Basketball

LeBron James' right foot issue has officially been classified as a "tendon injury" ... which will keep the Lakers superstar sidelined at least three weeks, the team announced Thursday.

It's unclear if James will play again this season ... as he will be reevaluated again after his time away.

The news is a big blow to the Lakers, who are trying to claw their way into playoff contention with the season winding down.

L.A. is currently 11th in the Western Conference standings with a 30-33 record ... and will need to move up at least one more spot in order to make the NBA play-in tournament.

LeBron was initially listed out of Tuesday's matchup against the Grizzlies with a sore foot ... but required more testing to figure out what exactly was wrong. He was spotted limping while wearing a big boot on his lower leg during the loss.

The Lakers have been dealing with multiple injuries recently -- Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell also missed Wednesday night's game against the Thunder ... but despite being short-handed, the Purple and Gold were able to pull out a win.

Notre Dame men's basketball head coach Mike Brey won his home finale Wednesday night -- and then he won the party afterward too ... slamming shots with fans at a nearby bar!!

The epic celebration happened at Linebacker Lounge in South Bend, Ind. ... just moments after the Fighting Irish beat No. 25-ranked Pittsburgh at Purcell Pavilion.

Brey, who's leaving ND after this season following 23 years as the school's head coach, popped into the watering hole ... and immediately began throwin' 'em back with college-aged kids.

In one video of the scene, shot by Notre Dame beat reporter Tyler Horka, you can see Brey took down a shot of Jameson's with a couple Irish supporters -- all while Morgan Wallen blared over the bar's speakers.

Later, Brey was spotted chatting it up with nearly everyone in the room ... making sure a drink was firmly in his hand.

Of course, Brey had every right to turn back the clock and celebrate like a college student -- because the win earlier in the evening capped off a hell of a run at Notre Dame's home gym for the coach. He improved his record with the win to 315-76 in front of home crowds.

After the game, Brey took a bit of a victory lap around the arena -- before he triumphantly walked off the court.

New troubling allegations surrounding the alleged pickup basketball brawl between Ja Morant and a teenage boy in July ... with the young hooper claiming the Memphis Grizzlies superstar flashed a gun at him during the altercation.

TMZ Sports broke the story in January -- Morant is accused of punching a 17-year-old boy after getting in an argument during a game at Ja's residence in Tennessee ... which resulted in a lawsuit filed in September.

According to the docs, the boy claimed he "accidentally" hit Ja in the face after throwing the ball in his direction ... and the All-Star guard retaliated by hitting him with a closed fist and knocking him to the ground.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that not only did the teen accuse Morant of punching him at least 12 times, resulting in a "large knot" on his head ... but the 23-year-old also went into his house and returned with a gun in his waistband -- with his hand on the weapon.

The boy told detectives Ja's dad, Tee, then yelled at him ... telling him to go back inside.

When Morant was questioned about the incident, police mentioned the boy's claims of exposing a weapon, but did not explicitly ask if he had a gun. The outlet notes Morant and his attorneys did not deny the claim.

As for the altercation, Morant told detectives he did, in fact, hit the teen ... but claimed it was out of self-defense after he was hit with the ball. In his eyes, "The ball was the first swing to me."

As we previously reported, Morant filed a police report of his own a few weeks later ... claiming the teen threatened to "come back and light this place up like fireworks" and he feared for his safety.

Police investigated the allegations for several weeks ... before they submitted the case to the district attorney's office on Oct. 4. Less than a month later, cops say the D.A. declined prosecution, citing a lack of evidence.

LeBron James might not be playing right now, but he's still gaming -- the NBA superstar recently teamed up with PlayStation for a limited edition console cover and controllers -- designed by the King himself!

Eric Lempel, PlayStations' SVP and Head of Global Marketing, made the announcement on Wednesday ... saying the video game giant and LBJ joined forces and created an exclusive PS5 console cover and DualSense wireless controller.

"We couldn’t have asked for a more ideal partner to be the first-ever collaborator to design limited-edition PlayStation products," Lempel said.

"It was great to see LeBron’s vision for the design come to life and showcase his passions for gaming and community. We hope PlayStation fans will love this design as much as we enjoyed helping create it."

It came out dope -- the black cover and controller have bright images of King James' crown and the middle touch panel features, "Nothing is given. Everything is earned."

It also pays tribute to LBJ's "I Promise" charity on the right-hand side, including phrases "Chosen Ones" and "Build. Uplift. Empower."

"Had fun with this one @playstation!! 🎮," the 38-year-old said on Instagram.

