Basketball

Charles Barkley says there are only "losers" in the Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan relationship ... with the Hall of Famer revealing he feels bad for Michael and Scottie amid the "messy" coupling.

Chuck -- who used to be best friends with MJ -- weighed in on the Larcus fiasco on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast this week ... and it's safe to say he doesn't approve of Jordan's son and Pippen's ex-wife getting romantic following the infamous fallout between the former Bulls superstars.

"I feel bad for Michael, I feel bad for Scottie," Chuck said on Wednesday. "That is so messy. I don't like messy because when it's messy, everybody has an opinion on it. And you know, the internet is not a place for messy."

La hija de Kobe Bryant, Gigi, habría cumplido 18 años este miércoles y la esposa de la leyenda del baloncesto, Vanessa, está recordando a su difunta hija con un emotivo homenaje, diciendo que ella sigue inspirando a innumerables personas todos los días.

"¡Feliz cumpleaños a mi preciosa niña, Gigi!", escribió Vanessa en su Instagram. "Te quiero. Te extraño. Estoy tan orgullosa de ti".

El post es realmente triste, y en él Vanessa lamenta todo lo que Gigi estaría experimentando en este momento de su vida, su graduación de la escuela y las decisiones de la universidad.

Kobe Bryant's daughter, Gigi, would have turned 18 years old on Wednesday ... and the basketball legend's wife, Vanessa, is remembering her late child with an emotional tribute -- saying she continues to inspire countless people every day.

"Happy birthday to my gorgeous girl, Gigi!" Vanessa said on Instagram. "I love you. I miss you. I'm so proud of you."

The post is truly heartbreaking ... with Vanessa lamenting over what Gigi would be experiencing at this point in her life -- high school graduation and college decisions.

LaMelo Ball is vying to be the NBA's most tatted hooper ... the Charlotte Hornets star just got his entire back tattooed, and the space-themed ink is awesome!

TMZ Sports has learned the All-Star guard went to his go-to guy, Herchell L. Carrasco -- AKA RockRollG -- at Pachuco Tattoo in Orange, California ... after months and months planning the huge tattoo.

Ball wanted to keep with the space-themed tats ... so RockRollG had friends Niz Carrillo, Jorge Garibay, Juan Nambo, Jonas Aguilar, and Elvis Ramos help him bring the concept together.

The birds were flyin' at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday ... all thanks to diehard Knicks fan Tracy Morgan, who couldn't help but share his frustrations with Sixers star Tyrese Maxey by giving him the finger!!

The hilarious (not so much for New York fans) moment went down in the closing seconds of the Knicks' Game 5 matchup against Philadelphia ... when the former Kentucky Wildcat pulled up from behind the arc to tie things up at 97.

The shot completed the Sixers' late-game push ... coming back from down six in the last 30 seconds to force overtime.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will have a bit of extra motivation through the rest of the playoffs -- the Oklahoma City Thunder star is a new dad!!

The MVP candidate and his longtime girlfriend, former college soccer player Hailey Summer, revealed they were expecting last December ... and on Tuesday, SGA announced to his 3.2 million fans on Instagram their son has arrived.

"Ares Alexander 🤍," SGA said in the caption.

Ares was born on April 25, 2024 ... which was right in the middle of the Thunder's first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Luckily, SGA was off that day ... as the Thunder were fresh off a Game 2 win the night prior.

SGA's fans think this will be like a superpower for the Canadian baller ... with many flooding the comment section to give their two cents on the impact the family milestone might have on his game for the rest of the postseason.

"Shai is about to get a fatherhood attribute boost," one follower said.

Shai averaged 30.1 points and 6.2 assists per game this season ... so it would be great news for OKC fans, who are celebrating their first playoff series win since the 2015-16 season.

The Thunder are now waiting for the Clippers and Mavericks series to end ... and the winner will meet them in the conference semifinals.

Magic Johnson is painting a dire picture for the Los Angeles Lakers ... saying if the team doesn't completely revamp its roster this offseason, they're in serious risk of getting left in the dust.

Fresh off L.A.'s elimination from the playoffs at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers legend gave his two cents on the disappointing season on Tuesday ... and he's not sugar-coating anything.

"Laker Nation, we have a problem," the five-time champion said on X. "All the good teams in the West are young and talented: the Nuggets, the Timberwolves, the Thunder, the Clippers, and the Mavs."

Diana Taurasi is standing by her comments on Caitlin Clark and the learning curve she'll inevitably face as a pro, despite a wave of backlash, with the former MVP describing fans of the rookie hooper as "really sensitive!"

In case you missed the OG comments ... the WNBA legend was recently on TV following 22-year-old Clark's selection as the number one overall pick, where Taurasi cautioned Caitlin would face her fair share of struggles.

"Reality is coming," Taurasi said earlier this month. "There's levels to this thing. That's just life. We all went through it."

"You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds, but you're gonna come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time -- not saying that's not gonna translate."

Taurasi added, "There's gonna be a transition period where you're gonna have to give yourself some grace as a rookie."

