NBA

Life can be hard as an NBA rookie ... a lesson 22-year-old Bobi Klintman learned the hard way -- after his Pistons teammates FILLED HIS CAR WITH POPCORN!!!

The night started out swell for Klintman ... his squad earned a big win over the New York Knicks in Detroit. But, things were about to take a turn.

As the 2nd round pick made his way to the players' parking lot at Little Caesars Arena, Jalen Duren began filming (the first clue something was up). When Klintman got to his matte Mercedes Benz SUV and opened his passenger side door, popcorn spilled out EVERYWHERE.

Hours after Luka Doncic's emotional return to Dallas ... he was still in the city while his team was already back in Los Angeles -- attending a local meet and greet with fans instead of jetting back with the team.

Doncic swung by a local Dicks store on Thursday to promote his newly released Jordan Brand sneakers. The 26-year-old did it all ...  signed autographs, talked with some local kids and even checked some lucky patrons out at the register.

It marked the first time Doncic was back in Big D, the city he called home for nearly seven years, until Nico Harrison and co. traded him to L.A. in one of the most shocking moves in NBA history.

UConn star Azzi Fudd says she believes her Huskies got an assist from the Mamba and the Mambacita during their title tilt last weekend ... telling TMZ Sports she felt Kobe and Gianna Bryant "watching down on us" during the big game.

Some five years after the NBA legend and his daughter -- who was a massive UConn fan -- passed away in a tragic helicopter accident ... Fudd says she felt their presence as she and her teammates were taking down South Carolina in the national championship in San Antonio.

She told us it all became crystal clear to her when someone pointed out a few Bryant-related numbers in the matchup's box score.

Khloe Kardashian sees nothing sexy about Lamar Odom's sex doll -- which he purposely made to resemble her -- and is slamming it as "creepy" and "weird."

The Good American founder dissed her ex-husband's voluptuous factory-made companion on the season 6 finale of Hulu's "The Kardashians" ... and minced no words as she described how wrong the whole situation felt.

Expressing her disgust in a confessional, she vented ... "I’m supposed to be flattered by this? ... This validates just how different we are and how much we’ve grown apart and it’s creepy and it’s weird but I’m not hurt by it. It’s his journey. It’s just weird and gross."

Travis Scott got some R&R before his highly anticipated Coachella set by catching the L.A. Clippers game on Wednesday -- and unlike past experiences, he had no issues with security this time.

Celebrities flocked to the Intuit Dome in Inglewood for the Clippers' home contest against the Houston Rockets ... including names like Floyd Mayweather, Draya Michele, Steve Ballmer and La Flame himself.

Scott -- a Rockets fan -- was courtside with his Cactus Jack artist Sheck Wes ... and while he had great seats for the outing, we take it he was also thinking about closing down the massive music festival on Saturday.

Luka Doncic's return to Dallas started with tears ... and ended with a win -- and a whole lot of points for the former Mavs superstar!!

The new Laker was back in Big D on Wednesday night for the first time since Nico Harrison and Co. jettisoned him to Los Angeles ... and while it was emotional, the 26-year-old showed what his old team was missing in a 112-97 rout.

The Mavericks played a special tribute to him before the game got underway -- and Doncic cried over the piece. He, though, quickly set his emotions aside and went out and eviscerated his former team.

Dallas Mavericks fans are still livid the team traded away their superstar, Luka Doncic ... and a group of fans are taking their displeasure to the streets -- 'cause TMZ Sports is told a billboard calling for general manager Nico Harrison's job is making its way around town before Wednesday's highly anticipated matchup with the Lakers.

Dallas Billboards -- in partnership with Southwest Mobile Advertising -- tells us an anonymous batch of donors reached out to them to commission the sign in opposition to the front office staffer and team owners, the Adelson/Dumont family.

The group told the companies they are "All for firing Nico and selling the team as a means of asking for accountability for the worst trade in the history of basketball."

Jaylen Brown just got something incredible to complement his Celtics championship ring ... a $250k chain with an emerald centerpiece right before his quest for another title!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Boston star wanted to get a special accessory to embody his  mantra, "The energy is about to shift," so he hit up Eric The Jeweler for the job.

