Basketball

Serena Williams continues to keep herself busy during her post-playing days ... the tennis GOAT is joining the Toronto Tempo ownership group ahead of the new WNBA franchise's inaugural season!

The Tempo made the announcement Monday morning, posting video to social media showing Williams bouncing a tennis ball ... which ultimately turns into a WNBA ball, with the text "New Court, New Game."

The new org also issued a press release ... describing her role with the team, saying the 23x Grand Slam winner will help bring the Tempo "to life visually."

The big winner at the Oscars was "Anora," but Ben Stiller was more focused on something happening thousands of miles away on Sunday ... the New York Knicks' matchup against the Miami Heat.

Stiller was a presenter at the biggest night in Hollywood ... experiencing a stage "malfunction" while announcing the Best Set Design category -- an obvious ploy to get some laughs.

Despite having a big job in the festivities, it's clear the "Severance" director wasn't gonna let it get in the way of his diehard Knickerbockers fandom ... as he sent out a celebratory social media post after New York narrowly beat Miami in overtime, 116-112.

An impromptu pre-Oscars party went down at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday ... with big actors like Timothée Chalamet and Ben Affleck snagging courtside seats for the Lakers' win over the Timberwolves.

LeBron James and Co. handled business for the Purple and Gold ... coming away with the 111-102 victory thanks to the King's stat sheet-stuffing night with 33 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.

Ball knower and "A Complete Unknown" star Timmy C was clearly loving the action ... giving a big smile as he took it all in. He seemingly had a bit of a costume change during his night out ... as he was spotted wearing two different shirts.

Coach Norman Dale was one of Gene Hackman's most iconic roles -- in "Hoosiers," one of his most memorable movies -- and now the late actor's costar is speaking out in the wake of the beloved 95-year-old's death.

TMZ Sports spoke to Brad Long just hours after the tragic news broke of Hackman's passing ... where the actor shared his experience working alongside the Academy Award winner in what was Long's first movie role.

Despite having no experience, Brad, who played Buddy in the 1986 hit, says Gene was super down-to-earth and "made us feel comfortable," adding he never made anyone "feel self-conscious."

Gregg Popovich won't be back on the NBA sidelines anytime soon ... as the three-time coach of the year announced he will miss the rest of the season as he continues to recover from a stroke he suffered in November.

Popovich released a statement minutes ago ... saying interim head coach Mitch Johnson and the staff "have done a wonderful job and the resolve and professionalism the players have, sticking together during a challenging season, has been outstanding."

"I will continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future."

Time to start double-checking those X handles again ... NBA parody account NBACentel is back up and running after it went offline yesterday for unknown reasons.

The account announced its return Thursday morning in a post responding to Stephen A. Smith, who tweeted, "RIP Centel" -- with Centel sharing a clip of a man coming back to life.

Its return was met with tons of excitement, with tons of people leaving comments welcoming the parody profile back to the platform.

Kentucky narrowly avoided a road loss AND a flying beer can on Wednesday ... with Wildcats players getting targeted with a fan's trash following a nail-biting finish against Oklahoma.

It all went down after the No. 17 Wildcats ended the unranked Sooners' hopes at an upset by securing an 83-82 win ... with a bit of drama breaking out after the final buzzer.

Wildcats sophomore forward Brandon Garrison got in the face of Sooners freshman Jeremiah Fears ... which led to players and staffers from both sides to rush over. Luckily, the two were separated before the situation escalated further.

Luka Doncic knows how to get on his new fan base's good side -- he hooked up Laker Nation with free parking for L.A.'s big matchup with the Dallas Mavericks!!

The dope gesture from Doncic (and Jordan Brand) was revealed before the Slovenian hooper's "revenge" game on Tuesday ... which marked the first time he lined up against his former team.

Tons of spectators flocked to Crypto.com Arena for the tilt  ... and some who drove to the venue were met with a pleasant surprise -- "Free Parking. Courtesy of Luka Doncic."

Diana Taurasi -- widely regarded as one of the greatest female basketball players ever -- has decided she is retiring from the WNBA.

The Phoenix Mercury star broke the news with Time on Tuesday ... saying she has mentally and physically achieved her dreams during her 20-year WNBA career.

"That's probably the best way I can describe it," the 42-year-old said. "I'm full and I'm happy."

Ex-NBAer Patrick Beverley is being sued for chucking a basketball at a pair of Indiana Pacers fans during a playoff game last year ... with the spectators claiming the incident is still affecting their lives to this day.

Pat Bev -- who was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks at the time -- threw the ball into the Pacers crowd twice in the closing minutes of the May 2024 matchup ... a contest that ultimately ended his team's season.

Two women -- Jessica Simmons and Katie Lanciotti -- claim Beverley's actions were completely unprovoked ... and being hit by his tosses resulted in mental and physical pain -- including medical expenses.

LeBron and Bronny James are adamantly denying they did anything wrong ... after the superstar father-son duo were sued in late 2024 over an alleged car accident.

In legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Bron and Bronny "deny each and every allegation contained in the complaint" ... which was filed by two women, April Almanza Lopez and Kiara Rae McGillen, in Los Angeles County on October 22, 2024.

The plaintiffs claim the James' were responsible for a November 13, 2022 automobile accident that resulted in injuries requiring medical attention.

The IU Indy men's basketball team bus erupted in flames on the way home from a road game on Sunday ... but luckily, everyone made it out unharmed.

The terrifying incident happened after the Jaguars' 71-67 loss to the Northern Kentucky Norse at the BB&T Arena.

As the team and coaches took the two-hour ride back to campus, the bus suddenly caught fire on the I-275 loop near Lawrenceburg.

Alex Rodriguez proved he's a baller on the baseball diamond and the hardwood ... 'cause he tossed up a shot Sunday from halfcourt and made it -- helping out one lucky student in the process.

The former Yankees third baseman was in attendance to watch Army take on Bucknell University Saturday afternoon in basketball ... and, during halftime he was invited to take a huge shot from the middle of the floor.

Check out the vid ... A-Rod -- clad in a bright orange Bucknell t-shirt -- tosses the ball up, hits the backboard and the ball goes straight through the hoop.

LeBron James just launched his own E1 Series powerboat racing team this year ... and one of his drivers believes the NBA superstar's involvement will attract a whole new audience to the up-and-coming sport.

The Los Angeles Lakers champ revealed his investment in the water sport on January 23rd ... announcing that the AlUla team will join Tom Brady, Will Smith, and others in the E1 all-electric powerboat racing series for the 2025 season.

His team includes two drivers -- Catie Munnings, who is also a rally driver, and Rusty Wyatt, who told us he's hyped to be a part of James' crew.

Luka Doncic was once the face of the franchise, but now the Dallas Mavericks refuse to even show his mug -- with the team editing the Slovenian hooper out of a hype video weeks after trading him to Los Angeles.

The Mavs dropped a new promo on Friday to seemingly get heartbroken and shocked Dallas backers to care about the team again ... but the big takeaway was the fact that any clips featuring Doncic included lazy editing -- like turning his body into a shadow and throwing a logo over his face for good measure.

While the plan might have been to get folks to focus on the players still on the squad, the effort had the opposite effect ... as fans quickly shared screenshots to call the team out.

LaVar Ball's clearly not down in the dumps over his medical situation ... in fact, he's already joking about it!!

The Big Baller Brand co-founder filmed a Cameo on Thursday for one of his biggest fans -- TikTok user "Primby" -- and in the message, he cracked a joke about his recent amputation surgery.

Ball said to the camera that he was aware everyone's "heard what happened" to his right foot ... but then he laughed off the matter.