Basketball

Move over Rob Kardashian ... Holly Sonders is the latest celeb getting in the card game -- the famous sports reporter just pulled a SICK Larry Bird card this week that could be worth $25K!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Holly linked up with Vintage Breaks on Wednesday to do a little box breaking for a live stream.

And, Holly -- who's beginning to dip her toes into the card world after her famous ex-boyfriend, Vegas Dave, sold his Mike Trout rookie card for nearly $4 MIL -- scored BIG on one of her pack openings.

Sonders and Vintage Breaks' Leighton Sheldon tore through a 1981-82 Topps pack ... and in it, a Larry Legend piece that could be worth a small fortune stared back at them!

Leighton couldn't believe it ... because the card is pretty rare. FYI -- Larry's rookie card was a split with Magic Johnson, so this piece was his first-ever standalone NBA card.

It's so rare, in fact, that if it grades out as a perfect PSA Gem Mint 10 -- which Sheldon says is VERY possible given the centering of the picture -- it could be worth $25,000!!

We spoke with Holly after the awesome pull ... and she told us the whole experience was pretty damn thrilling.

"[My agent] Darren almost jumped out of his f*cking chair over here!" Sonders said ... "It's fun for me just to see the joy that it brings other people and the idea that something could be worth $25,000, you know? Somebody can buy a new car with that piece of cardboard!"

"It's just mind-blowing to me."

As for what Holly's plan for the card is now? She says she's sending it off to get graded -- and she'll gift it to her agent, Darren Prince (who's a HUGE card nut), for Christmas when it comes back.

More great news regarding the recovery of University of Florida basketball star Keyontae Johnson who continues to make great progress less than a week after he collapsed on the court.

But, he's awake and was reportedly talking with friends and family members earlier this week.

Remember, Johnson was placed into a medically induced coma after the incident during Saturday's Florida vs. Florida State game in Tallahassee.

Now, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin has another update ... saying, "Keyontae Johnson continues to show truly encouraging signs of progress as he undergoes tests and further evaluation at UF Health."

"He and his family have again expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of love, prayers and well-wishes."

Stricklin also announced the school has postponed the team's next 3 scheduled basketball games in the wake of Keyontae's situation.

"This has been an emotionally taxing time for Keyontae's family, friends and teammates," Stricklin said.

"Our hope is that everyone impacted will take an opportunity to process those emotions and regroup ahead of the start of the new year."

James Harden says he wasn't just raging with Lil Baby and hitting Las Vegas hot spots while ditching Rockets training camp ... insisting he was really "training" to prepare for the upcoming season.

The 31-year-old superstar met with the media Wednesday for the first time since showing up to camp on Dec. 8 ... and was immediately hit with all the questions people have been wondering for weeks.

First ... does he still want to be traded out of Houston??

"Right now, I'm just focused on being here," Harden said. "Today was good, yesterday felt really good being out there for the first time since the bubble. I haven't really had an opportunity to do a lot of 5-on-5 work."

"For my first time being out there, I felt pretty good."

Next ... what was he doing in ATL and Sin City when his team expected him to show up to camp??

"I was just training," Harden said.

When pressed on what exactly he was training for, The Beard simply replied -- "The start of the NBA season."

As for why exactly he couldn't do that in Houston with the rest of his teammates??

"Just my personal trainers," Harden said.

As we previously reported, JH was spotted celebrating the rapper's birthday in ATL while his teammates were in Houston to prepare for the season ... gifting Lil Baby a $300k bag, Richard Mille watch and wads of cash.

Harden then took the party to Drai's nightclub in Vegas Sunday, Dec. 6 ... hours after he reportedly told the Rockets he would be at camp earlier that day.

Harden's actions drew criticism from ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson ... who called him out for "chasing rappers" instead of helping first-year head coach Stephen Silas.

Boston Celtics players are outraged at Massachusetts' governor over changes the politician asked for in a new police reform bill ... and they're now pleading with the guy to reverse course.

Seventeen players -- including Kemba Walker, Tristan Thompson and Jayson Tatum -- all penned a lengthy piece in The Boston Globe on Wednesday spelling out their issues with Gov. Charlie Baker's requests.

In the article, Celtics players say they have a major problem with how Baker -- a Republican -- wants to amend a technology portion of a bill that would make sweeping changes to Massachusetts police.

Specifically, the Celtics say they're pissed Baker asked lawmakers to remove a portion of the bill that would bar cops from using facial recognition technology.

