Basketball

Stephen A. Smith is owning up to a mistake he made as his LeBron James feud intensifies ... apologizing for claiming the Lakers superstar didn't attend the memorial service for Kobe Bryant.

The ESPN host incorrectly stated during his passionate rant on Thursday's "First Take" that James was nowhere to be found when the basketball community mourned Bryant's tragic death at the then-Staples Center following the Hall of Famer's tragic death in 2020.

According to multiple reports, James was, in fact, in the building ... but requested not to be shown during a livestream of the emotional event.

Austin Reaves got creative for a gender reveal for his big bro  ... surprising him by wearing pink sneakers during Wednesday's Lakers game -- and Spencer absolutely loved it!!

The L.A. star delivered the exciting news to his brother and his pregnant wife, Casey, right on the court during his game against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Reaves made his way to the hardwood rockin' pink and white kicks, signaling the baby is a girl.

7:27 AM PT -- We knew this was coming -- Stephen A. Smith opened Thursday's "First Take" going off on LeBron ... saying his nemesis' real issue stems from the fact he refuses to consider him the greatest NBA player over Michael Jordan.

Smith made it clear he's never going to back down from his stance ... and he's not going anywhere.

As for his colleague Pat McAfee giving his rival a platform, SAS doesn't blame him one bit -- saying no one would pass up on an interview with James.

Smith also addressed James' trolling with his boxing vid ... and he even admits it wasn't his best work, but claimed he would've looked much better if he wasn't injured at the time.

LeBron James hit the game-winning shot for the Lakers on Wednesday, but the real dagger came on Instagram later in the night ... when he ruthlessly clapped back at Stephen A. Smith AGAIN by mocking his fighting skills.

The King added another chapter to the beef after L.A. beat the Indiana Pacers ... clearly getting wind of the ESPN host claiming earlier in the day he would've "swung" on the four-time champ if he had put his hands on him during their Crypto.com Arena confrontation a few weeks back.

Even though SAS admitted it probably would've resulted in getting his ass whooped, LeBron made sure the talking head knew how he felt about the comments ... sharing an old video of one of his boxing sessions, which didn't necessarily mimic a Ryan Garcia left hook.

Duke fans better enjoy Cooper Flagg while they can ... 'cause Seth Curry tells TMZ Sports it won't be long before the Blue Devils baller is starring on NBA courts.

Flagg's currently got Duke rolling into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament ... but on Wednesday, Curry told us he has no doubts the freshman phenom will be lighting it up in the Association soon.

Steph's younger brother -- who played at Duke from 2010-2013 -- said Flagg can score and play defense with the best of them ... and he didn't push back when we said it certainly looks like the 18-year-old will be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer's draft.

Stephen A. Smith says he and LeBron James could have been the next Will Smith and Chris Rock ... if things got physical during their infamous courtside quarrel.

The TV host just hopped on his podcast and responded to LBJ dissing him on Wednesday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show."

Stephen A. says if LeBron would have put hands on him when he confronted him at Crypto.com arena, "I would've immediately swung on him. Immediately."

The beef between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith is still clearly sizzling ... the Lakers superstar just shaded his nemesis on live TV -- with a Taylor Swift quip!

The King joined Pat McAfee on Wednesday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" for a lengthy sit-down interview ... and at one point, his now-viral, in-game spat with Stephen A. came up.

James quickly took a dig at the ESPN analyst to kick off the topic ... dissing the 57-year-old for the way he's gone on multiple television shows to talk about their March 6 Crypto.com Arena quarrel.

Things got intense on the Grizzlies' bench in a matchup with the Jazz on Tuesday ... with Desmond Bane forcefully shoving his own teammate during a timeout.

The incident went down early in the contest at the Delta Center ... when Utah came out the gates strong offensively.

As Memphis called for a break in the action, Bane was caught on video yelling at Santi Aldama to get a stop on defense ... and then extending his arms to push him into a seat.

Damian Lillard has been ruled out indefinitely with a serious medical issue -- a blood clot -- but the NBA superstar isn't calling it quits on the season ... we're told he hopes to return for the playoffs.

The team announced that the 34-year-old was diagnosed with a blood clot -- deep vein thrombosis (DVT) -- in his right calf and has been put on a blood-thinning medication. Serious stuff. The good news is the team says it has stabilized the clot.

