Basketball

NBA legend Allen Iverson wants Giannis Antetokounmpo to pull a Kevin Durant and form a super team in the Bay Area ... saying he'd LOVE to see the Greek Freak join the Warriors!!!

There's been a TON of talk about Giannis' NBA future -- the 2-time MVP has one more year on his current contract ... and many have been wondering if his time as a Milwaukee Buck is coming to an end.

AI -- who Giannis just so happened to idolize growing up -- spoke about Antetokounmpo on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's "All The Smoke" podcast Thursday ... saying he LOVES the dude's game.

That's when Jackson pointed out he hopes Giannis gets the hell out of Milwaukee to join Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State ... and Iverson agreed.

"That's where I want him to go ... Golden State," Iverson said, adding, "I would love him to go there. That's where I want him to go."

"I want him to go to Golden State, man."

As for Giannis, he seems to be happy with his current situation with the Bucks ... but given how much he loved watching AI growing up, this may put the thought in the back of his head.

NBA superstar Joel Embiid and model girlfriend Anne de Paula just welcomed their first child together ... making the surprise announcement Thursday!!

The news comes as a shock to many who didn't even know the couple was expecting ... but the new parents decided to go public as their baby boy, Arthur Elijah de Paula Embiid, made his big arrival this week.

The name is important to the Embiid family -- Joel's younger brother, Arthur, died at age 13 in 2014.

"We are so blessed and fortunate to welcome our little boy in this family," the Sixers center said on Instagram.

And, in true Embiid fashion ... daddy had jokes.

"First of 11 or more? Trying to convince her but I’m not winning so far. I’m just trying to build a soccer team but for real I’m so excited for the future and my life has a new meaning."

"Kudos to @annedepaula_ for being so strong and giving me the Greatest Gift our life can offer #GodisGood"

Embiid and de Paula have been together since 2018 ... and this is their first child together.

The NBA, Doc Rivers, Jameer Nelson and the Players Association have actively been trying to get Delonte West help ... this after a new photo surfaced showing the former star hooper in rough shape.

The viral photo -- reportedly taken recently in Dallas -- appears to show the 37-year-old former guard begging for money on the street.

The question has been ... why haven't former players and coaches stepped in and helped West?

As it turns out, TMZ Sports has learned, they've been trying for months.

Multiple sources tell us that the league, NBPA, and Delonte's former coach, Doc Rivers, and former St. Joe's college teammate, Jameer Nelson, and others have attempted to get DW much needed assistance.

FYI, West was the 24th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He played 8 NBA seasons for the SuperSonics, Mavs, Cavs and Celtics ... where he played for Rivers.

West's struggles have been well-documented ... and this isn't the first time photo or video has surfaced that has caused serious concern about West's well-being.

Back in 2016, a fan spotted Delonte outside a Jack In The Box ... and asked him if he was the former NBA star.

West responded ... "I'm not about that life anymore."

Most recently in January 2020, Delonte was captured on video involved in a street fight.

LeBron James is adamant he condemns ALL FORMS of violence ... including violent acts of revenge against police officers.

Following the Lakers game 3 playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets, Bron was asked whether he believes the spotlight he's put on bad cops and police brutality incites violence against law enforcement.

“I’ve never in my 35 years ever condoned violence. Never have," LeBron said.

"But, I also know what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong, and I grew up in the inner city in a Black community in what we call the hood or the ghetto, however you want to picture it. And, I’ve seen a lot of counts first hand of a lot of Black people being racially profiled because of our color."

LeBron has been very outspoken about several high profile police-involved shootings ... including the shooting of Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake.

Many political pundits have suggested the narrative James is pushing puts cops in danger.

While James made it clear he doesn't condone violence -- and understands there are good people in law enforcement -- he also said he has personally witnessed cops racially profiling and improperly treating black people.

“I’m not saying that all cops are bad because I actually, throughout high school and things of that nature and I’m around them all the time and they’re not all bad," James said.

