Basketball

NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he's smoothed things over with LeBron James about his hatred for the play-in tournament ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the Lakers superstar now "understands" the purpose for the extra games.

Remember, LeBron went OFF on the idea of the new tourney back in May ... saying, "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired."

But, the Association went forward with the format for the 2022 season ... making things official earlier this week.

So, when we spoke with Commish out in NYC this week ... he told us he personally spoke with King James about the tourney -- and it sounds like things are allllll good.

"We talked about it," Silver told us. "I think at the end of the day, I understand. Especially if you went deep last year and you have that end, you have that many sort of games on your legs."

"You're not looking forward to more games. But, I think he understands the context of the league."

Silver says despite James' initial gripe, it was the NBA Players' Association that ended up voting in favor ... but he's totally down to collab on a common ground to make both sides as happy as possible.

"At the end of the day, the Players Association speaks for the players, and they've approved this format for next season," he added.

"So, I think we wanted to get one more season under our belt that wasn't a pandemic season, so we could really get a sense of how it works."

"But, I'm more open to tinkering with it if necessary."

Russell Westbrook couldn't have looked happier right after his big trade to the Lakers ... hitting an L.A. hot spot with Kevin Hart on Thursday -- smiling from ear-to-ear!!!

Of course, Brodie was the centerpiece of a MASSIVE deal between the Lake Show and Washington Wizards ... with Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and draft picks getting shipped out of town for the 2017 MVP.

Westbrook -- a SoCal native -- wasted no time celebrating his big homecoming ... rolling through The Nice Guy with his comedian friend just a few hours after the news broke.

Hart spoke with our camera guys Thursday night ... saying the move means "everything" for the Lakers.

While there are some folks wondering how the new Big 3 of Bron, Russ and Anthony Davis would mesh, the guys certainly seem to get along off the court.

Remember, James hosted Westbrook at his L.A. home for stogies a few years back ... and the L.A. Times reports the trio met up prior to the trade and agreed to put their egos aside.

LeBron certainly seems THRILLED with the trade ... posting a photoshopped pic of his new teammate in the Purple and Gold on Instagram.

LeBron James is getting another superstar on his squad ... and it ain't Lola Bunny -- Russell Westbrook has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster deal!!!

The rumors had been swirling for weeks ... with many expecting the Lake Show to try and bring in another piece to help the King and co. return to the NBA Finals.

Now, it's become a reality -- with LA sending Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and a 2021 first-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for the 2017 MVP, according to ESPN.

It's a HUGE move -- Brodie is a triple-double machine ... averaging 23 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists on his 13-season career.

It also allows Westbrook -- who is a Southern Cali native -- to return back to his roots and play for his hometown!!

LeBron has yet to address the trade ... but he's hosted Westbrook at his L.A. crib in the past, so we're sure he's all for bringing in another friend.

Now, the question is, does this new Big 3 dethrone the Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden as the most dangerous trio in the game right now???

The pick is in ... the Detroit Pistons have selected Oklahoma State superstar Cade Cunningham first overall in the NBA Draft!!

The decision was a total no-brainer -- Cunningham was Big 12 Player of the Year and an All-American with the Cowboys ... averaging 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game in his lone college season.

He was an absolute beast at the high school level as well ... winning national player of the year honors at Montverde Academy in Florida.

With all that success at the HS and college level, it was no surprise the guy was going #1.

Of course, draft night is also all about the #fashion -- and TMZ Sports got footage of the guys as they headed over to Barclays Center earlier Thursday night ... with everyone all decked out in some of the best draft day suits we've ever seen!!!

Florida State forward Scottie Barnes is going the LeBron/Zion route -- rocking an all-white look. Congo's Jonathan Kuminga sticks out with some awesome orange threads.

There are also some eye-popping looks ... but ya gotta give credit to the guys for trying new styles!!

Jalen Green pulled off a bedazzled pinstripe suit and makes it look easy ... while Jalen Suggs also had a similar attention-grabbing ensemble.

There was also a tribute to the late Black Mamba -- LSU's Cam Thomas honored his favorite player of all-time, Kobe Bryant, with a special design inside his blazer.

Cole Anthony -- last year's 15th overall pick -- is confessing his biggest rookie year screw up ... laying down wayyy too much cash on a chain prior to draft night.

TMZ Sports ran into the Orlando Magic star only hours before the 2021 NBA Draft ... and we asked the 2nd year hooper out of UNC how he treated himself after being picked in last year's 1st round.

"Before the draft, I bought myself a chain which I immediately regretted," the 21-year-old said. "It was a lot of money at the time ... at the time, it was a lot. I ain't going to lie to you."

