NBA

Former NBA star Matt Barnes says he can't believe he has to clear the air on the latest rumor circulating the internet, but here he is ... denying an A.I. model scammed him out of a ton of money.

The chatter spread like wildfire over the past few days ... which stated the 14-year vet fell victim to a super-hot catfish who wound up with $61K of his hard-earned money.

His buddy Gilbert Arenas didn't do him any favors by breathing more life into it on his own podcast ... so now here he is, setting the record straight.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier officially entered a not guilty plea in Federal court on Monday ... following his shocking October arrest in connection with the betting scandal that rocked the NBA!

Rozier -- wearing a grey two-piece suit -- and accompanied by his mother and lawyer, Jim Trusty, appeared in the Brooklyn courthouse for his arraignment this afternoon.

The 10-year NBA veteran was arrested following a federal investigation into illegal gambling. Rozier was cuffed and hauled away from a hotel in Orlando after the Heat's game against the Magic.

Orlando Magic hooper Desmond Bane is getting slapped with a hefty fine after he yeeted a basketball right at Knicks forward OG Anunoby during Sunday's showdown.

The league announced the $35,000 punishment on Monday ... stating Bane's decision to fire the ball "with force" at Anunoby during the game was deemed "unsportsmanlike manner."

ICYMI ... the outburst took place in the fourth quarter of the Magic vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. After Anunoby lost the ball on a layup and fell out of bounds, Bane took control of it and hurled it right at Anunoby.

It didn't make sense why Bane threw the ball at OG -- not even for Anunoby, who pushed him after taking the hit.

A courtside heckler learned the hard way that Omar from "The Wire" wasn't kidding when he said "come at the king, you best not miss" ... 'cause the spectator tried to clown LeBron James over his hairline -- but it hilariously backfired!!

The fun interaction happened on Sunday during the Los Angeles Lakers' road game against the Philadelphia Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center.

When James was standing near the expensive seats, a guy saw an opportunity and yelled, "You still ain't got no hair though" -- clearly not ready for LBJ's response.

Luka Doncic is a girl dad of 2! The Los Angeles Lakers star announced the arrival of his baby girl, Olivia, Saturday morning.

Check out his latest IG post -- he shared an adorable photo of the newborn dressed in a pink top and rose-printed pants lying on pink and white blankets. The exciting announcement comes after he missed his last 2 games with the Lakers ... and now it's clear he had a very good reason.

Luka welcomed his first daughter with his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, in December 2023 ... meaning the sisters have birthdays just days apart. He shared the news of his first newborn with a precious snapshot of her parents holding her tiny hands. He revealed her name was Gabriela in the caption.

He was with the Dallas Mavericks at the time, and missed his first game of the season for his little one's arrival.

Luka and Anamaria have an adorable love story -- they met as kids in Croatia and began dating in 2016. He got down on one knee in a picturesque proposal in Slovenia in July 2023 ... and they began growing their family months after.

Klay Thompson might be having a slow start to his season, but it's by no means due to his love life -- so says Isaiah Thomas, who tells TMZ Sports the outside noise means nothing to a Hall of Famer like the Mavericks hooper.

Klay's averaging just 11 points on 37% shooting so far in his second season in Dallas ... career lows in both categories.

Some folks think the slump could be due to his high-profile relationship with Megan Thee Stallion (we're looking at you, Jason Williams) ... but I.T. says there's simply no way.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call made regarding Elden Campbell's death ... with a man telling the operator he spotted something washed up on the shore that "looks like a human body."

In the audio, the caller sounded confused about what he initially saw on the beach on December 1 ... but after zooming in on his camera, he told the operator, "It looks like a dead person on the floor."

When police arrived, we were told they found Campbell's body alongside a jet ski on the beach around 8 PM ... and he was pronounced dead at 8:03 PM.

Michael Jordan got an epic Bulls-themed welcome at court on Friday -- a fan blasted his former team's iconic intro music as the NBA legend made his way to a courthouse entrance!

His Airness pulled up to a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday to testify in a federal antitrust case against NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France, for allegedly operating an illegal monopoly.

When Jordan, 62, arrived outside the courthouse, a bystander nearby started playing "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project.