But, with only 11 games left in the regular season, the timing is unfortunate for Dame and the Bucks.

The good news? Our sources tell us Lillard hopes, and plans, to return this season ... as long as he's cleared by the docs.

We're told DL will be reevaluated next week ... and there's hope he will show progress.

The entire basketball community is rallying behind JuJu Watkins after she suffered a devastating injury during the NCAA tournament on Monday ... with names like Angel Reese and Lisa Leslie wishing her a speedy recovery.

The unfortunate incident happened in the first five minutes of USC's second-round matchup against Mississippi State at the Galen Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Watkins -- the Big Ten Player of the Year -- was driving to the basket on a fast break when her knee buckled, forcing her to fall to the floor and grab her right leg in excruciating pain.

Derik Queen put the Maryland Terrapins on his back and hit a game-winning shot to punch their tickets to the Sweet 16 ... and he tells TMZ Sports the best part about it is he was there for the seniors when they needed him most.

We caught up with the star of Sunday's action after Maryland beat the Colorado State Rams in a nail-biting 72-71 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament ... and Queen was still riding high off the outcome a day later.

In case you missed it, the 20-year-old freshman got the ball with 3.7 seconds left in the contest ... and drove to the hoop to sink a TOUGH bank shot with the entire season on the line.

An NCAA Tournament reporter says he was hit with a threat from UConn after he posted a video of Dan Hurley in a bit of an unflattering situation on Sunday night.

The footage was taken inside the bowels of the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. ... just after Hurley's Huskies dropped their second-round matchup to the Florida Gators, 77-75.

Hurley could be heard in the clip screaming about the referees ... as the Baylor Bears were gearing up to take the court for their matchup with Duke.

The busty woman who's gone viral for standing behind Rick Pitino over the weekend has just been given an opportunity further milk her 15 minutes of fame ... as TMZ Sports has learned a porn site has offered her $200,000 to reveal herself -- in more ways than one.

The unidentified New Mexico fan set the internet ablaze on Sunday night -- when she appeared behind Pitino as the TNT broadcast showed him in the stands cheering on his son, Lobos head coach Richard Pitino, against Michigan State.

While fans were happy to see the heartwarming father-son moment ... others couldn't keep their eyes off the lady clad in UNM red.

Rick Pitino made the trip to Cleveland to be a supportive papa for his son Richard's matchup in the NCAA tournament ... but a heartwarming moment was derailed by someone else in the crowd.

The 72-year-old was all smiles when cameras panned to him cheering on the New Mexico Lobos in their contest with the No. 2 ranked Michigan State Spartans in the round of 32 ... which was cool to see especially after Rick's St. John's squad was upset by Arkansas a day prior.

The touching gesture isn't what was the focus on social media, though ... as some folks admitted they didn't even realize a Hall of Fame coach was in the shot!!

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's ex-wife, Nikki, is setting the record straight after wild rumors made rounds on social media ... adamantly denying she's hooking up with Miami hooper Jaime Jaquez Jr.

The speculation went viral on Sunday ... with internet users claiming Nikki's interactions with the 24-year-old forward/guard's Instagram page gave reason to believe she was moving on from her ex with one of his own players.

Some also pointed out one of Nikki's recent posts about dating men below 25 and how it was more beneficial because they're easier to manipulate.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA, but Norm Nixon tells TMZ Sports he's not entirely sold they're a real threat to win the championship.

We caught up with the former "Showtime" Lakers star out at LAX this week ... and he made it clear, he's got some serious questions about Cleveland's roster.

He told us he thinks the Cavs are good -- they do, after all, own the most wins in the Eastern Conference -- but he wondered out loud how they'll handle the bright lights of April, May and June.

An upstate New York high school girls’ basketball coach has been canned after he yanked a player’s hair following their team’s loss on Friday -- an appalling moment was caught on camera.

As you can see, Northville High School player Hailey Monroe was already in tears after the game, but to add insult to injury 81-year-old coach Jim Zullo appeared to viciously yanked her back by her ponytail.

In the upsetting moment -- Monroe tried to pull away as another player appeared to tell Zullo to stop, but the coach was seen berating her, wagging his finger in her face and screaming at her.