NBA

The NBA has hit Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with a $500,000 fine for publicly blasting NBA refs in the wake of a controversial call in a Feb. 22 game.

But, the NBA and Commish Adam Silver are making it clear, they're FURIOUS with Cuban -- and they're hoping the massive fine will send a strong message to the rest of the league.

Here's the deal ... Cuban went CRAZY on the refs and the league over a goaltending call in the final seconds of a Mavericks vs. ATL Hawks game.

Cuban felt the refs did his team dirty and ultimately blamed the officials for the Mavericks ultimately losing the game.

The NBA says, "Immediately after the game ended, Mr. Cuban walked onto the court and approached game officials shaking his head and directing comments toward them."

After the game, Cuban continued to rip the refs to reporters and then sounded off on Twitter.

The NBA says the comments were "highly critical, personal and demeaning to the league and its officiating staff."

Cuban had filed an official protest hoping the league would rule to replay the end of the game -- but his appeal was denied.

In a strongly-worded statement, the league ripped Cuban for his behavior -- saying he's setting a terrible example for the rest of the league, sending a bad message to fans and creating an "intimidating workplace environment."

Here's the official language ...

"It is a recognized part of sports for fans and the media at times to criticize officiating, but team executives must be held to a higher standard."

"A team owner’s effort to influence refereeing decisions during and after a game creates the perception of an unfair competitive advantage and thereby undermines the integrity of the game."

"Demeaning league employees also creates an intimidating workplace environment. With an increased focus on respectful conduct by coaches, players and fans during games, the actions of team executives should set an example and not lower expectations for appropriate behavior in our arenas."

What's the best part of becoming an overnight superstar thanks to a viral 3-point basketball shot!?

Jackson State team manager Thomas "Snacks" Lee says he got a personal message from his hoops hero Kevin Durant ... and he's STOKED!!!

"Kevin Durant has been my favorite player since he played at Texas," Snacks told TMZ Sports ... "I've got an enormous collection of KD jerseys!"

Well, Durant became a fan of "Snacks" this week after he saw that amazing footage of Lee achieving his dream and checking into a Division 1 basketball game ... hitting a DEEP 3 in the process.

"I see you snipe," Durant said to Snacks on social media.

Snacks says he was PUMPED to get love from KD -- telling us he's been calling himself "Fat Durant" for years ... and was honored to hear from the man himself!

And it's not just KD, Snacks has become a star on campus at Jackson State -- telling us, "After the game, fans showed mad love. My phone from 10 PM last night 'til now, I had to keep my charger on me because it's just constantly going off."

Jackson State takes on Alabama State on Thursday -- hopefully, we get more Snacks!!!!

Ex-Knicks stud Chris Childs is going off on James Dolan ... telling TMZ Sports the New York owner mishandled the Spike Lee situation and is turning the team into a JOKE!!!

"This has to stop because it's starting to be the laughingstock of the league," Childs says. "And, I hate to see that."

If you missed it, Lee and the Knicks spent all of Tuesday fighting over the entrance the movie mogul used at Monday night's game. In fact, the beef got so bad, Spike vowed to not return to MSG again this season.

We spoke with Childs -- who played with the Knicks from 1996-2001 -- and he's laying the blame for all of the drama squarely at Dolan's feet.

"Spike Lee has been coming to these game forever," Childs says. "If he wants to land a helicopter through the roof, let him!"

Childs added, "He hasn't done anything, but support that franchise when they're at their lowest. So, how do you embarrass that man like that with your flashlight cops? Tell him he can't use that entrance? And, that only comes from the top."

Childs says Dolan is allowing his personal feelings to get in the way of properly running the team ... and tells us the guy's issues with Lee, Charles Oakley and combative fans at MSG prove that.

"So, let's stop playing games," Childs says. "Keep it a buck. Dolan, you're in your feelings right now and you're just picking on everybody."

"It seems that he's so sensitive. He has rabbit ears. He hears everything and it gets to him."

Of course, Childs has had his own battle with Dolan in the past ... remember, back in 2017, he was famously not invited to the reunion of the 1998-99 Knicks squad.