"But, when you see the videos that’s going on and you can see all over the, not only my hometown, but all over America, you continue to see the acts of violence towards my kind, I can’t do nothing but to speak about it and see the common denominator."

LeBron was also asked about the L.A. County Sheriff's suggestion that James should put up a 6-figure reward to help find the person who shot 2 Sheriff's Deputies in Compton.

Kevin Durant says he totally understands why NBA players would risk it all for some "action" in the Orlando bubble ... saying going that long without some lovin' would drive anyone crazy!!!

It's no secret -- the league has SUPER strict rules against allowing unauthorized guests at player hotels ... and Danuel House was booted from campus while the Rockets were down 3-1 to the Lakers for allowing a "female COVID-19 tester" in his room.

KD addressed the incident on "The Joe Budden Podcast" over the weekend ... and while we will not speculate what went down in House's room, the Brooklyn Nets star did.

"If you've been in a bubble away from some action for 3 months? I mean, you can't blame him, dog," KD said.

FYI -- Durant has not been to the bubble as he recovers from his Achilles injury ... but says he's heard the horror stories about it being an all-out dude fest.

"And I heard it was no females at all outside of [COVID testers.] The maids were all men, there was nothing but men around."

"After a couple of months, you're down 3-1? Nah, He said, 'I don't give a f**k no more,' man," KD joked.

When Budden asked if the younger generation of hoopers is more focused on video games over chicks, KD made it clear that ain't the case.

"Nah bro. They still at the end of the day, they want some action, too," KD said.

Vanessa Bryant is suing the L.A. County Sheriff and his department, claiming they caused her severe emotional distress ... when deputies allegedly took personal cellphone photos of the bodies of Kobe and Gigi Bryant at the scene of the helicopter crash that took their lives.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, "no fewer than 8 sheriff's deputies at the crash site, pulled out their personal cell phones and snapped photos of the dead children, parents and coaches. The deputies took these photos for their own personal gratification."

The lawsuit goes onto allege the photos were the subject of conversation within the sheriff's dept ... with deputies showing their colleagues the pictures that had no investigative purpose.

The lawsuit notes how the photos were exposed ... when a deputy was at a bar and showed the photos to a woman he was trying to impress. The bartender heard the conversation, blew the whistle and called the sheriff's department.

Vanessa says in the suit ... that's when Sheriff Villanueva tried to cover it all up by going to the Sheriff's substation that responded to the crash and telling deputies if they deleted the photos they would not face discipline. The suit claims the purpose of his talk was destruction of evidence.  The lawsuit claims Villanueva did not tell the families about the photos and they only learned of it in the media when the story broke that deputies took the photos.

The lawsuit claims the Sheriff never gave the family straight answers and now Vanessa is in constant fear the photos will leak ... "Ms. Bryant feels ill at the thought of strangers gawking at images of her deceased husband and child, and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online."

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages.

We reached out to the Sheriff's Dept. ... so far, no word back.

An extremely rare Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie card just became the most expensive piece of cardboard in basketball ... with the final bid fetching a whopping $1.812 MILLION!!!

As we previously reported ... the signed Giannis card --  listed by Goldin Auctions -- features a piece of a game-worn jersey from the Greek Freak's rookie season.

The card was part of the Panini America's 2013-14 high-end "National Treasures" line ... and features the NBA "Logoman" patch from one of Giannis' rookie jerseys.

The card was graded a MINT 9 by the Beckett Grading Service ... which had the most hardcore of collectors salivating over the thing.

At the time, Goldin told us it could become the most expensive basketball card in modern-day history ... and they were right -- with the Giannis card edging out the LeBron James rookie card that sold for $1.8 million in July.

Orlando Magic star Aaron Gordon is dropping highlights even in the off-season by putting out a brand new rap video -- and we're not gonna lie ... it's pretty 🔥.

