NBA

The basketball from Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals is already up for grabs ... and anyone looking to own the piece of history better start saving up now!!

The game-used rock from Sunday's Thunder vs. Pacers showdown is set to go on the auction block this week with Sotheby's in New York.

It's a truly one-of-a-kind memorabilia item -- not only does it come from the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 2016, but it was also used in the deciding contest of the Thunder's first championship in franchise history.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took a page out of J.R. Smith's book at the OKC Thunder's championship parade on Tuesday ... stripping off his shirt during the route while introducing fans to the Larry O'Brien trophy!!

The celebration went down in downtown Oklahoma City ... with folks hitting the streets to celebrate after the Thunder's 103-91 victory over the Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

SGA -- who was named NBA Finals MVP -- was hyped to deliver the city's first-ever NBA championship ... and he apparently wasn't digging the 90-degree heat, 'cause he went topless before jumping off the team buses to personally celebrate with supporters.

Tyrese Haliburton underwent surgery on his torn Achilles tendon, which he suffered during game 7 of the NBA Finals ... and despite a smile from the hospital bed, the Indiana Pacers star didn't sugarcoat things, admitting "this s*** sucks."

The two-time All-Star shared a photo from a hospital along with a lengthy, emotional, and real statement ... a day after sustaining the serious injury in the deciding game.

"Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock," Haliburton wrote, "Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense."

The bad news has been confirmed -- Tyrese Haliburton did, in fact, tear his right Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

The official diagnosis came on Monday ... just a day after the Indiana Pacers star suffered the leg injury during the first quarter of the season finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Haliburton -- averaging 17.2 points in the playoffs -- was carried off the court ... and was seen using crutches and a wheelchair following the championship loss.

Kevin Durant and "Basedgod" rapper Lil B have been beefing for more than a decade -- and not much has changed now that KD is a Houston Rocket -- their feud is spicier than ever!!!

Lil B decided to reignite the beef not long after the bombshell news that Durant had been shipped to HTX ... dissing KD's part-time rap career and accusing him of ducking him in a one-on-one pickup game challenge all these years.

KD last rapped on Stalley's "Scared Money" track but scoffed at the Basedgod's swipes, claiming the rapper was all up in his DMs begging for a feature.

It turns out the Oklahoma City Thunder's toughest matchup of the NBA Finals wasn't the Indiana Pacers -- it was the champagne bottles waiting for them during their championship celebration!!

Footage from the locker room caught a bunch of players learning on the fly how to pop the bubbly for the traditional champagne showers -- and with their roster having an average age of just over 24 years old, it might've been the first time for a few of them!!

Isaiah Hartenstein credited Alex Caruso for helping show the team how to do it properly ... telling reporters it was like watching a YouTube tutorial.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions ... for the first time in team history!!!

Thunder star and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way in a 103-91 victory for OKC, scoring 29 points in the decisive Game 7 ... played in front of a raucous sell-out crowd at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

SGA was named Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

LeBron James had to deal with some salty fans outside a New York City event Saturday night ... with angry pedestrians hurling insults at the basketball legend.

TMZ has obtained video of the NBA's all-time leading scorer walking into Fanatics Fest this weekend surrounded by his entourage ... and, while no one made a move to get into a physical altercation with the 6'9" star, they let him know he's got no love from the Big Apple.

Check out the clip ... Lebron's getting more boos than when he bailed on Cleveland to take his talents to South Beach back in the day -- with fans calling him "Le-Bum" and otherwise trying to get in his head.

Kevin Durant was just traded to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster deal ... and fans got his live reaction to the move during his appearance at Fanatics Fest!!

The massive transaction happened early on Sunday ... coincidentally just hours before Durant's former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, faces the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to mark the end of the 2024-25 season.

The Phoenix Suns will give up Durant for a bunch of Rockets talent -- Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the draft and five second-rounders.