The Celtics players say this piece MUST remain in the bill ... claiming officers' use of the tech has led to countless wrongful arrests in the Black community -- and even deaths.

"Studies confirm that face recognition surveillance technology is flawed and biased, with significantly higher error rates when used against people of color and women," the Celtics said in the article.

"This has real consequences. One false match can lead to an interrogation, arrest, and -- especially for Black men -- even a deadly police encounter."

The Boston players added, "Baker’s rejection is deeply troubling because this technology supercharges racial profiling by police."

The Celtics are urging Baker to reconsider ... writing, "The Legislature should return these important regulations to the governor and he should sign the bill."

For his part, Baker said last week his reasoning for wanting to keep the technology available is because it can play an "important role" in solving crimes.

"I’m not going to sign something that is going to ban facial recognition," Baker said.

University of Florida basketball star Keyontae Johnson is in critical condition after collapsing on the court in the middle of a game.

It's terrifying to watch. The game -- Gators vs. Seminoles -- was in timeout. Just before that, Keyontae successfully finished an alley-oop and was celebrating the move from the sidelines.  The team broke its huddle, and as Keyontae walked onto the court he collapsed hard.

His teammates screamed for help and Keyontae was taken off the court by stretcher and was rushed by ambulance to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Keyontae had tested positive for COVID this past summer. It appears one of the side effects was myocarditis ... inflammation of the heart muscle.

He's in critical but stable condition. We wish him well.

Duncan Robinson is known for his shooting, but the Miami Heat hooper came up with a huge assist this weekend ... by donating 10,000 meals to help those in need this holiday season.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 26-year-old ex-Michigan star was in the giving spirit on Saturday ... so he teamed up with A-Sha Foods to help put meals on the table for the people of South Florida.

Robinson ended up hand-delivering his contribution on Saturday in Pembroke Park, FL ... rolling up his sleeves and personally helping dish out the packs of ramen noodles.

It's been a great 2020 for Robinson -- the dude had a breakout season and averaged 13 points per game after 3 points per game in his rookie campaign.

Robinson also played a huge role in the Heat's NBA Finals run in the bubble ... so yeah, there were plenty of reasons to be thankful this year.

Kyrie Irving is extending an olive branch to the media -- finally meeting with reporters Monday and insisting his "pawns" comment last week wasn't a shot at them.

The Brooklyn Nets star also walked back some comments about head coach Steve Nash -- so, yeah ... lot's going on here!

First, the "Pawns" issue ...

Remember, Irving was fined $25,000 for blowing off NBA media obligations last week. He later issued a statement saying, "I do not talk to Pawns. My attention is worth more."

Most interpreted the comment as a shot at journalists -- but when he was asked about it on Monday, Irving explained how he meant to say he's trying to eliminate everything in his life that could be considered a distraction from basketball.

"The focus is what's going on here, my job." Irving said. "And I wanted to make sure that was clear -- no distractions, nothing about dispelling anything, nothing about going back-and-forth, nothing about calling out one person or another."

"Not even referring to you guys as pawns or media. It's just really how I felt about the mistreatment of certain artists when we get to a certain platform of when we make decisions within of lives to have full control and ownership."

Then, Irving addressed the comments he made about Steve Nash earlier this year ... right after Nash was hired as head coach.

Remember, Irving had said, "I don’t really see us having a head coach ... it's a collaborative effort."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his new coach ... but Irving walked back those comments on Monday -- praising Nash in the process.

"Steve's been amazing and it really is a reflection of the type of person he is and the IQ he has for the game," Irving said.

LiAngelo Ball has been waived by the Detroit Pistons ... reducing the amount of Ball bros in the NBA from 3 to 2.

The move came Sunday, according to The Athletic's James Edwards III, following the Pistons' 2nd preseason game -- though Gelo didn't play in that match up.

In fact, 22-year-old Gelo didn't play in either of the Pistons' 2 preseason games this year.

The 6'5", 230-pounder signed a non-guaranteed earlier this month -- and his father, LaVar Ball, was so pumped to have his 3 sons on NBA rosters, he tweeted about it.

"Proud!! We're just getting started," LaVar wrote at the time.

Of course, LaVar's oldest son, Lonzo Ball, was the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans.

His youngest son, LaMelo Ball, was just taken with the 3rd overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.

Gelo famously enrolled at UCLA back in 2017 -- but left the University after shoplifting sunglasses during an international trip to China.

He later took his talents to the Lithuanian Basketball League in 2018 before returning to the states to play his father's Junior Basketball Association.

