NBA

A cameraman working the Nets-Hawks game deserved a blocking foul ... 'cause while the guy was filming on the sidelines during a live play, a referee crashed right into him, and the bizarre moment was caught on the broadcast.

It happened during the fourth quarter of the game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Thursday, as official Sha'Rae Mitchell was running down the sideline during a fast break.

As Mitchell, 40, was picking up steam, and with her eyes focused on the play, she didn't see the cameraman was partially on the hardwood, as the guy was filming a fan on the sideline

Former NBA big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis is officially out of the slammer.

The ex-Boston Celtics forward -- who won a championship alongside Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen -- was released from prison Thursday after serving time for his role in a massive fraud scheme involving the NBA’s health care benefits program.

"They tried to hold me down," Davis said in a viral X video post-release. "You know what I’m saying? But I’m back, man. I’m back, baby."

Luka Doncic says basketball is providing an escape as he deals with issues off the court ... telling a reporter in his native language he's getting some much-needed "peace" during games.

The Slovenian superstar briefly addressed how he's doing personally after dropping 51 points on the Chicago Bulls at home on Thursday ... which came two days after it was revealed he ended his engagement with longtime partner Anamaria Goltes and is fighting for custody of his two daughters.

According to a translation, Luka -- who is currently signed to L.A. on a three-year, $161 million deal -- said he's okay ... but ultimately, he's making a lot of money to show up for the Lakers, so he has to be present to the task at hand.

Dwight Howard is officially walking away from basketball ... claiming while he still has gas left in the tank, the sport made the decision for him -- and now it's time for family.

The 40-year-old No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft released a lengthy statement on Thursday ... acknowledging that most folks might think he already handed in his retirement papers, but that wasn't the case.

DH12 -- who last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season before taking his talents overseas -- is now going to put all his energy into his family and the community.

Dwight Howard's wife Amber Howard brutally ripped into him during a recent 911 call -- claiming he locked her out of their Georgia mansion ... and telling the dispatcher the home is packed with weapons.

In new 911 audio -- obtained by TMZ -- Amber says she's standing outside in the rain after Dwight locked the gate entrance of their 35,000-square-foot home ... something she claims he frequently does when he gets "upset" following their arguments.

She also name-drops him ... telling the operator her hubby is "Dwight Howard from the Lakers."

Amber also alleges Dwight lost custody of his daughter the night before -- something she also claimed on Instagram, but we have not confirmed -- and says he "took it out on me."

Luka Doncic isn't letting his relationship woes stop him from putting a smile on other people's faces -- the Lakers' superstar made a surprise visit at a local hospital alongside LeBron James ... and the kind gesture resulted in some priceless reactions!!

Doncic has been going through some tough developments off the court lately -- TMZ Sports broke the story on Tuesday that his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, filed a petition for child support ... and he confirmed hours later they were no longer engaged and he's fighting for custody of their two daughters.

But he put all that on the back burner a day later ... when he hit up UCLA Health with the King to give gifts and memories to those throughout the hospital.

Dwight Howard is brushing off an explosive accusation his estranged wife made in a wild rant over the weekend ... claiming he's never done cocaine a day in his life.

The former NBA star broke his silence on the claims Amber Howard made in a viral video, where she appears to be holding a bag of white powder, alleging that Dwight has a severe cocaine addiction.

"I tried to tell everybody he needs some help," Amber cried in the video. "Nobody wanna f***ing listen because he got the money."

It took a few days, but Howard clapped back on Wednesday via Snapchat.

Some folks are unimpressed with Bam Adebayo's 83-point game ... including Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, who told reporters he had no idea how the Miami Heat player could score at will like that -- until he looked at the box score.

The 48-year-old former pro met with the media after his team secured a 113-99 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday ... and was asked what he thought about the big man's historic night at home against the Washington Wizards.

"First thing you think is 'how?' -- not because of him, but because of the way he plays," Udoka said. "And I saw he only made six threes but 40 free throws or something like that? Tells the story right there ... and the Washington Wizards."

4:19 PM PT -- Luka Doncic is no longer engaged to Anamaria Goltes, the Lakers' superstar told ESPN on Tuesday.

"I love my daughters more than anything and I've been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn't been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement," Doncic said.