"These words inspire me and my I Promise students and I hope do the same for gamers all over. Still crazy to think a kid from Akron who grew up playing games is getting to create something like this!"

The partnership is pretty much perfect for LeBron -- he was famous for traveling around with his own PS2 console when he entered the league in 2003.

And, if you're a fan of LBJ, then you know he's still a big gamer at 38 years old ... and his wife, Savannah, has caught him on camera several times goin' in on PS5, especially when it comes to 'Madden.'

In fact, the 5-time NBA champ recently featured in the "God of War Ragnarök" video game trailer with his son, Bronny Jr.

When you gotta go, ya gotta go ... and that's exactly what one adorable pooch did while performing during the halftime performance at a college basketball game!!

The whole bathroom break was caught on camera by one of the hoop fans in the stands -- showing the cute canine doing tricks with a frisbee for the Virginia Tech-Louisville game on Tuesday.

But the show eventually started to stink -- literally -- when the dog walked up to its trainer near the baseline to do another move ... when out of nowhere, it pops a squat and lets it all out!!

The trainer quickly reacted and grabbed the dog, but the doo doo still remained ... and the crowd's reaction was priceless.

To add to the crappy night, the Cardinals lost again, making it their third consecutive loss. They currently hold a 4-26 record under new head coach Kenny Payne.

FYI, this ain't the first time a dog has dropped a deuce at a sporting event ... Klay Thompson's dog did it at Dodger Stadium in 2016, and a Philadelphia Police Department K-9 handled its business right on the Flyers' center-ice logo in 2021.

Draymond Green wants Black History Month to be a thing of the past ... delivering a powerful speech to make his case, saying, "Why we gotta keep getting the shortest month to celebrate our history?"

"At some point, can we get rid of it?" Green asked reporters following the Warriors' 123-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night at the Chase Center.

The Warriors superstar accused current politicians of trying to wipe Black History out of schools ... and said he won't settle for celebrating just one month as a consolation prize.

FYI -- According to the ACLU, more than 30 state legislatures have recently been introduced to dampen Black history education, and hundreds of books written by Black authors about race history have been pulled from the shelves.

"I’m not going to be the fool to say, 'Yeah, we can celebrate it for 28 days,'" Green said. "So at some point, I’d like to get rid of it. We're making all these changes in the world -- can't talk about these people. Can't talk about those people. Can’t say this. Can’t say that."

Green -- who was wearing a blue shirt that read "Built By Black History" during his postgame conference -- said his choice of clothing was intentional as he made his point.

The 4-time NBA champion and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year said he doesn't want people to misconstrue his call to end Black History Month with him trying to downplay Black people.

"At some point, it’s time to get rid of Black History Month," Green reiterated. "Not get rid of Black history, like they’re trying to do. But Black History Month? Nah, teach my history from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, and then do it again. And then again. And then again. And then again."

Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan have reached the "meet the parents" level of their relationship ... which means Scottie Pippen's ex-wife spoke face-to-face with Michael Jordan about dating his son -- and apparently, the G.O.A.T. is totally cool with it.

48-year-old Larsa opened up on going full BF and GF with Marcus, 32, on the "Tamron Hall Show" on Tuesday ... and she said Marcus' mom and pops have no issue with them coupling up -- despite MJ's well-documented beef with his on-court wingman over the years.

Larsa added both families are happy and fine ... and when pressed on whether she's gotten His Airness' blessing, she's adamant Michael isn't intervening and trying to sink their ship.

"Yeah, I feel like we're great, yeah," Larsa told Hall. "I feel like -- we've spent holidays together and it's good. We're in a great place."

Larsa also spoke about the 16-year age difference with Marcus ... and she believes age doesn't determine one's maturity -- and all that matters is that she's happy.

As for why she's dating MJ's son of all people, Larsa said she doesn't care one bit about how Scottie feels about the Jordan clan ... and their relationship wasn't something that was planned.

Larsa said she first met Marcus four years ago at a party in L.A. ... shutting down any notion she knew her man as a kid when they both lived in Chicago as MJ and Scottie racked up championships with the Bulls.

When asked if they're in love ... Larsa said, "I think so. We're in a really good place."

Vanessa Bryant just received a heck of a lot more money from L.A. County after her initial $15 million win last year ... another $13 mil or so, in fact, which now accounts for her kids.

Kobe Bryant's widow has settled with L.A. County, amounting to a total of $28.8 million -- this according to her lawyer, who says this resolves both Vanessa's original complaint and subsequent award ... as well as any potential future claims from her surviving daughters.

Unclear when, but it seems Vanessa amended her initial lawsuit to add 20-year-old Natalia, 6-year-old Bianka and 3-year-old Capri. The settlement resolves all claims.

