Los Angeles Lakers

The Luka Doncic trade news blew up the internet ... and it apparently nearly broke Shams Charania's phone, too!!

ESPN's senior NBA insider joined "The Young Man and The Three" podcast this week and told the show's hosts, Kenny Beecham, Cam Johnson and Tommy Alter, that after he was first to report Dallas had jettisoned its superstar to Los Angeles -- his phone was "a mess."

"I had up to, like, 300 text messages," he said.

A Lakers fan walked out of L.A.'s big win Thursday night $100,000 richer after nailing a half-court shot during a break in the action ... and he tells TMZ Sports he plans to use the earnings to help recover some cash from his wedding!!

We caught up with lifelong Purple and Gold supporter Mike Ball after his whirlwind 24 hours ... and he told us all about the highlight from his POV.

Bell admitted he blacked out after the ball went through the net ... but luckily, there was plenty of footage to capture the moment.

While he didn't want to disrupt the players huddled up while it went down, he said he was able to celebrate with some of the big-name celebrities courtside for the contest against the Knicks.

7:07 AM PT -- Stephen A. Smith just revealed the pregame squabble with LeBron James stemmed from previous comments the ESPN hoops analyst had made about Bronny James.

Stephen A. said the Lakers superstar was furious over "what he thought he had heard" him say about his eldest son on his "First Take" show ... and he explained The King's language was so vulgar, he couldn't repeat it on national airwaves.

Stephen A. made it clear he wished LeBron had talked to him about the issue in a more private setting ... though he added he understands where 'Bron was coming from as a father.

LeBron James made the buckets, but it's a lucky fan who will reap the reward ... 'cause Topps has created a 1-of-1 trading card, complete with the NBA legend's autograph, and a piece of his arm sleeve from the historic game!

The collectible company showed off the rare piece in a tweet on Wednesday -- hours after Bron surpassed the mind-blowing milestone -- a card that contains James' John Hancock and part of his white Nike shooting sleeve.

LeBron also inscribed "50K Points" under his signature.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and a bevy of other A-listers pulled up to the Lakers game Tuesday night and were treated to history ... as LeBron James became the first-ever NBA player to score 50,000 points right before their eyes!!

The milestone was reached in the first quarter of the Lakers' 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena ... when James hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Luka Doncic.

DiCaprio, Maguire, Orlando Bloom and Floyd Mayweather were all just feet away from the shot ... glued to the action in their courtside seats.

1:22 PM PT -- Kyrie Irving just went live on Instagram to address the bad news ... saying while it's not the outcome he would have hoped for, he's fully committed to recovering and getting back on the court.

Uncle Drew seemed to be in good spirits as he showed off propped-up leg in a compression wrap ... and thanked his fans for their support following the ailment.

Their teams might be on the opposite ends of the wildest trade of the season, but LeBron James and Luka Doncic are sending positive vibes Kyrie Irving's way ... after the Mavericks star suffered a torn ACL during Monday's game.

The heartbreaking moment went down with under three minutes left in the first quarter of the Mavs' contest against the Kings. As Irving drove to the hoop, his knee buckled and he fell to the ground in pain.

Even with Kyrie struggling to put weight on his left leg, the 36-year-old knocked down two free throws before exiting the matchup ... which the team called a "left knee sprain."

It was later revealed on Tuesday his season was over after tearing his ACL.

An impromptu pre-Oscars party went down at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday ... with big actors like Timothée Chalamet and Ben Affleck snagging courtside seats for the Lakers' win over the Timberwolves.

LeBron James and Co. handled business for the Purple and Gold ... coming away with the 111-102 victory thanks to the King's stat sheet-stuffing night with 33 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.

Ball knower and "A Complete Unknown" star Timmy C was clearly loving the action ... giving a big smile as he took it all in. He seemingly had a bit of a costume change during his night out ... as he was spotted wearing two different shirts.

Luka Doncic knows how to get on his new fan base's good side -- he hooked up Laker Nation with free parking for L.A.'s big matchup with the Dallas Mavericks!!

The dope gesture from Doncic (and Jordan Brand) was revealed before the Slovenian hooper's "revenge" game on Tuesday ... which marked the first time he lined up against his former team.