The L.A. Clippers played their first game after Chris Paul's surprise departure on Wednesday ... but the future Hall of Famer was on the home crowd's minds -- with Atlanta Hawks fans hurling chants asking where the heck CP3 was during the game!!

A group of Hawks backers broke out in the jeers while Ivica Zubac was at the free-throw line for L.A. ... with "Where's Chris Paul?" clearly ringing through the arena.

Luckily for Zubac, it didn't have much effect ... as he made both shots from the line. The biggest news of the day also didn't hurt the Clippers' play ... as they went on to get the 115-92 win against Atlanta.

Tyler Herro's nuts took a hit during Wednesday's game -- but it wasn't from an aggressive opponent ... it was courtesy of a referee!!

The low blow took place in the second quarter of the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks matchup at the American Airlines Center ... when Herro was about to shoot a technical free throw.

When the Heat guard stepped to the charity stripe, NBA official Jenna Reneau passed the ball ... but Herro wasn't paying attention and then BOOM -- direct hit on his manhood!

Chis Paul doesn't seem to be too upset with getting dropped by the L.A. Clippers in the middle of the night ... 'cause the future Hall of Famer was grinning from ear to ear during a virtual reunion with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan!!

CP3 shared a screenshot of the Lob City hangout on Wednesday ... hours after the NBA world was rocked by the news the Clips abruptly sent him packing for good.

No word on what they talked about ... but we're guessing DJ and BG had to ask Paul for his side of the whole debacle.

Gilbert Arenas says the Clippers might as well pack their bags and get the hell outta of Los Angeles ... going OFF on the organization for disrespecting Chris Paul by sending him home during his retirement season.

The Clippers parted ways with the 12-time NBA All-Star guard in the middle of the night ... and Arenas went to TikTok to go on a passionate rant on the matter on Wednesday.

"Ooooooh, I done had it with the Clippers now," Arenas said. "Y'all gon' send the best Clipper y'all ever had home and not let him finish his last year?!"

Future Hall of Famer Chris Paul isn't getting a chance to ride off into the sunset with the L.A. Clippers -- the team just abruptly cut ties with the franchise great in the middle of a road trip.

CP3 announced the shocking news himself in the middle of the night ... going to Instagram to say he "Just Found Out I'm Being Sent Home" with a peace sign emoji from Atlanta, where the team is slated to play the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Later on, Clippers exec Lawrence Frank confirmed to ESPN the team is moving forward without Paul ... adding it will "work with him on the next step of his career."

Longtime NBA guard Isaiah Thomas is ready to suit up for a team right now ... telling TMZ Sports his body feels good, and he's staying in game shape -- and he says there are a few squads showing interest in bringing him on board.

The last full-season deal he inked was a one-year contract with the Wizards in 2019 ... and despite dealing with serious injuries, he averaged 17.5 points a game over the course of his career -- most notably with the Boston Celtics.

36-year-old Thomas is not looking to move on from the game just yet ... 'cause when we caught up with him at LAX, he said he's got "at least" one more season in him.

Don't worry, Knicks fans, the Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns trade will pay off soon ... this according to Charles Oakley, who tells TMZ Sports his addition to the team can pave the way for an NBA Finals run!!

We spoke with the Knicks legend as he was giving away food at Melba’s of Harlem's annual turkey drive this week ... and asked if he believes his former team can make a run at the NBA championship again this season with KAT.

"They should've won it last year ... yes, they can," Oakley said, "They just have to play. I think they got sidetracked last year, a lot of things goin' on."

Luka Doncic is giving props to his teammate, Jaxson Hayes, for sticking up for him during a scuffle in the Lakers game on Tuesday ... saying because the big man had his back, he will happily cover whatever fine he gets from the NBA.

In the fourth quarter of the NBA Cup showdown against the L.A. rivals at Crypto.com Arena, Clippers guard Kris Dunn shoved Doncic to the hardwood while battling for a rebound.

When Luka confronted him, Dunn slammed the ball into his chest. Hayes immediately jumped in and gave Dunn a taste of his own medicine with a similar shove in the back, which ignited a brief scuffle.