FYI, Anthony signed a near-$16 million, 4-year deal with Orlando in the November draft (it was delayed over COVID-19).

Tonight, 60 more young fellas are about to strike it rich ... and Cole has some sound financial advice for the soon-to-be millionaires.

"You don't owe nobody nothing. Don't come in there trying to take care of a thousand people, man. Just take care of yourself. Take care of your mom and dad, if necessary," Anthony says.

"And, just focus on basketball."

Seems former NBA star Jermaine O'Neal would agree ... 'cause when we got the ex-Indiana Pacer out in NYC earlier this week, his biggest piece of advice to the future rookies was also to be smart with their cash!

"I think the most important thing is saving, right?" the 42-year-old said. "You know, put aside some money. You work hard, you should be able to choose what you want to buy. But don’t spend it all in one place."

New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes -- the #8 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- was arrested after an alleged violent altercation with police, TMZ Sports has learned ... and it apparently got so extreme, the hooper and a cop were taken to a hospital.

We're told law enforcement were called to an LA area home for a domestic disturbance early Wednesday morning ... and when cops attempted to check on the parties involved, 21-year-old Hayes tried like hell to keep them from entering the premises.

Sources tell us 6'11", 220-lb. Hayes got combative with cops and a fight broke out ... with the ex-Texas Longhorns star getting tased in the middle of the scuffle.

The brawl was allegedly so intense, police put out an "officer needs help" radio call.

Hayes was taken to a nearby hospital to get treatment for minor injuries ... and an officer involved in the fight also sought treatment, although their condition is unknown.

Hayes is expected to be booked for felony battery on a police officer. Cops are still investigating the initial alleged domestic incident, but both parties have been uncooperative.

We've reached out to Hayes' rep. So far, no word back.

Kyrie Irving is absolutely eviscerating his newest Nike signature sneaker ... calling the kicks "trash" and claiming he has nothing to do with the upcoming release.

The Brooklyn Nets superstar -- who signed with Nike in 2011 -- reportedly makes over $10 million a year as a Swoosh athlete ... and has dropped seven super-popular Kyrie shoes since 2014.

But, Irving is distancing himself from the latest shoe after pics of his "Kyrie 8" leaked on Instagram ... saying, "I have nothing to do with the design or marketing of the upcoming #Kyrie8, IMO these are trash!"

"I have Absolutely nothing to do with them!"

Kyrie says there's no hope of working with Nike to make any last-minute changes before the shoe drops later this year ... apologizing to all his fans who love his brand.

We can't think of any other time an athlete has completely bashed their own shoe -- even Kobe Bryant didn't go this hard on his abomination of the Adidas Kobe 2.

Look, the Kyrie 8 shoes aren't completely hideous, but they definitely give off "dad at the local YMCA" vibes more than an "I'm an NBA superstar" kinda feel. So, we get what Irving's beef is.

The NBA's play-in tournament is back for another year ... and ya know who probably ain't happy about that??? LeBron James.

Of course, the additional games were first tested out in the Disney World bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic ... and after a pretty successful run, the league brought 'em back for the 2021 season.

The tourney widens the number of postseason teams from 16 to 20 by featuring the 7th through 10th seeds of each conference, instead of the top 8 seeds automatically moving on to the playoffs.

While fans may have been in favor of the extra games, the King wasn't too pleased ... previously saying back in May, "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired."

Some folks believe LeBron's comments might have been more about his own team's position than the actual tourney -- thanks to the league’s new changes, the Lakers’ post-season chances required a few extra games.

The 2020 play-in brought some of the most memorable matchups of the playoffs. LeBron’s series went through his rival Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors ... and who doesn't wanna see that???

This year’s play-in tournament is scheduled from April 12-15 of 2022.

"The only people who are not vaccinated are just a**holes."

Charles Barkley is taking a strong stance on the COVID-19 vaccine ... saying the NBA -- as well as all other pro sports leagues -- should make it a requirement in order to compete.

As we previously reported, the NFL announced a policy that will penalize teams with potential fines and forfeited games if an unvaccinated player causes a coronavirus outbreak ... guidelines that had superstar DeAndre Hopkins tweeting about contemplating retirement.

The 58-year-old Hall of Famer says the virus is too serious to give people an option.

"Can you imagine if one of these guys that are not vaccinated, if they get one of these players’ kids, wives, girlfriends, moms and dads sick and they die over some unnecessary conspiracy bull****?," Barkley said, according to CNBC. "I think that would be tragic."

Chuck says players need to treat their careers like those with regular day jobs ... and there will be things they don't always want to do, but have to.

"There’s s*** you can’t do at work and there’s s*** that you have to do at work," Barkley added.

