Basketball

Kyrie Irving's wallet is now $35,000 lighter ... and it's all 'cause the NBA says the point guard won't stop ghosting media members.

The NBA announced Wednesday evening it's hit Irving and his Brooklyn Nets team each with $35k fines for "violating league rules governing media interview access."

The NBA says Irving has repeatedly refused to show up for postgame media availability sessions -- a big no-no for players.

Of course, this ain't the first time the league has had to step in and slap Irving with a fine for this ... back in December, he was hit with a $25k fine for dodging media during training camp.

At the time, Kyrie famously appeared to react to the fine in a viral social media post in which he wrote, "I do not talk to Pawns. My attention is worth more."

Irving later explained his "pawns" comment was NOT a jab directed at reporters.

"Not even referring to you guys as pawns or media," Irving said. "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."

Hell might be freezing over -- Charles Barkley no longer sucks at golf!!!

Go ahead and check your calendar -- it's not April Fools' Day -- and if you need visual proof, just check out the NBA legend's drive at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am on Wednesday ... when he teed off and ripped a shot straight down the fairway!!

Of course, Barkley was famous for his turrrrrible golf swing ... but was never shy to put his god-awful skills on display.

As we previously reported, Barkley flirted with mediocrity by tweaking his swing back in 2015 ... but sadly, he fell back into his old ways of being tremendously bad.

Chuck has apparently been busting his ass on the links to STAY good this time around, hiring pro trainer Stan Utley to help him get his handicap down to SINGLE DIGITS, according to reporter Drew Carter.

Check out the new and improved product -- the Hall of Famer looks like he really knows what he's doing now ... from the practice swings to actually connecting with the ball (have you EVER heard one of his shots make that clean *ping* sound before?!?!)

It couldn't have come at a better time for Barkley -- he's facing off against huge names like Nick Saban, Bo Jackson, Tommy Tuberville and more at the Greystone Golf and Country Club in Hoover, Alabama.

And, for the first time, the dude might not make a fool of himself on the links!!

Pick a winner, Shaq!!

The NBA legend had a massive bat in the cave while working the desk for "NBA on TNT" on Wednesday ... and decided to go mining for the nose gold live on-air!!!

Shaq, along with Candace Parker, Dwayne Wade and Adam Lefkoe were wrapping up coverage on the Clippers vs. Raptors game ... when a giant green boulder rolled out of O'Neal's nostril.

Shaq's co-hosts tried to signal to the Big Man to wipe his face -- but O'Neal wasn't taking the hint ... and viewers started tweeting about the boogie during the show!!

Finally, the crew just TOLD Shaq to get rid of it -- and the moment he realizes he's been boogying down on-air is hilarious!

"That was the biggest booger I have ever seen in my entire life," Lefkoe told Shaq.

D-Wade pulled out a giant roll of paper towels and told Shaq there's no way in hell a typical Kleenex could handle that job!

Candace was DYING laughing!!!

"I didn't even know it was there," Shaq said ... "Y'all got me!"

Byron Scott shares LeBron James' hatred for the NBA's play-in tournament ... telling TMZ Sports he wishes the league would cut the crap and stick to its regular postseason format.

Remember, King James teed off on the NBA's postseason rule for 2021 earlier this week ... saying, "Whoever came with that s*** needs to be fired."

We spoke with Scott outside Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills about James' take ... and while the ex-player/coach says nobody needs to be canned over the concept, he makes it clear he thinks the idea sucks.

"I agree with him ... it should be the first 8 teams just like it's been for so many years," Scott tells us. "I don't believe in that play-in and all that stuff."

The play-in format has garnered mixed reviews ... with folks like Stephen Curry loving the idea ... and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban calling it an "enormous mistake."

Byron says it's obvious why guys like the current 8-seed Warriors would welcome the idea ... simply because it gives them a better shot at making the playoffs.

While the current 6-seed Lakers are a sneeze away from being forced into the play-in tournament, Scott says L.A. fans should take a chill pill ... 'cause it'll be "nearly impossible" for them to be sent home early.

"When LeBron gets back and he's healthy, Anthony Davis is back healthy, they're too good."

He added ... "They were together all last year. They know each other well enough. They know what they gotta do, so I'm not worried about it one bit."