The 25-year-old baller is no stranger to getting in the booth -- he even famously dissed Dwyane Wade back in April for screwing him out of the Slam Dunk title with his track, "9 out of 10."

This time around, Gordon is back with "LVL Up" featuring Moe ... and it's filled with some not-too-shabby lyrics.

"I had to level up, haters ain't never love ... they gon' remember us long, after we turn into dust."

"She fell in love, now she spilling her guts ... she gotta grow up she still just a pup."

"Smokin' ya'll boys, ya'll gon' need a crutch ... dodgin' no kiss from the cameras."

"Sh***in' since I was in Pampers, bruh."

The song comes with a baller-ass music video ... with Gordon and Moe spittin' in front of private jets, inside party buses and beautiful buildings while sipping on expensive alcohol. Ya know, the fun stuff.

Gordon has previously said he was using quarantine to shape up his rap game ... and so far, it's moving in the right direction.

Now, there are a bunch of other rappin' NBAers who have jumped into rap -- from Damian Lillard to Iman Shumpert and even LeBron James -- so Gordon's got some competition.

"Right now, this is an absolute disgrace!"

That's N.Y. congressman Max Rose going IN on Knicks owner James Dolan ... saying the dude should sell the team ASAP -- and adding he believes even our TMZ Sports camera guy could do a better job!!!

"They don't make the playoffs. Nothing's happening," Rose told us in an angry rant on Capitol Hill in D.C. "Every year that they don't make the playoffs, New York City loses out."

"We lose a piece of our soul. Sell tomorrow. Sell today. Do it for the good of all of us, brother!"

Rose continued, "Look, the Knicks got to stay. Dolan's just got to sell. Drives the team into the ground, man! It's disgraceful!"

Of course, Rose's remarks now beg the question ... will Dolan go after a congressman?!?!

You'll recall ... James does NOT take criticism lightly -- and has punted multiple fans recently from Madison Square Garden, including a "sell the team" heckler back in 2019.

Seems Rose's comments could put him in perma-ban territory as well ... which would make for an incredible storyline -- given, you know, Rose is a decorated war hero in addition to a congressman.

Raptors president Masai Ujiri says he really struggled mentally in the days after the cop shoving video was released ... even though the footage completely exonerated him.

"This was very hard for me," Ujiri told the media Thursday ... "When the video came out, I didn't sleep for a few days."

So, what bothered Ujiru -- who was clearly shoved by a white cop TWICE for no reason in June 2019 while trying to get on the court to celebrate his team's championship???

Two things ...

First, Ujiri says the false allegations that he was the instigator of that incident really started to mess with his mind.

"[After the incident] you question yourself and as time goes on you begin to doubt yourself. I doubted myself and what really happened there."

Obviously, the video clearly shows Ujiri calmly trying to show his ID badge to the officer -- and it was the officer who CLEARLY overreacted by putting his hands on Masai twice.

But, Masai says his mind would run wild about the incident -- especially while he was alone in the NBA Bubble -- and he began to wonder if he was misremembering how things really went down.

Secondly ... when the video was released, he started feeling horrible for other Black people who don't have the money, power, clout and other resources to fight back against false allegations.

"That began to bother me as a person."

Ujiri says the incident has not made him hate white people -- he says there are many white families he would trust with his own kids.

Cleveland Cavs star Kevin Love says talking about his mental health may have saved his life ... revealing he nearly died during a particularly dark battle with depression if not for some help from some close friends.

"If it hadn’t been for a couple of my closest friends, I don’t know if I would be here today telling my story," Love said in an article he wrote for "The Players Tribune."

Love's battle with mental health issues is no secret -- he's talked about it for years. But, in the wake of Dak Prescott being criticized for talking about his own depression, seems obvious Kevin feels it's more important than ever to share his experiences.

In his article, Love gets candid about being "paralyzed with depression" while recovering from injuries during his time with the Timberwolves ... saying he barely left his apartment to hide his feelings from the outside world.

