NBA

Gilbert Arenas wasn't lying when he said he would make his sex tape accuser pay ... he just settled his lawsuit with her -- and claims SHE had to write HIM a check for lying.

As we previously reported, Janelle Reeves got a restraining order against Arenas after telling the court he had been harassing her and threatened to release a sex tape of her to her own minor son.

Arenas claimed the woman was making the whole thing up and sued her for defamation -- demanding $10 MILLION in damages -- insisting he lost his job at Yahoo Sports as a result of the allegations.

The case was dismissed earlier this month, according to court record -- and now Gilbert's attorney, David Bass, tells TMZ Sports ... it's all because Reeves folded like a cheap suit.

"[Reeves] resolved the dispute by paying Mr. Arenas an undisclosed amount for his damages and confirming that the restraining order action of June 2018 was meritless, filed with fabricated documents and, therefore, filed without cause."

Reeves released the following statement to us, saying ... "I am generally a reclusive person, a lover not a fighter. I can't help it. My naivety to a lot of things landed me in situations that are not what I thought they would be."

"I am a person of integrity, honor, and love. And I will continue to be that. I am working through it all and am so glad to have moved on past this never to associate with the individual involved again."

Malcolm X's SIX daughters have launched a clothing line inspired by their late father -- and now several NBA stars have reached out to help out.

We spoke with Qubilah Shabazz who says the Malcolm X Legacy clothing line was created as a "great way to commemorate my father" ... adding, "We're hoping that it will have an impact on today's youth."

Colin Kaepernick has already shown support for the brand on social media -- and now Qubilah says there are a bunch of NBA players who have also made it clear they want to help out.

"We will be doing things with numerous of NBA players in the future," Qubilah told TMZ Sports in New York City ... noting that she didn't want to reveal any names because she didn't want to spoil the surprise!

Qubilah and her sisters presented the clothing line at Harlem Fashion Week earlier this year and the response has been pretty positive so far.

The line consists of everything from hats to shirts ... even pillows with some of Malcolm's most famous quotes.

Nev Schulman went fishing for a new "Catfish" co-host and turned up with a handful of celebs to help him ... including NBA star Nick Young.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... Swaggy P will be 1 of 8 guest co-hosts when the new season debuts Wednesday night. The other guests include model Slick Woods; Jane Carrey, Jim's daughter; Tallulah Willis, singer Elle King and former NFL star Rashad Jennings.

TMZ broke the story ... Nev's been searching for a new co-host since Max Joseph bounced earlier this year after 7 years on the job.

That set things in motion for MTV to begin its search. Nev himself had a list in mind and really swung for the fences ... 'cause he was down to bring Cardi B on board. No dice there, but he still got some entertaining guests.

Nick's no stranger to the spotlight. He once made out with a puppet and went on a bro date with Draymond Green but also nearly blew his hand off in this crazy 4th of July video.

Swaggy P's gonna have tough competition ... he's not the only guest co-host who knows how to grab headlines. Remember, Slick recently went into labor right after walking the runway at NYFW.

Steph Curry was REALLY lucky to walk away from his Black Friday car crash without a serious injury -- because TMZ Sports obtained video of the accident ... and it's scary stuff.

As we previously reported, the Golden State Warriors star was driving his black Porsche on Highway 24 in Oakland on Nov. 23 when another car lost control, skidded out and slammed into Steph.

You can see in our video, the other driver was going pretty fast when the vehicle slipped across 4 lanes of traffic and clipped the front of Steph's car ... it appears both cars hit the center divider.

Officials say roughly 10 minutes after the crash, another car lost control and slammed into Steph's Porsche from behind.

Miraculously, no one suffered any major injuries. Steph was photographed walking around the crash after the incident. Officials say everyone was wearing their seat belts.

He later tweeted, "Don’t need any reminders but All the Time God is Great and God is Great all the time! Appreciate all the texts."

There's a ZERO percent chance LaMelo Ball will follow in his bro's footsteps and play at UCLA next season ... so says LaVar Ball who tells us he's still furious over the way the school treated LiAngelo.

17-year-old LaMelo is playing pretty well at the Spire Institute in Ohio -- and recently dropped 30 points during a game in Atlanta.

LaVar tells us his son is "better than LeBron" was as a teenager -- calling him "unbeatable" and "the coldest person on two feet."

So, where's he gonna play his college ball next year? Definitely not in Westwood.

"Heck no, he won't be at UCLA," LaVar says ... "UCLA? Why? After what they did to my other son? Are you crazy?"

Remember, LiAngelo withdrew from UCLA after the shoplifting incident in China. UCLA had suspended him indefinitely but that didn't sit well with LaVar.

"Suspend him and don't tell him when he supposed to be able to play and all that? No, they ain't behind him like that. One mistake and now you put him to the side and act like he's supposed to come the next year?"

