Basketball

LaMelo Ball may be a Puma guy now, but he's still selling clothes at Big Baller prices -- launching his very own designer lifestyle clothing brand ... and it ain't cheap.

The youngest Ball Bro is one week from becoming a likely top 5 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft ... and he's already making serious business moves.

Dubbed "LaFrancé" -- Ball's middle name -- Melo is expanding his brand with black and white t-shirts, hoodies and socks featuring his name and logo ... and they're expensive as hell.

For instance -- the shirts come with a $70 price tag ... and the hoodies will setcha back $120.

And, if you've ever wanted to rep Melo on the balls of your feet, the socks are currently being sold for $20 a pair.

19-year-old Ball says the "Melo 2020" launch is only available for a limited time ... which might explain the price.

If you think those prices are steep, Melo says he actually LOWERED the cost after some more consideration.

"Outta the kindness of my heart and talkin wit my team I'm gone lower the price on some stuff to show love," Melo said Friday.

"cuz some people been a lil upset and i wanna see MOST of yaw happy ...  i'm playin all of yaw."

FWIW -- the site says each piece is "100% Hand-made with love in Los Angeles, CA, USA" ... and can you really put a price on love?!

Kobe Bryant is still a titan of industry -- even in death -- so says Forbes which just ranked him #6 on its "Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities of 2020" list.

The NBA legend passed away on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash -- but in the months that followed, his estate pulled in an estimated $20 million in earnings, Forbes says.

The main source of income is from shoes and apparel -- with Nike reportedly raking in around $250 mil annually from Mamba items.

In addition to sneakers, Kobe's 2018 autobiography, "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" sold more than 300,000 copies this year --TEN TIMES the number of copies it did in 2019, Forbes says.

There's more ... after the Lakers won the NBA championship in October, Bryant's jersey was the #2 seller for the organization, behind Finals MVP LeBron James.

As for the rest of the Forbes list ... Michael Jackson is still #1 with $48 mil in earnings in 2020. Dr. Seuss is #2 with $33 mil. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz is #3 with $32.5. Arnold Palmer is #4 with $25 million. And #5 is Elvis with $23 mil.

Elvis' estate has lost a ton of money this year because of the COVID pandemic -- tourism at his legendary home Graceland is a big moneymaker, but it's been hit hard by the shutdowns.

Michael Jordan's last piece of NBA laundry is hitting the auction block -- the actual jersey from his final game ... and it's gonna fetch a TON of cash!

It's MJ's #23 away jersey from his final game with the Washington Wizards on April 16, 2003 ... the last time Jordan stepped on the court as an NBA player.

39-year-old Jordan dropped 15 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists against the Philadelphia 76ers that night -- but it wasn't enough to get the W. Final score, 107 to 87.

BTW, we're also told Jordan rocked the jersey for the final 2 months of his NBA career -- his final 14 road games.

The one-of-a-kind jersey is about to hit the block at Goldin Auctions ... and GA tells us they expect the threads to bring in over $500,000!!

As for where the jersey -- which Goldin says has been photo-matched to ensure authenticity -- came from ... well, it's a pretty cool story.

Back in 1984, Jordan befriended the owner of a limousine service ... and the 2 men became close.

MJ gifted the jersey to the guy who held on to it for years -- but he has now decided to part ways with the item.

The Jordan jersey is part of a larger collection of rare MJ items hitting the auction block -- including a pair of signed, game-worn, Air Jordan 1's from Michael's 1984-1985 season. GA also has MJ's signed, game-worn minor league baseball jersey from the Birmingham Barons.

The defending NBA champs will be playing home games in front of empty seats to start off the 2020-21 season ... with the Los Angeles Lakers keeping fans home "until further notice."

The team made the announcement Wednesday ... saying it consulted with state and local health officials to come up with its plan for games as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

"The health and safety of our fans, players, staff and community are our main priority and we will continue to work with state and local officials to come up with a plan to safely welcome fans back to STAPLES Center in adherence with local, State, and NBA guidelines," the Lakers said in a statement.

"We appreciate your continued support and look forward to coming together, when it is safe to do so, to celebrate the raising of our banner and the quest for another NBA championship.

FYI, L.A. -- like many places across the country -- is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The 2020-21 schedule will be released soon ... and the season starts Dec. 22.

The Jumpman has entered the future!!!

