Basketball

Rudy Gobert wants to make it abundantly clear he's not abandoning his son after splitting from his pregnant partner, Julia Bonilla ... sharing a picture of them spending time together to get his point across.

The 32-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves center posted the snap of him lying shirtless in the grass with one-year-old Romeo and included the caption, "Great day" ... an apparent break from preparations for the Western Conference Finals this week.

The timing is interesting -- Gobert's currently going through a split amid the NBA playoffs ... and sources told TMZ Sports last week he instructed Bonilla to move out of his home and take their kid with her.

Slide over Jack Nicholson and hang back a bit, Flea ... cause there is a new breed of young famous faces taking over the courtside seats at all the must-see NBA games this season.

Timothee Chalamet is taking center stage as the new Knicks hype man ... while a revolving door of Hollywood Gen Z are high key taking the reins to all the latest Lakers games.

It's not just the cool East Coast / West Coast teams that are getting hit by all the young and pretty people ... other big cities like Atlanta and even Salt Lake City are getting their fair share of hotties.

Larsa Pippen and her boyfriend Jeff Coby aren’t hiding their romance.

"The Real Housewives of Miami" star and former pro basketball player were spotted sharing a passionate kiss inside their car after a romantic dinner at Craig’s in West Hollywood on Saturday night.

The two looked cozy and comfortable as Pippen leaned in for the kiss in front of all the cameras while parked outside the celebrity hot spot restaurant.

Michael Carter-Williams has traded in jump shots and chest passes for jabs and body blows -- he's a boxer now -- and he tells TMZ Sports he's gunning for a knockout in his first time on the mat later this month!!

The ex-NBA star -- the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft -- has formally made the transition to the fight game since the end of his hooping career ... and his first official match will go down at the Broad Street Brawl on May 29 at the Leman Ballroom in New York.

His opponent is Sam Khatib -- an amateur boxer who's 36 -- and it will be a three-round affair with proceeds from the tilt going to a good cause.

Natalia Bryant's all grown-up and leaving school behind for now ... 'cause she just graduated from USC's prestigious film department.

The daughter of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant walked across the stage in her cap and gown Saturday ... and, dozens of photographers were on-hand for her special moment.

One caught her walking with her entourage back to her car with her mom ... decked out in her all white gown and a bright red stole.

Fans went wild after the Knicks upset the Celtics in the star-studded Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals -- and nearly pulled Timothée Chalamet out of his car!

Check out the vid ... thousands of fans took to the streets of NYC after the big win and a few lucky ones caught a glimpse of the equally thrilled actor. He took a few moments to celebrate -- and ended up in a passionate hug that appeared more like a headlock as he hung out his car window.

The "Dune" star was just one of the famous faces who showed up for the big game. Our gallery shows TC locked in on the game while sitting next to Bad Bunny ... while Pete Davidson and his girlfriend Elsie Hewitt -- who are now living together -- flashed a smile at the camera.

7:34 PM PT -- Rudy Gobert is now sharing his side ... claiming "inaccurate information" is being thrown around, though he offers no specifics.

Gobert did confirm he is no longer in a relationship with Julia, but still plans to "keep supporting the well-being of all the people that I care about."

5:15 PM PT -- Julia Bonilla just addressed the situation in a lengthy social media post ... calling the whole ordeal "one of the most painful times in my life."

"I considered Rudy the love of my life," Bonilla said minutes ago. "I left everything for him. I gave him a child and poured my heart into our relationship."

"Despite how I have been treated, I choose to protect his name for the sake of my children," she added.

Bonilla also noted she has "NEVER EVER been unfaithful to the father of my children" ... adamantly denying cheating played a role in the split.

Rudy Gobert broke up with his pregnant girlfriend, told her to move out of his home and take their one-year-old son with her right at the start of the NBA playoffs, TMZ Sports has learned.

Babyface Ray has been an integral part of Detroit's hip hop stock rise in the past few years and he isn't being humble about his contributions ... he's carving his own name on the 313 Mt. Rushmore!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Babyface Ray outside LAX this week and he tells us he fits all the criteria to be immortalized in his city -- along with Eminem, Big Sean and the late Blade Icewood for his Mt. Rushmore picks.