The NBA season is over, but Trae Young is still doing ridiculous things on the hardwood ... here's the Hawks superstar hitting a game-winner in a pro-am match Monday that sent the arena into an absolute frenzy!!

The game -- part of Skinz League action in Oklahoma City -- was wild ... Trae was getting buckets, hitting 3-pointers from near the half-court logo and blowing by defenders with ease.

Highlight videos show the 22-year-old just went off ... yet, somehow, the dude's team found itself down 90-88 -- and facing some big-time smack talk.

But, in video Young posted late Monday night, you can see he let the chatter fuel him ... eventually hitting a dagger over the trash-talker with no time left on the clock to win the contest.

The shot created quite the scene, with dozens -- and maybe even hundreds -- of people leaving the stands to swarm Trae on the court!!

Don't worry ... Young escaped it all unharmed -- and you could see he was grinning ear to ear amid the chaos.

"When you talk that 💩," Trae said of the shot and the smack talk that preceded it, "just know you gotta back it up with me..! THIS FOR THE CITY❄️"

The game's ending was so sick, it drew the attention of LeBron James ... who commented on the video, "Straight Like That!!!"

A robot basketball player has made its debut at the Tokyo Olympics -- and it turns out, the thing is pretty damn good at shooting baskets ... almost scary good. Actually, just scary.

Check out this robot that Tokyo officials rolled out Sunday for what appears to be a halftime show during a basketball game there between Team USA and France ... which the U.S. ended up losing 83-76.

Besides that news, reporter Ann Killion captured the real headline-grabber ... and that would be this hunk of metal slowly and inartfully sinking shots from a fair distance -- including one basket it made from half-court!

Watch the clip ... the robot starts by swishing a 3-pointer, this after lining it up perfectly and eventually launching the ball straight through the net. Then, it heads down to the mid-court logo, where it does the same thing -- picking the ball up by itself, and then chucking it.

Sure enough, that ball goes through as well. Obviously, the robot can get buckets, and even though it's slow to the draw ... it's clearly quite accurate. Shoot, maybe Team USA shoulda recruited this thing to be one of their wingmen! They sure needed the help.

All jokes aside ... the fact this robot can actually make its way up and down the floor and put up shots on its own is pretty incredible. It's a testament to technology, but also ... perhaps a sign of what may come in the future. Who's to say they won't make a full-blown team of robots one day???

Considering what Boston Dynamics is doing with their robots and how far they've come in making them move seamlessly, like humans, something tells us that possibility is one that could come about. We certainly have the tech to do it -- but do we actually wanna???

The Milwaukee Bucks are hitting the streets to celebrate their NBA Finals victory ... and it's already filled with plenty of drunken debauchery!!

There are TONS of fans out around the city to get a glimpse of the new champs ... standing shoulder-to-shoulder as the players come through on busses.

P.J. Tucker is getting the parade's party vibes goin' early -- chugging champagne right out of the bottle and spitting some into the air Triple H-style and letting out a huge, "LET'S GO!!!"

Speaking of WWE, fan-favorite Bobby Portis came through with his Championship belt ... with his mama holding on to the Larry O'Brien trophy.

Brandon Jennings -- the ex-Buck who came up with the famous "Bucks in 6" slogan -- is also in on the parade fun ... chugging beers and getting the fans extra hype.

Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo is also celebrating with his guys ... but there's no Chick-fil-A this time around -- just some big ass bottles of champagne, which he sprayed into the crowd!!

Giannis even poked fun at his infamous free throw routine -- waiting a whopping 18 seconds before shooting a ball to the fans.

We'll keep updating with all the best highlights of the big party -- and judging by how it started, there will be a LOT more.

17-year-old basketball sensation Mikey Williams is close to becoming one VERY rich high schooler -- the 2024 prospect just inked a historic management deal that could help him rake in MILLIONS!!!

Williams is one of the top-ranked players in his class ... and has earned a massive following on social media with 3.2 million followers on Instagram alone.

Now that the NCAA and most states allow college athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness, Mikey has followed up by becoming the very first high school athlete to sign a NIL deal -- teaming up with Excel Sports, an agency that works with superstar athletes like Tiger Woods, Nikola Jokic and Clayton Kershaw.

The deal will help the Vertical Academy junior guard secure endorsements and sponsorships WAY before he makes it to the college level ... and Excel VP Matt Davis tells ESPN the partnership "will generate millions of dollars for this young man."

Williams spoke about the monumental moment ... saying, "The NIL rules provide a new opportunity for someone like me who that has put in so much energy and effort into building a community."