NBA player Allen Crabbe just struck a plea deal in his drunk driving case ... and won't spend any time behind bars.

27-year-old Crabbe -- who most recently played for the Minnesota Timberwolves -- was pulled over on June 26 in West Hollywood after officers said he showed "signs of driving under the influence."

A TMZ Sports cameraman was nearby when Crabbe was pulled over ... and captured the field sobriety test on video.

It didn't outwardly appear AC bombed the test ... but he was still arrested and charged with DUI.

However, on Thursday, Crabbe pled no contest to a lesser charge ... 1 misdemeanor count of "engaging in a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on a highway."

The 6'6" hooper was sentenced to 3 years probation ... as well as being ordered to complete 2 DUI education courses.

The NY Knicks are working with the OKC Thunder to honor several first responders who aided in rescue efforts during the '95 Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 terror attacks, the teams announced.

The Thunder are in town to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday -- but before tip-off and during the game the teams will pay tribute to emergency personnel.

In fact, certain heroes who responded to BOTH tragedies will have the honor of holding the American flag during the national anthem.

FYI, April 19, 2020, will mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 168 people died in the domestic attack carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

In the wake of the attack, emergency personnel based in NYC were sent to OKC to help in the rescue and recovery efforts. So, there's a connection between the two cities.

The teams say they will also host the families of OKC responders who later perished in the line of duty while responding in the 9/11 terror attacks in NYC.

"The bravery of the first responders who are being honored was a beacon of light during unspeakable tragedies in Oklahoma City and New York. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to honor them,"  Thunder GM Sam Presti says.

The NBA is making Marcus Smart pay for blowing up on a ref Tuesday night -- hitting the Boston Celtics' star with a big 5-figure fine for "verbally abusing" an official.

The 25-year-old lost his cool after getting called for his 6th foul while contesting a Caris LeVert 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left during Boston's loss to the Nets ... getting so heated, he had to be escorted off the court.

Smart -- who's no stranger to beefin' with officials -- gave the refs an earful after fouling out, pointing and yelling his frustrations over the call.

The NBA just handed down Smart's punishment for the freak-out -- fining Smart $35k for "confronting and verbally abusing the game officials." The NBA says Smart's history of going off on refs factored into the $35k figure.

As for the game itself, Tuesday was a disaster across the board for Boston -- Brooklyn's LeVert scored a career-high 51 while the Celtics gave up a whopping 51 points in the 4th quarter ALONE to seal the loss.

FYI -- Smart famously signed a $52 million deal back in 2018 (remember his epic rap song?) ... so really, just a drop in the bucket for the dude.

Tough scene for a super-rich guy sitting courtside in Boston on Tuesday ... Kemba Walker drilled him in the chest with an errant pass -- SPILLING HIS BEER EVERYWHERE!!

It all started when the Celtics superstar was trying to make a sweet play in the lane against the Brooklyn Nets ... when he fired a bullet to his teammate for an easy layup.

The problem? Romeo Langford couldn't handle the hot potato ... and the ball went crashing right into some dude's beer!

Check out the aftermath of the cold one's explosion ... the suds went all over the man's suit -- and some shrapnel even got on the guy next to him!!

To their credit ... both guys took the spillage in stride, smiling and laughing about it.

Hopefully someone replaced the drink ... 'cause that stuff ain't cheap in the NBA.

As for the game, the Celts ended up losing 129 to 120.

Touching tribute from Devin Booker to Kobe Bryant ... the Phoenix Suns superstar immortalized an autograph he got from the Mamba with a tattoo on his forearm.

Here's the deal ... back in March 2016, Devin -- a rookie at the time who grew up idolizing Kobe -- played Bryant in one of legend's final NBA games.

And afterward, Kobe had a long talk with the budding All-Star ... and gave him a pair of signed shoes with two messages on them.

One read, "To The Young Gun!" The other? "To Book Be Legendary"

Devin took the advice to heart ... and Tuesday, just over a month after Kobe tragically died in a helicopter crash, he got Bryant's "Be Legendary" autograph tatted on his arm.

"Somethin to live by," Booker said of the ink.

