Anthony clearly believes it's all due to the big practice blow.

"I still think this group is dealing with that," Greg said.

"They're going to say all the right things, but the real proof is when you watch them play. This is not a cohesive unit. They don't seem to have the same level of fire or trust, particularly on the defensive end."

The team is still obviously one of the most talented in the Association ... but according to Anthony -- it could get worse from here, saying he thinks opposing teams are no longer fearing the Dubs.

"The rest of the league is licking their chops," the former NBA point guard said. "They're looking forward to playing them now."

Drake was toting a camcorder for weeks leading up to his and 21 Savage's No. 1 album "Her Loss," and now that footage's coming out in their "Rich Flex" music vid -- a party romp featuring various celebs and pro athletes.

The visual lives up to his exorbitant billing -- Drake captured A-1 activities ranging from courtside at a Toronto Raptors game with head coach Nick Nurse and DeMar DeRozan to soaking up Jack Harlow's “Come Home The Kids Miss You Tour" ... where the "First Class" rapper stopped the show to give him a special shout out.

Brooklyn Nets hostage Kevin Durant, comedian Druski, 2 Chainz and plenty of strip club singles help round out the star power for the Drake-shot clip.

Drake also got exclusive footage of Lil Wayne's grill during his surprise set at this year's Weezyana Fest, and Lil Yachty is also spotted in the clip ... having brought the Wock back from Poland.

Drake and 21 might have royally pissed off Megan The Stallion, Serena Williams, Nas and Kodak Black with their album rollout, but their antics paid off in Billboard and streaming numbers.

Their "Her Loss" debut was the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album in 2022 with 404,000 equivalent album units -- making it Drake's 12th No. 1 album and 21's third.

LaMelo Ball might be out for the foreseeable future after he reinjured his ankle stepping on a courtside fan's foot ... and it's now got a lot of people wondering, is it time to push spectators back at NBA arenas??

Melo was attempting to corral a loose ball late in the Hornets' game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night ... when he accidentally landed on a man's foot who was parked just inches away from the court.

You can see in broadcast replays of the incident, as Ball was coming down on the guy's shoe, his ankle turned awkwardly ... and he was left in a heap of pain.

The 21-year-old -- who had previously missed time this season due to an injury on the same ankle -- raced to his bench while grimacing, before he eventually needed assistance to get back into the locker room.

Charlotte ended up losing the game, 125-113. Afterward, Hornets coach Steve Clifford did not have an update on his star's status.

It's the second time in less than two weeks that a participant on an NBA floor has had a mishap with a courtside fan. You'll recall, on Nov. 7, Meek Mill accidentally tripped a ref while his legs were extended in his seat.

Patrick Beverley says an OKC ball boy was so furious he injured Russell Westbrook during the 2013 NBA playoffs the guy actually threatened to kill him over the controversial play!

Beverley told the story during a recent episode of The Pat Bev Podcast ... sharing the wild story with his co-host, Rone, and guest Dave Portnoy.

PB says it all went down during the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs ... when the Rockets played the Thunder.

During the 2nd quarter of game 2, Westbrook, who was taking the ball up the court, was about to signal for a timeout when Bev, guarding Russ, lunged in an attempt to steal the ball, inadvertently contacting Russ' knee.

Westbrook suffered a torn meniscus, ending his season, and turning Beverley into public enemy #1 in the eyes of many OKC fans, including the ball boy, who presumably blamed Pat for the injury.

"I had a ball boy threaten to kill me over the Russell Westbrook injury," Pat said. "I get to OKC the next game, the police officers in front."

"They put a police car in front of my house in Houston. I get to the hotel, I'm on the floor by myself. They passing out papers of a young guy's face ... he threatened to kill me."

Pat says his head coach at the time, Kevin McHale, warned him Westbrook's injury had become a hot topic ... and the attempted steal was at the center of the controversy.

But, despite at least one threat to his life, Beverley says he was never phased and was actually upset he didn't come face-to-face with the ball boy.

Karl-Anthony Towns' birthday dinner wasn't short on booze ... 'cause the NBA star was sippin' on some good stuff throughout the night -- including a cognac that comes with an insane price tag!!

The Timberwolves star was surprised by his family and friends when he arrived at a venue with his longtime girlfriend Jordyn Woods on Tuesday -- his 27th birthday.

The place was decorated nicely for the occasion ... from a massive "27" sign to a ton of balloons and sparklers -- and a birthday cake featuring his T-Wolves jersey.

The bash also had hookah, several bottles of lavish Chateau and a high-priced Louis XIII cognac which, according to sites, sells between $4k to $10k!!!

It didn't stop there ... Woods -- who went official with the 3-time All-Star in 2020 -- gifted him a dope bracelet with his name engraved in diamonds.

"Your heart is what I fell in love with and your enthusiasm is what keeps me going," Woods said in a touching post on Instagram.

"I could go on forever but they already know I don’t play about YOU! Happy Birthday to my baby @karltowns ❤️ I love you!"

Looks like KAT had a blast ... and will be able to sober up before Wednesday night's game.

College basketball is back  -- and so is Dick Vitale, babyyyyyy!!

The voice of college hoops made his triumphant return to the mic on Tuesday to call the Kentucky vs. Michigan State game ... after missing most of the 2021 season to undergo treatment for cancer and vocal cord surgery.

"It's the best medicine I can have, sitting courtside," the 83-year-old said during the broadcast.

"I tell you one thing, it beats laying in the hospital doing chemotherapy -- I can guarantee you that!"

It's been a battle for Vitale. He was diagnosed with multiple forms of cancer last year, but he never stopped fighting. Then, in August, he announced he's once again cancer free!

During the broadcast, Dickie expressed praise for everyone who supported him ... saying it's one of the reasons he beat the disease.

"I just can't say thank you, thank you, thank you, to so many who encouraged me and inspired me to really battle, and to win that battle."

Former Univ. of Kentucky hoops star Isaac Humphries -- who now plays in Australia's NBL -- revealed he's gay in a super emotional talk with his teammates on Tuesday.

Humphries sat down with his Melbourne United squad inside a team meeting room to make the announcement ... and he fought back tears as he explained the truth about his sexuality.

The 6-foot-11, 255-pound center said hiding his real identity had taken a massive toll on him, and it nearly led to death by suicide a couple years ago.

"I fell into a very dark place, a very lonely place," the 24-year-old said. "I couldn't be who I am and I attempted to take my life."

Humphries said "coming to terms with the fact that I'm gay" was extremely difficult. He revealed to his teammates that he "hated" himself and was "disgusted" by it all.

"I thought that I could not be that person in our environment, within a basketball environment," Humphries said.

Isaac, though, explained that after joining up with Melbourne United earlier this year, he became more and more comfortable with things. He said their open and welcoming culture allowed him to feel like himself, and led him to come out this week.

Now, Humphries said he wants to be a role model to the many others who are in his shoes.

"We as professional athletes have a responsibility to set examples for people," Humphries said. "The truth is there are so many other people in other worlds that are struggling every single day and don't know how to get up. Don't know how to exist. And I know how that feels. And I want to represent those people. That's my goal behind this."

The NBA immediately shared its support for Humphries in wake of the news, saying in a statement, "We are proud and grateful to Isaac for sharing his story. We know the real impact his honesty and courage will have on many others."

Humphries, who played alongside De'Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and Jamal Murray during his time at Kentucky, has had brief stints with NBA teams following his Wildcats career ... but has starred in the NBL since 2020.