Basketball

Fantasy basketball players searching for a breakout NBAer in 2025-26, look no further ... Scotty Pippen Jr. just guaranteed to TMZ Sports "this year is going to be big for me!"

The Grizzlies guard -- who's the son of Scottie Pippen -- chopped it up with us out at LAX this week ... and he made it clear, his third season in the NBA will be his best.

He told us he's been training out in Los Angeles ... and while there's still a few months left until Memphis' first game, he's "confident."

Lance Stephenson is demanding an end to the sex toy-throwing chaos at WNBA games -- not just out of respect for the players, but also for the young fans in the crowd.

The longtime NBA star made things crystal clear to TMZ Sports this week ... following a fourth incident where a dildo was launched onto the court during a W contest.

"I got kids," Stephenson said. "For them to see that on the floor, man, I mean like, I'd be devastated."

Everyone knows basketballs are going to get tossed around at WNBA games, but no one expected throwing dildos on the court at matches to become a trend in 2025.

As crazy as it sounds, sex toys have been thrown onto the court in the middle of multiple games, and both players and officials have had some choice words about the immature practice.

We're going to take a look at the history of the trend and see how a few people who've been caught in the act have learned some hard lessons about actions and consequences.

The first recorded instance of a dildo being thrown onto a court during a WNBA matchup was on July 29, 2025, when a fan tossed a sex toy in the fourth quarter of the Golden State Valkyries game against the Atlanta Dream in Georgia.

There were several more instances of sex toys being hurled onto basketball courts in early August 2025 ... and although the Indiana Fever's Sophie Cunningham pleaded with spectators on her X account to end the practice, it continued.

Cunningham dealt with another dildo-throwing incident on August 5, and she wrote on X her initial message "did not age well."

In the Atlanta Dream's game against the Connecticut Sun on August 7, not one, but TWO dildos were chucked onto the court in the final quarter.

While most arenas require security checks before entering the premises, sex toys carried by fans can be hard to detect.

Allied Universal Security's President of Event Services Division Ty Richmond told the Associated Press event venues faced a "conflict of expediency," as extensive searches of fans would slow down the process of getting ticket holders into their seats.

He said publicizing the prosecution of individuals who've thrown dildos on courts at games would likely "make a difference" with unruly fans and potential perpetrators.

The WNBA's policy regarding spectators throwing objects on courts at games is a minimum ban of one year from its events.

As immature as the act is, several individuals accused of throwing sex toys at WNBA games have faced legal consequences.

A spectator alleged to have launched a dildo onto the court during the Valkyries-Dream game on July 29 was arrested for disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure, and criminal trespass, according to USA Today.

Another fan was arrested after a dildo he reportedly threw at a Phoenix Mercury game on August 5 hit a spectator and his young niece.

The suspect claimed his action was just a "stupid prank that was trending on social media," according to Fox 10 in Phoenix.

We know dumb antics like these are usually done by lone knuckleheads ... but a group of cryptocurrency meme coin creators who created GDC -- Green Dildo Coin, in case you were wondering -- have claimed the dildo-throwing incidents are meant to drum up attention for their product, according to USA Today.

The group reportedly created the coin in an attempt at a humorous protest of influencers and scam artists coming up with their own forms of cryptocurrency ... and a GDC spokesperson said they thought of dildo-throwing at WNBA games "in order to get a voice in the space."

The spokesperson said the group had nothing against women's sports or female athletes ... and its collective members have apparently been advised to only throw sex toys if they're confident no one will be struck by the objects.

DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are a pretty great team on the court, as they've helped the Phoenix Mercury become the second-highest-ranking team in the WNBA's Western Conference for the 2025 season.

The thing is, they're even closer off the court, as the pair got engaged in September 2023!

We're going to take a look into Thomas' background and see how her love story with her teammate and future wife unfolded.

Thomas began receiving attention for her basketball skills playing for Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The athlete graduated in 2010, and she signed on to play basketball for the University of Maryland.

Thomas became the Terrapins' all-time leader in several categories, including points, rebounds and free throws made, according to the team's official website.

The basketball star graduated from the University of Maryland in 2014, and the school retired her jersey number on her Senior Day.

Thomas' career in the WNBA began in 2014, when she was drafted by the New York Liberty ... before being traded to the Connecticut Sun.

The athlete, who plays as a power forward, remained with the team for several seasons, and she ultimately left the Sun in 2024.

Thomas has also been associated with various international teams over the length of her career, which has seen her play in countries like South Korea and the Czech Republic.

Thomas' career with the Phoenix Mercury began in February 2025, when the team announced it had acquired the athlete as part of a trade.

In case it wasn't apparent already, Bonner and Thomas met through their involvement with the WNBA, and Bonner jokingly told CBS News she'd "stalked" her now-fiancée's Instagram account in the beginning stages of their relationship.

The pair's connection deepened further when they were required to remain in bubbles with the rest of their team for part of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The happy couple went public with their relationship in 2021, and the Mercury revealed their engagement in a post on its official X account two years later.

Police in Oklahoma City have arrested a man they say was responsible for the shooting after Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which put a teenager in the hospital.

On Wednesday, OKCPD said they identified their suspect after a handgun was found during a June 24 traffic stop (just a couple of days after the shooting) ... resulting in the arrest of 20-year-old Kaziya Penn. He was initially charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm.

Law enforcement officials test-fired the weapon through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), and they say it matched the same gun used in the June 22 shooting, which occurred shortly after the conclusion of the deciding game between the Thunder and Pacers.