A bunch of NBA guys loved the tribute -- which appears to be Devin's first-ever body art -- with Kobe's former teammate, Matt Barnes, writing, "Killer."

Devin was one of the NBA players hit hardest by Bryant's death ... in the Suns' game against the Grizzlies hours after the chopper accident, he had to fight back tears on the court.

"When he get in the NBA, within three years, I guarantee he's the scoring champ. GUARANTEE."

LaVar Ball is back to his old ways ... making a crazy prediction that his son will lead the league in scoring within 3 years ... and he ain't talking about Lonzo or LaMelo -- it's LiAngelo!!!

Papa Ball returned to FS1's "Undisputed" on Tuesday and let the takes fly ... like saying the Pelicans will beat LeBron James' Lakers in a potential playoff matchup.

However, that comment was pretty tame compared to the most scalding-hot take of all ... when LaVar guaranteed his middle son, Gelo, would take over the league if/when he jumps from the G-League to the NBA.

The topic got brought up when Skip Bayless asked if LaVar thought Zion Williamson could ever lead the league in scoring ... and that's when Ball brought up Gelo, who is currently on the OKC Blue practice squad.

"Zion could lead this league in scoring regularly until my other son get there," LaVar said. "When Gelo get here, you can forget it ... it's over."

FYI -- it may not be so far fetched, considering Gelo DID score 72 points in a game while playing pro hoops in Lithuania (although, that's def. not the NBA).

Shannon Sharpe even asked LaVar to clarify if he meant Melo, who's essentially a walking bucket ... but Dad made it clear it's all about GELO.

"Call me on it, baby. I'll be back up here when he does," Ball says ... adding, the plan is to get Melo and Gelo on the same team this summer.

We'll check back with LaVar in 2023.

More NY Knicks drama ... this time involving their biggest fan, Spike Lee -- who got into an altercation with security at MSG and told 'em, "You wanna arrest me like Charles Oakley?!"

The whole thing went down at Madison Square Garden right before the Knicks took on the Houston Rockets ... when security reportedly blocked Lee from using a restricted entrance into the building.

During the exchange (captured on video) you can hear Lee saying "no one told me" he wasn't allowed to use that particular entrance ... and he dug in his heels, "I'm staying right here."

A Knicks spokesperson has said the entrance was not designated for fans -- with sources saying it was supposed to be for media and staffers only.

The good news ... Lee met with Knicks' owner, James Dolan, and the two smoothed things over. And, even better for Lee and the Knicks, THEY ACTUALLY WON THE GAME!

The Knicks have been AWFUL this season -- one of the worst records in the NBA -- but they still manage to draw A-List celebs to their games ... including Chris Rock, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson and more.

In fact, NY Giants QB Daniel Jones and his RW, Sterling Shepard, were sitting courtside along with fellow NFL stud Jamal Adams.

Guess Michael Rapaport's call for celeb boycott ain't exactly workin' ...

As for the game, Knicks rookie RJ Barrett scored 27 points and Julius Randle had a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double to lead the team to a 125-123 win over Houston.

Luka Doncic might have lost his Mavericks game on his 21st birthday ... but he DEFINITELY won the after-party!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the NBA superstar got after it Friday night for his bday despite losing to the Heat ... hitting up Miami hot spots with his Mavs teammates and other celebs.

We're told Doncic and the guys got dinner at Papi Steak in Miami Beach before ultimately spending the night at Club LIV.

And, you can see in photos we obtained of the festivities ... Doncic was having a blast -- even at one point getting some partying in with Bad Bunny!!

We're told Mavs owner Mark Cuban threw an especially big bash for his team's best player ... taking over LIV's stage area and popping champagne all night.

As for how the hangover went ... the Mavs were off Saturday -- but Luka still took Dallas' game off against the Timberwolves on Sunday.

The team says it was because of a previous thumb injury ... but we're not so sure we're buying that.

Listen up, super-rich athletes!! NBA star-turned-financial adviser Greg Oden is here to give you some solid pointers on how to keep from turning into a super-broke athlete!!

(We're looking at you Boris Becker!)