"I am excited to be the first high school athlete to make this move. I love to hoop and I love engaging with my fans and look forward to continuing to share my journey with everyone."

FYI -- there are no laws in North Carolina that prevent high school athletes from making NIL deals, so it seems like Williams will not hit any roadblocks on the way to makin' serious coin.

It's a sign of what's to come for young athletes all over the country ... and ya gotta wonder if Williams' fellow Class of 2023 prospect Bronny James is next.

Forget porterhouse steaks and fancy champagne ... Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrated his NBA title with Chick-fil-A -- and his run to the fast-food joint Wednesday was absolutely EPIC!!!

The Bucks superstar -- fresh off dropping 50 points in Milwaukee's NBA finals-clinching Game 6 win over the Suns -- documented his whole trip to breakfast on social media, and it was seriously amazing.

Giannis made the trek to the food spot with the Larry O'Brien trophy and his NBA finals award in his lap ... and he stopped to celebrate with plenty of happy fans along the way.

At one point, the dude even let a guy reach into his ride to touch his championship hardware!!

Once Giannis got to the Chick-fil-A line ... he ordered a feast -- first, requesting 50 (not 49 and not 51) nuggets to celebrate his points total from Tuesday night's game.

Then the 26-year-old added some burritos and a half Sprite/half lemonade drink!!

Giannis then tried to score some free Chick-fil-A for life ... making a deal with workers that if he went back-to-back next season, he'd never have to pay for the place's chicken again!!

"Hey," Giannis told his followers on IG Live. "This is why I love Milwaukee. This is why I chose to stay because we celebrate together. It's been like this since Day One. And I love this."

Fans then surrounded Antetokounmpo's whip -- chanting "Bucks In 6" and "M-V-P" -- before Giannis signed off to go home and eat his meal.

Joe Pytka -- the director of Michael Jordan's original "Space Jam" -- is going off on LeBron James' reboot, calling it an uninteresting mess ... and that's about the nicest thing he has to say.

Pytka -- who's also known for directing popular music videos and commercials in the '80s and '90s, including the "I Am Tiger Woods" ad -- tells TMZ ... "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is so boring, he couldn't finish it in one sitting.

In fact, he says it took him 5 separate sessions to complete its 2-hour runtime.

The director has several issues with the reboot, starting with LBJ. Pytka points out when "Space Jam" was made in 1996, MJ wasn't just the best basketball player ... he was the biggest celebrity in the world.

Joe says LeBron's an incredible athlete and a very good actor, but adds ... "The truth is that LeBron ain't Michael." On top of that, Pytka says his film tied the plot to MJ's personal life -- retiring from hoops to play baseball -- while the new movie's missing a personal connection to LeBron.

Pytka's just getting started ... he feels the 1996 "Space Jam" featured a far superior supporting cast with Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley and Bill Murray. In 'New Legacy' ... he says he can't even remember one thing Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard or the others did.

The director also thinks the reboot's soundtrack is "insignificant" while the OG's is classic, but his biggest beef is what happened to Bugs Bunny. No spoilers here, but Joe sees Bugs' role in 'New Legacy' as "heartbreaking."

Pytka says this new BB has no connection to previous depictions -- something they paid close attention to with the OG "Space Jam." In short, he says the new version "looked like one of those fluffy dolls you buy at an airport gift shop to bring your kid when your business trip has taken too long."

Take all this with a grain of salt, because Joe acknowledges his "Space Jam" was mostly panned by critics -- just like this reboot -- but it still became a cult classic.

Dozens of gunshots sent celebrating Milwaukee Bucks fans running for their lives after Tuesday night's NBA championship game ... and video from the scene is chilling.

It all happened near Fiserv Forum, where just minutes prior to the chaos, Giannis Antetokounmpo had helped earn Milwaukee an NBA title with a victory over the Suns.

Multiple cameras captured the terrifying images from the streets surrounding the arena ... and in footage from WISN12 News' broadcast -- you can see just how horrifying the situation was.

Gunfire erupted loudly and repeatedly near hundreds of fans who were celebrating the victory ... and it all grew so intense, people could be seen sprinting from the area in fear.

Milwaukee Police have not given specific details surrounding the shots yet -- but officials did say in a statement Wednesday that 3 people were injured in shootings shortly after the Bucks won it all.

According to cops, a 19-year-old woman, a 32-year-old man, and a 22-year-old man all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police added they've launched an investigation into it all.

Just before the gunfire broke out ... the scene was epic in Milwaukee -- with more than 60,000 fans cramming into areas near the stadium to watch the game and then celebrate the win afterward.

Some were seen climbing on street poles after the victory ... while others were caught on camera leaping into the Milwaukee River.