Basketball

Trae Young is opening up on his trade to the Washington Wizards ... explaining to Hawks fans the suffering he experienced in Atlanta was much stronger than his fear of starting fresh somewhere else.

Young released the message on Instagram Friday morning ... saying, "The last few years weren't how I wanted them to be."

"Bringing a championship to Atlanta was always my goal. However, between the injuries, the setbacks, and situations that didn't make sense, we never truly got to see our full potential."

The Golden State Warriors showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks took a violent turn Wednesday night -- but not on the basketball court -- fans were brawling in the stands, and it got violent!

A fellow fan in the Chase Center recorded what looked to be three people involved in a fight ... though one guy appeared to do most of the punching, landing shot after shot on his opp.

While it's unclear what started the melee, the clip begins with a dude in a black shirt being put in a headlock by another man in a grey quarter-zip. That's when a man wearing a Steph Curry jersey began throwing punches at the man in the black shirt.

Trae Young’s mid-game trade from the Hawks to the Wizards had the entire NBA world talking -- and superfan Boosie Badazz reacted courtside in real time.

During their 117-100 win over the Pelicans on Wednesday, the Hawks swapped Young for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, ending a seven-plus season stint in Atlanta for the four-time All-Star.

The Louisiana rap star -- a staple at Hawks games -- turned to social media to share his immediate thoughts on a surreal moment for players and fans alike.

"They just traded Trae, man?" he said. "He's down there dribblin' the basketball with his clothes on. Damn ..."

Auburn lost to Texas A&M in dramatic fashion on Tuesday after a game-winning shot was waived off ... and Tiger fans resorted to throwing their trash at the referees to express their frustrations with the controversial call.

It all started after senior forward KeShawn Murphy put up the heave against the Aggies. While it seemed he got it off within the 0.6 seconds he had to work with, the official ruling was that the shot would not count ... and the game ended in a 90-88 victory for the Aggies.

Tiger fans did not take well to that news ... so as the refs walked off the floor -- they started lobbing objects in their direction.

Shaquille O'Neal's newest venture is a sweet slam dunk -- the Hall of Famer is adding to his line of signature gummies with some basketball-themed candies!!

The Big Fella launched the Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS on Wednesday ... which feature crunchy watermelon, strawberry and orange balls with sour mango rims -- a nod to the Lakers legend's passions for posterizing and being a kid.

What do kids do?? Play with their food ... and that's exactly what Shaq wants folks to do with his candy.

Kevin Durant has hit plenty of game-winning shots over the course of his career ... but Monday's dagger against the Phoenix Suns had extra meaning -- with KD admitting it hit different after feeling "scapegoated" by his former squad.

Durant spoke about the moment with the media shortly after the Rockets' 100-97 win over the Suns.

The 37-year-old said it "most definitely" had more meaning than the average game-winning shot, especially since he said he had no desire to leave the team before the July 2025 trade.

Snoop Dogg was responsible for the call of the NBA season on Monday ... the legendary rapper happened to be behind the microphone for an epic Steve Kerr flipout sesh, and he captured the crazy moment as only he could!

Snoop picked up the headset and stepped into the proverbial booth for the second half of  Monday's showdown between the Warriors and the Clippers in Los Angeles ... when Kerr's emotions got the better of him in the fourth quarter, leading to losing it on the refs, and getting tossed from the game.

Tha Doggfather captured the moment perfectly, as only he could.

Stephen Curry has racked up plenty of achievements over the course of his basketball career ... but this is a unique one -- the NBA superstar now has his own highway exit named after him!!

The Davidson alum -- who was named the assistant General Manager for the program in March -- returned to his old stomping grounds to watch the Wildcats take on the Duquesne Dukes on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old helped unveil the new sign during the A-10 conference showdown. While it's hard to say where the honor ranks among his countless accomplishments, he made it clear he found it pretty cool.

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."