"The future started to feel meaningless," Love said ... "And when it gets to the point where you lose hope, that’s when the only thing you can think about is, 'How can I make this pain go away?'"

"I don’t think I have to say much more than that."

Love credits his closest friends for helping him through that dark time -- saying it was super important to feel like he could talk with other people about his struggles.

He emphasizes that it's important to know those battling mental health issues are not alone ... and encourages people in need to talk with others, seek medication and therapy if necessary.

"You would be amazed at how freeing it is just to talk to somebody, and tell them the truth about what you’re going through."

"If you’re struggling right now, I can’t tell you that this is going to be easy. But I can tell you that it does get better."

"And I can tell you that you are definitely not alone."

Bradley Beal's wife is standing up for her hubby -- saying it's COMPLETE BS he didn't make a 2019-20 All-NBA Team ... and she ain't holdin' back!!

"BRADLEY BEAL IS A F-ING ALL STAR AND ALL NBA!!!!!!!!!! Put some respect on his name," Kamiah Adams-Beal tweeted.

Here's the crux of her argument ... Beal finished the season as the NBA's 2nd leading scorer, averaging 30.5 points per game.

The only player with a higher scoring average this season was James Harden.

In fact, Beal is the only player in modern NBA history to average more than 30 PPG and NOT make an All-NBA team!!

The counter-argument is that Beal's Washington Wizards were pretty bad this year, finishing with a 25-47 record and missing the playoffs.

But, Kamiah says the team record shouldn't matter when it comes to All-NBA honors ... because "It’s an individual accolade. Therefore, the team wins, shouldn’t play a role."

She continued, "[Beal] has been undervalued and quite frankly DISRESPECTED far too long... them numbers don’t lie."

"And I don’t wanna hear sh*t about 'tHe wIzARdS aReNt wInNiNg tHo' all nba is an INDIVIDUAL accolade. So miss me with the bullsh*t."

Kamiah continued, "The REAL know what it is!! Amazing season baby!! Keep grinding! Keep giving it your all! Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed!! I love you."

For his part, Beal responded to his wife on social media -- saying, "I love [Kamiah Adams]!! Ride or die."

So, who picks the All-NBA team? Certain sportswriters and broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada vote every year -- it's not players and coaches.

The All-NBA teams were announced Wednesday -- the 1st team included LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

2nd team features Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Nikola Jokic.

"Would you look at that? It's the first time Paul George has been on fire all night!"

One angry L.A. Clippers fan was SO heated over his team's epic collapse in the 2nd-round of the playoffs ... he took a flame to his own Paul George jersey!!

It's no secret -- losing to the Denver Nuggets is NOT what the Clips had in mind this season ... with many expecting Kawhi Leonard and PG13 to lead the team to its first title.

This fan decided he'd had enough of repping George on Tuesday night ... destroying his jersey and ripping the baller in the process.

FYI -- Playoff P had just 10 points and 4 rebounds in the loss.

This isn't the first time we've seen George jerseys set ablaze ... some angry Indiana Pacers fans did the act back in 2017 when their All-Star announced he would be leaving in free agency the following season.

This reaction is CLEARLY a bit of an overreaction ... but the frustration is understandable -- after all, Kawhi and George combined for 0 points in the 4th quarter as the Clips were eliminated from the playoffs.

But hey, there's always next year!!

WNBA star Maya Moore just dropped a bombshell -- she MARRIED the man she helped free from prison!!

Moore -- considered one of the greatest WNBA players EVER -- had stepped away from the league in 2019 and 2020 to focus on social justice issues ... starting with freeing Jonathan Irons.

40-year-old Irons was serving a 50-year prison sentence stemming from a 1998 burglary and assault conviction in Missouri, despite no real evidence proving his guilt. Irons was only 16 at the time of the conviction.

Moore says she met Irons when she was 18 through a prison ministry program and grew close over the years while fighting for his freedom.

