Basketball

LeBron James just made his 41st trip around the sun ... and the Los Angeles Lakers shared how they celebrated the four-time NBA champion at practice ... with rookie Adou Thiero leading the team in singing "Happy Birthday!"

L.A. shared its post-workout festivities on Tuesday, showing off a cake with the King James logo and a crown on top. But before the team could dive in, Thiero had to serenade the future Hall of Famer.

While the voice probably wouldn't get him far on "American Idol" ... the rook didn't sound too bad. Especially considering he was put on the spot, it gets an A+ for effort in our books!!

Jimmy Butler was in a trash-talking mood Monday Night in the Big Apple ... seemingly calling Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf "white boy" repeatedly after he was able to draw a foul against the rookie.

It all went down in the third quarter of the Warriors' 120-107 win over Brooklyn. After getting a bucket to fall for a potential three-point play, Butler started shouting what sounds like "white boy" toward his opponent.

The mics picked up Butler's heated moment ... and he seemingly added some more "White boy!" jabs before adding, "Every time!"

Ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair got a special holiday gift -- he's out of prison.

TMZ Sports has learned the 40-year-old was released from the Bureau of Prisons custody this week ... after spending the past few months at Fort Dix FCI in New Jersey.

Telfair said he's feeling good and rehabilitated now ... telling Antoinette Media he's ready to get home to his loved ones after taking care of himself.

LeBron James is gearing up for what will be his record-setting 20th NBA Christmas Day game later this week ... and the King is opening up on always having to work on the holiday -- saying he'd much rather be on the couch with his fam.

James made the comments following the Lakers' loss to the Clippers over the weekend ... when he was asked why Christmas basketball matters to him.

"It's the game that I love," James said. "It's a game I watched when I was a kid on Christmas Day, watching a lot of the greatest play the game on Christmas. It's always been an honor to play it."

But the 40-year-old was honest with reporters -- while he knows the impact of playing in these games -- he wishes he could also soak in the special day like the rest of the world gets to enjoy it.

Days after Isaiah Rider said he was prepared to go to court to deal with a protective order put in place by his wife … TMZ Sports has learned the former NBA hooper was arrested for failure to appear at his court date.

According to court documents we obtained, Isaiah was not present at the hearing earlier this week to determine whether the order should remain in effect. The docs say his wife, Vanessa, did attend the hearing ... and the judge signed off on keeping the order in place.

Law enforcement in Arizona says the no-show landed the former NBA star in cuffs, telling us, "An individual named Isaiah Rider was arrested earlier today on a warrant for failing to appear at a court hearing on December 15."

"He was booked and processed at the Gilbert-Chandler Unified Holding Facility."

Isaiah's attorney, Benjamin Taylor, told us his client is not going to comment further on the matter ... but the former Laker previously told us he believes his ex is only going through with the protective order because he is moving forward with their divorce.

Natalia Bryant -- Kobe and Vanessa's daughter -- got a five-year extension on her restraining order against an alleged stalker ... and now, her mom and siblings are included.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, a judge ruled on Monday that the order would be extended for the foreseeable future ... and agreed to modify it to include Vanessa, Bianka, and Capri as protected people.

She initially filed to extend the order back in November ... claiming additional instances where Dwayne Kemp, who she says harbors a delusion they're in a romantic relationship, violated the order in August of this year.

The New York Knicks are NBA Cup champions after defeating the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night in Las Vegas ... and the victors made sure to (virtually) celebrate with their biggest A-list fans -- Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller!!

Karl-Anthony Towns shared the evidence on Instagram that the two hit his line after their 124-113 win ... and while it's just screenshots of their conversation, the images show the two thespians were totally pumped.

"Marty Supreme approved," Towns wrote on the picture featuring Chalamet.

Victor Wembanyama played in Tuesday's NBA Cup Final against the New York Knicks with a heavy heart ... the San Antonio Spurs superstar learned of his grandma's death just hours before tip-off, with the big man fighting back tears after the game.

Wembanyama was meeting with the media after the 124-113 loss to the Knicks, when the 7'4" center got visibly emotional at the podium, pausing to gather himself before apologizing to those in the room.