Clark fans didn't appreciate the take -- unloading on the Phoenix Mercury star -- though Taurasi isn't taking a single syllable back, despite the hate.

"The new fans are really sensitive these days," Taurasi told reporters, adding, "You can’t say anything."

"It’s kind of like when you go to kindergarten to first grade, there’s a learning adjustment. When you go from high school to college, there’s a learning adjustment."

"I don’t think I said anything that’s factually incorrect. Like anything, greatness is going to translate. And she’s proven that at every level. I don’t see why that’s going to be any different in the WNBA."

Of course, it'd probably behoove Clark to listen to 41-year-old Taurasi -- who was given the "White Mamba" nickname by Kobe Bryant -- is one of the greatest female hoopers ever ... with 3 WNBA Championships, 2 Finals MVPs, 10 All-Star nods, 10 All WNBA First team bids, and a league MVP, amongst many other accolades.

The UConn legend also knows a thing or two about coming in and being an immediate difference-maker. The number one overall pick went on to win Rookie of the Year in 2004.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tried to to find the silver lining after the Lakers' early exit from the playoffs ... congratulating the Purple & Gold on winning the In-Season Tournament a few months ago -- but it was met with so much backlash, she ended up scrubbing the post from her page.

LeBron James and Co. got booted from the postseason on Monday ... falling to the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of their first-round matchup.

Bass attempted to share some positivity shortly after the final buzzer ... pointing out the Lake Show had a bit of success earlier in the 2023-24 campaign when L.A. won the meaningless mid-season competition in December.

Galveston, TX is returning fire after Charles Barkley took a shot at their "dirty" beaches on national television ... with the city clapping back, saying millions of people visit for their "beautiful shoreline."

ICYMI, the NBA legend roasted the city, nicknamed the "Queen City of the Gulf," located about 50 miles southeast of Houston ... after the New Orleans Pelicans disappointing 106-85 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

"They didn't even try, man," Barkley said on NBA on TNT. "We're not giving them no plane ticket to the beach."

LeBron James says he's yet to make a decision about his NBA future following L.A.'s playoff exit Monday night ... telling media members he's not sure if he'll return to the Lakers in 2024.

LBJ played coy when he was asked multiple times about his plans for next season ... even at one point ducking a question from a reporter who wanted to know if he considered the possibility of the Game 5 loss to the Nuggets being his last in the Purple and Gold.

"I'm not going to answer that," he said.

La cantante Olivia O'Brien está capitalizando su fama viral después de asistir al partido de los Lakers este fin de semana, diciéndole a todos los que comenzaron a seguirla por su delantera, que comiencen a reproducir su música.

La artista "Josslyn" estuvo presente para el partido de playoffs en casa de L.A. contra los Denver Nuggets el sábado, y en el momento de la contienda, fue vista en el fondo de la transmisión.

Capturas de pantalla aparecieron rápidamente en redes sociales, y finalmente O'Brien fue identificado como el fan de la NBA que mostró su emoción en Tuiter y X.

Singer Olivia O'Brien is capitalizing off her viral fame after attending the Lakers game this weekend ... telling all the horn dogs following her for her boobs to stream her music.

The "Josslyn" artist was present for L.A.'s home playoff game against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday ... and at one point in the contest, she was spotted in the background of the broadcast.

Screenshots quickly made rounds on social media ... and eventually, O'Brien was ID'd as the fan that got NBA Twitter/X all excited.

The Wells Fargo Center looked and sounded more like Madison Square Garden on Sunday ... 'cause Knicks fans took over the Sixers' arena for Game 4 of their NBA Playoff series -- and Joel Embiid's pissed!

The Knicks beat the Sixers, 97-92, taking a 3-1 series lead ... and their fanbase let their presence be known.

During the live broadcast, you could hear the Knicks faithful cheering -- louder than the Sixers fans -- as the Knicks won the pivotal game behind Jalen Brunson's epic 47-point performance.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were forced to finish their series-clinching win over the Phoenix Suns without Chris Finch -- the head coach suffered a painful knee injury after his own player crashed into him on the sidelines ... and it was so bad, he had to be helped off the court.

The unfortunate incident went down in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter on Sunday ... when Wolves guard Mike Conley took the ball up the court and bumped into Suns star Devin Booker.

Conley tumbled toward the sideline right where Finch was standing ... and the momentum forced him down to the hardwood, despite the hooper trying to brace his fall.

Sonny Vaccaro says he believes Caitlin Clark could have gotten a much better deal from Nike -- telling TMZ Sports he's sure the former Iowa superstar could've inked a pact similar to the one Michael Jordan got back in the day.

The shoe industry legend, of course, knows all about the deal MJ received -- he was the one who helped negotiate it. And, when he heard Clark only received $28 million over eight years to be with Phil Knight's co., he was surprised it wasn't more.

Vaccaro tells us she could've landed a contract that not only gave her more annual money -- but also allowed her to take a cut of every Clark-branded item sold ... just like Jordan got with his initial Swoosh agreement in 1984.