When he was released from prison in July, Moore was there waiting for him ... and they tied the knot shortly after.

"We wanted to announce today that we are super excited to continue the work that we are doing together, but doing it as a married couple," Moore announced on "Good Morning America."

"We got married a couple months ago and we're excited to just continue this new chapter of life together."

Moore explained the growth of their relationship ... saying, "Over the last 13 years we have just developed a friendship and just entered into this huge battle to get him home and just over time it was pretty clear what the Lord was doing in our hearts and now we're sitting here today, starting a whole new chapter together."

Irons told GMS it became clear he wanted to marry Moore while he was still locked up at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, but didn't want to make a move until he was free.

"I wanted to marry her but at the same time protect her because being in a relationship with a man in prison, it's extremely difficult and painful," Irons said.

"I didn't want her to feel trapped and I wanted her to feel open and have the ability any time if this is too much for you, go and find somebody. Live your life. Because this is hard."

Irons says he eventually proposed in a hotel room after hanging out with some close friends.

"It was just me and her in the room and I got down on my knees and I looked up at her and she kind of knew what was going on and I said, 'Will you marry me?' She said, 'Yes!'"

As for the wedding reception, Moore and Irons say they had special COVID protocols -- including guests in masks and social distancing.

THIS LEAGUE!!!!

Trailblazers stars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum took the ultimate low road and clowned THE HELL out of the Clippers for their early playoff exit ... and it's saaavaagggeeee!!!

In case you weren't aware ... Lillard and McCollum have big beef with the Clips -- and it all stems from a non-playoff bubble game back in early August.

During the Portland-L.A. matchup ... Lillard wasn't his usual clutch self -- and Clips star Patrick Beverley let him hear it -- chirping and laughing at the guard as L.A. won the game.

Afterward, Lillard, Beverly and Paul George all got into a spat on social media ... with Beverly and George believing at the time Lillard wasn't going to make the playoffs.

In one of Beverly's comments toward Lillard ... the Clippers guard said "Cancun on 3" -- insinuating Damian would be off to Mexico instead of chasing a world title.

Turns out, Lillard and McCollum DID get into the playoffs ... and despite losing in the 1st round to the Lakers -- they never forgot the smack talk, and returned the favor BIG TIME after L.A. was shockingly bounced by the Denver Nuggets in the conference semi-finals Tuesday.

"I guess I should extend this Cancun invite since I haven’t made my arrangements yet," Lillard shot at Beverly.

"I’ll bring the wine," McCollum added. "Weather nice as ever too."

McCollum continued, "My last tweet before I finish this glass. They did vote they ain’t wanna play no more. . . But I didn’t think they was gonna go out like that."

Steve Nash says his haters will NOT be his motivators with the Brooklyn Nets -- telling TMZ Sports he's too busy working to worry about outside noise.

And, there has been A LOT of noise ... with current and former NBA players, coaches, analysts and fans criticizing the Nets for hiring Nash over a qualified Black candidate.

So, when we saw Nash leaving Lilia in Brooklyn over the weekend, we asked if he's using the backlash as fuel to succeed.

"No," Nash told us straight-up ... "I'm busy trying to build something and collaborate with my staff."

Nash understands the criticism -- he has no real coaching experience and admitted to "skipping the line" to land the Nets job. But, he also argued that he's extremely qualified saying last week, "I think leading an NBA team [as a player] for almost 2 decades is pretty unique."

There's more in our convo with Nash ... here are the quick hits:

TMZ Sports: Have you spoken with Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant about the social justice movement?

Nash: "I haven't actually spoken with them about that," Nash says ... "but they know I'm an ally."

TMZ Sports: "Have you reached out to other coaches for advice?"

Nash: "I have."

TMZ Sports: Anyone, in particular, you can share?

Nash: "I can not."

TMZ Sports: "What's one goal you have in Brooklyn?

Nash: "Build a great environment for my players and make the community proud."

TMZ Sports: Were there any other teams you considered?