LaVar says he's also upset that UCLA forced LiAngelo to wear #15 when he wore #3 all his life -- "so it started off wrong."

As for LaMelo, Ball says he'll start taking recruiting trips to colleges "when he feels like it."

Lakers co-owner Jesse Buss doesn't have to go too far to check in on his star player ... 'cause dude just bought a mansion right up the street from LeBron James!!

Jesse -- the youngest of the 6 Buss siblings -- ponied up $10 MILLION for a pad in Brentwood just feet from LBJ's palace ... and the place is sick.

It's 6,500 square feet, has 3 stories, 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, a home theater, a yoga room ... AND an infinity pool.

Ari Shram and Jen Beron of The Agency -- a high-end real estate firm -- helped Jesse land the spot ... which also has a pretty epic view from the backyard.

So, big question is -- how does it compare to Bron's?? It doesn't really ... LBJ's $23 MILLION crib is 15,846 square feet and has its own freakin' basketball court!

Shaq didn't need to throw on a cape to become a hero and comfort a family that had just been involved in a scary car crash, because he had a different superhero outfit -- Broward County Sheriff's issue.

The NBA legend was on his way to give away turkeys in Florida on Thanksgiving when he and members of the Broward County Sheriff's Office witnessed a head-on collision. Shaq and the deputies rushed to their aid ... you can see him comforting the kids.

After cops handled the situation, they all continued on with their plan to hand out turkeys. BTW ... Shaq was on holiday duty. He recently became an "auxiliary deputy" for the Broward Sheriff's Office. See, even NBA Hall of Famers get stuck working the holidays when you're a newbie.

Dikembe Mutombo loves Joel Embiid so damn much, he wants the young star to carry on his legendary finger wag ... so he's offering up personal lessons!

First off, props to Mutombo who spent his Turkey Day volunteering at the Hosea Williams Feed The Hungry Thanksgiving dinner in Atlanta. Good on you and everyone involved in that program.

As for Embiid, Mutombo has previously talked about how he views the Philadelphia 76ers star "like a son" -- but clearly thinks the kid needs a little more swag in his game!

"I'm trying to teach him the 'No, no, no! Not today!'"

Ya gotta watch Dikembe talk about Embiid -- he loves the guy ... but he also loves to tease him about how he'll never break his records or go down as the greatest NBA player who hails from an African country.

And, if you want to learn more about the Hosea Helps organization -- click here.

NBA superstar Steph Curry was in a multi-car wreck on an Oakland highway early Friday morning -- his Porsche was smashed up -- but he appears to be okay.

It all went down around 9 AM -- the Golden State Warriors star was driving on Highway 24 when a car spun out a collided with Steph's black Porsche. Then a second car smashed into Curry from behind.

The road conditions appeared to be a factor -- it's been raining in the area and the roads are wet.

An ambulance and the California Highway Patrol arrived at the scene, but Curry, along with everyone involved in the accident, seems to be fine -- no serious injuries -- according to the CHP.

The Warriors are scheduled to play the Portland Trailblazers Friday night, but Curry won't be in the lineup due to an unrelated groin injury.

LeBron James is making his much-anticipated return to Cleveland on Wednesday ... and Lakers super fan Nipsey Hussle has a very important warning for Cavs fans:

DON'T YOU DARE BOO THE KING!!!

The atmosphere in Quicken Loans Arena was insane the first time LBJ returned to the Land in a Heat uniform back in 2010 ... with fans incessantly screaming ... and some even reportedly throwing batteries at the superstar.

Things should be completely different this time around ... considering the dude got the Cavs a ring and ended the painful 52-year championship drought.

The rap star says the King deserves to get treated like royalty ... but if some fans end up sending out the boo birds?? He says it won't faze LBJ.

"It's donuts to a fat b*tch ... Bron ain't trippin' on that s**t."

The Lakers are 9-7 and finally starting to gel. The Cavs are a dumpster fire (only 2 wins) and J.R. Smith just accused the team of tanking this week.

This is amazing video ... Kevin Durant was on-camera the moment he was fined $25,000 for cussing out a heckler at an NBA game over the weekend -- and the reaction is incredible.

Durant was doing Chris Haynes' podcast for Yahoo Sports when the NBA reporter broke the news to him live on camera about the punishment for telling a Dallas Mavs fan to "shut the f**k up and watch the f**king game."

"I knew I was gonna get fined. How much they gonna fine me?" Durant asked.

Once he learned the number, Durant went off ...

"More fans should understand what that means ... Grown men can't come to a game and heckle grown men. That's corny and that's weak."

KD continued to mock the fan ... "You coming to a game to heckle another grown man, 'You soft. You weak. Draymond this, Draymond that. You a bitch.'"

"You going to sleep as a grown man doing that to another person."

As we previously reported, Durant approached the fan who sitting courtside at the Mavs vs. Golden State Warriors game on Saturday.

Witnesses told us the fan had been going off on KD for a while calling him names like "Cupcake."

