Basketball

Marcus Morris is opening up on his arrest and the allegations he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from two Las Vegas casinos ... and he's adamant the whole ordeal is just one big misunderstanding.

The NBA player took to his Instagram page on Wednesday morning to share his side of the story for the first time since he was thrown behind bars in Florida on Sunday ... and in a lengthy post, he explained the drama all stemmed from when he recently took "out a marker to gamble" in Vegas.

Morris, who said he's been spending big cash in Sin City for over a decade, admitted to taking the dough from the casinos ... but thought he had more leeway when it came time to pay it back.

Caitlin Clark's groin injury has stopped her from shooting basketballs, but not kicking soccer balls ... and some of her fans are pissed!

A video surfaced showing Clark at McCombs Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, where she was seen playing with kids, including kicking around a soccer ball.

Some fans were left stunned after watching the clip -- and not in a good way.

Angel Reese might've just added John Kruk to her Hater List -- she apparently clapped back at the former MLB catcher for shading the hell outta her during Tuesday night's Phillies game.

Kruk's comment came during the Phils' win over the Chicago White Sox ... when his co-announcer, Tom McCarthy, gave a birthday tribute to one of his buddies' wives -- pointing out the guy "played at Rider and Monmouth. It's all because I missed a lot of shots and he cleaned them up."

Kruk then hit back with a bit of a zinger ... replying, "I don't want to say anything, but there's someone here in Chicago that does that a lot."

A WNBA game on Tuesday night was delayed several minutes ... because of a flying sex toy.

Seriously.

The wild scene -- click here if you wanna see it -- unfolded late in the fourth quarter of the Valkyries vs. Dream matchup at the Gateway Center in College Park, Ga. ... when a fan decided to hurl a neon green dildo onto the court as the two teams were tied at 75 with one minute to play.

Tyrese Haliburton has made plenty of strides in his basketball career, but he's still got lots of of time for his personal life -- because he just got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Jade Jones!

The Indiana Pacers' star point guard popped the big question at their alma mater, Iowa State University, and he shared the big news by sharing a photo of the proposal on his Instagram account.

We're going to take a look at the background of the professional athlete's soon-to-be wife and see where their relationship's going.

The NBA star and his now-fiancée first met at Iowa State University, where she was a cheerleader, while he stood out on the institution's basketball team.

Jones studied education while in college, and she's since pursued a career as an elementary school teacher.

The athlete's partner opened up about her dedication to her craft in a post that was shared on her Instagram account in 2018, where she showed her gratitude toward one of her very first classes.

She affectionately credited her young students with "showing me the reason why I am pursuing my dream of teaching."

Jones and Haliburton started dating in 2019, and she celebrated her sixth anniversary with the athlete by sharing a collection of photos featuring him.

She also wrote a short message to publicly show her affection for the athlete, and wrote -- to him, of course -- that she was "so lucky to spend life by your side."

The professional athlete's partner also described him as "so special to me" and described him as her "best friend forever and ever."

Oh, and if none of that convinced you they're in it for the long run ... they got a dog named Ames in 2021, and he's shown up in plenty of their Instagram posts, too!

Like we mentioned earlier, Haliburton and Jones got engaged at Iowa State -- on the court of Hilton Coliseum, where he played for the university for two years.

The NBA star had a large lit-up sign that read "Will You Marry Me," which was surrounded by dozens of roses ... now that's going the extra mile!

The two shared a collection of photos from during and after the professional athlete's proposal on their respective Instagram accounts, and added they were starting their "next chapter" right where "our story started."

Congrats are in order for Tyrese Haliburton and Jade Jones -- the Indiana Pacers superstar dropped to one knee and popped the question ... and she said "yes!"

The couple shared the emotional moment to their Instagrams on Monday ... with Haliburton taking Jones back to the site where they first met -- Iowa State University.

"The place where our story started, and where our next chapter begins," Hali's caption read.

The Tulane basketball community is mourning the loss of forward Gregg Glenn III ... after the school revealed he died over the weekend.

The school shared the news Monday morning ... with the school's Vice President of Student Affairs, Sarah Cunningham, saying, "We have lost a cherished member of our university community, Gregg Glenn III, who died in a tragic accident this weekend."

