NBA

LeBron James says he can't stop crying over the death of his great friend, Kobe Bryant ... saying in an emotional goodbye letter, "I’m heartbroken and devastated my brother!!"

James penned the words in a lengthy social media post Monday night ... addressing Bryant's death for the first time since Mamba, his daughter, Gianna and 7 other people were killed in a tragic helicopter crash Sunday.

"Man I sitting here trying to write something for this post but every time I try I begin crying again just thinking about you, niece Gigi and the friendship/bond/brotherhood we had!" James said.

"I literally just heard your voice Sunday morning before I left Philly to head back to LA. Didn’t think for one bit in a million years that would be the last conversation we’d have."

James and Bryant had a friendship that dated back more than a decade ... the two were competitors in the NBA for years and were teammates on Team USA at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

The two obviously grew closer when LeBron left Cleveland for Los Angeles in 2018 ... and, in fact, Kobe's last-ever post on social media was congratulating Bron for passing him on the NBA's all-time scoring list over the weekend.

"Man I love you big bro." Lebron said in his letter to Kobe. "My heart goes to Vanessa and the kids. I promise you I’ll continue your legacy man! You mean so much to us all here especially #LakerNation💜💛 and it’s my responsibility to put this sh*t on my back and keep it going!!"

Officials say they have recovered three bodies from the crash site -- but have not specified on the IDs of those bodies. Officials worked well into the night on Sunday but had to suspend the search due to darkness and safety concerns. The search resumed Monday morning. No word on if any other bodies have recovered in Monday's search.

1/27 -- All 9 people on the helicopter have been identified ...

Kobe Bryant (41), Gianna Bryant (13), John Altobelli (56), Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester (45), Payton Chester (13), Christina Mauser and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.

Mauser was an assistant coach of the Mamba girls’ basketball team.

TMZ Sports has obtained some of the last photos taken of Kobe Bryant with his daughter, Gianna, and it's clear they both had basketball on the brain in one of their final moments together.

The pics were shot Saturday at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Gigi's Mamba team played two 8th grade girls games that day. You can see KB watching carefully from the sideline as Gianna was on the court.

At one point, Kobe was seen giving his kid some tips. It's unclear if he's the head coach of her current squad or not, but he was definitely in coaching mode from what we can tell. We know he's coached other teams she was on in the past. Kobe said Gianna had aspirations to be in the WNBA, and by all accounts ... she was well on her way to getting there.

One thing that's pretty obvious from this snapshot moment is that they were both fierce competitors and loved the game they played.

The Mayor of Costa Mesa, Katrina Foley, just confirmed the identity of one of the other victims in the helicopter crash ... girls basketball coach Christina Mauser, who's married to Tijuana Dogs singer Matt Mauser. Matt also confirmed the news himself.

On Facebook, he wrote ... "My kids and I are devastated. We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash. Please respect our privacy. Thank you for all the well wishes they mean so much."

L.A. weather was extremely foggy Sunday morning, and law enforcement sources tell us even LAPD air support was grounded because of it. Flight tracker data shows Kobe's chopper appeared to first encounter weather issues as it was above the L.A. Zoo. It circled that area at least 6 times at a very low altitude -- around 875 feet -- perhaps waiting for the fog to clear.

We know the pilot contacted the control tower at Burbank Airport around 9:30 AM PT, and the tower was aware the pilot had been circling for about 15 minutes.

The pilot eventually headed north along the 118 freeway before turning to the west, and started following above the 101 freeway around Woodland Hills, CA.

At around 9:40 AM they encounter more weather -- as in seriously heavy fog -- and the chopper turned south. This was critical, because they turned toward a mountainous area. The pilot suddenly and rapidly climbed from about 1200 feet up to 2000 feet.

However, moments later -- around 9:45 AM -- they flew into a mountain at 1700 feet. Flight tracker data shows they were flying at about 161 knots.

Michael Jordan has spoken on Kobe's death, saying ... "I am in shock over the tragic news of Kobe's and Gianna's passing. Words can't describe the pain I'm feeling. I loved Kobe -- he was like a little brother to me. We used to talk often, and I will miss those conversations very much."