Vanessa's lawyer, Luis Li, says, "Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct." He adds, "She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice."

You'll recall ... Vanessa actually went to trial over this, taking the stand with emotional testimony about how the thought of those photos of Kobe and Gigi's remains possibly being leaked out publicly tortured her -- something a jury agreed with in the end.

They awarded her $16M ... but a mil got knocked down afterward due to a clerical error. Vanessa and her team had previously said she'd be donating the money from this to her Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation -- and in light of this, there's more to go around.

Here's one accessory no Laker fan ever wants to see the stylish LeBron James wearing -- a huge walking boot on his right leg ... that could signal his season is very much in jeopardy of being over.

The King wore the massive foot protector to L.A.'s game against Memphis on Tuesday night -- just two days after he initially injured the lower leg playing against the Dallas Mavericks.

James walked gingerly in the brace as he made his way around the Tennessee arena in street clothes -- a horrible sign for the Lakers, who need to win the majority of their remaining 20 games to have a chance at making the playoffs next month.

To make matters worse for LeBron's L.A. squad -- the Lakers took it on the chin without their star player ... falling to Ja Morant and the Grizzlies, 121-109.

It's not clear when -- or even if -- LeBron can make it back to the team at some point this season ... he's reportedly been shut down for at least two weeks to allow the foot a chance to heal.

And, if the team isn't in striking distance of making the postseason by the end of those 14 days, he reportedly could be done until the 2023-24 season.

James clearly ain't happy about it all -- he posted an Instagram of his injured leg on Monday night saying, "Fkn sucks!!!!"

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe went at it Tuesday morning on their FS1 show "Undisputed" ... after Skip insinuated LeBron James is lying about his injury.

Of course, it was reported Monday that James might miss substantial time with a right foot injury ... but Skip isn't buying he's hurt, questioning the legitimacy of LeBron's injury.

Bayless told Sharpe he hasn't seen any difference in Bron since the Lakers superstar turned 38 in December, and said he appeared to be fine during Sunday's game vs. Dallas.

Sharpe, however, took issue with Skip's comments, especially since LBJ said he "heard it pop" against the Mavs, prompting a war of words between the two hosts.

“Why is it when someone says something is wrong with LeBron James you either say it’s not that serious or he’s lying?” Sharpe asked. "But you’ve never called into question when Tom Brady said anything."

James, meanwhile, posted a pic of his right foot on Instagram Monday ... with the caption, "Fkn Sucks!!!! "

Giannis Antetokounmpo took some big-time shots at Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant on Monday -- and while they were totally scripted and not his words ... it was hilarious to hear the 2-time MVP talk-trash nonetheless!

The Milwaukee Bucks superstar's "roast" of his peers all went down on "The Daily Show" ... when host Hasan Minhaj wanted to get Giannis out of his ultra-nice-guy role and into villain mode.

Minhaj queued up some scorching burns for Giannis to read out loud ... and while the basketball player didn't quite get through the one about Doncic, he certainly delivered on the other two.

"Joker," the Greek Freak read off a teleprompter, "how are you going to make it through the Finals when you look like you can barely make it through a Burger King drive-through."

Giannis tried to then compliment the Denver Nuggets center -- before Minhaj interrupted ... and then made him go after KD.

"You keep joining these super teams to win an NBA title," Antetokounmpo said. "How about we work out together sometime so I can teach you how to carry your own team."

Yeeeeesh.

Of course, Antetokounmpo didn't last long in the character ... 'cause then he proceeded to shower Durant with praise, before refusing to even remotely come close to saying a negative word about LeBron James.

Bam Adebayo believes he should have won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards -- saying when it comes to the last two winners, Rudy Gobert and Marcus Smart, he can do more than they can -- and when it matters most.

The Miami Heat star was asked by Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks to state his case for why he thinks he's the best defender in the NBA ... and Adebayo said he's one of a handful of players who guards all five positions.

"I guard 1-5," Adebayo told Rooks. "It's not a lot of us. Me, Draymond [Green], Giannis [Antetoukoumpo] ... Who else?" he asked.

Adebayo's biggest gripe with Gobert, who won the DPOY award three times in his career (2018, 2019, and 2021), and Smart, who won the award last season, is the Timberwolves big man's defense doesn't translate in the postseason ... and the Celtics guard is too small too defend centers.

"It has to translate and I feel like Rudy in the playoffs didn't translate and Marcus Smart guards 1-4," Adebayo said. "That's the thing that I thought was different between me and them."

