Basketball

Mike Budenholzer is out in Phoenix ... the Suns have axed their head coach after just one disappointing season at the helm.

Shams Charania broke the news Monday morning ... a day after reports indicated the organization was going to take the drastic step of firing their coach.

Budenholzer signed a 5-year deal worth $50 million last offseason ... and expectations were high with MB on the bench. but the org. was clearly in no mood to be patient.

LSU hoops star Aneesah Morrow is ready to make an instant impact in the WNBA ... telling TMZ Sports she's ready to grab boards and play lockdown D -- no matter where she's drafted!

TMZ Sports spoke to the 22-year-old forward from a Raising Cane's restaurant in NYC ... when we asked her to provide a self-scouting report -- as we're just days away from the WNBA Draft, going down from the Big Apple on April 14.

"Somebody that's gonna come in and work hard every day. I'm going to work hard to get on the boards, be able to rebound, and defend," Morrow told us.

The last home game of the Los Angeles Lakers regular season brought out some Hollywood elite -- including one star who couldn't help show but show off her long legs.

The Lakers played the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena Thursday night ... and, several bold-faced names came out to see the purple and gold.

Bruce Springsteen sat courtside ... jeans and a brown coat on -- chatting with a couple of his seatmates.

The Chicago Bulls already clinched a spot in the NBA's Play-In tournament, so their final home game tonight against the Wizards doesn’t mean much for the team ... but for one longtime fan, it'll be the most meaningful game in Bulls history.

95-year-old Ida has been a Bulls fan going back decades ... but has never made it out to a game in person. Well, Friday’s fan appreciation night in Chi-Town, and the Bulls had a big surprise for their ride-or-die supporter -- tickets to her first-ever game!

The Bulls posted video of Ida’s reaction to the news … and grab your tissues folks, because it’s an emotional one!

Ja Morant is making it clear that his grenade-style celebration is here to stay ... telling reporters he has no plans on scrapping it -- before once again breaking it out on Thursday!

Morant addressed his new explosive celebration during a team shootaround on Thursday, making it known that we shouldn't expect him to retire the grenade throw until someone says something to him.

"That's my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I'll find another one," he told local reporters.

Life can be hard as an NBA rookie ... a lesson 22-year-old Bobi Klintman learned the hard way -- after his Pistons teammates FILLED HIS CAR WITH POPCORN!!!

The night started out swell for Klintman ... his squad earned a big win over the New York Knicks in Detroit. But, things were about to take a turn.

As the 2nd round pick made his way to the players' parking lot at Little Caesars Arena, Jalen Duren began filming (the first clue something was up). When Klintman got to his matte Mercedes Benz SUV and opened his passenger side door, popcorn spilled out EVERYWHERE.

Hours after Luka Doncic's emotional return to Dallas ... he was still in the city while his team was already back in Los Angeles -- attending a local meet and greet with fans instead of jetting back with the team.

Doncic swung by a local Dicks store on Thursday to promote his newly released Jordan Brand sneakers. The 26-year-old did it all ...  signed autographs, talked with some local kids and even checked some lucky patrons out at the register.

It marked the first time Doncic was back in Big D, the city he called home for nearly seven years, until Nico Harrison and co. traded him to L.A. in one of the most shocking moves in NBA history.

UConn star Azzi Fudd says she believes her Huskies got an assist from the Mamba and the Mambacita during their title tilt last weekend ... telling TMZ Sports she felt Kobe and Gianna Bryant "watching down on us" during the big game.

Some five years after the NBA legend and his daughter -- who was a massive UConn fan -- passed away in a tragic helicopter accident ... Fudd says she felt their presence as she and her teammates were taking down South Carolina in the national championship in San Antonio.

She told us it all became crystal clear to her when someone pointed out a few Bryant-related numbers in the matchup's box score.

It seems everyone wants to roll with the winners -- 'cause the UConn Huskies were spotted hanging out with none other than Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz after their national championship victory!!