"Sorry," Wembanyama said. "I lost somebody today."

Another year, another successful “Shaq-A-Claus” event for Shaquille O’Neal ... but the NBA legend says it’s his mission to make the annual shindig even bigger, telling TMZ Sports he wants to have a 50-state “Shaq-A-Thon” in the future!

The Hall of Famer chopped it up with Courtney and Babcock on "TMZ Live" from Georgia, where they were treating hundreds of kids to a boat-load of free toys and experiences for the holidays.

NBA champion Isaiah Rider was arrested earlier this month after he allegedly violated a court order ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us that the 54-year-old was arrested on December 4 and charged with one count of interfering with judicial proceedings.

According to court documents we obtained ... "J.R.'s" wife, Vanessa, filed for a protective order back in July 2025. In the application, she alleged Rider was aggressive on multiple occasions, including a time when she claims Isaiah said, "You're gonna get your ass slapped."

Clippers head coach Ty Lue is downplaying speculation a huge beef with Chris Paul led to the future Hall of Famer's exit ... telling reporters he was in communication with the NBA star prior to the shocking move.

The longtime coach was bombarded with CP3 questions at practice on Tuesday ... with reporters trying to figure out more information about the decision.

One report suggested Lue and Paul were not on speaking terms before the team kicked the hooper to the curb ... but he said that's not the case.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier officially entered a not guilty plea in Federal court on Monday ... following his shocking October arrest in connection with the betting scandal that rocked the NBA!

Rozier -- wearing a grey two-piece suit -- and accompanied by his mother and lawyer, Jim Trusty, appeared in the Brooklyn courthouse for his arraignment this afternoon.

The 10-year NBA veteran was arrested following a federal investigation into illegal gambling. Rozier was cuffed and hauled away from a hotel in Orlando after the Heat's game against the Magic.

Orlando Magic hooper Desmond Bane is getting slapped with a hefty fine after he yeeted a basketball right at Knicks forward OG Anunoby during Sunday's showdown.

The league announced the $35,000 punishment on Monday ... stating Bane's decision to fire the ball "with force" at Anunoby during the game was deemed "unsportsmanlike manner."

ICYMI ... the outburst took place in the fourth quarter of the Magic vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. After Anunoby lost the ball on a layup and fell out of bounds, Bane took control of it and hurled it right at Anunoby.

It didn't make sense why Bane threw the ball at OG -- not even for Anunoby, who pushed him after taking the hit.

A courtside heckler learned the hard way that Omar from "The Wire" wasn't kidding when he said "come at the king, you best not miss" ... 'cause the spectator tried to clown LeBron James over his hairline -- but it hilariously backfired!!

The fun interaction happened on Sunday during the Los Angeles Lakers' road game against the Philadelphia Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center.

When James was standing near the expensive seats, a guy saw an opportunity and yelled, "You still ain't got no hair though" -- clearly not ready for LBJ's response.

Utah Tech guard Chance Trujillo's retaliatory punch after getting dunked on in a game last week earned him a one-game suspension, the school told TMZ Sports.

The altercation happened on December 3 ... when the UT Trailblazers played against the Santa Clara Broncos at the Leavey Center. SC's Allen Graves went up for a slam late in the game ... and Trujillo tried to block it, but failed.

Graves posterized Trujillo and bumped into him while he celebrated ... which led to the violent scene on the court.

That outburst has now cost him some playing time.

The L.A. Clippers played their first game after Chris Paul's surprise departure on Wednesday ... but the future Hall of Famer was on the home crowd's minds -- with Atlanta Hawks fans hurling chants asking where the heck CP3 was during the game!!

A group of Hawks backers broke out in the jeers while Ivica Zubac was at the free-throw line for L.A. ... with "Where's Chris Paul?" clearly ringing through the arena.

Luckily for Zubac, it didn't have much effect ... as he made both shots from the line. The biggest news of the day also didn't hurt the Clippers' play ... as they went on to get the 115-92 win against Atlanta.