Basketball

Bu Thiam's role as EVP at Columbia Records has him scoping for new artists from all walks of life ... and he's looking to add NCAA champ Flau'jae Johnson to his roster!!!

We caught up with Bu at LAX and he had nothing but praise for Flau'jae, who recently helped the LSU Tigers win their first women's basketball national championship ... in controversial fashion at that.

Bu says he looked into Flau'jae's credentials and everything checked out, as it should have. The 19-year-old's been rapping long before it became trendy on the Internet ... going viral through appearances on "The Rap Game," "America's Got Talent," and her 2020 "Sway In The Morning" freestyle.

She inked a deal with Roc Nation management last year ... so, at least Bu knows who he needs to convince for a joint venture.

As a music exec, Bu also has to be mindful of the industry's changing landscape ... and he's surprisingly open to the idea of artificial intelligence artists, unlike some of his counterparts, like Swizz Beatz, who's expressed concern.

AI recordings mimicking the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Kanye West are littered all over YouTube ... but Bu thinks the industry needs to be more open-minded and embrace the technology.

Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are under investigation by the NBA for apparently tanking in one of their final games of the season ... which means they're out of the playoffs.

The announcement came down Saturday from NBA spokesperson Mike Bass, who said .. "The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions."

The reason Adam Silver and Co. are digging into this is because of what seemed to be an obvious move by upper management and the coaching staff to not play their best guys.

Before Friday's matchup against the Bulls, HC Jason Kidd surprisingly announced a number of the best Mavs players were out due to injuries ... including Kyrie Irving. Luka Doncic only played for a quarter and change -- the rest of the game was carried by bench players.

But even with their backup dudes, the Mavs still had a chance to close the game out and secure a spot in the play-in tournament -- which could see them move on further into the playoffs. However, the Mavs somehow blew an 11-point lead in the 4th ... and it appeared they weren't playing their best basketball -- at least that's the consensus on Twitter, anyway.

Adding insult to injury was Cuban's reaction to his team missing the game-tying shot in the final seconds of the game -- which officially ended their chances at getting into the play-in -- and he seemed to be smirking ... further fueling speculation they were tanking on purpose.

Of course, Kidd himself didn't do a great job of masking anything either -- pregame or postgame -- because he essentially said ... yeah, we sat a lot of guys and it was upper management's decision in the hopes of building a better roster for next season. Yikes ...

Tony Yayo -- the rapper who inspired John Cena's famous "You Can't See Me" gesture -- is speaking out against those criticizing LSU hoops star Angel Reese for waving her hand toward Iowa star Caitlin Clark ... saying, "When a Black girl do it, it's a problem, but when a white girl do it, it's not a problem."

TMZ Sports spoke with the G-Unit MC -- who was trending this past week after Reese's celebration during last Sunday's NCAA championship game -- and he told us the criticism she's been receiving is "kind of crazy."

Yayo said trash-talking in sports is part of the game ... adding he understands the emotions athletes experience when competing, especially for a national championship.

Yayo -- who recently wrapped up a tour with 50 Cent and is gearing up to release new music this summer -- said Reese is popularizing women's basketball ... and she's elevating the sport to newer heights.

"You got Lil Wayne calling her phone," Yayo said. "You got Boosie excited over LSU. This championship was big. Everybody knows who Angel Reese is now, as well as Caitlin Clark."

Tony said he's proud of how Reese has handled herself during the controversy ... and doesn't want it to diminish what the LSU Tigers accomplished, winning the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship.

"I just don't want all this stuff to overshadow the win," Yayo said. "There are other people on the team. There's a great coach [Kim Mulkey] over there. I'm definitely looking up to anybody that's a role model to Black women in this world."

A national championship trophy isn't the only shiny, new thing in Angel Reese's life -- the LSU basketball star just copped some new bling -- with over 20 carats of high-quality diamonds!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Tigers hooper linked up with celeb jeweler Boo Daddy Diamonds fresh off her NCAA title win over the Iowa Hawkeyes this week.

We're told Bayou Barbie is now the proud owner of several dope pieces ... including an amazing diamond tennis bracelet that's filled with VVS diamonds and 14k white gold.

She also copped two diamond chokers -- one having the initial of her first name -- and we're told the collection totaled out to 20 carats of top-quality bling!