Stars like Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Kaitlyn Chen commemorated the massive accomplishment in the best way they knew how -- a dinner at world-renowned Asian fusion restaurant Sei Less in Manhattan ... but the party got even more hype with Alicia and Swizz!!

The musical power couple rented out the whole joint to celebrate one year of Alicia's Broadway show, "Hell’s Kitchen" ... and from the looks of it, the UConn girls were more than happy to join in on the fun.

Travis Scott got some R&R before his highly anticipated Coachella set by catching the L.A. Clippers game on Wednesday -- and unlike past experiences, he had no issues with security this time.

Celebrities flocked to the Intuit Dome in Inglewood for the Clippers' home contest against the Houston Rockets ... including names like Floyd Mayweather, Draya Michele, Steve Ballmer and La Flame himself.

Scott -- a Rockets fan -- was courtside with his Cactus Jack artist Sheck Wes ... and while he had great seats for the outing, we take it he was also thinking about closing down the massive music festival on Saturday.

Luka Doncic's return to Dallas started with tears ... and ended with a win -- and a whole lot of points for the former Mavs superstar!!

The new Laker was back in Big D on Wednesday night for the first time since Nico Harrison and Co. jettisoned him to Los Angeles ... and while it was emotional, the 26-year-old showed what his old team was missing in a 112-97 rout.

The Mavericks played a special tribute to him before the game got underway -- and Doncic cried over the piece. He, though, quickly set his emotions aside and went out and eviscerated his former team.

Dallas Mavericks fans are still livid the team traded away their superstar, Luka Doncic ... and a group of fans are taking their displeasure to the streets -- 'cause TMZ Sports is told a billboard calling for general manager Nico Harrison's job is making its way around town before Wednesday's highly anticipated matchup with the Lakers.

Dallas Billboards -- in partnership with Southwest Mobile Advertising -- tells us an anonymous batch of donors reached out to them to commission the sign in opposition to the front office staffer and team owners, the Adelson/Dumont family.

The group told the companies they are "All for firing Nico and selling the team as a means of asking for accountability for the worst trade in the history of basketball."

Jaylen Brown just got something incredible to complement his Celtics championship ring ... a $250k chain with an emerald centerpiece right before his quest for another title!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Boston star wanted to get a special accessory to embody his  mantra, "The energy is about to shift," so he hit up Eric The Jeweler for the job.

Of course, there's a double meaning here ... as a green emerald symbolizes energy, while also a nod to his team's iconic colors. Eric, who has also worked with rapper Playboi Carti, executed the task to perfection.

The Dallas Mavericks want to show love for Luka Doncic ahead of his big return on Wednesday ... making shirts to share their appreciation for his time with the organization -- despite shipping him off to Los Angeles in a mind-boggling trade earlier this season.

The team revealed the fan giveaway hours before tipoff against the Lakers ... which read "Hvala za vse" -- Slovenian for "Thanks for everything."

The Mavs also plan to honor Luka with a tribute video at some point in the evening.

Nearly a month after he upchucked his dinner onto the floor at Madison Square Garden ... Tracy Morgan was back courtside watching his Knicks -- and this time, there were no stomach issues in sight.

The 56-year-old comedian pulled up to New York's Tuesday night tilt with the Boston Celtics for the first time since his now-infamous March 17 incident ... and his favorite team welcomed him back with open arms.

They showed him on the jumbotron, and fans roared with applause when they saw he was back. Morgan responded with some blown kisses and a "Go Knicks!" message.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells was stretchered off the court after a brutal fall during a dunk attempt in Tuesday night's game ... and while he suffered a broken wrist as a result of the tumble, he's fortunate it was not more serious.

The frightening incident happened during the second quarter of the Grizzlies' road matchup against the Charlotte Hornets ... when Wells -- averaging 10.4 points this season -- went up for a one-handed slam.

Once Wells was airborne, he took a hard foul from Hornets guard KJ Simpson ... causing him to plummet onto the Spectrum Center court and seemingly hitting his head in the process.