Basketball

Daryl Morey is leaving his position as general manager of the Houston Rockets ... roughly 1 year after he created an international incident with a pro-Hong Kong tweet.

48-year-old Morey was NOT fired, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski -- but rather it was Daryl who approached Rockets' owner, Tilman Fertitta, and initiated the conversation to step down.

Morey has been the GM for the past 13 seasons -- and wanted to explore other professional options for himself while spending more time with his family ... according to Woj.

Morey was successful during his run with the team -- the Rockets have made the playoffs 8 years in the row, the longest streak among NBA teams.

But he's most well-known for the China incident -- on Oct. 4, 2019 he tweeted out support for Hong Kong, which REALLY pissed off China.

The tweet read, "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong," with a pic of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in October.

The Tweet created a ton of backlash in China ... with massive Chinese e-commerce site Taobao yanking all Rockets merchandise and CCTV pulling NBA games from broadcast.

It was just last week that China allowed CCTV to air NBA games again -- after a massive relationship rebuilding campaign led by NBA commish Adam Silver.

Charles Barkley has agreed to put his atrocious golf skills on display to the world ... all for a charity match with Peyton Manning, Steph Curry and Phil Mickelson.

Yep, Sir Chuck is replacing Tom Brady for "The Match 3" -- which is expected to raise millions for COVID-19 relief, according to Sportico.

Remember, The Match 2 back in May was a huge success -- with Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning taking on Phil and Tom Brady.

Since TB12 is a little busy these days with the NFL season, Barkley has offered to step in and take his spot.

The only issue ... Barkley is a TURRRRRRIBLE golfer!! Like, super bad!

But, this event will be more about the trash talk than a showcase of Chuck's skills on the links.

Tiger is also out for the event -- he'll be replaced by Steph Curry, who's actually REALLY good.

The Match 3 is set to go down on Friday, Nov. 27 -- and will hope to break the $20 MILLION raised for charity by the Match 2.

Of course, Tom Brady famously struggled most of the way during The Match 2 (even splitting his pants on live TV) ... only to redeem himself with an UNREAL SHOT on the 7th hole!

An L.A. man claims he was shot in the face with a rubber bullet at the Lakers championship celebration at Staples Center ... and now the LAPD is investigating, TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's the deal ... Manny Barrientos -- a Van Nuys native who loves photography -- told KTLA 5 he headed out to Staples Center on Sunday night after the Lakers beat the Heat in Game 6 to grab some pics of the downtown L.A. party.

But, Barrientos says when police came to break up the rowdy scene ... he was shot in the mouth by a rubber bullet, which knocked out 8 of his teeth. and destroyed his lip.

"I seen my shirt all bloody," Barrientos said. "And people around me were just like, 'Your lip! Your lip is gone! Your lip is gone!'"

"My lip, it was actually on the floor at one point. A whole little chunk of it was on the floor."

Barrientos says he required emergency care to fix the damage ... and his family has now set up a GoFundMe page to try to help him pay for the medical bills.

Barrientos' family added Manny "didn’t deserve this."

The family notes Barrientos is still in the hospital recovering.

Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall says allegations he punched a former player and choked a former coach are FALSE.

It's all part of a new statement Marshall released Wednesday professing his innocence in the wake of an investigation into his allegedly hostile conduct over the years.

As we previously reported, ex-Shockers player Shaq Morris told Stadium that Marshall socked him in the face TWICE for committing a foul during a 2015 practice,

Stadium reported several former players corroborated the incident.

Morris also told Stadium that Marshall also choked assistant coach Kyle Lindsted during a practice in the 2016-17 season.

Now, Marshall is speaking out ... saying the allegations are just not true -- and asserts that he's the victim of attempted character assassination.

"In response to the allegations put forward in the media, I simply state unequivocally that I have never physically struck a player or colleague," Marshall says ... "Allegations claiming otherwise are false."

He added, "It is important that the investigation conclude its work without outside influence. An unrelenting character assassination by a member of the media that repeatedly targets me and my family threatens to undermine the impartiality of the investigation."

"I am devoted to my team and the entire Shocker community. I value my players and believe in their potential."

"If there is any question of my love for my team, it’s my responsibility to do a better job of demonstrating my commitment. I am humbled and proud to serve this university and our community."

This may go down as the most rim-shakin' gender reveal of all time!!!