The Warriors lost the game -- and now KD lost $25k -- which is really no big deal to him considering he's in the middle of a 2-year, $61 MILLION contract.

They don't call him the G.O.A.T. for nothin' ... Michael Jordan is delivering a huge assist to Hurricane Florence victims ... handing out Thanksgiving meals to those affected by the storm on Tuesday.

TMZ Sports has learned ... His Airness was dishin' out the meals in front of a Lowe's in Wilmington, North Carolina ... personally greeting and helping out the people in attendance.

It's a tragedy that hit close to home for M.J. ... he grew up in Wilmington and later went on to ball out at University of North Carolina.

ICYMI -- Jordan already donated $2 MILLION to hurricane relief and boxed meals with his Charlotte Hornets back in September.

Jordan also raised more money by selling Hornets merch with proceeds going to hurricane relief.

Not only did Jordan do the Thanksgiving giveaway ... M.J's rep, Estee Portnoy, tells us he surprised kids at the Boys & Girls Club and hooked them up with food and Jordans as well.

For the 26th year in a row, Shaq-A-Claus is coming to town -- giving out thousands of toys to kids in need -- and the Big Fella's reason for launching the program is DEFINITELY gonna give you the feels.

Shaquille O'Neal joined the guys on "TMZ Live" and explained how he started his Shaq-A-Claus initiative back in 1992 after someone very special to him asked to borrow money to buy gifts for underprivileged kids.

The NBA legend was so moved, he opened up his bank account -- and got a moving truck (he doesn't really fit in your standard sleigh) -- and brought Christmas gifts to kids with nothing under the tree.

This year, Shaq says he's teaming up with Zappos -- the shoe giant -- to make the program bigger than ever before.

Zappos is essentially offering to cover shipping costs to donate toys through its website -- and will match toy donations on Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

11/20 -- The NBA has fined Kevin Durant $25,000 for "directing inappropriate language toward a fan"

2:38 PM PT -- Another witness tells TMZ Sports ... the hecklers had been bombarding KD with the "cupcake" insults to the point where it became unbearable.

That witness tells us KD complained to the refs at one point but the fans were not removed or disciplined in any way.

The witness says KD's explicit outburst was completely justified.

Kevin Durant went off on a heckler who was sitting courtside at the Mavs game this weekend -- telling the guy, "Watch the f**king game and shut the f**k up."

It all went down during the 1st quarter of the Warriors vs. Mavs game in Dallas on Saturday.

One witness who was sitting in spitting distance from the incident tells us ... the heckler was just saying the typical NBA fan trash talk -- calling KD names like, "Cupcake" and other insults.

But, KD wasn't having it -- walking over to the group, leaning in ... and cussing the guys out.

Did Durant's warning work? Nope.

We're told the group laughed off the incident because they knew they got to him and ramped up the trash talk even more for the rest of the game.

Ultimately, the Mavs BEAT the Warriors 112 to 109 ... with KD dropping 32 points.

It ain't the first time KD's had to deal with hecklers -- he got into it with some trash talkers back in June and was held back when the guys shouted out that his alma mater (University of Texas) is "butt."

We all knew Steph Curry's clutch under pressure ... but the dude just took it to a whole 'nother level ... getting behind the needle and inkin' up his own personal tattoo artist!!

The Golden State Warriors superstar met up with the guy behind his body art -- Zebra Tattoo artist Nino Lapid -- on Monday night ... giving him one hell of a birthday present ...

A PERMANENT AUTOGRAPH ON HIS LEG!!!

Lapid is the same guy commissioned for a private tat sesh for the Curry fam after the Warriors beat up on the Cavs last year ... so they're a really tight group.

It's not every day you get tatted by a 2-time NBA MVP ... but that's not all that went down last night -- Steph's wife, Ayesha, and teammate Damion Lee got in on the fun too!!

Luckily for Nino ... it looks like Steph's hand was as steady as his shot.

Shareef O'Neal might not be on the court at UCLA this year but he's still finding a way to give the rest of the PAC-12 fits ... 'cause he's getting in early on a BLUE-CHIP L.A recruit ... LeBron James Jr.

14-year-old Bronny hit the UCLA game Monday with his brother, Bryce, and the rest of the O'Neal kids -- including his current Crossroads schoolmate, Shaqir O'Neal.

The whole crew was there to support Shareef -- a member of the UCLA team who's sidelined this season due to a heart condition. As we previously reported, he'll be undergoing surgery next month.

The O'Neals and the James families are REALLY close ... so all of this could just be a fun night out, but you have to wonder if hanging around Westwood is gonna give the Bruins an inside track on Bronny for 2023.

We can't be sure about that, it's too early to tell ... but we are 100% sure about one thing.

These kids are growing like beanstalks, seriously. We have to know what Shaq, Shaunie, LeBron, and Savannah are feeding these children.