Basketball

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't have to worry about running off set for a bathroom break anymore ... 'cause adult diaper brands are lining up to give him free product!!

O'Neal, 53, hilariously waddled to the restroom in the middle of an "Inside the NBA" segment on Monday ... and fans, as well as his cohosts Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson and Kenny "The Jet" Smith, had a field day with the blooper.

NorthShore Care -- known for its "maximum absorbency products" -- tells TMZ Sports it wants to throw up a lob to the Lakers great following the viral moment ... by shipping him some items that could keep him at the desk for a loooong time.

An anonymous NBA player poll dubbed Tyrese Haliburton the most overrated player in the league ... but don't bring that up to Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle -- 'cause he believes the results are absolute "bulls***."

Carlisle was asked about the questionnaire published by The Athletic following the Pacers' 123-115 win over the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night ... and he made it clear he isn't a fan of the yearly piece.

"The other guys on the list were Jimmy Butler and Giannis [Antetokounmpo]," Carlisle said. "I wanna see the guys' faces that voted those guys, I wanna see the faces of those guys. This is a bulls*** poll."

Detroit is riding high after snapping its 15-game playoff losing streak against the New York Knicks on Monday ... but former Piston Ben Wallace tells TMZ Sports the current squad isn't a bunch of "Bad Boys" -- they've earned their own identity!!

We caught up with Big Ben out at LAX on Tuesday ... and while he knows there's a ton of basketball left, he believes his old team can pull off the first-round upset with the series tied at 1-1.

"The guy's been playing well," he said. "The guy's playing hard, playing together. We're gonna go out there and just see what happens. I think the guys are excited about being out there, being able to be back in the playoffs. We know anytime getting to the playoffs, anything's possible."

Anthony Edwards' bank account just got shafted by the NBA ... with the Minnesota Timberwolves hooper getting hit with a $50,000 fine for telling a Lakers fan his "dick bigger."

The league just announced the punishment on Tuesday ... saying the 23-year-old All-Star directed "inappropriate language" toward a fan -- as well as an "obscene gesture."

The incident went down with less than five minutes left in the third quarter of the Wolves' 117-95 Game 1 win over Los Angeles ... which naturally had some Purple and Gold supporters on edge.

50 Cent and Joe Budden have been going tit for tat for weeks on social media ... but it was all good when they came face-to-face at the Knicks heated playoff game last night!!!

A source close to 50 Cent’s floor seat act tells TMZ Hip Hop the G-Unit general -- along with Fat Joe -- were invited guests of Madison Square Garden and were supporting the NYK.

We’re told 50 had no idea Budden was even at the game until they showed 50 on the Jumbotron -- and saw Joe cheering for him on the big screen.

Josh Hart asked and he received -- Suni Lee returned to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks' playoff game ... but unlike her last visit, the Knicks fell short this time around.

Game 2 of New York's first-round series against the Detroit Pistons went down on Monday ... and the stunning six-time Olympic medalist had a courtside seat for the matchup.

Her appearance comes after Hart jokingly pleaded for her return in a convo with Jalen Brunson on their "Roommates Show" podcast ... when he claimed their teammate, OG Anunoby, plays better when she's present -- after all, he had 32 points when she observed his game on April 6.

The No. 1 basketball breakdown show in America may have been marred by a No. 2 on Monday night ... as Shaquille O'Neal had to bolt from the "Inside The NBA" set over a bathroom emergency.

The hilarious scene all played out following the Clippers' playoff game with the Nuggets ... as Shaq, Ernie Johnson, Kenny "The Jet" Smith and Charles Barkley were on-air chatting about L.A.'s big win.

Mid-conversation, out of nowhere, O'Neal got up from his chair and began to waddle away from the quartet's dais.

Nico Harrison just made a shocking admission while discussing his blockbuster Luka Doncic trade ... saying he didn't realize how much fans in Dallas loved the 26-year-old NBA superstar!

The Mavericks general manager, who executed the Doncic for Anthony Davis trade in early February, met with media in Big D on Monday ... where he fielded questions about the crazy controversial move which saw the 5x NBA All-Star shipped to Los Angeles.

Harrison was asked whether he knew how beloved Luka was ... and to his credit, Harrison copped to not fully understanding.