"He was a talented student-athlete who enriched our lives with his spirit, dedication, and passion for both sports and academics."

Marcus Morris Sr. has been arrested on a fraud charge in Florida ... TMZ has learned.

The 13-year NBA veteran was taken into custody Sunday in Broward County, Florida, according to online booking records.

Florida authorities released his mug shot ... and, he's not one of those celebrities who's flashing a smile for the camera -- he's staring straight ahead, no expression on his face.

GloRilla may have found herself a baller ... she and NBA star Brandon Ingram were seen getting close at a Cabo nightclub -- and left together in the wee hours of the morning.

In new footage -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper is seen all over the Toronto Raptor ... wrapping her arms around his neck as they swayed together on the dance floor early Monday morning.

We're told GloRilla was celebrating her birthday -- which is today -- at a nightclub called Balam ... and an eyewitness tells us when she and her crew took over an entire section as soon as they arrived.

Mercy Miller -- rap legend Master P's son -- is gearing up for his second season at Houston ... and Cougars legend Otis Birdsong is expecting BIG things from the sophomore -- telling TMZ Sports, "He's already something special."

We caught up with the former All-American out at LAX ... and he explained Mercy paid his dues absorbing information from head coach Kelvin Sampson last year, and is now better because of it.

"In coach Sampson's system and culture, you got to wait your turn," he said. "He had to learn the system, learn the culture. He's tougher, he wants to be there, he wants to compete for a starting job."

With the BIG3's $5 million offer to Caitlin Clark never coming to fruition ... could a lucrative Angel Reese proposal be up next for the hoops league?

Don't count on it.

TMZ Sports caught up with Ice Cube at LAX this week ... and the BIG3 honcho said there will be no deal put in front of Reese anytime soon.

Amaya Espinal got a hero's welcome in the Big Apple after her winning run on "Love Island USA" ... including shaking it with a few of the New York Knicks' finest.

The 'LI USA' season 7 winner pulled up to Sei Less -- a fine-dining Asian Fusion restaurant in Midtown Manhattan -- Friday night after months in the villa ... and, she and some friends decided to go all out at the celeb hot spot.

Our sources say Sei Less is one of Amaya's fav restaurants, a place she frequented before achieving fame on 'Love Island' ... but, yesterday was a change for Espinal, who got a private dining room and was mobbed by fans while walking through the joint.

Jeremiah Fears' latest ink had social media abuzz ... and it turns out the NBA rookie already has All-Star-level patience -- 'cause the body art took more than 10 hours to complete!!

The former Oklahoma Sooners guard -- who was the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft -- went to his go-to artist, Joseph McCormick, for the job ... and he told TMZ Sports Fears wanted to pay homage to his hoops career, both past and present, with the tattoo.

McCormick said Fears pulled up to his Ink Plug Tattoo Co. shop in Oklahoma City this week ... where he brought the massive tribute to life.

Memphis Grizzlies star Zach Edey -- the 7-foot-4 phenom -- cut a deal with prosecutors on Wednesday to close out his reckless driving case, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records we obtained show the 23-year-old admitted to a speeding infraction and agreed to pay $639.50 ... and in exchange, officials dropped the misdemeanor reckless driving charge he had been facing.

The case stemmed from a May 1 encounter the basketball player had with Indiana State Police in West Lafayette.

Draya Michele and Jalen Green are setting the record straight on how they ended up together -- the NBA star admitted he is the one who slid into the DMs!!

The couple appeared on Whistle for a Q&A about their controversial relationship (due to their age gap) ... with many accusing Michele of manipulating the young basketball star.

Well, that's not the case. Green -- who was traded to the Phoenix Suns in July -- revealed he was the one who made the first move.

LeBron James and Drake's severed friendship is past the point of no return -- the Lakers superstar was spotted rapping to Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" in Cannes this week ... and to make matters worse for the 6ix God, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez were vibing along, too!!

The video is making rounds on social media on Tuesday ... showing Bron's table -- including his wife, Savannah, and business partner Maverick Carter -- jamming to K. Dot's famous Drizzy diss while vacationing in France.

While LeBron elected not to go entirely word for word, especially during the most damning anti-Drake lyrics, Savannah yelled "A minorrrrrrr" with her whole chest.