Gelo signed a G League contract with the Oklahoma City Blues in 2019 -- but the season was canceled due to COVID-19.

Dwight Howard has a HUUUUUGE snake -- we're talking a 200-pound constrictor -- but the 2 women tasked with caring for it say the NBA star screwed them when it came time to pay up.

It's all in a lawsuit filed by Armica Nabaa and Kamisha Shelman -- who say they were hired by Howard in Dec. 2018 to provide personal management services.

Initially, the women thought they would be handling Dwight's business affairs and administrative tasks ... but as time went on, the women claim Howard put more responsibilities on their plate.

In fact, the women claim Dwight fired his groundskeeper, butler and maid -- the people who run his 35,000 square foot home -- forcing the women to pick up the slack.

One of their new tasks, according to the suit, including caring for Howard's exotic snake collection.

In their suit, the women say the collection is "comprised of a number of large snakes" including one named Cleopatra -- "a constrictor that can grow to a final length of 25 feet and over 200 pounds."

FYI, Howard's snake collection was once featured on the show "Tanked."

The problem ... the women claim Howard suddenly fired them without warning in January 2020 while still owing them a TON of money for services rendered.

What's worse ... Nabaa claims she helped revive Dwight's NBA career -- using her "network and contacts to connect Mr. Howard with individuals that resulted in his lucrative and unexpected contract with the Los Angeles Lakers."

She says Howard even thanked her and gave her partial credit for helping land the deal during a national television interview.

Now, the women are demanding at least $50,000 in unpaid wages -- plus other fees and damages.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul are goin' full Mickey Mouse -- with the NBA superstars getting Disney movies based on their lives!!

The entertainment company made the big reveal during its Investor Day live stream minutes ago ... saying "Greek Freak" will begin production in 2021.

The flick will follow the inspiring story of the Antetokounmpo family's rise from poverty as undocumented immigrants in Greece to helping Giannis reach the NBA, according to Sean Bailey, the Mouse's president of motion picture production.

Disney also announced the CP3 project is officially in development for Disney+ ... which will focus on the All-Star's "deeply moving story on family, legacy, and destiny that helped make him who he is today."

Montana Yao has officially filed divorce docs seeking to end her 9-month marriage to NBA player Malik Beasley, TMZ Sports has learned.

Yao filed the papers this week in Minnesota, where the family has been living since Malik was traded to the Timberwolves back in February.

We're told the couple was married on March 5, 2020. They have one young child together.

As we previously reported, Yao felt "blindsided" by recent photos of Beasley holding hands in public with Larsa Pippen during a Nov. 23 outing in Miami.

The photos show 24-year-old Beasley and 46-year-old Pippen strolling around arm-in-arm at a public shopping area.

Yao has been posting on social media about her marriage ever since -- and on Wednesday she issued a statement saying, "Things have been pretty rough I'm not going to lie."

Montana added, "We were told to leave our family home 10 days ago and just like you all I'm pretty confused."

She continued, "There have been no public or private addressing of the situation nor any type of apology."

We reached out to Beasley's reps for comment -- so far, no word back.

Beasley was a 1st round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He averaged 20.7 points per game with Minnesota in the 14 games he played with the T-Wolves in 2020.

This is pretty great -- the Georgia Tech basketball team celebrated a win over Nebraska on Wednesday by smashing a COVID piñata!

The Yellow Jackets were on the road -- and defeated the Huskers in a 75-to-64 thrashing -- and coach Josh Pastner had special plans to celebrate in the locker room.

Usually, the GT celebrates a road victory by hitting a gas station after the game for a quick candy run.

But, since the pandemic has ruined the tradition, Pastner got a COVID piñata stuffed with goodies ... and let star player Khalid Moore do the honors of smashing it up!

"We're gonna take the ball and he's gonna smash it," Coach Pastner says.

The team LOVED IT -- and devoured the candy!

Georgia Tech is now 2-2 on the season.

Next up for GT ... the #20 ranked Florida State Seminoles -- and that's a road game the Yellow Jackets would LOVE to win.

You make it to the NBA, you get iced out ... and that's exactly what LaMelo Ball did -- copping an incredibly shiny diamond grill to kick off his rookie season!!

Of course, the youngest Ball bro. already knows how to be a pro -- he played in Lithuania and Australia before going #3 overall to the Charlotte Hornets last month.

But, making it to the Association calls for a BIG "treat yo self" moment ... so the 19-year-old enlisted AP The Jeweler from Atlanta to come up with an unforgettable piece.