Scott thinks the Lakers -- despite struggling with injuries and bad losses late into the season -- can "absolutely" repeat as champions in 2021 ... and has full faith in the organization.

Carmelo Anthony poured his heart out after becoming the 10th best scorer in NBA history on Monday ... giving a powerful post-game speech about believing in himself and never giving up.

The 36-year-old Blazers star passed Elvin Hayes to reach #10 on the league's all-time scoring list after nailing a 3-point shot early into the 2nd quarter against the Atlanta Hawks ... surpassing the Hall of Famer's career total of 27,313 points.

The moment hit especially hard for Melo -- the future Hall of Famer was considered to be "blackballed" by the league in 2019 ... and he had to fight like hell to prove he was still able to compete at the highest level.

Anthony basked in the monumental moment after hitting his shot ... raising his arms and smiling as he joined names like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant on the elite list of the league's best scorers.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts awarded Anthony the game ball after the Blazers' loss to the Hawks ... and Melo opened up about his long journey back to glory.

"A couple years ago I ain’t think I was gonna be in this moment," Anthony said in the locker room. "I was out the league for whatever reason."

"I’m back. I persevered. I stayed strong I stayed true to myself & now I’m here in the Top 10."

Of course, the 10-time All-Star bounced around the league after spending most of his career with the Nuggets and Knicks ... playing one season with the OKC Thunder in 2017-18 and just 10 games with the Houston Rockets in the 2018-19 season before being traded and later waived by the Chicago Bulls in February 2019.

He remained a free agent until the Blazers picked him up in November 2019 ... and he's proven to be a valuable asset around Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Dame spoke about the impact Melo has left on the team over the past 2 seasons ... saying it goes way beyond the court.

The uniform Wilt Chamberlain rocked during his DOMINANT '59-'60 rookie season is about to hit a sports memorabilia stock market ... but don't stress if ya ain't rich, 'cause you don't need a milli in the bank to own a piece of the threads.

It's a new way for people to own a piece of history without breaking the bank -- with the same kinds of risks and rewards as buying stock.

Here's the deal ... the person who currently owns the Chamberlain uniform is David Kohler, who runs the wildly successful SCP Auctions company, which specializes in high-value collectibles.

Kohler tells TMZ Sports ... Wilt rocked the items for every home game during his rookie season with the Philadelphia Warriors.

The items have been authenticated by the widely respected MEARS evaluation company and photo matched by the folks at MeiGray Authentication, Kohler says.

Kohler has owned the piece for years and has decided the time is right to sell -- so he teamed with the app Collectable to make it happen.

The Chamberlain uniform will hit the market on Tuesday -- with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) backed by the Security and Exchange Commission.

We're told there will be 95,620 shares available for purchase at $10 a pop -- and from there, you can monitor the value like you would a typical stock.

Kohler says he's retaining 25% of the jersey -- which would bring the value of the item to $1.275 mil.

Collectors can buy as many shares as they want ... and resell them (hopefully for a profit) on the Collectable app.

Chamberlain -- who won Rookie of the Year -- averaged nearly 38 points and 27 rebounds per game. No, not a typo ... the man averaged 38 and 27 as a ROOKIE ... in what's likely the greatest 1st season in hoops history.

Blocked shots weren't calculated at that time ... but you can bet Wilt's blocked shots per night would've been absurd, too.

Kohler tells us he believes the Chamberlain uniform is one of the most coveted in sports history.

"This is one of the finest game-worn uniforms known to exist in the basketball memorabilia industry. His rookie uniform, supported by photo documentation that is unprecedented for its era, ranks not only as the finest basketball uniform in the world, but one of the finest uniforms from any sport, period."

Wilt went on to have an absolutely remarkable career ... making 13 All-Star teams and winning 4 league MVP's before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

An Asian teenage basketball player was socked in the face during a game this weekend after allegedly being called a racial slur -- and video of the violence was all captured on video.

The altercation went down on Saturday in Oakland, Calif. during an AAU game between the South Bay Snipers and the San Francisco Generals.

At one point during the action, Snipers player Evan dove to the floor to try to take a loose ball from one of the Generals' players, but that's when things turned ugly.

Evan was pushed by the Generals' player on the ground, and then he was shoved to the floor by another Generals' player.

That Generals' player then took a swing at Evan, barely missing ... before he threw a second haymaker just seconds later that landed flush on Evan's jaw.