The Jordan Brand has officially announced its first ever self-lacing sneaker ... and they look like they'd get Marty McFly's approval.

Dubbed the Air Jordan 11 Adapt, the sneakers are the first of Michael Jordan's iconic signature line to use Nike's electronically-controlled lacing technology ... and will mark the 25th anniversary of the original kicks released in 1995.

Remember, sneakerheads lost their minds when the Swoosh introduced the Nike MAG back in 2016 -- ya know, the "Back to the Future" kicks -- which also featured the Adapt tech.

While the self-lacing tech has showed up on other iconic shoes in recent years, it marks the first time it will appear on an Air Jordan shoe.

Fun fact -- shoe god Tinker Hatfield envisioned a lace-less design when he initially drew up the epic kicks years ago ... and now it's kinda finally happening!!

So, how do these things work?? The kicks are controlled by an app that will help customize the comfort ... as well as the color of the button on the side of the sneaks.

The kicks are set to be released next month ... and rumors say they will come with a $500 price tag.

Absurd athleticism runs THICK in the Mahomes blood ... here's Patrick's younger brother, Jackson, showing off ridiculous basketball skills with an insane dunk show!!!

The NFL superstar's little bro posted vids of him on the court Tuesday ... and he's CRAZY good!!

Check out the footage ... the 20-year-old threw down rim rattlers with ease -- and he even tossed a pass to himself off the backboard in one of the clips before jamming it home.

The younger Mahomes clearly knows he's got skills too ... 'cause he captioned the vid, "Bruh why am I so cold, like I swear no one wants to play me."

Jackson also showed he's got range as well ... in another vid, he knocked down several 3-pointers like they were nothing more than mid-range jumpers!

Of course, Jackson was a special H.S. basketball player who nearly played in college ... but he said in a video in September he just wasn't in love with the sport enough to pursue it in school.

Instead, Jackson has now become one of the most famous TikTokkers on the planet ... the guy has nearly 1 MILLION followers on the popular app -- and he's even started his own clothing line!

Hall of Famer Tom Heinsohn -- who won 10 titles for the Boston Celtics as a player and coach -- has died, the team announced Monday. He was 86.

Heinsohn is the only person to have ties to each of the Celtics' 17 championships ... going on to spend 30 years as a beloved color commentator after his coaching career.

Tom was a 6-time All-Star on the court ... winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1957. Heinsohn -- AKA "Tommy Gun" -- averaged 18.6 points in 654 games in his career.

He retired as a player in 1965 ... and the Celtics retired his #15 jersey a year later.

Heinsohn spent 9 seasons as Celtics head coach from 1969-78 -- winning titles in 1974 and 1976 -- and was named Coach of the Year in 1973.

Heinsohn was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1986 ... and was later recognized for his coaching career in 2015.

The Celtics ownership group released a statement, saying, "This is a devastating loss. Tommy was the ultimate Celtic."

"For the past 18 years, our ownership group has relied hugely on Tommy’s advice and insights and have reveled in his hundreds of stories about Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, and how the Celtics became a dynasty. He will be remembered forever.

Ex-Celtics star Isaiah Thomas mourned the loss on Tuesday ... saying, "Damn RIP Tommy Heinsohn!!!"

"'The Little guy' that’s the nickname he gave me. Will miss his voice and everything he brought to the game especially Celtics basketball."

Kobe Bryant's childhood home in Pennsylvania -- where the late basketball legend spent countless hours working on his skills -- has just sold for $810k, TMZ Sports has learned.

The Black Mamba lived in the 5-bed, 3 1/2-bath, Philadelphia-area home during his teenage years ... when he quickly became one of the best hoopers in the country, leading his Lower Merion HS team to a state title in 1996.

The Bryant family parted ways with the home in 2008 ... and it hit the market again this past September for $899k.

According to records, the home closed on Nov. 6 ... and sold for $810k. David Wyher and TJ Sokso of Compass represented the listing.

Of course, $810k is a pretty symbolic number -- Kobe's forever tied to #81 after his iconic 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors on Jan 22, 2006.

The home is beautiful, but the most sentimental part has to be the hoop ... which is the same one Bryant used before becoming one of the best players to ever pick up a ball.