"Everything I do is for my daughters' happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can."

Doncic added he had no idea of Goltes' filing.

The report went on to say Doncic expressed his desire to bring their newborn to the States back in December ... and a disagreement led Goltes to call police, although officials did not detect a criminal offense.

Luka Doncic's partner, Anamaria Goltes, just filed a petition for child support of their two minor children ... this according to documents obtained by TMZ Sports.

The petition states Anamaria moved back to Slovenia in May of last year ... and their kids have remained with her ever since -- including their youngest, who was born in December 2025.

The petition does not seek custody orders -- only child support and attorney fees.

"Magic City Night" at the Atlanta Hawks game is no more -- the NBA just swooped in and canceled the highly anticipated March 16 promotion due to concerns raised throughout the league about giving a strip club the spotlight.

Commish Adam Silver made the announcement minutes ago ... saying, "When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks' scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale."

"While we appreciate the team's perspective and their desire to move forward, we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners, and employees."

A legendary Magic City dancer tells TMZ Sports it's clear Luke Kornet's never visited the strip club ... 'cause if he did, he wouldn't have criticized the Atlanta Hawks' promotion honoring the place.

We spoke with Gigi Maguire -- one of Magic City's greatest performers -- this week to discuss the noise surrounding the NBA team promoting her former workplace during their game against the Orlando Magic on March 16.

Kornet -- a Kentucky native and San Antonio Spurs center -- called the tribute disrespectful to women ... but Maguire argues that Luke and other critics have never truly experienced Magic City, so their judgment is based only on what they've seen in movies.

"He should see it for himself," Maguire said. "I think that a lot of people that have a negative in their mind about strip are the ones that have never been."

Lil Yachty had a front-row seat at WWE Elimination Chamber -- and the rapper tells TMZ Sports the best part of the night might’ve been watching Giannis Antetokounmpo in full-on dad mode.

Yachty sat next to the Milwaukee Bucks superstar and his brother, Thanasis, for nearly three hours at the event … and came away seriously impressed.

“He's awesome, man. He's so cool,” Yachty said. “He'd be a killer wrestler.”

But what really stood out wasn’t Giannis’ superstar status -- it was how he interacted with his kids throughout the show.

Jayson Tatum is back -- the Boston Celtics announced their superstar will make his season debut on Friday, almost a year after he tore his Achilles in the playoffs.

The Cs shared the news on X page ... with an injury update listing Tatum as available for Friday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks at the TD Garden.

They followed up the announcement with a throwback photo of Tatum celebrating on the court with his teammate, Payton Pritchard.

Russell Westbrook had plenty to say after the Sacramento Kings suffered their 50th loss of the season -- going off on the media for more than 5 minutes over what he called disrespectful coverage of the team.

The longtime guard went OFF on reporters at the postgame press conference following the Kings' 133-123 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday ... a defeat that dropped them to a league-worst 14-50 record.

The exchange was sparked when a journalist asked Westbrook what the team could still accomplish as the season is nearing its end -- prompting Russ to fire back, asking what they thought since they have so much to say.

"What y'all think though? 'Cause y'all got a lot of answers and y'all always be talkin'," Westbrook said.

The Atlanta Hawks’ controversial “Magic City Monday” is getting support from a man who knows the club -- and the wings -- better than most: former NBA star Lou Williams.

The former Hawks guard famously got busted visiting the legendary strip club during the NBA’s COVID bubble in 2020 … and now the three-time Sixth Man of the Year is weighing in on the team’s controversial plan to celebrate the iconic ATL spot at an upcoming game.

Not everyone is thrilled about the NBA franchise linking up with the famed gentlemen’s club -- but Lou tells TMZ Sports disagreements are part of the deal.

Luke Kornet might wanna peep this -- the folks at Magic City are addressing the backlash surrounding their tribute at an upcoming Atlanta Hawks game ... saying the establishment has so much more to offer than just strippers.

Charles chopped it up with manager JuJu Barney and dancer Yaya on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... where they laid it out as clear as day about what fans can expect on March 16.

"There will be no nudity whatsoever, at all," Barney said. "There will be no signs of nudity, there will be no nudity at all. It's strictly just wings and music and people having a good time."