Basketball

BYU commit AJ Dybantsa brought out the star power in a dunk contest on Monday ... enlisting Angel Reese as a prop for a jaw-dropping slam!!

The impressive moment went down at the Sprite Jam Fest ... with the top high school prospect positioning the 6'3" Chicago Sky hooper right where he wanted her before attempting a one-handed windmill jam.

But Reese wasn't just there to get a better view of the dunk -- Dybantsa elected to soar over her head as he set up a meeting with the rim!!

Dallas Mavericks fans clearly still loathe Nico Harrison for trading away Luka Doncic ... one actually yelled right in the GM's face on Monday, "Fire Nico!" -- repeatedly!

The scene unfolded just before the Mavs' tilt with the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center in Dallas ... as Harrison -- who jettisoned Doncic to the Lakers back on Feb. 1 -- was saying hi to some people who had shown up for the game a bit early.

The 52-year-old shook one person's hand, and then as he turned to go back to Dallas' locker room area -- a Mavs backer yelled that he should be canned.

Sweet gesture from Lakers head coach JJ Redick -- he held a special basketball clinic on his day off on Sunday for kids who have been impacted by the recent wildfires in L.A.

Los Angeles' sideline manager put on the one-of-a-kind camp in conjunction with his LA Strong Sports foundation ... inviting a bunch of little tykes to help learn ball at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo.

Redick spoke to the campers before giving them pointers on jump shots and defense ... and check out some of the pics the Lakers shared from the event -- everyone seemed thrilled.

The Pistons vs. Timberwolves game turned into fight night on Sunday ... with both sides getting into a massive brawl that flooded into the stands -- leading to a whopping seven ejections.

The chaos broke out in the second quarter ... when tensions were already high after Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart got T'd up for bumping Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo.

Shortly after, Detroit's Ron Holland slapped the ball out of Minnesota forward Naz Reid's hands as he was driving the lane -- who responded by getting in his face and waving his finger.

Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt, Greg Anthony and the rest of the Runnin' Rebels are getting a documentary (about time!) on their famed '90 NCAA Championship squad -- a team the guys say is the greatest ever!

Johnson, Augmon, and Hunt joined Babcock ... where they announced the brand new project, titled UNLV: Kings Of Vegas, which they say will, once and for all, deliver the true story of the famed team, including never-before-told stories.

"It was long overdue," Hunt said ... "To tell the story through our eyes."

Former WNBA superstar Chiney Ogwumike tells TMZ Sports she's absolutely positive we'll be seeing JuJu Watkins getting buckets on the hardwood again in the near future.

The 19-year-old phenom went down with a torn ACL during USC's Monday night NCAA tournament matchup with Mississippi State ... and while everyone is holding their breath over how the devastating injury might impact her insanely bright future, Ogwumike doesn't seem to be sweating it one bit.

When we got the two-time WNBA All-Star out at LAX this week, she told us she's just certain JuJu will attack the recovery process meticulously -- and will be ready to score again on the court in no time.

Sometimes you just gotta get from A to B -- even if it means totally disrupting a basketball game that's already in full swing.

Check out this hilarious TikTok clip -- this elderly woman gave zero F's as she casually strolled across the court, totally unfazed while a young boy frantically dribbled by her as the opposing team chased him down, trying to snatch the ball.

Looks like the future basketball star didn’t quite land the slam dunk -- the boy immediately turned back, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration ... but the elderly woman strolled on by, totally unbothered.

Dallas Maverick fans are still pissed about Luka Doncic getting traded to the Lakers ... but Mark Cuban is reiterating he had NOTHING to do with it -- claiming he was promised he'd maintain control of basketball operations when he sold the team, but that didn't happen.

Cuban -- who has a net worth of $5.7 billion -- took time to respond to a fan on Facebook who said he should be "run out of Dallas" as a result of the shocking transaction ... firing off in the comment section to defend himself.

He told the fan that when he sold the team 16 months ago to Miriam Adelson, he expected to run basketball operations for the squad, but "Someone obviously changed their mind."

LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith can end their feud once and for all with their FISTS ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned a popular boxing promotion is drafting an offer to make a fight happen!!

King James and the ESPN talent have exchanged verbal blows ever since their infamous confrontation at the Lakers game earlier this month ... and on Wednesday, the argument turned to hypothetical violence -- with SAS claiming if LeBron put his hands on him, he would've retaliated with a punch.

After LeBron trolled the hell outta Smith by posting his old training vids, Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman immediately got to work ... and started making calls to rich investors in hopes of putting together the funds needed to lock down a matchup of this caliber.

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.