Adebayo finished fourth in the DPOY voting last season behind Gobert, Mikal Bridges, and Smart, who became the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton did in 1996. In 2021, Bam came up short as well ... finishing behind Green, Ben Simmons, and Gobert.

Darrelle Revis breezed into the Hall of Fame on the 1st ballot, but who's the greatest CB to ever walk on a football field??? TMZ Sports talked to the Jets legend, and while he didn't flat-out say it was Deion Sanders, he used a fascinating analogy to answer the question using two NBA legends.

"As Kobe is to Jordan, 'Revis Island' is to 'Primetime.'"

As great as Revis was, he openly admits he borrowed a lot from guys like Deion.

"I grew up watching Jordan. I grew up watching Kobe. Jordan would always say in interviews, ya know their relationship was pretty cool, so Jordan would always say 'Kobe always stealing my moves!' I think that's the same [with me and Deion]. I tried to mimic the greats as much as I could," Darrelle told us.

Of course, Revis, a 7x Pro Bowler, and 4x All-Pro was the best cornerback of his generation during his 11-season career. Darrelle won a Super Bowl alongside Tom Brady and the Patriots at Super Bowl 49.

DR racked up 29 interceptions ... but more than the picks, he shut down half of the field.

Alongside Sanders and Revis, there are other players n the conversation for the greatest CB ever. Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, Darrell Green and Champ Bailey are considered legendary players. There are also old-school guys deserving of recognition... players like Mel Blount, "Night Train" Lane, Willie Brown, and Mike Haynes.

Revis makes it clear ... he borrowed from anyone who was talented and could help up his game, and they helped him get to where he is now.

"If it wasn't for a lot of his influence and a lot of other guys that are great influence, how could I be here? So I think they were the stepping stone to help me become a better player and play the game we all love."

Revis joins fellow Jets legend, Joe Klecko as part of the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class ... and with Browns all-time Joe Thomas, is the only 1st ballot HOF'er in the group.

As for his speech, Darrelle says he hasn't yet started writing.

"I'm still tryna collect all the thoughts," Revis said, adding ... "I wanna make sure it's very personable."

Dwyane Wade's daughter's been granted the official name and gender change she's wanted ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to new legal docs we obtained, an L.A. County judge just signed off on the new legal identity for Dwyane's transgender 15-year-old.

Dwyane's kid is now legally Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade ... and the judge also ruled in favor of her official gender change from male to female.

Of course, Dwyane and his current wife, Gabrielle Union, have been calling her Zaya for years -- she came out as trans back in 2020. Her petition for the name and gender has been making its way through the courts since last August.

The legal change came with some family drama ... as we first told you, the retired NBA star and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade were at odds over the move. Dwyane said the change was in their child's best interest and ripped Shiovaughn's opposition as "nonsensical."

Detroit Pistons big man James Wiseman says there's "definitely" room for Mac McClung in the NBA after his performance in the Slam Dunk Contest last week ... telling TMZ Sports the high flyer is a "great player."

24-year-old McClung has bounced around the NBA and G League after going undrafted in 2021, but got another opportunity when he signed a two-way contract with the Sixers right before wowing the entire basketball community with his dunking skills in Utah.

We spoke with Wiseman out at LAX about how Mac can build off his momentum from the dunk contest and remain in the league ... and he thinks the former Georgetown and Texas Tech star can solidify his spot on an NBA roster.

Of course, McClung previously played for the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers on 10-day contracts ... but now many, Wiseman included, believe it's time for Mac to shine in the NBA.

Brittney Griner is picking up right where she left off with the Phoenix Mercury ... smiling from ear-to-ear as she donned the team's uniform once again for a photoshoot.

The Mercury posted a behind-the-scenes look at Griner posing for the cam on Friday ... just days after the WNBA star signed a one-year deal to solidify her return to Phoenix.

In the video shared on the Mercury's official Twitter account, BG was her normal charismatic self ... showing off her dribbling skills and grinning as the cameras fired away.

Griner -- who hasn't played a WNBA game since 2021 -- gave Mercury fans a taste of what they can expect once she hits the court by showing off some behind-the-back passes.

As we previously reported, 32-year-old Griner got back into the swing of things when she showed up to a shoot-around session earlier this week ... and she looked thrilled throughout the workout.

The Mercury have embraced Griner amid her return to the U.S. and the team ... after all, when last seen, BG was one of the most dominant forces in the WNBA.

Griner -- a 6-time All-Star and 2-time Olympic Gold medalist -- led the Mercury to a WNBA championship in 2014 ... and she averaged a career-high 21.9 points per game in 2017.