NBA guard Austin Rivers and his model girlfriend, Audreyana Michelle, got extra creative when revealing the gender of their baby ... by lobbing a ball to daddy -- and it poofed into a cloud of blue!!

The stunning Audreyana announced the baby on the way just days ago ... with a mirror selfie captioned, "social distancing failed."

Austin got in on the fun, too, saying, "Pretty much lol. Love you baby❤️"

Now, we know the newcomer is a baby boy ... with the couple posting the highlight of a reveal on Tuesday.

"It broke in the hand lol🤷‍♂️but yea it’s a boy. 😍 Blessed," Rivers said.

Austin and Audreyana went public earlier this year ... and have been as inseparable as you can be (considering dude was in the NBA bubble for a bit) ever since.

This is Austin's second child ... his baby boy, Kayden, was born in 2018.

Congrats to the couple!!

Barack Obama is congratulating his pal, LeBron James -- saying the NBA superstar is a legend both on and off the court ... despite what Trump thinks.

"Proud of my friend @KingJames for his fourth title, fourth Finals MVP, and for not only living up to the hype after seventeen seasons, but surpassing it as an extraordinary leader both on the court and in the public arena fighting for education, social justice, and our democracy."

Obama and LeBron have been friends for years -- with Barack reportedly counseling LeBron on how to speak out against social injustice during the NBA restart.

And, with Donald Trump recently going after LeBron as "nasty" and a "hater" ... Obama made it clear he couldn't disagree with POTUS more.

LeBron also got some love Monday from Tom Brady -- because insanely accomplished old guys gotta stick together!

"Congrats to my brother @KingJames on winning his 4th championship," 43-year-old Brady said to the 35-year-old Lakers star ... "Not bad for a washed up old guy!"

But, the self-deprecation didn't stop there!

Check out the picture Brady posted along with the caption -- it's a meme of the Bucs QB holding up 4 fingers during his "what down?" blunder on "Thursday Night Football" last week -- but with LeBron's head on his body.

Haaaaaa.

It's nice to see TB12 can laugh about it now ... considering the mistake went on to cost Tampa Bay the game against the Chicago Bears.

Cops arrested 67 people outside Staples Center in L.A. Sunday night -- in a crazy celebration that had everything from fireworks to a guy in an actual plastic bubble!

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the arena -- despite the fact, the team was still in Orlando, Florida -- and things got crazy quickly!

So many people showed up (remember, we're still in a pandemic) -- that law enforcement declared an unlawful assembly in an effort to get people to go home!

The California Highway Patrol also shut down freeway off-ramps into the area to stop the crowd from growing in size.

Ultimately, we're told cops arrested 61 people for failing to disperse, 5 for looting and 1 for vandalism -- totaling 67.

We're told one police officer was injured in the chaos -- suffering a hand injury from a bottle somebody had thrown at cops.

Some fans were also injured. There are pics of paramedics treating someone outside Staples but unclear exactly what happened.

Not all of the fans were combative -- there were groups of people chanting Kobe Bryant's name, others waving Lakers flags.

But, there were times where fans got aggressive with police -- some even tried to kick in the windshield of a cop car -- which led to officers to brandish weapons in order to try and keep the peace.

We've seen footage from the celebration of fans fighting in the streets, looting a Starbucks and setting off fireworks.

As for the game, the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, winning the 17th title in franchise history.

The parade is on hold, but the Lakers locker room celebration Sunday night was LIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTT!!!!

LeBron James, J.R. Smith, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Jared Dudley threw on some protective goggles and let the champagne fly moments after defeating the Miami Heat!

J.R. Smith found his old pal, LeBron, and doused him in booze, while dancing around the locker room with all of his teammates!

There's a funny moment when J.R. steals LeBron's Finals MVP trophy and parades it around the locker room while smoking a cigar ... it's a pretty great sight to see.

After the madness, LeBron snuck out into the hallway to FaceTime his mother, Gloria ... and had an emotional moment with her where he credited her for all of his success.

"I love you, you are the reason why I am able to even do this, Mom," LeBron said.

LeBron reflected about how Gloria was a single, 16-year-old kid when she gave birth to LeBron -- and how she battled to raise him alone in Akron, Ohio.

"Everything that you been through, everything that I've seen -- there’s nothing that can stop me. 'Cause this sh*t right here, this is nothing compared to the sh*t you had to go through."

The COVID pandemic won't stop the Lakers from celebrating their NBA championship -- but it WILL delay the official victory parade for a bit.