The 6'3" forward deserves to treat herself after the year she just had -- she finished the season with 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game ... and earned a spot on the First Team All-SEC and SEC's All-Defensive Team.

Reese -- who fractured her foot at Maryland before transferring in 2022 -- also made LSU history with the most consecutive double-doubles ... and leading the women's hoop team to their first NCAA title.

We were this close to finding out when Bronny James was going to announce his decision about college ... but a publicist stopped him from answering the question!

The McDonald's All-American nearly revealed a timetable for his decision while speaking to reporters after the Nike Hoop Summit practice in Oregon on Thursday ... his first time speaking with the media.

A reporter started off asking Bronny about Oregon signee Jackson Shelstad and other top players trying to recruit him to their schools while the guys are at the summit.

"It's fun times," Bronny said with a big smile on his face.

"It's good to know that they want me there with them, but at the end of the day, it's my decision, and I gotta make the right one for me."

The reporter quickly followed up, asking WHEN Bronny was going to make the decision. But, right as he was about to answer, a publicist shut down the line of questioning.

"I think we can move on to questions about U.S. Basketball and the Hoop Summit," the PR rep said.

Of course, the 4-star recruit -- who graduates from Sierra Canyon this spring -- has received offers from all over the country, including Ohio State, Kentucky, Memphis, and USC.

He also has the option to go pro ... in fact, last month LaVar Ball said Bronny should skip college and play ball in Australia, like his NBA star son, LaMelo.

LSU hoops star Angel Reese has decided she will attend the White House visit with her team after all ... days after she contemplated skipping the visit because of remarks made by First Lady Jill Biden.

Remember, Reese took issue with FLOTUS saying Iowa should attend the White House, too -- a tradition usually reserved for championship winners -- calling Jill's suggestion "a joke."

"In the beginning, we were hurt -- it was emotional because we know how hard we worked all year for everything," Reese said Friday.

"You don't get that experience [to go to the White House] ever ... and I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I'm going to do what's best for the team and we've decided we're going to go."

"I'm a team player. I'm going to do what's best for the team. I'm the captain."

LSU said Thursday they would be "excited" to celebrate the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship, leaving many to speculate whether Reese would join them.

LeBron James' daughter appears to have a future on a court ... but it might not end up being a basketball one -- 'cause the Lakers superstar said Thursday she could very well be a volleyball player!!

The 39-year-old just posted a short video of Zhuri James getting in a vball sesh in their backyard ... and he seemed bullish on her potential after watching her on the grass.

In the clip, Zhuri seemed to crush a ball over a net that had been set up on their lawn ... and Bron couldn't have been happier about it.

"My 🏐⭐ in the making," James wrote on the video.

If volleyball is indeed her future, Zhuri would become the first James offspring to not follow in Dad's footsteps.

As you know, LeBron's two sons, Bronny and Bryce, are both touted high school basketball players who many have already projected to be on future NBA rosters.

Michael Jordan's $15 million mansion was broken into this week ... and now, an 18-year-old faces several charges, including criminal damage to the property.

Highland Park Police Department responded to a robbery in progress call from neighbors at the 2700 block of Point Lane around 4:10 PM on Tuesday, April 4th, according to Lake & McHenry County Scanner.

The home belongs to the Chicago Bulls legend ... and when police arrived, they found Raiden Hagedorn still inside the 56,000-square-foot home.

Hagedorn was arrested and charged with criminal trespass to an occupied residence and two counts of criminal damage to property -- all misdemeanors.

Thankfully, Jordan was not there at the time of the incident. In fact, MJ hasn't lived at this address since he placed the mansion on the market in 2012.

The property comes with 9 bedrooms, 19 baths, an indoor basketball gymnasium, an infinity pool, a tennis court and a cigar room.

It also has the famous personalized gate with Jordan's #23.

It was also the scene of a recent Travis Scott song featuring Young Thug and M.I.A. called "FRANCHISE." The video was shot on the grounds.

The Jordan estate was initially listed for $29 million but has been dropped to $14,855,000 ... but Michael has still been unable to unload the property.

Here's a big shocker from señor Ben Affleck, who's breaking down his new movie, "Air" ... in perfect Spanish!!!

Ben threw social media into a tizzy Thursday as a lot of folks were shocked to learn he's bilingual ... despite the fact it's something of an open secret.