AP tells TMZ Sports ... Melo eventually decided last month it was time to get his first grill, so he got Ball's mold and went straight to work.

The finished product is a pair of 14k white gold chompers (8 top teeth, 8 bottom) with VVS diamonds in a honeycomb set.

As for how many rocks?? AP tells us it's "The most diamonds I've ever put in a grill."

We're told AP personally flew to Charlotte to hand-deliver the finished product on Monday ... and the dude is jacked about the finished product.

What happens in Vegas doesn't happen at Houston Rockets camp ... and that may be why James Harden has yet to join his team.

The NBA superstar has been partying it up in recent days -- from ragers with rapper Lil Baby on Thursday to reportedly hitting up Drai's nightclub in Sin City on Sunday night.

It sounds like a hell of a time, except the Rockets expected Harden to show up for an individual workout on Sunday ... but later told staffers he would arrive at camp "soon."

Of course, players are required to quarantine in their home markets before joining the team ... something Harden wasn't doing while hanging with Lil Baby.

Rockets head coach, Stephen Silas, gave an update on The Beard's absence at camp on Monday ... saying he is unsure when the star will show up.

"There is no timetable, as far as I know. It is a setback," Coach said. "You want your best player to be here."

When asked if Harden is sending a message through his no-show, Silas says it's up to the 31-year-old baller to share.

"I have no clarity about the message, honestly. I take it basically at face value that he’s not here and what the reasoning is, is on him."

"He’s the one who can explain why or why not he's not here. For me to make inferences and think about the possibilities isn't real to me."

The drama comes weeks after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Harden wanted to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets ... but Silas says #13 is the one who has to come clean on what's really going on.

"What's real is he's not here and he has a reason, but that's on him to tell whatever his reason is."

Sooooooo ......... what's up, James?!

"When I was seeing that and I read it, and then I got the full transcript and I heard it, I was like, 'Man, f**k.' I was like, 'Are you f***ing kidding me?'

LeBron James is breaking his silence on Kyrie Irving's apparent shot at the Lakers superstar's clutch abilities during the NBA Finals ... admitting, "It kind of hurt me a little bit."

Uncle Drew raised eyebrows back in October when he spoke about teaming up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn ... saying, "One thing I've always been comfortable with, I felt like I was the best option on every team I played for down the stretch," Irving said via "The Etcs" podcast.

"This is the first time in my career I've looked down and be like, 'That motherf**ker can make that shot too.'"

Of course, many considered the words a direct shot at LeBron, but Irving quickly denied that ... saying, "Why must it always be brother against brother? Why?"

Kyrie added, "If I'm addressing anyone, I'll say their name."

LeBron said he was shocked by the comments, insisting he wanted nothing but the best for Irving during their 3 years together on the Cavs.

LeBron notes things "could never align" with Irving in Cleveland ... "But I only cared about his well-being, both on and off the floor."

As for the timing of Irving's comments, LBJ said, "It was a f**ked up time ... Because it was the Finals ... the middle of the Finals."

Colin Kaepernick's jersey from his NFL debut with the 49ers just sold for a whopping $128k ... the highest price an NFL jersey has EVER fetched at auction.

The jersey is from Kap's rookie debut on October 2, 2011 -- when he came in for Alex Smith for one snap against the Philadelphia Eagles ... which is why the jersey is so clean!

Kap handed the ball off to Frank Gore -- and then went back to the bench. The 49ers won the game 24 to 23.

Of course, Kap's career took off the following season -- he started 7 games and then became the full-time starter in 2013. The rest is history.

Kaepernick signed the jersey from his rookie debut -- inscribing it with the message "2011 game worn rookie jersey" -- and then gifted it to family friend and reporter, Aaron Prince, who put it up for auction in 2019.

The item made its way to Julian's Auctions in 2020 -- where it sold at a high profile event for $128,000 to a buyer whose identity has not yet been revealed.

Julian's claims it's the highest price ANYONE has ever paid for a game-used NFL jersey, EVER.

As we've previously reported, Kap memorabilia has been HOT in with collectors over the past few years ... a combination of interest in Kap as an athlete AND as a social justice icon.

There were more cool items at the auction -- including the NBA jersey given to Michael Jordan on the day he signed with the Bulls in 1984 ... that went for $320,000.

And, a high school basketball jersey worn by Barack Obama in 1979 at Punahou School in Hawaii sold for $192k!

By the way, Obama's jersey number -- 23!