Dallas Mavericks

Shaquille O'Neal is clearly not impressed with Megan Thee Stallion and Klay Thompson's new romance ... 'cause he believes they'll be broken up long before the NBA season rolls around.

The NBA Hall of Famer shared his thoughts on the coupling on a recent episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq" ... after co-host Adam Lefkoe brought up the new relationship between the "Savage" rapper and Dallas Mavericks hooper.

O'Neal, 53, didn't have much to say ... but made it clear to all his listeners where he stands on the couple.

Megan Thee Stallion's taking advantage of Klay Thompson's summer off-season ... the NBA legend was cryptically spotted in her new IG post -- and it's because they're dating!!!

The "Hiss" rapper has a win-win situation with her social media posts doubling as promo for her Hot Girl Summer swimwear line ... but Klay's "Where's Waldo"-esque cameo in the background of her poolside shot was hard to ignore!!!

Meg knows her way around the hardwood ... she was linked with Chicago Bulls player Torrey Craig up until her Coachella performance in April -- but seems like all plays are running through Klay now.

We reached out to Meg's team ... no word back yet, but given her Houston hometown and Klay's current slot with the Dallas Mavericks, seeing each other shouldn't be an issue!!!

Cooper Flagg had a subtle, yet hilarious, reaction to Luka Doncic's name getting dropped during his presser with the Mavericks ... appearing to side-eye Nico Harrison -- the guy who shipped the face of the franchise out of town.

The former Duke Blue Devil was officially introduced on Friday ... just days after Dallas selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 18-year-old received a series of questions from the media ... including one from ESPN's Tim MacMahon, who asked Flagg how it felt to be the potential face of the franchise, a role many once expected Luka to fill before "plans changed."

It's been a foregone conclusion for months, but the Mavericks made it official tonight ... selecting Duke University star Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft!

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Dallas' selection from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY ... shocking absolutely nobody, as nearly everyone viewed the 18-year-old as the consensus top pick.

And, as if going first isn't enough pressure by itself ... Flagg will be expected to fill the shoes of Luka Doncic, after the former Mavs superstar was traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis in February.

Kamala Harris was considering Mark Cuban as her running mate, but the billionaire flat out rejected the campaign, explaining he wasn't the type to play second fiddle ... saying for that reason, I'm out!

Cuban recently joined "The Bulwark" podcast ... when host Tim Miller asked him about "some green room gossip" he'd heard suggesting Mark was on the short list for the veep gig.

The former "Shark Tank" star confirmed the rumor, and revealed why and how he told the Harris campaign he wasn't interested.

Most Dallas fans still haven’t figured out what the heck Nico Harrison was thinking when he traded away franchise player Luka Doncic ... but one former Maverick seems to understand the move at least a little bit -- Brendan Haywood!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 2011 Mavs champ at LAX this week ... and asked him all about the transaction that sent shockwaves through the league back in February.

Haywood said he's looking at the entire picture ... telling us, "Defense wins championships, that’s what Nico's talking about."

Nico Harrison just made a shocking admission while discussing his blockbuster Luka Doncic trade ... saying he didn't realize how much fans in Dallas loved the 26-year-old NBA superstar!

The Mavericks general manager, who executed the Doncic for Anthony Davis trade in early February, met with media in Big D on Monday ... where he fielded questions about the crazy controversial move which saw the 5x NBA All-Star shipped to Los Angeles.

Harrison was asked whether he knew how beloved Luka was ... and to his credit, Harrison copped to not fully understanding.

Luka Doncic might want to look into an OtterBox sponsorship deal ... 'cause the L.A. Laker showed off how he handled the news of being traded from the Dallas Mavericks -- revealing he turned his phone into a cracked mess after chucking it.

Doncic did a sit-down interview with ESPN ahead of his playoff debut with the Purple and Gold ... in which he admitted he threw his iPhone once he hung up with his former squad.

While he didn't say how much effort he put into yeeting his cellular device, it was hard enough to do some damage. The top of the phone got the worst of it, but cracks were visible all over the back of the device.

Finally, something positive for Dallas Mavericks fans ... Kyrie Irving is droppin' new KAI 2 kicks featuring the team's colorway as a tribute to the franchise!

Irving -- who was traded to the Mavericks in 2023 -- and the brand ANTA unveiled the latest sneakers this week, featuring colors that honor his home, Dallas ... a city he's come to love.

The KAI signature kicks come in Mavs' blue and white -- symbolizing unity and loyalty that Kyrie says define him and the city -- along with a spiral design inspired by Dallas' Thanksgiving Square.

Luka Doncic's return to Dallas started with tears ... and ended with a win -- and a whole lot of points for the former Mavs superstar!!

The new Laker was back in Big D on Wednesday night for the first time since Nico Harrison and Co. jettisoned him to Los Angeles ... and while it was emotional, the 26-year-old showed what his old team was missing in a 112-97 rout.

The Mavericks played a special tribute to him before the game got underway -- and Doncic cried over the piece. He, though, quickly set his emotions aside and went out and eviscerated his former team.

Dallas Mavericks fans are still livid the team traded away their superstar, Luka Doncic ... and a group of fans are taking their displeasure to the streets -- 'cause TMZ Sports is told a billboard calling for general manager Nico Harrison's job is making its way around town before Wednesday's highly anticipated matchup with the Lakers.

Dallas Billboards -- in partnership with Southwest Mobile Advertising -- tells us an anonymous batch of donors reached out to them to commission the sign in opposition to the front office staffer and team owners, the Adelson/Dumont family.

The group told the companies they are "All for firing Nico and selling the team as a means of asking for accountability for the worst trade in the history of basketball."

The Dallas Mavericks want to show love for Luka Doncic ahead of his big return on Wednesday ... making shirts to share their appreciation for his time with the organization -- despite shipping him off to Los Angeles in a mind-boggling trade earlier this season.

The team revealed the fan giveaway hours before tipoff against the Lakers ... which read "Hvala za vse" -- Slovenian for "Thanks for everything."

The Mavs also plan to honor Luka with a tribute video at some point in the evening.

The Dallas fan who screamed "Fire Nico" in Nico Harrison's face on Monday night says his phone was taken and thrown to the ground shortly after the incident ... and now, he tells TMZ Sports he's planning to file a police report over the whole ordeal.

Chris Taylor said the wild, phone-smashing scene went down at American Airlines Center during the Mavs' tilt with the Nets ... roughly an hour or so after he got in Harrison's grill and stated he should be canned.

Taylor told us team and arena officials approached him and were furious with him over his interaction with Harrison. He says later, a man who he believes was affiliated with them sat down behind him ... and got physical with him when he whipped out his phone to video the scene.

Dallas Mavericks fans clearly still loathe Nico Harrison for trading away Luka Doncic ... one actually yelled right in the GM's face on Monday, "Fire Nico!" -- repeatedly!

The scene unfolded just before the Mavs' tilt with the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center in Dallas ... as Harrison -- who jettisoned Doncic to the Lakers back on Feb. 1 -- was saying hi to some people who had shown up for the game a bit early.

The 52-year-old shook one person's hand, and then as he turned to go back to Dallas' locker room area -- a Mavs backer yelled that he should be canned.

Dallas Maverick fans are still pissed about Luka Doncic getting traded to the Lakers ... but Mark Cuban is reiterating he had NOTHING to do with it -- claiming he was promised he'd maintain control of basketball operations when he sold the team, but that didn't happen.

Cuban -- who has a net worth of $5.7 billion -- took time to respond to a fan on Facebook who said he should be "run out of Dallas" as a result of the shocking transaction ... firing off in the comment section to defend himself.

He told the fan that when he sold the team 16 months ago to Miriam Adelson, he expected to run basketball operations for the squad, but "Someone obviously changed their mind."

Luka Doncic really is an L.A. guy now -- the Lakers' newest superstar was name-dropped in  Kendrick Lamar's song with Playboi Carti!!

The Compton rapper -- currently riding high after his beef with Drake -- mentioned the Slovenian guard during his verse on "GOOD CREDIT," a track from Carti's new album, "I AM MUSIC."

In the song, K. Dot says, "The numbers is nothing, the money is nothing, I’ve really been him I promise, see Kenny been heavy out west and I carry the weight n****, I’m Luka Doncic."