You can see in the clip, Evan was visibly wobbled ... and to make matters even more disturbing, Evan's parents allege that just before the melee, Generals players had called him and his teammate's anti-Asian slurs.

"They did use the 'C' word -- c***k word," Evan's mom, Lennie, told KPIX -- not revealing their last name out of fear of retaliation.

"Two-thirds of the team are Asian," Evan's dad, Eduardo, added.

The parents say Evan sustained a concussion from the punch.

Tournament officials banned the attacker from the Generals' game on Sunday, but Evan's father said, "The worst part is no one apologized."

Evan's parents say they are planning to go to police over the incident.

LeBron James HATES the idea of the NBA's new postseason play-in tournament ... saying straight-up Sunday night, "Whoever came with that s*** needs to be fired."

It's shocking that LBJ and the Lakers are even in a position to possibly need the extra games to lock in a playoff spot -- but after losing 6 of their last 7, it's becoming very real now.

And, James is clearly NOT happy about it.

LBJ went off on the league's new postseason rule after L.A. fell 121-114 to the Raptors ... explaining he believes teams who finish the regular season in the top 8 should advance, no play-in games required.

FYI -- the NBA implemented the new rule this year where the 7 through 10 seeds will have to battle it out to be the official 7 and 8 seeds of the playoff bracket.

The games will start on May 18 ... a couple days before the real postseason tips off.

The Lakers -- who got off to a roaring 21-6 start but have since seen their record fall to 36-28 as they've battled a ton of injuries -- are the current 6th seed in the West ... but they're just one loss away from the dreaded 7 spot.

And, with LeBron -- who's missed most of the last two months with a sore ankle -- still ailing ... it's possible he won't even play in Monday night's crucial game against the Nuggets.

But, LBJ said he won't compromise his health to make sure the Lake Show avoids the play-in games ... explaining, "It doesn't matter at the end of the day if I'm not 100% or close to 100%. It don't matter where we land."

The Lakers have just 8 games left before the potential play-in tournament begins.

Iowa Hawkeyes star Luka Garza -- voted the best college basketball player in 2021 -- is letting his haters be his motivators ... telling TMZ Sports he's using all the doubters as fuel to becoming a true NBA star.

The 6'11" big man was an absolute beast on the court this past season ... averaging 24 points and 8 rebounds a game.

Some experts have wondered whether 22-year-old Garza's athleticism will hurt his chances at success in the quickly evolving NBA ... but he tells us he's heard all the negativity and is ready to prove he belongs at the next level.

"I love it!" Garza says. "I love to hear it. I love to see it. It's fun for me! They don't know it because they probably don't like me, but it's helping me."

Garza says he's heard the naysayers throughout his career ... and he'll continue to put in the work needed to be a valuable asset to any team willing to take a chance on him.

"I have full confidence in myself that I can be an effective guy for any organization because I play hard as I can, I work as hard as I can."

"I'm excited about the process, it's gonna be a lot of fun and I'm excited to make my dreams come true."

Garza says he's working "harder than ever" as he focuses on the NBA Draft ... and is hoping to prove he's a first-rounder.

"I think they're gonna get a player who's gonna play every single game like it's my last. I'm a hardworking dude. I'm open to criticism."

But, Garza isn't just busting his ass on the court -- he's been working non-stop to help star athletes monetize their likeness as well ... creating his own NFT group in hopes of making that happen.

Garza says the NCAA should hop on board with the movement ... especially since it wouldn't take any money from their pockets.

"I think that's the biggest draw to it is for the NCAA, we're creating a new revenue stream that we don't have to take away. We won't have to get a salary from the university."

"We won't have to bother any of the advertisement deals they already have or the TV contract they have. That's still theirs but this is a way that we can make money for ourselves with not even touching the NCAA's money and what they've been able to do."

Kobe Bryant’s earliest known, game-worn L.A. Lakers jersey -- rocked by the Mamba during his '96 rookie season -- is about to hit the auction block ... and we’re told it could rake in over $500k!!

Bidding for the awesome piece of sports memorabilia opens Monday at Goldin Auctions ... and Ken Goldin tells TMZ Sports the ultra-special threads have a chance to break the record for most expensive regular season NBA jersey of all-time.