Unclear on what the buyer plans to do with the hoop ... but it's gotta be worth a fortune -- Kobe memorabilia like his Lakers championship rings to game-worn shoes and autographed hardwood from his last NBA game have sold for huge numbers at auctions since his death.

Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were among 9 killed in a helicopter crash in Jan. 2020.

No word on who bought the iconic home ... but one thing's for sure -- they *had* to know the significance of the place.

Former college basketball star Austin Daye is paying tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle ... by honoring the rap legend with a massive back tattoo.

The 32-year-old pro hooper -- a massive Nip fan -- revealed the new ink on Monday ... which also features an image of Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.

Daye hit up tattoo artist Juan D Castaño for the job ... and we're assuming it took hours to finish the piece, which also features a "The Marathon Continues" flag.

Of course, the TMC slogan was Nip's motto ... and followers have carried his message since his passing in March 2019.

The former NBA first-round pick joins ballers like Jordan Clarkson and J.R. Smith ... who have both dedicated serious real estate to the L.A. MC.

FYI -- Daye has been tearing it up overseas. He's currently playing for Reyer Venezia and won the Italian Cup MVP in 2020.

The family of the man who was struck and killed by Jim Boeheim in a tragic 2019 car crash is now suing the hoops coach ... claiming the Syracuse legend was responsible for the man’s death.

It's all in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which Jorge Jiminez's family is going after Boeheim after they say the 75-year-old coach is to blame for Jiminez's death.

In the suit, Jiminez's family says Boeheim "was travelling at a high rate of speed and/or was otherwise negligent in the operation of the vehicle" ... which they claim led to the tragedy.

As we previously reported, Boeheim was on his way home from dinner on Feb. 20, 2019 at around 11 PM when cops say he encountered a disabled vehicle in the middle of Route 690 in the City of Syracuse.

Cops say when Boeheim swerved to dodge the car ... he accidentally struck and killed Jiminez, who had just exited the broken down ride.

Cops launched an investigation into the incident ... and while they ultimately found Boeheim was going 11 MPH over the 55 MPH speed limit prior to the wreck -- they classified it all as a "tragic accident" and declined to move forward with charges.

Now though, Jiminez's family clearly wants Boeheim to pay up for his role in the incident ... suing both the coach and Syracuse University for unspecified damages.

Neither the school nor Boeheim commented on the lawsuit Monday.

How'd J.R. Smith celebrate Joe Biden's victory?

He drove around bumping "F*** Donald Trump" and flipping off MAGA supporters.

So yeah, just as you'd expect ...

The L.A. Lakers star hit the streets (of what appear to be Beverly Hills) on Sunday -- where he blasted the YG song from his BMW, while leaning out of his window and shooting the bird at all of the pro-Trump protesters he saw.

Smith loved every second of it -- and was smiling and laughing while trolling Team MAGA.

Of course, Smith is the latest in a long line of NBA players relishing Biden's victory ... his teammate, LeBron James, has been rejoicing on social media for days -- even waving goodbye to Trump in one tweet.

Trump and the NBA haven't seen eye-to-eye in a long time ... coaches such as Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich have RIPPED him consistently over the past 4 years.

The president, meanwhile, has been critical of players for kneeling during the anthem in the Orlando bubble this summer ... and he's consistently talked about the league's reportedly low TV ratings.

In fact, at a rally just a few days before his election loss ... Trump got a crowd to chant "LeBron James sucks" after he voiced his displeasure with the Lakers star and the NBA.

Throw another assist on LeBron's resume ...

Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports he STRONGLY believes the NBA superstar deserves some of the credit for helping Joe Biden close in on the presidency.

"[LeBron James] and Stacey Abrams registered so many people to vote," Shannon said.

"It was him that said, 'you know what? Open up these arenas and make them polling stations.'"

Sharpe says things like LeBron's "More Than a Vote" organization -- which helped thousands of people register to vote -- as well as all his other charitable contributions put Biden in a position to possibly beat Donald Trump this week.

"I'm sure [LeBron] had something to do with it because we registered the voting block. "

"You look at what happened in Detroit, you look at what happened in Philadelphia, look at what happened in Atlanta, you look at what happened in Milwaukee."

"Now, I don't know what's going to transpire, but when President Biden, when this thing is finally official, his first meeting should be with the leaders from those communities. They should eat first! What can I do for those communities? That was his Moses. They delivered him the presidency. "

For his part, Bron celebrated like crazy on Friday -- when it appeared obvious to him that Biden would secure the White House ... writing on his social media page, "Let’s go!!!!!"