The Lakers dominated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday 106 to 93 -- wrapping up the series 4 to 2. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company made easy work of Jimmy Butler's squad.

So, let's talk celebration!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... L.A. County and City officials have been working with team honchos to find a safe way for the team and their legions of fans to have a victory celebration in the wake of their 17th franchise title.

We're told several ideas were kicked around -- including an "in-car" celebration, where a limited number of vehicles would be allowed to pull up to a location to cheer on the champs.

But, a "car party" ultimately didn't feel like the right way to inclusively celebrate an accomplishment of this magnitude -- so, it was scrapped.

Now, we're told everyone involved is set on throwing a massive victory parade -- just like the old days -- but not until County and City officials give the all-clear.

We're told everyone involved is hoping a Lakers victory parade through the streets of L.A. can bring the city together in a big way -- especially with everything Los Angelinos have endured over the past year ... from the COVID shutdowns to the death of Kobe Bryant and more.

Obviously, there's no specific date being targeted at the moment -- it all depends on how the pandemic plays out.

In the meantime, celebrations have already begun inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando -- where players have been allowed to bring in a limited number of family members.

Since everyone in the Bubble was tested prior to entry -- and tested regularly once inside -- there's really no concern about having a massive victory party on the Disney World property ... starting right now!!

NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony says his comeback is just getting started ... telling TMZ Sports he's nowhere close to being done in the league after a brief break.

It's no secret -- Melo was pretty much blackballed by the league until he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in Nov. 2019 ... going 10 months without a gig.

We spoke with Anthony about his hoops future ... and he says there's no doubt in his mind he'll be suiting up for the Blazers next season.

FYI -- Melo was an important piece for the Blazers in the playoffs ... and even had a postseason-high 27 points in Game 5 before LeBron James and Co. went on to do their thing en route to the NBA Finals.

Melo had 15 points and 6 rebounds in the regular season as well.

Incredible update on Delonte West -- Mark Cuban says the ex-NBAer is doing much better on his road to recovery ... sharing a quick snap of him smiling while horseback riding.

As we previously reported, the Dallas Mavericks owner personally picked up West at a Dallas gas station last week ... and vowed to help the 37-year-old get off the streets.

West entered a treatment facility with the help of his mother and Cuban last week ... and the billionaire says the process is just getting started but is going well.

"Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you, Delonte West," Cuban said on Twitter on Friday. "A long, long, long way to go, but he has taken the first steps and shared these with all of us as a thank you for the love and support."

Sources close to West told us the ex-NBA player entered Phase 1 of his recovery earlier this week -- detox -- and was "roughing it out" while getting all traces of drugs and alcohol out of his system.

West has received an outpouring of support in recent weeks ... with ex-MLB superstar Darryl Strawberry -- who battled his own substance abuse issues -- offering to work together to stay clean when he finishes his treatment.

Donald Trump just WENT OFF on Lebron James -- blasting him as a "nasty" person and a "hater" who's ruining pro basketball.

It was all part of an anti-Black Lives Matter tirade during an appearance Friday on "The Rush Limbaugh Show" ... when Trump blamed the NBA's lagging ratings on the league's pro-BLM efforts.

"The NBA has become so political that nobody cares about it anymore," Trump said.

"I don't even know who's playing in the Finals."

Of course, LeBron's Lakers are in the Finals -- taking on the Miami Heat. Game 5 is set for Friday night.

Trump says he's never met LeBron -- but it's clear he doesn't like him.

"LeBron is a spokesman for the democratic party and a very nasty spokesman," Trump said.

"Because, again, I've done so much for the Black community and people don't wanna see that and he's a great basketball player but people don't wanna see a guy that way. They don't want to see that. We have enough difficulty during the week, you don't wanna sit down watching a basketball game and then watch somebody that hates your guts, okay, He's a hater."

Trump went on to rip LeBron's association with Black Lives Matter, which he calls a Marxist organization.

Trump also says the term "Black Lives Matter" is racist because it sows division between Black people, white people and other races.

LeBron is obviously not a fan of Trump -- he's gone after POTUS several times over the years ... even calling him a clown.

Most recently, LeBron mocked Vice President Mike Pence over the fly that bothered him during the VP debate this week ... comparing Pence to a piece of excrement.