Of course, the #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft has taken his talents to the finance world ... and he's working to help his fellow pro athletes GROW their money instead of blowing it (like Boris Becker!).

We spoke with G.O. at the Kenny Smith All-Star event in Chicago about his new career ... and he says he LOVES his job.

"It's amazing," Oden tells us. "I'm an athlete adviser for a financial education company ... the company is called Edyoucore, it's based out in Baltimore and I enjoy it."

There are countless stories of players going from making millions to bankruptcy ... and Oden -- who made $24 million in his career -- is hoping to put an end to the problem.

We put Oden on the spot and asked for a quick tip for any athletes watching ... and he gave us a nugget!!

"Be engaged. Pay attention where all your money is going."

And if you're wondering why we keep referencing Boris Becker -- the former tennis star is LEGENDARY for blowing his fortune.

In fact, during his 2017 bankruptcy case in England, a court official said the former tennis star had racked up a "historic debt."

At the time, Becker's rep John Briggs begged for mercy ... saying, "He is not a sophisticated individual when it comes to finances."

Deputies who responded to Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash site and took pictures of the remains were given a secret way out without repercussion ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... in the days after the crash, top brass at the department was aware some of their lower-level deputies had snapped shots of the scene as well as of the remains found, and were showing them to people in and out of the department.

We're told a message was relayed to the Lost Hills substations and possibly others as well ... if you got Kobe pics -- come in, come clean and delete them. Do that, and you won't be punished. That's essentially the directive we're told was handed down by commanding officers.

What's even more concerning is the fact our sources say this attempt to get rid of the damning evidence was all being done on the hush-hush, and it was only when the L.A. Times came around asking about this scandal that the department launched a formal inquiry.

We've learned the Sheriff's Dept. learned that some deputies took pics of remains days after the crash ... this after a sheriff's trainee went to a bar and thought he could impress and pick up a woman by showing her the photos. Sources say a bartender overheard this and was so irate, he contacted the Sheriff's and lodged a formal complaint.

It's clear ... the Sheriff's Dept. kept everything under wraps until it became obvious its cover was about to be blown.

On Friday, the department issued a statement saying, in part, that top dog Alex Villanueva was "deeply disturbed at the thought deputies could allegedly engage in such an insensitive act." They go on to say, "A thorough investigation will be conducted by the department, with the No. 1 priority of protecting the dignity and privacy of the victims and their families."

LaVar Ball is bringing back the Big Baller Brand in a huge way -- but admits he's still not 100% sure if his NBA-destined son LaMelo will wear BBB shoes when he gets to the pros.

FYI, 18-year-old Melo is definitely a top prospect in the 2020 NBA Draft -- some people think he could go as high as #1. His older brother Lonzo Ball was the #2 pick back in 2017.

And with LaVar relaunching BBB with the promise of new basketball shoes and other items, the guys on "TMZ Live" asked if he'd be signing his youngest son to an endorsement deal.

"Will he be wearing a Big Baller Brand shoe? I don't know," LaVar said ... "You're going to have to stay tuned for that man."

Here's the deal ... we already know multiple top shoe companies have their eyes on LaMelo -- including Nike -- and it's obvious why ... he's got superstar potential.

But at this point, we're told Melo hasn't signed on the dotted line with anyone -- though it's pretty clear his father wants him to stay with the family business.

That said, if a company like Nike or Puma comes to the table with a $50 million shoe deal ... can you really say no?!

Charlotte Hornets player Malik Monk -- the 11th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft -- has been suspended indefinitely without pay for violating the terms of the league's drug policy.

The details are unclear -- the NBA has not said if Monk tested dirty or simply failed to comply with the drug testing ... but it's clear he's in the dog house.

"The NBA announced today that Malik Monk of the Charlotte Hornets has been suspended without pay for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program," the league said.

"Monk’s suspension will begin with tonight’s game between the Hornets and the New York Knicks, and will continue until he is determined to be in full compliance with the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program."

22-year-old Monk was a star at Kentucky and has huge potential -- which he flashed with some solid play earlier this month.

He's currently in a 4-year, $15.7 million contract. He earns about $50k per game so the suspension is kind of a big deal.