LiAngelo Ball says his decision to fire up a rap career was purely money-motivated ... the NBA G League's puny paychecks couldn't satisfy this grown-ass man!!!

The "Tweaker" rapper recently joined DJ Clue, Esso World, and Hynaken on the "BagFuel" podcast, where he admitted that just because his brothers Lonzo and LaMelo Ball were rich, it didn't mean that he was.

LiAngelo -- who raps under his nickname Gelo -- told the hosts that the G League only paid him $3,000 every month, and once he learned he could make real money from Hip Hop, he split!!!

Megan Rapinoe and her fiancée, Sue Bird, jumped into the viral Coldplay concert cam trend headfirst -- but the couple added a twist -- and they had the whole arena cracking up!

The legendary soccer player and Bird -- who retired from the WNBA in 2022 -- pulled off the stunt on Tuesday during the 2nd quarter of the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm game at Climate Pledge Arena.

During a break in the action, Rapinoe -- seated courtside -- was shown on the big screens in the arena ... when cameras cut to Bird, who was cuddling up with the Storm's mascot, Doppler.

A WNBA game was once again put on pause due to a flying sex toy.

The latest incident went down at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday night ... as the Caitlin Clark-less Fever were taking on the Sparks.

In the second quarter of the action, just after Kelsey Plum nailed a free throw, a neon-green pleasure stick was hurled onto the court by a fan in the stands.

A former Miami Heat security officer has been charged with a felony after he allegedly stole millions of dollars worth of items from the team, including over 400 game-worn jerseys.

The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida claimed on Tuesday that 62-year-old Marcos Thomas Perez stole items when he had access to the Kaseya Center equipment room during his time as a Heat staffer -- and later, an NBA security employee -- from 2016 to 2025.

"This equipment room stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys," the feds said, "and other memorabilia that the organization intended to display in a future Miami Heat museum."

Haley and Hannah Cavinder have new sets of boobs, but they've clearly got the same attitudes ... as they showed off their new assets on Tuesday with a side of their signature sass.

The famous basketball-playing twins posted two videos to their social media pages ... flaunting their surgically enhanced breasts while going after haters who've been critical of their size decisions.

In nothing but tiny workout tops, skin-tight spandex shorts and little jackets ... the 24-year-olds danced in front of a camera and made it clear they're not listening to the trolls in their comment sections.

Lamar Odom's demons totally wrecked his marriage to Khloé Kardashian -- the love of his life -- and he's breaking it all down in our documentary, which is now streaming on YouTube.

The NBA champ opens up like never before about the height of his sex addiction and drug use in our no-holds-barred doc "TMZ Presents: Lamar Odom -- Sex, Drugs, & Kardashians."

But it’s not all doom and gloom -- Lamar’s journey to sobriety and how he's managed to bounce back in a spectacular way is just as raw and real.

Our doc dives into the ups and downs of Odom’s career, his personal life, and the ultimate overdose that almost ended it all. But, like his iconic NBA comebacks, Lamar isn’t just surviving -- he’s thriving.

Kawhi Leonard made a visit to Rwanda unforgettable for the youth in the area ... by surprising them with a brand new outdoor basketball court -- personally designed by the NBA star himself!!

The Los Angeles Clippers forward unveiled the amazing gift during the Giants of Africa Festival, an event he co-headlined with pop singer Ayra Starr, during his four-day trip in the country.

The court, located at St. Ignatius School, displays Leonard's designs, including vibrant art and some motivational messages like "Play Hard, Have Fun," "Be Great" and "You Are Stronger Than You Think" written across the surface.

Tristan Thompson went to the White House to celebrate an NBA title almost a decade ago, but the star hooper was recently back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ... chopping it up over all things cryptocurrency with a top Trump administration official!

34-year-old Thompson, host of the "Courtside Crypto" podcast, travelled to D.C. late last month for an interview with Bo Hines, Executive Director of the W.H. Digital Assets Council ... where the men discussed the government's headfirst dive into the sector.

"One thing about myself, the people at home, and the people in the trenches, they were so excited when President Trump said, 'We're gonna be the crypto Bitcoin president of the United States.' That made people so excited," Tristan told Bo, explaining how pumped he was over the gov's involvement.

What do you do when you ink a fat, new deal?? For Luka Doncic, there was only one answer -- hit up Las Vegas for the Backstreet Boys concert with Lakers execs!!

The two sides agreed to a massive three-year, $165 million extension Saturday to keep him in Purple and Gold through 2030 ... and before the ink was even dry, they made their way to Sin City to catch the legendary boy band at the Sphere.

Videos of the Lakers superstar attending the performance began to make rounds on social media ... and it's clear the vibes were at an all-time high after putting pen to paper.

If Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook had stayed together in Oklahoma City, there would be a couple more championship banners hanging in the Paycom Center rafters ... at least, that's according to Serge Ibaka.

The former Thunder center -- who played alongside the trio of future Hall of Famers during their stint in OKC -- told TMZ Sports out at LAX this week he's sure they all would have some more championship bling in the jewelry cases if the team had just found a way to keep everyone together.

"Minimum two," he told us.

Ex-NBA player Danilo Gallinari's pregnant wife experienced the "worst day" of her life while vacationing in Puerto Rico ... revealing she was attacked by a shark.

Eleonora Boi -- a TV reporter who got hitched to 36-year-old Gallinari in 2022 -- opened up on the terrifying incident on Instagram ... saying, "I never thought I could get attacked by a shark and I was near the shore and on a super crowded beach."

Boi stated she and the baby on the way are "fine" following the incident at the Carolina Resort beach ... although she had to undergo surgery to mend her leg.