For the first time in a YEAR, China's state-owned television network has announced it will resume broadcasting NBA games -- starting with Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Remember, China Central Television pulled ALL NBA games from its network following Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey's tweet in support for Hong Kong protestors in October 2019.

The simple tweet, "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong," ignited a massive crap storm between the league and China.

In fact, NBA commish Adam Silver told us at the time he was working hard to try and repair the relationship.

"We do need to reset with the Chinese government and everybody has to establish what the rules of the road are going to be going forward," Silver told us in October 2019.

Apparently, Silver's efforts worked -- because China credited the NBA with helping out big time during the COVID pandemic ... thanking the league for donating $1 million and medical equipment, according to ESPN.

China's CCTV says in a statement the NBA relief effort was one of the main reasons it decided to put the league back on TV.

"During the recent Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, the NBA sent their well wishes to fans in China," CCTV says.

"We also took note of the league has been continuously delivering goodwill (to China), particularly making positive contributions to Chinese people's fight against COVID-19 pandemic."

Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall is the subject of an internal investigation after multiple claims of hostility -- including allegations he punched a player TWICE during a 2015 practice.

The alleged victim is former Shockers forward Shaq Morris -- who claims Marshall socked him in the face for committing a foul on a teammate during a workout.

Morris says he was trying to block a shot by teammate Zach Brown -- and unintentionally knocked Brown to the ground.

"I went over to help [Brown] up, and as I was helping him up to make sure he was okay, bam -- I’m struck on the left side of my face with a punch," Morris told Stadium.

"I turned back with my fists ready to punch or swing. I don’t know who did what and I see Marshall standing there. I turned around and started walking out."

Stadium says 6 players who were on the team at the time have corroborated the incident.

Several teammates, including Fred VanVleet (who's now in the NBA) allegedly refused to practice the next day unless Marshall apologized, which Morris says he did.

"[Marshall] comes down in the film room and says, ‘First off, I just want to apologize to you and he pointed at me. Then he said, “We good? We good? We good? All right, let’s move on."

There's more ... Morris says Marshall also choked assistant coach Kyle Lindsted during a practice in the 2016-17 season.

"I looked over and saw coach Marshall choking him," Morris said. "Then people started de-escalating the situation, trying to calm him down."

Lindsted -- who left Wichita State in 2018 -- declined to comment to Stadium about the allegation.

There are also allegations of racism ... Marshall allegedly verbally abused player Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, who is of Native American descent.

Marshall allegedly told him to "get back on his horse" and made "Indian howling noises" while in practice during the 2018-19 season.

One former assistant coach described Marshall this way to Stadium -- "He’s smart, a great coach. Just a bad person."

The coach has commented on the investigation -- telling The Athletic, "I'm aware the university conducted interviews and I fully participated in the process."

"I look forward to having it wrapped up as I continue to focus my energy on our team."

Orlando Magic star Mo Bamba says he's all the way down with a new California proposition pushing for 17-year-olds to be allowed vote ... but there's a catch!

It's called Prop. 18 -- and if passed, it would allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections.

There are 18 states where this rule is already in place -- but it's now on the ballot in Cali, so when we saw Mo leaving Delilah in L.A. on Thursday, we asked him about it!

22-year-old Bamba told us he'd like to see MORE states adopt the policy -- but warned, "One thing I think they [17-year-olds] need to do is be informed and do their research on who to vote for."

Fair point that should apply to everyone!

Bamba also raved about LeBron's "More Than a Vote" initiative -- saying he thinks "we'll see a very big turnout from the NBA" in the 2020 election.

"I'm honest, I've never voted in my life. This is my first time voting."

That's Shaquille O'Neal dropping a Shaq-sized bombshell -- confessing he's NEVER voted in an election!

... UNTIL NOW!!

"I've never voted before, America," Shaq said this week on Wednesday on The Big Podcast ... "But, now I'm doing all these voting campaigns and ya know one thing I never like to do, is be a hypocrite."

Yep, the 48-year-old NBA legend says he felt weird pushing voting initiatives like his #MyStartingFive challenge -- which helps people register to vote for Election Day 2020 -- while sitting on the sidelines.

So, he decided to actually vote this year -- by absentee ballot!

"In other words America, I voted for the first time and it feels good."

Shaq's co-hosts were in complete shock -- especially after Shaq was virtually sitting next to his buddy President Barack Obama, at Game 1 of the NBA Finals -- who obviously didn't get Shaq's vote back in the day!