FYI, the current record belongs to Michael Jordan's Washington Wizards jersey from his last ever NBA game in 2003 ... which a collector dropped $570k on.

As for the KB jersey ... it's pretty special.

An 18-year-old Kobe -- fresh off being selected with the 13th overall pick in the NBA draft -- donned the gold Lakers jersey during his 23rd NBA game ever ... when Bryant and Shaq's squad took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 8, 1996 at The Forum.

Kobe wasn't (yet) a starter, but played 22 minutes ... and dropped 11 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds in the Lakers' 110-86 victory.

And, get this, Goldin Auctions officials say Bryant didn't only wear the jersey once ... they say it's been expertly photo matched to at least 4 games during his rookie campaign -- AND his rookie photo shoot before the season started.

If half a milli's a little too high a price to pay, Goldin says they have over 360 other pieces of Kobe memorabilia -- including a rare, mint-graded '97-'98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Kobe card -- that they expect to go for over $300k.

Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love just poured his heart out about his bizarre inbound play on Monday night ... admitting he knows he "f***ed up" and apologizing for his outburst.

32-year-old Love went viral for swatting away an inbound pass late in the 3rd quarter against the Toronto Raptors ... easily turning the ball over to the Raptors for a wide-open 3-pointer.

It appeared as if Love -- who's posting career-low numbers this season for the 21-40 Cavs -- had become fed up with the losing and just snapped.

But, the 2016 champ says that's simply not the case.

Love started off his media availability Wednesday morning with an emotional, 15-minute speech ... saying, "My intent wasn't to disrespect the game. My intent wasn't even for the damn ball to go inbounds. It was a moment that I got caught up in."

"I didn't even understand what really happened as the possession even played out. I think I was a little bit dumbfounded."

He added ... "I didn't realize how bad it looked, really, until after the game. I truly didn't ... After that, I just completely shut down. I never want that to be who I am. I don't want to have to be here and defend my character."

Love says he has apologized to his teammates for the outburst ... calling it a "moment of sheer frustration."

So, what caused the disastrous turnover?? Love says it stemmed from blown calls throughout the 112 to 96 loss.

"Not to say too much that could get me fined, but it was the officiating," Love told USA Today.

It's gotta be tough for Love -- he's averaging 11.7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 games this season -- and the glory days of the LeBron James-era are long gone.

Love says the moment was blown way out of proportion by the media ... and he really only cares about the opinions of his teammates.

"I take this one on the chin, naturally. I'll do that as a man, I'll do that as a teammate and continue to get better. That's really all I can do."

As for his relationship status with Cleveland?? Love makes it clear he's still their guy.

The Boston Celtics held a touching tribute and a moment of silence for Terrence Clarke on Tuesday -- honoring the Boston-born NBA prospect less than a week after he was killed in a car crash.

Right before the Celtics took the floor against the OKC Thunder at TD Garden, the P.A. announcer took a moment to reflect on the 19-year-old's life and what he meant to the city.

FYI, Clarke grew up in Boston, where he developed into one of the best high school players in the country -- ultimately leading the Brewster Academy to the 2019 National Prep championship.

In fact, he brought the school back to the Finals in 2020 -- but the COVID pandemic forced the tourney to shut down.

As the P.A. announcer points out, Clarke went to the University of Kentucky where he "quickly became a favorite of teammates and fans alike."

"His work ethic, commitment and talent had him on the path to achieving his dream of playing in the NBA."

Sadly, Clarke was involved in a bad car crash on April 22 during a trip to Los Angeles. He was raced to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

During the on-court tribute, the Celtics displayed photos of Clarke with stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

"His larger-than-life personality always lit up a room and made him loved by everyone he touched," the Celtics P.A. announcer said.

"His goal was to inspire and be a role model for a generation of youth basketball players across Boston. Quite simply, Terrence was the pride of the entire city."

Police body cam footage shows Houston Rockets player Sterling Brown bleeding profusely from his head in the moments after he was attacked outside a strip club in Miami ... and the footage is tough to watch.

As we previously reported, Brown was hospitalized with serious injuries on April 19 after he was reportedly attacked with a liquor bottle outside the Booby Trap strip club.

Brown suffered major lacerations on his face and head, according to The Athletic, which also claims there was a serious concern for his life.

Now, reporter Andy Slater has obtained police body cam footage showing the moment officers arrived at the scene ... and you can clearly see Brown covered in blood.