And just like Sean, Ray's also delusional hopeful that the Lions and Pistons will win championships next year!!! Gotta root for the home team.

While Babyface did acknowledge Detroit would need a few hundred Mount Rushmores to properly honor its music history, he reveals he's excited to hear from a most valuable transplant ... Pistons star player Cade Cunningham!!!

Ray says he and Cade have a mutual studio engineer and he's been told the stuff in the vault has been fire ... so it's only a matter of time before they cross-over styles.

If Diddy needs a couple hours to take his mind off his ongoing criminal trial, he will be allowed to watch the Knicks' pivotal playoff game Friday night, TMZ Sports has learned.

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons tells us ... Diddy will have access to a television with basic cable after he heads back to MDC Brooklyn following the conclusion of Friday's court proceedings.

It's, of course, unclear if the 55-year-old will tune in -- he's obviously got a lot bigger things on his mind at the moment -- but he was known to be a Knicks supporter during his time as a free man.

Former Knicks star Chris Childs isn't ready to name Kylie Jenner New York's good-luck charm just yet ... but good news for Timothee Chalamet's girlfriend -- there's a game later Friday that could just sway his mind!!

Jenner, of course, has been spotted alongside her man at Madison Square Garden throughout New York's postseason run this year ... and because the Knicks seemingly win every time she locks in, some have taken to social media to wonder if her KarJenner magic is helping the orange and blue.

Childs, though, wasn't quite on board with that theory just yet ... explaining he's still giving credit to the players on the floor -- for now.

Here's a new excuse -- Larsa Pippen is blaming Covid for her rendezvous with Malik Beasley ... admitting in a new interview that hooking up with the NBA player was a mistake.

Pippen and Beasley became a thing back in 2020 while he was still married to Montana Yao, who later said she was "blindsided" by the affair.

Pippen, 50, and Malik, 28, split a short time later ... and he reconciled with Yao after publicly apologizing to her and their son.

Jaylen Brown grabbed more than just rebounds last night ... he got a handful of Josh Hart's junk, and the Knicks star's wife wasn't a fan of grab, calling it "weird."

The bizarre incident happened during game five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Boston. Hart set a screen on the Celtics star, and whether intentionally or not, Brown's hand found its way to Hart's privates, which he then appeared to grab.

Josh wasn't a fan of the cup-check ... shoving Brown away from him, which led to a technical foul being issued to both players.

Big praise for Timothée Chalamet from Amar'e Stoudemire -- the former New York star tells TMZ Sports the actor's been such a good Knicks fan, he's ready to dub him "the next Spike Lee!!!"

Chalamet, of course, has put his blue and orange support on full display this spring -- just as Lee has done for years -- attending Knicks games regularly, and even appearing to miss out on The Met Gala to catch one of New York's postseason matchups against the Celtics.

Stoudemire told us Tuesday he's noticed it all -- especially when he saw it up-close at Madison Square Garden during NY's huge Monday night victory over Boston ... and now, he's ready to give Chalamet his flowers.

Jayson Tatum's playoff run is over -- the Celtics just announced he had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles.

The Boston forward sustained the injury late in Monday night's loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden -- when he went down while trying to leap for a loose ball.

Initially, all of Boston had hoped it wasn't too serious ... but the Cs said Tuesday that Tatum had "successful surgery" on his ruptured right Achilles and will have a lengthy rehab to get back to the floor.

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks to their biggest playoff win in decades Monday night ... but celebration aside, the star hoopers expressed concern for Jayson Tatum, after suffering a devastating injury in the game's closing minutes.

The heartwrenching injury happened during the final minutes of the pivotal game at Madison Square Garden ... after 27-year-old Tatum appeared to suffer a non-contact injury to his lower right leg/foot area, with many fearing he tore his Achilles.

Tatum immediately fell to the floor, clutching the area, clearly in a great deal of pain.

Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet were in basketball mode Monday night, showing up at the Knicks-Celtics matchup in NYC — with Kylie's sister, Kendall, in tow.

The trio sat courtside watching the Knicks do battle with the Celtics during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals series at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. And what a game it was with the Knicks beating the Celtics 121-113, which made Timothee's night.

During each quarter, the actor - who's also a Knicks superfan — was all about rooting on his team, jumping out of his seat at one point and clapping wildly after a Knicks player sank a basket.