Tons of spectators flocked to Crypto.com Arena for the tilt  ... and some who drove to the venue were met with a pleasant surprise -- "Free Parking. Courtesy of Luka Doncic."

LeBron James just launched his own E1 Series powerboat racing team this year ... and one of his drivers believes the NBA superstar's involvement will attract a whole new audience to the up-and-coming sport.

The Los Angeles Lakers champ revealed his investment in the water sport on January 23rd ... announcing that the AlUla team will join Tom Brady, Will Smith, and others in the E1 all-electric powerboat racing series for the 2025 season.

His team includes two drivers -- Catie Munnings, who is also a rally driver, and Rusty Wyatt, who told us he's hyped to be a part of James' crew.

Luka Doncic was once the face of the franchise, but now the Dallas Mavericks refuse to even show his mug -- with the team editing the Slovenian hooper out of a hype video weeks after trading him to Los Angeles.

The Mavs dropped a new promo on Friday to seemingly get heartbroken and shocked Dallas backers to care about the team again ... but the big takeaway was the fact that any clips featuring Doncic included lazy editing -- like turning his body into a shadow and throwing a logo over his face for good measure.

While the plan might have been to get folks to focus on the players still on the squad, the effort had the opposite effect ... as fans quickly shared screenshots to call the team out.

JJ Redick couldn't help but sing LeBron James' praises after a 40-point performance ... to the point where he knew his admiration would come off as "glazing."

The Los Angeles Lakers coach spoke at length about King James' impressive outing in the Purple and Gold's 110-102 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday ... saying the 40-year-old simply isn't "normal" -- mentally or physically.

"I believe I saw the other day that he's a billionaire," Redick said. "And he's playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years with every freakin' record and every accolade."

LaMelo Ball made sure to stop by and see how his dad was doing prior to torching the Lakers on Wednesday ... saying "it was only right" to check in on LaVar after his recent foot amputation.

The Charlotte Hornets star shared the pic on Thursday ... showing him posing with his famous dad -- who was standing with help from a knee scooter -- at what appeared to be their Chino Hills home.

"seen my dawg b4 da game it was only right i love u pops 5L and after," Melo said on Instagram.

Tracy Morgan flattered Jeanie Buss while possibly exposing his lack of NBA knowledge at the same time ... with Jay Mohr saying the comedy legend asked his wife if she was a Laker Girl!!

The former "Saturday Night Live" cast member revealed the hilarious interaction in a preview of an upcoming "Mohr Stories" episode ... saying it went down at the sketch show's 50th anniversary event last week.

Mohr explained one of his goals for the weekend was to get his wife and longtime friend to get a pic together ... and he made it happen -- but not before the memorable encounter.

LeBron James had a bunch of people pissed off during All-Star Weekend ... after the Lakers superstar backed out of Sunday's four-team tournament just hours before tip-off.

The four-time MVP and 21-time All-Star announced his status for the festivities two hours prior ... saying he was hoping to be able to go, but a nagging foot and ankle injury forced him to sit out the contest for the first time in his career.

With such short notice, the league wasn't able to fill Bron's spot with a fresh face ... which rubbed some people the wrong way.

The "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special wasn't about to come and go without a couple shots at Bronny James ... with the Lakers rookie's name getting dropped for laughs during the show.

The 20-year-old was targeted toward the beginning of "Weekend Update" ... with Michael Che uttering a wisecrack about bringing his own form of nepotism to the staple sketch.

"Me and Colin [Jost] are actually the longest serving 'Weekend Update' anchors," Che said. "I've done 'Weekend Update' for so long, next season I'm co-hosting with my son, Bronny."

The Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers sent shock waves through the NBA ... and the worth of his debut jersey could create even more, 'cause TMZ Sports is told the threads could fetch up to one million dollars!

David Kohler, founder of SCP auctions -- who also has arguably the most impressive personal collection of Lake Show memorabilia -- tells us the purple and gold Lakers jersey donned by Doncic is likely worth "500K to 1 million" at auction.

It's unclear if the 25-year-old NBA superstar rocked the same jersey throughout the whole contest or if he switched out at the half ... but either way, the jersey would still fetch a fortune.