He adds, "He was a fierce competitor, one of the greats of the game and a creative force. Kobe was also an amazing dad who loved his family deeply -- and took great pride in his daughter's love for the game of basketball. Yvette joins me in sending my deepest condolences to Vanessa, the Lakers organization and basketball fans around the world."

The players, coaches and families at the Mamba Academy were obviously emotional when they heard the news about Kobe's death ... but came together for a moment of silence and prayer.

Some of the Academy leaders addressed everyone at the facility -- encouraging them to support each other, grieve together and honor Kobe by living good, quality lives.

Kids, parents and fans left a shrine to Kobe outside the Academy's doors.

Officials say they believe 9 people were on board -- 1 pilot and 8 passengers -- and there were no survivors. Still unclear why the chopper crashed but an investigation is underway.

Authorities say responders had to hike to get to the crash scene. When they finally got to the incident site, it was clear no one survived.

Some of the biggest tennis stars in the world showed love to Kobe Bryant at the Australian Open on Monday ... from Nick Kyrgios to Rafael Nadal and Coco Gauff.

24-year-old Kyrgios was particularly emotional before the 4th round matchup against Nadal -- wearing Bryant's #8 Lakers jersey and choking back tears as he warmed up at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

After the match, which Nadal won, Rafa put on a Lakers baseball cap and led the crowd in a round of applause for the 41-year-old NBA star.

"What can I say? I woke up this morning with this terrible news," Nadal said during the on-court post-game interview.

"It's super sad. He was one of the greatest sportsmen in history. He deserves a big round of applause. It's one of these days that you want to forget but of course, Kobe Bryant will be in our hearts and in our minds for the rest of our lives."

The biggest stars in the world -- from all walks of life -- are mourning the death of Kobe Bryant ... from Mark Wahlberg to Jay-Z, The Game, Lil' Kim and more.

Of course, everyone happened to be in L.A. for the Grammys ... but Kobe was clearly on everyone's mind.

Some of the stars remembered Kobe as a hero. Others focused on the tragedy that caused his death.

Ex-NBA player Al Harrington -- who was friends with Kobe -- couldn't believe the helicopter crashed so close to Al's Calabasas home. Al says he's still trying to process everything.

Swae Lee, French Montana, Offset and Michael Blackson also talked about Bryant and his daughter, GiGi.

Conor McGregor -- who was also in town for the Grammys -- admitted he never met Kobe, but clearly drew inspiration from the NBA star and talked about the huge impact Bryant had in Ireland, despite the fact nobody over there really cares about basketball.

Hillary Clinton reacted to the horrible news of Kobe Bryant's death the same way as everyone else -- she was stunned, momentarily speechless ... then heartbroken.

The former Secretary of State was at Sundance in Park City, UT Sunday following the premiere of her new docuseries, "Hillary" ... and we broke the tragic news to her.

Hillary came back around later and touched on the passing of the NBA legend, saying she couldn't believe it until she checked her phone ... and felt anguished that it was real.

She called Kobe's death an "incredible loss ... in every way," echoing the sentiments of millions still reeling from the sad news.

We broke the story ... Bryant died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna and 7 other people -- later identified as John Altobelli (56), Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester (13), Christina Mauser and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.

Lamar Odom and his fiancee say people are reading too much into her deleting some IG pics -- including one of her engagement rock -- 'cause there's a simple reason for the vanishing act.

We got Lamar and Sabrina Parr outside the Whiskey Mistress bar in ATL, and the fact they showed up together shoulda been our first clue on their relationship status -- as they both pointed out to our photog. We did press Sabrina -- who's a personal trainer -- about deleting the pics, and she chalked it up to a "health and fitness" related cleansing.

Mostly, anyway. She also copped to a bit of vanity. The best sign here for LO fans ... Sabrina was wearing her ring.

Bottom line ... they're still going just as strong as they were when we spoke to the couple in November and LO praised the hell outta his "star."