Of course, there's a double meaning here ... as a green emerald symbolizes energy, while also a nod to his team's iconic colors. Eric, who has also worked with rapper Playboi Carti, executed the task to perfection.

The Dallas Mavericks want to show love for Luka Doncic ahead of his big return on Wednesday ... making shirts to share their appreciation for his time with the organization -- despite shipping him off to Los Angeles in a mind-boggling trade earlier this season.

The team revealed the fan giveaway hours before tipoff against the Lakers ... which read "Hvala za vse" -- Slovenian for "Thanks for everything."

The Mavs also plan to honor Luka with a tribute video at some point in the evening.

LeBron James has yet another superstar teammate ... Barbie!!!

The Los Angeles Laker was just announced as the first "Kenbassador" for the massively popular doll franchise ... getting the nod for his influence on "culture, style and community."

The LeBron doll is incredibly detailed -- featuring the four-time NBA champ's signature facial hair, a custom letterman jacket, crossbody bag, shades, Beats headphones, gold watch and merch for his LeBron James Family Foundation.

Nearly a month after he upchucked his dinner onto the floor at Madison Square Garden ... Tracy Morgan was back courtside watching his Knicks -- and this time, there were no stomach issues in sight.

The 56-year-old comedian pulled up to New York's Tuesday night tilt with the Boston Celtics for the first time since his now-infamous March 17 incident ... and his favorite team welcomed him back with open arms.

They showed him on the jumbotron, and fans roared with applause when they saw he was back. Morgan responded with some blown kisses and a "Go Knicks!" message.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells was stretchered off the court after a brutal fall during a dunk attempt in Tuesday night's game ... and while he suffered a broken wrist as a result of the tumble, he's fortunate it was not more serious.

The frightening incident happened during the second quarter of the Grizzlies' road matchup against the Charlotte Hornets ... when Wells -- averaging 10.4 points this season -- went up for a one-handed slam.

Once Wells was airborne, he took a hard foul from Hornets guard KJ Simpson ... causing him to plummet onto the Spectrum Center court and seemingly hitting his head in the process.

2:53 PM PT -- The NBA just announced it's rescinded the technical foul that sparked Tuesday night's drama.

Luka Doncic got the boot from an important Lakers game Tuesday night ... because an official with a quick whistle couldn't delineate fan trash talk from referee chirping.

The bizarre scene all unfolded in the fourth quarter of L.A.'s road tilt with Oklahoma City ... after Doncic hit a floater in the lane to give his team a 108-107 lead.

After making the basket, the 26-year-old turned toward the crowd and began mouthing off -- but a ref thought the chatter was aimed at him ... and Doncic -- who had been hit with a technical foul just a few minutes earlier for arguing a call -- was immediately ejected.

Ja Morant went to his weapon wheel for his latest celebration ... electing for a "grenade" instead of his go-to "gun" gesture in Tuesday night's game.

The Memphis Grizzlies star debuted the move against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center ... days after he was handed a $75,000 fine for pretending to unload a firearm on multiple occasions in competition, which the NBA publicly warned him to stop doing.

Morant apparently can't help but channel his inner "Call of Duty" as he goes to war on the court ... 'cause he mimicked the explosive-tossing stunt throughout the night -- acting like he was pulling a pin with his teeth and covering his ears.

If Michael Malone is having regrets over his Nuggets tattoo now that the team unceremoniously fired him, the man who put the ink on the coach's body tells TMZ Sports he's down to cover it up.

The former Denver head man famously got the Maxie the Miner piece etched onto his shoulder after he won his first-ever NBA title two years ago ... but if he now wants it gone, Mike Diaz of Triple W Tattoos says he'll break out his needle once more.

The artist -- who designed the whimsical championship piece for Malone in June 2023 -- told us he's hopeful the 53-year-old will keep it, as it's an amazing memory for him and his city ... but he added, "If he really wanted to do that, I would help out."

Michael Malone is no longer the head coach of the Denver Nuggets, it was announced Tuesday.

The move is nothing short of shocking -- the Nuggets are a playoff team this season ... and could end up with as high as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Just two seasons ago, Denver won the whole damn thing under Malone's leadership.