Ben sat down with El Cine En La Ser for an interview about his film ... explaining why Michael Jordan himself doesn't appear in the movie about his groundbreaking Nike contract.

If ya don't have the gift of gab en español, fear not, we did the translation, and Ben says there's not an actor in the world who could make an audience believe they're MJ, so the movie tells the story without focusing on Michael.

Still, Ben says he wouldn't have made the movie without Mike's blessing, which is why he had a sit down with the legend ... who told him the most important parts of the story were nailing 3 characters ... Howard White, George Raveling and MJ's own mother.

It's funny ... Ben says Jordan told him they had to get Viola Davis to play his mom, which Ben jokes is like asking someone to play basketball and they will only do so if MJ's on their team.

Ben's explained the same stuff in English, but it's impressive to hear him say it in Spanish -- which, btw, he learned in his youth ... pre-J Lo.

It took a total of FIVE cops to subdue Ben Gordon during his arrest outside a Connecticut juice shop on Tuesday morning ... new video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the clip, you can see three officers were trying to get Gordon onto the ground after he had allegedly threatened employees with a knife inside of the Stamford store moments earlier -- but they struggled to wrestle him to the pavement.

The footage shows they were eventually able to push him into a storefront sign -- causing him to fall -- but they still couldn't get cuffs on him.

Finally, two other officers raced in -- and Gordon was ultimately taken under control.

As we reported, cops say after they placed the former NBA star into custody ... they found a folding knife clipped to his front pants pocket. They also say they found a stun gun and a pair of brass knuckles in his bag as well.

Gordon was arrested ... and booked on several charges. Following a mental health evaluation at a local hospital, he was released on $10,000 bond.

Court records show the 40-year-old has since been hit with eight total criminal charges -- including three felony counts of carrying a dangerous weapon and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

Gordon briefly addressed his latest run-in with the law during an Instagram Live session on Thursday ... sharing his side of the incident.

Ben Gordon has been arrested again ... TMZ Sports has confirmed this time he was taken into custody on Tuesday after he allegedly threatened juice shop employees with a knife.

Cops in Stamford, Conn. tell us ... they got a call at around 9:15 AM that the former NBA star was inside of a downtown-area Juice Kings acting aggressively and bizarrely while wielding a blade.

Authorities say officers arrived on the scene quickly ... and were able to coax the 40-year-old out of the establishment without incident.

They say, however, the ex-Chicago Bulls guard became aggressive when they attempted to pat him down outside. They claim it then took several officers to subdue him and put him in cuffs.

Cops say an ensuing search of his person showed he had a folding knife clipped to his front pants pocket. They say when they searched his bag, he also had a stun gun and a pair of brass knuckles in his possession.

Gordon was arrested and transported to a local police station ... but according to cops, he began acting so aggressively and so bizarrely, he was taken to a nearby hospital for a mental health evaluation.

Gordon was released back to cops a short time later, but authorities say he continued to act erratically. They claim a behavioral unit and some of Gordon's family and friends were ultimately able to calm him down -- and he was then processed.

Gordon was booked on several charges -- including three felony counts of carrying a dangerous weapon and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. Cops say his family posted his $10,000 bond, and he was released at around 7 PM.

He's due in court for a hearing on the matter later this month.

LSU will not let a small squabble between its star player and Jill Biden get in the way of a championship party at the White House ... the school just revealed it'd "certainly" accept an invitation despite the tiff.

In fact, according to a university spokesperson, the Tigers would be "excited" to continue the celebration of their women's NCAA tournament title at 1600 Penn Ave. later this year.

Of course, many were wondering if the team would, indeed, go ... after LSU forward Angel Reese said she was peeved over the way Biden invited both the Tigers and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

Reese said on "I Am Athlete" this week that "if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

She then insinuated she'd prefer it if she could go party with the Obamas instead." They can have that spotlight," she said of the Hawkeyes. "We'll go to the Obamas'. We'll go see Michelle. We'll see Barack."

Biden had attempted to walk back the double invite, with her press secretary saying Tuesday Biden's comments "were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."

But, in response, Reese said, "I don't accept the apology because you said what you said .. You can't go back on certain things that you say."

Forget LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard ... Odell Beckham Jr. might have been the biggest star at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night -- at least, that's based on the reaction he got outside of the stadium, where he was mobbed by a throng of fans!!