BTW ... we also asked Sabrina how the wedding dress search is going. The short answer ... not even close. Especially because she's shopping for several of them!!!

LeBron James wasn't able to do his trademark pregame chalk toss before facing off against the Nets ... and Kenny "The Jet" Smith says this is a case of SABOTAGE!!!

The King was upset before tip-off on Thursday when he approached the scorers table and realized he wouldn't be able to do his iconic ritual. Naturally, the moment went viral.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Jet about the mishap ... and he says the lack of powder was no coincidence -- it's home-court advantage!!

"I remember when we used to play, they would always do things to make you uncomfortable, the opposing team," Smith said at LAX.

"That's what the home-court advantage is."

Smith says LeBron better hit up Costco and get that powder in bulk ... 'cause the Nets' snub might start a trend.

"Ya gotta carry your own powder ... I'm surprised no other team has thought of it."

Smith says it was 1,000% on purpose ... but it didn't really make a difference -- Bron Bron had a triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists AND the Lakers won, 128-113.

See, President Obama ain't the only ex-Prez into hoop ... check out Bill Clinton at the Lakers game!!

#42 was sitting courtside at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday to watch the Nets get smashed by the L.A. Lakers ... and judging by the smile on his face, Bill loved it!

After the game, Clinton went on to the floor and chopped it up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ... and yeah, that's Michael Strahan right behind 'em!

In fact, 73-year-old Clinton kicked it with a ton of stars at the game -- including Matt Barnes, Dwight Howard, Marv Albert and more.

It doesn't appear Hillary was at the game -- unclear what she was doing instead.

The Lakers are still in 1st place in the NBA's Western Conference ... winning 8 out of their last 10.

Rick Fox is backing his former teammate Kobe Bryant on WNBA stars playing in the NBA ... tellin' TMZ Sports women can DEFINITELY ball out in the men's league!!!

"Skills are skills," Fox says. "I mean, you try some of these WNBA ladies and they'll give you the business, fam!"

The Black Mamba said earlier this week there are some WNBA players who can compete with the guys in the Association ... specifically naming Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne.

When we got Fox leaving Wally's in L.A. on Wednesday ... he told us he couldn't agree more, saying, "Skills have nothing to do with your sex or your race."

In fact, Fox says he's seen some pro women bust NBA players on the court before with his own two eyes!!!

"I can think of a couple women that have held their own in pick-up games and competed well," Fox tells us. "So, it's not a new thing."

As for how some of the women are feeling about a possible jump to the men's league ... we got Delle Donne at Reagan Airport on Thursday -- and she told us she's flattered by the comments, but she's got no plans to try out for the NBA just yet.

Chandler Parsons is leaving the Atlanta Hawks and heading back to California for treatment ... after the NBA player claims he suffered serious and permanent injuries in a car accident with a drunk driver.

The 31-year-old was on his way home from practice around 2:00 PM on January 15 when a man -- who admitted to drinking and had alcohol in his car -- hit Parsons and caused a 3-car wreck.

The Hawks provided an update on Parsons' condition Thursday ... saying he will head back to his home in California for recovery.

"Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons remains in the first stage of the NBA’s concussion protocol and has not progressed to exertional challenges, such as light conditioning."

The team added ... "Additionally, Parsons continues to receive treatment for symptoms of whiplash and the associated cervical disc injury."

"After discussing with Parsons, his medical team and the doctors at Emory Sports Medicine, it was agreed by all parties that it would be best for Parsons’ recovery for him to return home to California and continue to recover and rehabilitate under the treatment of a team of doctors and therapists overseen by the Hawks and Emory Sports Medicine staff."

Vanessa Hudgens was the life of the party in the crowd at the Knicks vs. Lakers game ... cheering and snappin' pics while Kyle Kuzma played.

Hudgens hit up Madison Square Garden on Thursday for LA's matchup with New York .. one day after she was spotted at an intimate dinner with Kuz in Brooklyn.

The recently single actress made sure to check out her new man(?) at work ... cheering him on and drinkin' a beer as he scored 10 points and picked up 7 rebounds.