Stephen A. Smith sparked quite the controversy after claiming NBA players avoid signing with the Grizzlies due to safety concerns in Memphis ... and while Danny Green says the talking head "isn't far off" with his take, he tells TMZ Sports it's more so due to the fact it's "not a pretty city" in general.

We caught up with Green -- who had a very short stint in Memphis (we're talking three games here) back in the 2022-23 season -- at LAX this week ... and he weighed in more on the city's apparent obstacles to landing free agents.

"I just don't think it's a destination city," he said. "Nashville is one of the cities that people enjoy. Memphis, it is in Tennessee so you get a tax cut. It's good on taxes, but it's just not a city that's pretty, people would say."

Kamala Harris was considering Mark Cuban as her running mate, but the billionaire flat out rejected the campaign, explaining he wasn't the type to play second fiddle ... saying for that reason, I'm out!

Cuban recently joined "The Bulwark" podcast ... when host Tim Miller asked him about "some green room gossip" he'd heard suggesting Mark was on the short list for the veep gig.

The former "Shark Tank" star confirmed the rumor, and revealed why and how he told the Harris campaign he wasn't interested.

Kevin Durant says DeMarcus Cousins is lying through his teeth -- adamantly denying the Phoenix Suns were throwing hands in the locker room this season ... right after the ex-NBA center made the shocking claim.

Boogie -- who made headlines for, ironically, fighting with fans in Puerto Rico earlier this month -- went on FanDuel TV to talk about the Suns' tumultuous 2024-25 campaign ... and said he was told the team vibes got so bad, players were fistfighting in the locker room.

Boogie was actually defending his former Warriors teammate in his appearance ... saying he wasn't at fault for the Suns' issues -- it was more so due to the fact the execs threw a bunch of scorers together and said, "go win a championship."

The Lakers' rivalry with the Celtics apparently extends way further than the hardwood -- as Byron Scott was all smiles on Thursday realizing the sale of L.A.'s NBA franchise this week topped Boston's by nearly $4 billion!!!

The former Lakers player and head coach was thrilled to see Jeanie Buss get $10 billion for her beloved team on Wednesday ... happily gloating that it bested Boston's $6.1 billion sale in March.

"That's all that matters," Scott said of the price difference with a big grin. "We topped them. We topped them! We beat them by $3.9 billion!"

The NBA Finals won't end Thursday night ... so says coach Mike Woodson, who tells TMZ Sports he's confident the Indiana Pacers will force a Game 7.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are one win away from their first championship as they head into Game 6 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse ... and if the Pacers don't win, their season is cooked.

Woodson -- who coached the Indiana Hoosiers from 2021 to 2025 -- believes Tyrese Haliburton and Co. can live to see a few more days ... with homecourt advantage being the main factor.

The sale of the Los Angeles Lakers is getting a big stamp of approval from one of the organization's biggest stars ... with Luka Doncic saying he's ready to win some championships under new owner Mark Walter.

"The Lakers are an amazing organization," the 26-year-old Slovenian hooper said Thursday. "I'm looking forward to meeting Mark and excited about the future."

As we previously reported, the Buss family is giving up their majority stake in the historic franchise ... but Jeanie will remain as team governor for years to come, which Doncic was thrilled about.

3:17 PM PT -- Lakers legend Magic Johnson is speaking out about the Buss family agreeing to unload their majority ownership stake in the Lakers ... congratulating them for striking "an incredible deal" and choosing the best person to carry the team's legacy going forward.

Jeanie Buss and her family have agreed to unload their majority stake of the Lakers, selling the team to L.A. Dodgers owner Mark Walter -- the largest sale of a sports franchise in history!!

Shams Charania broke the news Wednesday afternoon, revealing the Busses -- who own 66% of the organization -- reached a deal to sell the team to the 65-year-old businessman on an approximately $10 BILLION valuation.

Jerry Buss, Jeanie's dad, purchased the team for a paltry $67.5 million in May 1979. Under his tenure, the Lake Show became one of the most popular, successful, and culturally relevant American sports franchises ... exploding in value.