Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James is in good spirits despite missing out on a championship this season ... FaceTiming in to Kai Cenat's stream and cracking jokes about not being in the NBA Finals!!

The hilarious cameo appearance went down as Cenat chopped it up with guests Kevin Hart and Druski on Monday ... when the movie star decided to hit up the Lakers hooper while hundreds of thousands of viewers followed along.

The four-time champ casually dropped the N-word as he greeted the trio ... which caught Druski and Cenat off-guard.

2:20 PM PT -- Dan Hurley just addressed the elephant in the room ... saying it was a humbling experience.

"At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut," he said.

Hurley added he met with the team prior to Monday's practice ... and now, they're switching focus back to getting better as a team and defending their championship this season.

Dan Hurley is slamming the door on the Los Angeles Lakers ... with reports saying he will not accept their lucrative, $70 MILLION offer to become their next head coach -- choosing to remain at UConn.

The news broke on Monday ... with Fox Sports' John Fanta saying Hurley will pursue his third-straight national championship instead of making the jump to the Association.

Hurley's ties to the Purple and Gold seemingly came out of nowhere last week ... when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski revealed the Lakers were eyeing the back-to-back championship-winning coach the entire time -- and were preparing to back up the Brinks trucks to make it happen.

Spencer Dinwiddie is suing a famous car shop in Los Angeles ... claiming the company botched a deal involving a Ferrari and a rare Mustang so badly, it's caused him quite the headache.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, the NBA star says he first got into biz with Wires Only -- a custom automotive co. that's helped trick out cars for celebs like Bad Bunny, Kim Kardashian and Travis Barker -- back in November 2022 ... when he bought a 1976 Mustang Shelby for $699,000.

Dinwiddie said trouble with the org., though, began a few months later ... when he wanted to purchase a 2022 Ferrari SF90 from the shop's showroom.

The L.A. Lakers want UCONN head coach Danny Hurley, and despite a fat new contract and an opportunity to go back-to-back-to-back, the coveted coach needs to listen to Lake Show execs, according to Dan Dakich, former Indiana University player and coach.

Dakich, host of Outkick's "Don't @ Me," joined Babcock on "TMZ Sports" (airs nightly on FS1) on Thursday -- only hours after news of the Purple and Gold's interest in Hurley rocked the basketball world -- and we asked the longtime player, coach, and media personality about the bigtime development.

"Well, you got to listen. You got to listen. I mean, you're talking the highest-paid NBA coach is [making] 17 and a half million. I don't give a damn. You got to listen," Dan said.

Move over JJ Redick ... the Lakers reportedly have their eyes on a new man for their vacant head coach role -- Dan Hurley!!

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning Los Angeles is so enamored with the idea of making the UConn honcho their next bench boss ... it's preparing to send "a massive, long-term contract offer" his way.

According to Woj, the two sides have already engaged in preliminary talks ... but they're expected to ramp up those conversations in earnest in the coming days.

NBA coach James Borrego is certainly taking a liking to Los Angeles lately ... popping up in town amid reports the current New Orleans Pelicans assistant is a lead candidate for the Lakers' job opening.

The 46-year-old landed at LAX on Tuesday ... and cameras were quick to ask him if he was taking a business trip -- specifically, one that could result in him donning the Purple and Gold next season.

Borrego was tight-lipped on everything ... but his presence could mean the Lakers are close to making him an offer, as outlets stated the team already had a formal interview with the former Hornets head coach.

Bronny James is done playing college basketball ... his agent, Rich Paul, said Tuesday the 19-year-old is staying in this year's NBA draft class.

LeBron James' kid had until Wednesday night to make the decision ... but Paul told ESPN the former USC star's mind is already made up.

"He's staying in the draft," Paul said.

JJ Redick is a legit candidate for the Lakers head -- despite never having spent a minute on the bench -- and Byron Scott isn't sold on the idea quite yet!

The 3x NBA champ and former longtime NBA head coach talked to TMZ Sports this week about Redick -- a 15 seasons NBA vet -- and the prospects of him landing one of the most coveted jobs in all of sports ... L.A. Lakers head coach.

"It's hard jumping in that seat as a first-time head coach," Scott said.

Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever team is off to a slow start -- and some fans are already hopping off the hype train -- but not LeBron James ... who says he knows exactly how the star hooper feels, 'cause he's been in her shoes!

James and (maybe future head coach) JJ Redick spoke about Clark and the expectations surrounding the WNBA rookie -- who despite averaging 17 points a game -- has received a crapload of criticism ... and Bron knows what it's like.

"I think for my advice to Caitlin, and my advice to anyone coming in with this level of notoriety, 'out of this world' expectation -- be a horse," James said on the "Mind the Game" podcast on Wednesday.

Magic Johnson claims he has no idea who the Lakers' next head coach will be ... but he definitely knows who it WON'T be -- Magic Johnson -- 'cause the Hall of Famer tells TMZ Sports those days are long gone.

The Purple and Gold are currently coach-less after parting ways with Darvin Ham following his second season at the helm ... and when we caught up with the legend last week, he didn't want to speculate on who could fill the seat he briefly held three decades back.

"I couldn't tell ya," Magic said when asked about the vacancy in Beverly Hills. "It's up to the Lakers and Jeanie [Buss] and Rob Pelinka. I hope they get a good one, though."

A huge step in the right direction for Bronny James' professional basketball ambitions -- the Los Angeles Lakers superstar's son has been medically cleared for the NBA following his July 2023 cardiac arrest.

The 19-year-old guard was recently checked out by the league's Fitness to Play Panel (which consists of three physicians) leading up to this week's pre-draft combine in Chicago, according to ESPN ... and was given the green light to be a full participant in workouts.

The outlet says Bronny will participate in the 5-on-5 scrimmages starting Tuesday ... which will give him the opportunity to show what he can do against fellow draft hopefuls.

Matt Barnes says the Los Angeles Lakers' coaching vacancy is a tough gig, but thinks JJ Redick would be able to handle the pressure ... telling TMZ Sports the former sharp-shooter has a "great basketball mind."

The Purple and Gold are looking for their next head coach now that Darvin Ham is out after two years ... and they're in desperate search of someone who can get them back in perennial title contention.

Barnes told us at LAX this week he doesn't have a clear favorite to take over the clipboard in L.A. ... but when we asked about Redick's name being thrown around as a potential candidate, he was all about it.

How do you top the 'Greatest Roast of All-Time??' How about going at another GOAT -- 'cause comedian Chris D'Elia tells TMZ Sports a roast of LeBron James would be a worthy follow-up to Tom Brady's night of hell.

But, don't get your hopes up, folks ... 'cause he doubts that'll ever happen.

We talked to D'Elia all about the successful Netflix special at LAX this week ... and picked his brain about the rules of roasting -- after all, he DID crack jokes at a guy named Justin Bieber's expense back in 2015.

A racist posterboard featuring images of LeBron James and monkeys was somehow put on display at a school art exhibition over the weekend ... and officials are now investigating how in the world the offensive piece was allowed to make it there.

The project -- a parody of a cereal advertisement called "Monkey Premium" -- was done by a New Hartford Central School District student in New York ... and then showed off in a school gymnasium at the New Hartford Festival of the Arts event on Saturday.

It had a headline of "Eat Monkeys, Jump Like Monkeys!" ... with a picture of James mid-flight in his Lakers uniform next to a bowl of cereal.

Bad news for the rest of the NBA -- LeBron James still has half a decade left in the tank "body-wise" ... so says the Lakers superstar's agent, Rich Paul, who believes he can physically keep going for several years before retiring.

The Klutch Sports founder weighed in on his top client's future on the "All the Smoke" podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes this week ... and he said there are a number of factors that will play into when Bron decides to call it a career.

But when it comes to the 39-year-old keeping up with the younger guys in the league, Paul feels James isn't anywhere near slowing down.

Darvin Ham is out of the job -- the Los Angeles Lakers just fired their head coach after two seasons on Friday ... days after the Purple and Gold were booted from the playoffs in the first round.

Rumors of a change on the bench started right after LeBron James and Co. lost to the Denver Nuggets ... with many pointing the finger at Ham's lack of leadership or ability to make adjustments.

It wasn't all bad for Ham -- the team did make a solid run in the playoffs last year ... and won the inaugural In-Season Tournament back in December.