Other huge names in attendance include J. Cole, Spike Lee, Sterling Shepard, Howard Stern, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Jim Gaffigan ... so yeah, the big names came out of the woodwork to see LeBron James and Co. ('cause who's coming to see the 12-33 Knicks??)

Back to Hudgens -- no word on whether things are getting serious with the 24-year-old hooper ... but she has been getting a lot of Kuz in her life this week.

Shareef O'Neal is done at UCLA ... Shaq's son just announced he's transferring from the school after less than two years -- and it's unclear where his next stop will be.

"A part of my heart will always be at UCLA figuratively and literally," Shareef said in an emotional goodbye letter to the university. "I'm looking forward to the next chapter, wherever that may be."

Shareef came to UCLA in 2018 with sky-high expectations ... the 6-foot-9 forward was nationally ranked and had superstar potential.

But, his freshman season ended before it began after UCLA doctors discovered an irregularity with his heart ... and he was forced to undergo scary surgery to fix the issue.

Vanessa Hudgens seems pretty interested in Kyle Kuzma ... because she's hitting up the world's most famous arena to watch him ball out!!!

The newly-single actress just pulled up to Madison Square Garden to check out Kyle and his Los Angeles Lakers as they take on the New York Knicks ... this after hanging out the night before.

TMZ broke the story ... Vanessa and Kyle sat down together Tuesday night for a super-intimate dinner in Brooklyn, laughing and having a great time over a bottle of wine.

So, it looks like Vanessa is going back for a second helping of Kuzma. She's definitely dressed to impress, just check out those boots!!!

As you know ... Vanessa is fresh off her split from Austin Butler. The exes dated for 9 years, and she seems intent on putting Austin firmly in the rearview.

Kobe Bryant "honestly" believes there's a handful of WNBA superstars who could seriously compete with men in an NBA game ... and he's naming names.

"I think there are a couple of players who could play in the NBA right now honestly," Mamba said while talking to CNN about his 13-year-old daughter Gianna's basketball ambitions.

"There's a lot of players with a lot of skill that could do it ... Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne."

He continued, "There's a lot of great players out there so they could certainly keep up with them."

Of course, the 3 women Kobe named are some of the best players in WNBA history, with resumes like ...

-- Taurasi -- 4-time WNBA champ, 2-time Finals MVP, regular-season MVP, 9-time All-Star and 5-time scoring champ.

-- Moore -- 4-time WNBA champ, Finals MVP, regular-season MVP, 6-time All-Star

-- Delle Donne -- 2-time regular season MVP, 1-time champ, 6-time All-Star, 4-time All-NBA First team.

Clearly, they're all super talented ... but could they seriously compete on the same court as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, etc???

Delonte West looks to be in need of serious help.

Check out these disturbing videos appearing to show the former NBA player getting beaten up in the streets of D.C.

It's super sad ... Delonte is apparently saying someone came at him with a gun while he was walking down the road. He then starts ranting and keeps saying "I don't give a f***" when pressed for more details about what went down.

Magic Johnson choked back tears as he addressed the NBA legends at David Stern's memorial service in NYC on Tuesday ... telling the crowd, "I'm going to miss my angel."

Everyone who's anyone attended the event at Radio City Music Hall ... from Michael Jordan to Bill Russell to Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki.

Several NY Knicks players and staffers were there -- same with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and NFL commish Roger Goodell.

"We all know he is the greatest commissioner to ever live," Magic told the crowd ... "But, he’s a man that stood for what is right."

As we previously reported, Stern passed away on Jan. 1 after suffering a brain hemorrhage in December at a New York steakhouse.

The day after Stern's death, Magic posted a tribute -- calling him a "history maker."

"When I announced in 1991 I had HIV, people thought they could get the virus from shaking my hand. When David allowed me to play in the 1992 All Star Game in Orlando and then play for the Olympic Dream Team, we were able to change the world."

Stern -- who served as commissioner from 1984 to 2014 -- has been praised as one of the greatest commissioners in American history. He's been credited with growing the NBA into a multi-billion dollar international powerhouse.

Originally Published -- 9:32 AM PT