King Von's death is hitting the sports world hard -- with NBA stars like Montrezl Harrell, Stephen Jackson, Evan Turner and more mourning the loss of a rising star gone too soon.

The rapper was shot and killed after a violent altercation outside a nightclub in Atlanta on Friday. He was only 26 years old.

Harrell shared his condolences to Von's family shortly after the news broke ... saying, "Damn it’s sad we lost another young brother to soon ... What is going on in the world."

"This the true sad part, three young blessings won’t see their dad come home again."

Jackson posted a video on Instagram ... calling for an end to senseless violence.

"Your brothers are not the enemy," Jackson said. "The ones got u thinking that are the real enemy. Wake up. Love for all who have love for all."

Turner also reacted on social media, saying, "This killing each other s**t gotta stop... Rest In Peace, King Von"

Other tributes came from athletes like Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenjon Barner, who said, "Damn I really just started listening to King Von and became a fan and he gone smh wow 2020 you got it we understand! RIPKingVon."

2016 NCAA champ Kris Jenkins spoke out in shock ... tweeting, "That king Von s**t wild smh RIP."

Ex-NFL first-round pick George Foster also recently came across Von's music, adding, "Man, I just really heard the King Von fella for the first time like last week, and thought 'jit ain’t bad.'"

"Now lil buddy gone smh."

The New England Patriots also honored the late rapper at practice on Friday ... playing his breakout hit, "Crazy Story," over the speakers.

RIP

Trae Young with the assist!!!

The Atlanta Hawks superstar did a VERY cool thing on Friday -- splurging for lunch for the people counting ballots at State Farm Arena ... and they couldn't be happier about it!

The 22-year-old NBA sensation's rep hit up Jason's Deli in midtown Atlanta -- and told the crew Young wanted to do something nice for everyone helping out with the election process.

Young ended up buying 50 boardroom box lunches -- complete with sandwiches, chips, a pickle and a cookie. He also sprung for extra fruit side items for all. Way to keep it healthy!

Total cost -- $670 plus a nice 20% tip.

Obviously, Young can afford it -- he's super-rich, but this is more about the gesture than the price.

The Fulton County election workers were stoked when the food arrived with a note from Young that read, "Thanks for all you do!"

Fulton County thanked Young and the ATL Hawks -- noting the NBA team has "supported us throughout this election process."

There's a ton of pressure on the election workers in ATL right now -- as the votes in that area are playing a pivotal role in the presidential election.

Delonte West's still got it!!!

The ex-NBA star has taken his recovery to the hardwood ... hitting the basketball court to brush up on his skills this week -- and the dude looks GREAT!!!

The 37-year-old has looked better by the day as he bounces back from troubled times -- from horseback riding to skydiving to kayaking as part of his treatment process.

West was even spotted polishing his handles and jumper during a workout in Florida on Nov. 2 ... and we're told he was in great spirits!!!

Instagram user og__chris19 tells TMZ Sports ... Delonte was talking about how he was happy to be back on the court, focused on recovery and getting better.

Get this -- we're told West even said he wanted to get into coaching in the future.

It's been an amazing sign of progress for West since Mark Cuban picked him up at a Dallas gas station back in September ... and it's clear he's working hard on staying committed.

Lamar Odom's fiancee says she's called off their engagement -- and is raising new concerns that he's backsliding in life.

"Y'all know I'm honest and transparent so I have to be the first to let you guys know that I am no longer engaged to Lamar," Sabrina Parr posted Wednesday night on IG.

"This has been a difficult decision for me to make but it is the best for myself and my children."

Here's the troubling part ...

"Lamar has some things that he alone needs to work through," Parr said.

"I love him dearly but I am no longer able to be by his side while he seeks the help he so desperately needs."

Parr did not specify what she's concerned about -- but Odom's issues are no secret. He's struggled with substance abuse over the years and nearly died from an overdose during a 2015 incident at a Nevada brothel.

"I wish him all the best and I am asking that you pray for everyone involved," Parr added.

40-year-old Odom had proposed to Parr (a fitness and life coach) at Myles Chefetz's Prime 112 restaurant in Miami back in November while dining with pal Nene Leakes.

They had only been dating for 3 months at the time but felt there was a connection.