The footage, which does not include audio, also shows Brown's teammate, Kevin Porter, Jr., apparently trying to explain the situation to officers and paramedics.

The whole incident was over a vehicle mix-up -- Brown accidentally got into the wrong sprinter van on his way out of the club ... and the people inside decided to beat the hell out of him.

Brown is reportedly out of the hospital ... but it sounds like it could be a while before he returns to the court.

The Kendall Jenner-Devin Booker relationship is still clearly going strong ... the "KUWTK" star hit up MSG to watch her man vs. the Knicks on Monday -- and the dude BALLED OUT for her!!

Kendall and some friends got box seats for the Suns game in New York ... and D Book certainly put on a show for them.

The 24-year-old NBA star scored 33 points in 41 minutes ... and led Phoenix to a 118-110 come-from-behind victory.

And, Kendall was clearly impressed ... cameras caught her smiling and giggling throughout the evening!!

The two began to get cozy about a year ago, when they were spotted on a road trip to Sedona ... and they've seemed to grow into quite the couple over the past 12 months.

They've been seen out on dates plenty of times ... with Kendall even posting a sappy pic of the duo for Valentine's Day last February.

As for any sort of "Kardashian Curse," there clearly ain't one here ... Devin is having a hell of a season with Kendall by his side, averaging 25.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game!!

Kim Mulkey kicked off her LSU coaching career by ripping off her COVID mask -- in yet another public statement against COVID regulations.

Mulkey recently left her gig as the head women's basketball coach at Baylor -- where she took the Lady Bears to THREE national championships since taking over the program in 2000.

But, before she left Baylor to take the LSU job, the 58-year-old made headlines for demanding the NCAA should STOP coronavirus testing at both the men's and women's Final 4s in the spirit of ensuring players' availability.

"They need to dump the COVID testing," Mulkey said back in March ... "Wouldn't it be a shame to keep COVID testing and then you got kids that test positive or something and they don't get to play in the Final Four?"

The NCAA strongly disagreed with Mulkey -- saying it was important to continue testing all the way through the end of the tournament in hopes of preventing an outbreak.

So, when Mulkey took the podium on Monday to be introduced as LSU's new women's hoops coach ... the first thing she did was rip off her mask in what seems to be another shot at what she considers overbearing COVID protocol.

"Well, I'mma take this damn mask off ... 'cause I have a lot to say."

She then flung the mask off the stage in dramatic fashion.

After that, Mulkey focused on basketball ... saying she came to Baton Rouge to win titles.

Master P says he hammered out a multi-million dollar deal for his H.S. basketball-playing son ... and is simply waiting on an NCAA rule to change before putting pen to paper and making his kid a millionaire!!

TMZ Sports was talking to P and his 19-year-old son, Hercy Miller -- a top H.S. senior who just committed to play ball at Tennessee State -- when the hip-hop legend dropped the news.

"We have a lot of deals on the table, not only for Hercy, but for [son] Mercy. In August, the league is changing, the NCAA. You'll be able to make money off your likeness, you'll be able to do marketing deals," P says.

"So, right now I have a deal on the table for Hercy for $2.5 million. He never even played a lick of [college] basketball."

FYI, Hercy will be a college freshman this fall.

Historically, college athletes were forbidden from getting paid ... but all that started to change last year when the NCAA finally -- after immense outside pressure -- reversed course and threw support behind amateur athletes' ability to make money through endorsements.

P -- a business mogul who's made millions through music, fashion, movies, and everything in-between -- believes players will be allowed to start earning as early as this August ... and that's why he has a fat contract waiting for Hercy.

But, the future Tennessee State hooper isn't the only Miller boy getting the bag ... P says he has a $1 million deal on the table for his 15-year-old son, freshman B-ball star Mercy Miller.

The deals aren't yet signed ... so P didn't want to reveal the companies he's working with -- however, he did say Hercy's deal is centered around a product.

We also talked to P and Hercy about high school basketball stars hooping at HBCU's -- instead of traditional college basketball powerhouses -- a trend Hercy hopes to kickstart with his recent decision to play at Tenn. St.

"The game is changing," Master P says ... "I feel like now, a lot of high school kids are gonna start saying, 'I wanna go somewhere and make history, be a part of the moment and make a difference and also get to the league.'"