Anthony Edwards wasn't just torturing Lakers fans Saturday night with his jump shot ... apparently, he was burning them with his mouth too.

Check out some video from Crypto.com Arena that's making its way around the internet Monday -- it shows the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar savagely jawing with some L.A. supporters ... as his team was up big on the Purple and Gold in Game 1 of their playoff series.

Edwards can be heard in the footage boasting to one fan about Rudy Gobert's massive contract ... before bragging about the size of another thing in his immediate vicinity.

Looks like NBA player DeMar DeRozan got more than he ordered at a sushi place Friday night ... 'cause we have video of him getting into a heated altercation.

Check it out -- he's clearly PO'd as he gets physical with another male who's lying on the ground with his legs sticking straight up in the air. The fight looks pretty serious ... the Sacramento Kings small forward is going after the man, but is held off by another person in a suit.

Once the other party is back on his feet, he demands his phone be handed over, which seems to infuriate DeMar ... who lunges at him.

Luka Doncic might want to look into an OtterBox sponsorship deal ... 'cause the L.A. Laker showed off how he handled the news of being traded from the Dallas Mavericks -- revealing he turned his phone into a cracked mess after chucking it.

Doncic did a sit-down interview with ESPN ahead of his playoff debut with the Purple and Gold ... in which he admitted he threw his iPhone once he hung up with his former squad.

While he didn't say how much effort he put into yeeting his cellular device, it was hard enough to do some damage. The top of the phone got the worst of it, but cracks were visible all over the back of the device.

San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich left a local restaurant in an ambulance Tuesday night ... after officials say they received a call for an elderly person who had "fainted" while eating dinner, TMZ Sports has learned.

We've obtained video of the 76-year-old on a stretcher as he was placed into the back of an emergency vehicle outside a San Antonio steakhouse around 8:20 PM.

Our sources tell us Popovich appeared to still be dealing with the effects of the mild stroke he suffered in early November while at the establishment ... and was there for close to two hours before suffering the medical emergency.

The woman who designed Kiki Iriafen's stunning WNBA draft night dress has seen her pockets grow a little fatter since the ex-USC star rocked the look ... with TMZ Sports learning her business is now surging!

The mind behind the amazing 'fit is Nneka C. Alexander ... and when we spoke with her in the days after Iriafen's gold-and-bronze get-up went viral, she said her DMs have been going crazy.

She told us people have been hitting her up seeking some custom pieces -- similar to the one Iriafen rocked on Monday.

Seems JuJu Watkins' coach doesn't have much worry her star player will be back to her normal self soon -- Lindsay Gottlieb tells TMZ Sports the 19-year-old is "doing great" in her rehab ... and attacking things with a laser focus.

Watkins, of course, tore her ACL on March 24 in an NCAA tournament game ... but Gottlieb told us out at LAX this week she's showing plenty of signs that she's going to be all right.

"She's doing great," the Trojans sideline manager said. "She's doing great. She's in focus mode, rehab mode."

Karmelo Anthony has not withdrawn funds from his nearly $450,000 GiveSendGo fundraiser ... even after he walked free from the slammer on a $250K bond Monday.

Jacob Wells, cofounder of the popular crowdsourcing platform, tells TMZ no funds have been distributed, as the company receives "clarity from the campaign recipient on use of funds so that the people that have given can be confident in how their donation is being used."

The revelation comes while folks question how Anthony satisfied his $250,000 bond -- which a judge reduced from $1 million -- and how his family is covering his legal costs as the 17-year-old faces a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf at their Frisco, Texas track meet earlier this month ... all while allegedly living in a $900,000 rental home.

LaVar Ball was keeping tabs on his son's rapid rise in the rap game despite his recent serious health issues ... 'cause the famous pops had a special FaceTime with Gelo from his hospital bed in between multiple surgeries that led to the Big Ballers' foot being amputated.

TMZ Sports broke the story earlier this year -- LaVar had his right foot amputated after complications from an infection ... and in a video of his chat with his middle son, it's clear his love and pride for his family helped him during the rough time.

The 57-year-old shared the video with us ... which shows Gelo excitedly telling his dad about all the updates with his music career, including landing a set at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles.