Exclusive

Is LeBron James' tenure in the Purple and Gold worthy of a statue?? Lakers legend Byron Scott can't see it happening as it stands right now ... telling TMZ Sports the King hasn't had enough success in L.A. -- yet.

We caught up with Scott -- a three-time NBA champ -- earlier this week while hosting KiKi Shepard's 7th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic in the City of Angels ... and asked the former Lakers guard how he felt about a potential "LeBronze" figure outside Crypto.com Arena.

"I think if he gets another one, then he has a chance," he said. "But right now, if you look at the players that have statues in front of Crypto.com [Arena], these are long lifers. They've been with the Lakers for almost their entire career, and they've had multiple championships."

Lexi Wood is still brushing off the buzz on those Drake dating rumors ... continuing to double down on not exactly confirming anything, but definitely not denying that there ever was a connection either.

TMZ caught up with the Canadian model, and when asked point-blank about her relationship with the "Certified Lover Boy," Lexi plays coy and tells us he's a "lovely person" and she's "very lucky to know him."

This all started when Jesse Solomon -- Lexi's ex from hit reality show "Summer House" -- started the rumor back in April that Drake is allegedly one of Lexi’s exes ... though he did not clarify what “dating” meant for the pair specifically.

"Grandma Bev" the fan favorite matriarch from MTV's "Siesta Key" has died ... TMZ has learned.

Her grandson, Pauly Paul tells TMZ ... Beverly Breslyn, known to viewers as Grandma Bev, died Sunday morning in Sarasota, FL-- the town where the hit reality show was filmed. Pauly says she had been living with him for the past two years as she battled dementia.

Pauly, who was raised by Bev from the time he was a baby, says the loss is devastating and admits he’s broken. He tells us this is one of the worst days of his life. Still, he’s finding strength in honoring her legacy by changing his life and going back to church to find peace because that’s what she would want.

Lori Harvey and Damson Idris are looking more and more like a couple again ... because now we're seeing them pack on the PDA on their romantic getaway.

Check out these photos of Lori and Damson on the beach .... they're snuggling on a daybed and kissing!!!

Lori is right on top of Damson and she's looking him dead in the eyes ... and really, the look here says it all.

Eric Dickerson made it crystal clear this week he's no fan of the Cleveland Browns ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks "they're horrible" -- and he wishes Shedeur Sanders ended up elsewhere.

The Hall of Fame running back minced no words during a chat with us at LAX ... saying he can't stand that the Browns were the ones who ultimately picked the younger Sanders in April's NFL draft.

He told us Cleveland is "a bad football team" with a track record of messing up QBs ... and he admitted he's hoping the org. will eventually just let Shedeur go to another franchise.

Terry Bradshaw sees nothing wrong with Tom Brady balancing his role as a Fox broadcaster with his gig as a Raiders owner ... telling TMZ Sports it's just not a big deal to him.

Brady, of course, sparked a firestorm of sorts among NFL fans this week ... after he was seen in Las Vegas' coaching booth wearing a headset during the Raiders' "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Chargers.

Fans were even more up in arms about the scene when it was reported during the game that Brady had regular talks with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly about game plans.

51-0?! Maybe!

Floyd Mayweather isn't ruling out stepping back into the boxing ring as a pro ... and putting his perfect professional record on the line!

We know TBE and Mike Tyson are scheduled to fight sometime early next year ... an exhibition match dubbed "Legend vs. Legend".

Question is, could the 48-year-old take a real deal sanctioned fight deep into his 40s? We asked him.

Shaquil Barrett is keepin' his phone within reach ... telling TMZ Sports if an NFL team calls about a comeback -- he'll be ready to answer!!

The 32-year-old said this week he's not closing the door on his football career ... insisting he "can give it one more good year."

It's been a while, of course, since Barrett's logged significant snaps -- the last time he played in multiple games in a season was 2023 -- but he's adamant he can still help a pass rush-needy franchise somewhere.

Comedian Guy Branum says he's going to drag the man he claims hit him on a Delta flight to court ... 'cause he's ready to press charges and sue.

We got Guy out in Los Angeles and our photog asked him about his recent Delta flight, where Guy claimed a man sitting next to him elbowed him in the ribs for being too fat.

Guy showed us a bruise from the alleged elbow swing and says he's going to file a police report and a lawsuit ... telling the man, "You can't hit somebody because you think they're fat."

Jeffrey Epstein made himself the king on his own chessboard, lording over his queens -- literally!

If that doesn't sound strange enough ... get a load of these photos of Epstein and a bunch of beautiful young women -- who, we're told, were all adults. Our sources with direct knowledge of the bizarre project tell us ... approximately 9 women in their 20s walked into an NYC photo shop in 2016, and asked the staff to take photos of them which would be made into pieces for a chessboard.

We're told the ladies said they were in a chess club, but didn't reveal who the club's president was. Over the next several months, our sources say the women came into the shop and posed for 3-dimensional pics in stylish outfits.

Zac Efron and Nina Dobrev were spotted looking pretty chummy with each other this week ... getting close as they chatted on a yacht during their sun-soaked getaway with friends in Sardinia.

Check out the pics ... the actors appeared comfortable with each other -- standing quite close -- as they let out a laugh while their vessel sailed into Porto Cervo at sunset.

It wasn't all fun and games ... earlier in the day, Nina looked somber as she was comforted by her friend Keleigh Sperry on the upper deck, Zac nowhere in sight.

D4vd's European and UK tour dates have been axed amid the riveting death investigation connected to the butchered teenage corpse found in a Tesla registered to his name earlier this month.

While the tour dates on his official website are still posted, the pages linked to purchase tickets reveal the events have been canceled.

The event page for his Amsterdam show also includes a statement from the venue's management, reading ... "The d4vd concert at Paradiso is canceled due to unknown circumstances. Refunds will be issued at point of purchase."

Luigi Mangione's attorneys are taking a big crap on the federal death penalty case against their client in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson -- and they're asking a judge to completely throw out the indictment!

In new court documents, obtained by TMZ, Luigi's legal team, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan, claim that Luigi's rights have been "intentionally and serially violated" by the NYPD, federal government and other public officials in order to secure the possibility of the death penalty for him ... and due to these violations, the "unconstitutional" indictment needs to be struck down.

They list numerous examples as to how Luigi -- accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to death in December 2024 -- has been wronged, starting with the NYPD's alleged leaking of information pertaining to the investigation, including a handwritten manifesto found on his body when he was taken into custody.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are giving the sale of their joint home another go ... re-listing their Beverly Hills mansion for $52 million.

The listing went back up today with a whopping $16-million price cut from what they were asking when they first put it on the market -- $68 million -- in July 2024.

Remember -- they originally tried unloading the sprawling estate privately before they went public with their listing.

Cardi B's "Am I The Drama?" album rollout has been earning rave reviews, and in addition to the music, she and her team can add one more stone to their Infinity Gauntlet -- a Guinness World Record!!!

The album dropped on Friday, and Cardi revealed on social media that she snatched the title for most deliveries with strategic marketing!!!

Kylie Galloway, a senior exec at Guinness World Records, tells TMZ Hip Hop the tandem of Cardi, Walmart, Wing Drone Delivery and Atlantic Records earned the newly minted GWR title for the most deliveries by UAV drones in one hour ... with 176 deliveries by drones!!!

Dr. Terry Dubrow is learning there's no such thing as a free lunch -- or dinner -- because he says he didn't even get so much as a dessert after saving a woman's life at a famous restaurant.

We got the "Botched" star and his wife, Heather Dubrow, leaving Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills on Thursday night and they told our photog how Terry played hero for a woman who was choking on her food.

Terry and Heather tell us they were eating at Mr. Chow earlier in the week when a woman a few tables over got something stuck in her throat ... and they recreate the rescue, complete with a Heimlich Maneuver demonstration.