The NFL superstar could hardly move as he attempted to make his way inside the downtown L.A. venue for the pivotal Lakers vs. Clippers game ... as people tried to get photos with him -- and recruit him to their favorite team.

To his credit, Odell handled the situation super well -- posing for a few selfies ... and even joking with our photog about his next NFL team!!

Seems the L.A. crowd wanted to see him in Las Vegas next season for some reason -- as multiple fans pled with the free-agent wide receiver to sign with the Raiders.

Once inside, Odell had a killer spot for the big game ... sitting just a few feet away from the Clippers' bench.

Unclear which team he was rooting for -- he was dressed in neutral colors -- but hopefully for him it was the Clippers ... 'cause the Lakers got smacked pretty good, 125-118.

Beckham wasn't the only celeb in the building taking in the action ... Michael B. Jordan was courtside too -- but no word if the guys ended up rubbin' elbows.

Jill Biden needs to apologize to the LSU women's hoops team ASAP ... so says Sherri Shepherd, who tells TMZ Sports the first lady should have never invited Iowa to come along with the champion Tigers for a celebration at the White House.

The television personality made her feelings loud and clear to us about the issue while out in New York City this week ... explaining she thinks Biden only handed out the invite in an effort to earn future votes for Joe Biden.

"You never invite the losing team to the White House," Shepherd said after Jill had opened the White House doors to both LSU and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

"I know you want Iowa to vote for your husband, but stop it!" she added. "Stop it, Dr. Biden."

The topic has been extremely polarizing ever since Jill revealed she'd like to host both teams ... with LSU star Angel Reese laughing off the notion -- and even later saying she's now considering not going for a White House celebration over it all.

"I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same," Reese said on 'I Am Athlete.' "If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

Shepherd clearly believes Reese has every right to be peeved ... agreeing with the Tigers forward and saying, "If it was the other way around, it would never be this situation."

Of course, Biden's Press Secretary tried to apologize for FLOTUS following the backlash ...  saying Jill was simply trying to applaud "how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX" and "the historic game and all women athletes."

For their part, Iowa said it never received a formal invitation from the Bidens ... and its star guard, Caitlin Clark, seemed to say she wouldn't want to go even if the invite had come.

LeBron James tried his hardest to keep a straight face while his teammates serenaded him with goat noises during his postgame interview after L.A.'s OT thriller -- but eventually, the King caved and cracked a smile at the flattering gesture.

James and the Lakers defeated the Jazz, 135-133, in an overtime thriller at Vivint Arena -- and as reporters asked him about the game, Bron's teammates, led by DeAngelo Russell, went out of their way to show how grateful they were for his performance Tuesday night.

ICYMI, the Lakers blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Still, LeBron had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but missed a contested layup ... a shot he makes 9 out of 10 times.

James avenged his late-game miss in overtime -- with Demi Lovato and Lindsey Vonn in the building -- scoring the deciding basket by powering his way to the hoop, this time making the layup, and propelling the Lakers to victory.

Bron finished the contest with 37 points, six assists, and five rebounds and said ... "I had to redeem myself at the end of regulation," adding, "I smoked a layup."

Although James seemed flattered by the goat noises from his teammates, the 4x NBA champ knows the Lakers still have work to do if they want to make a playoff run, saying, "I got to stay focused. I'm locked in."

The Lakers (41-38) play the Clippers (41-38) at Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night.

Warriors fans were thrilled to see Andrew Wiggins make it back to the Golden State bench on Tuesday night -- giving the guy a standing ovation that was so loud, it brought a huge smile to the star's face.

The 28-year-old had been away from the team since February while dealing with a family issue -- and while he said things weren't entirely resolved back at home yet, he felt it was at least "in a safe place where I can come back."

And, nobody was more thrilled to see it than those in the Bay Area -- who showered him with cheers and applause during the Warriors vs. Thunder game at Chase Center.

Wiggins did not play in the contest -- Dubs GM Bob Myers said they want to make sure his conditioning is right before he steps back on the court -- but the forward told media members he didn't think it'd be "too long before" he's back out there.

As for the absence, Wiggins declined to get into specifics of it all ... saying, "I'd rather just keep that private."

Wiggins, though, told media members he felt love from his teammates throughout his extended time away from the team, and he was super happy to be back.