NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder are opting to pass on the White House tradition after winning the 2025 NBA Finals ... with the team saying at the end of the day, their schedule didn't allow it.

OKC shared the news with The Athletic, citing "timing issues" as the reason why the champs wouldn't be able to swing by 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to visit President Donald Trump when they are in town this weekend for a showdown with the Wizards.

"We have been in touch with the White House and we are appreciative and grateful for the communication we have had, but the timing just didn’t work out, the team told the outlet.

Steph Curry didn’t drop 30 … he watched the original No. 30 go up.

The NBA superstar had the night off Thursday -- but instead of resting up, he pulled up courtside in Charlotte to watch his dad, Dell Curry, get his jersey retired by the Hornets.

And yeah … full-circle doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Steph -- who has become a global icon in the same No. 30 -- sat front row as the man who wore it first in Charlotte saw his number rise into the rafters at Spectrum Center.

Dell, clearly overwhelmed in the moment, fought back tears as he addressed the crowd.

Draymond Green's wish isn't getting granted anytime soon -- relocating the Memphis Grizzlies to Nashville isn't on the Music City mayor's to-do list.

The Golden State Warriors star has been vocal about how he doesn't like playing in Memphis ... and recently, he went as far as to say he'd love it if the NBA relocated the Grizzlies 200 miles east.

"Do everybody a favor and move that team to Nashville," Green said on his podcast this week.

"There's no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shout out to the people of Memphis. I love them, but just from an NBA standpoint, man -- there's not a sauna or a hot tub in sight."

Shaquille O'Neal is mourning the death of 12-year-old Jada West, who passed away after a fight with a classmate earlier this month ... and the NBA legend is looking to help the grieving family by offering to cover her funeral expenses, saying, "No parent should ever have to bury their child."

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office revealed the gesture this week ... after West, a sixth-grader at Mason Creek Middle School in Winston, Georgia, passed away following an apparent off-campus bullying incident with another student on March 5.

The DCSO said O'Neal, who serves as Chief of Community Relations for the Henry County Sheriff's Office, was heartbroken by the news and wanted to help the West family by covering the funeral costs so they wouldn't have to bear the burden.

Steph Curry's stroll to the tunnel at the Warriors vs. Celtics game got derailed ... when an overzealous fan crossed the line and yanked at the NBA superstar's arm -- a wild moment that was caught on video.

The shocking interaction went down at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts ... when the Warriors -- who played without Curry due to a knee injury -- faced the Celtics on Wednesday evening.

In the clip, Curry is making his way toward the locker rooms as fans gather with their phones and hands out, hoping for a quick interaction with the four-time NBA champion ... but the first one to reach him ruined it for everyone.

You can see the fan's hand grab Curry's left arm, yanking him back ... and from his stunned expression, Steph was completely caught off guard, even seeming to mouth the word "Whoa" before he kept it moving.

Patrick Beverley is speaking out on his status with Barstool Sports ... saying he was stunned to find out the podcast he helped build moved on without him after he sorted out his November arrest -- but he insists there's no bad blood.

The NBA guard dropped the first episode of his new "Pat Bev Show" on his own YouTube channel Wednesday ... and he kicked things off by addressing the elephant in the room -- why he's not on the "Hoopin' N Hollerin'" podcast, which was previously named after him and cohost Adam Ferrone.

Beverley -- who was forced off the show as he dealt with his legal issues -- said he was ready to get back to work after a grand jury declined to indict him in his assault case ... but as he started to make calls, he was given the runaround.

Dwight Howard’s ex-girlfriend Tiffany Render rushed to court days after the former NBA star's estranged wife made shocking allegations against him ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Tiffany asked a Georgia judge to grant her temporary custody of their minor daughter, Layla. Us Weekly was the first to report the news.

Dwight was awarded primary custody of 15-year-old Layla in 2024 after a bitter back-and-forth in court.

Dwight Howard and his wife Amber Howard’s messy home life is now on public display ... with new police body cam footage showing the two trading jabs during a tense encounter at their Georgia mansion.

The new footage -- obtained by TMZ -- was recorded March 6 and shows Amber waiting outside the front gate of the Howards' estate, complaining that Dwight locked her out after getting upset ... something she says he does frequently.

Amber tells officers it's actually the fourth time cops have been called to the house in the past year. BTW, this footage is connected to 911 call audio we obtained last week ... in which Amber told dispatch he kicked her out of their home.

Amber says CPS took Dwight's daughter -- from a previous relationship -- away from him the night before, adding Dwight was angry with her for not defending him during that situation. FWIW ... Dwight’s rep tells us CPS never took the child and didn’t even visit the home.

TMZ Sports has learned that Dillon Brooks had a run-in with law enforcement not long before his DUI arrest earlier this month -- the Phoenix Suns player was cited for reckless driving and exceeding the speed limit.

According to an incident report, an officer claims he spotted Brooks traveling 85 miles per hour in a 45 zone shortly after midnight on January 12 ... hours after the Suns beat the Washington Wizards. In his report, the officer wrote that he grew "concerned about the extreme risk of a catastrophic collision or the vehicle striking a pedestrian."

"Several businesses in the area were open and operating," the report stated. "A collision at such speeds could have resulted in multiple fatalities or serious physical injuries."

The NBA said no to Magic City Night ... and Atlanta said "bet."

The Hawks' controversial night of celebrating the iconic strip club was supposed to go down on Monday ... but nobody inside State Farm Arena got the memo, 'cause the matchup with the Orlando Magic was still pretty enchanting.

Fans flooded the arena in club-themed gear -- both official and bootleg -- and even Hawks owner Jami Gertz was spotted rocking a Magic City sweatshirt courtside like she didn’t care NBA commish Adam Silver pulled the plug.

The Hawks' Magic City Night was canceled, but the clothes were still coming off in the NBA on Monday ... when a Pelicans fan lost his shorts during a dance competition.

The moment went down during a break in the second quarter of the New Orleans' home matchup with the Dallas Mavericks ... when four spectators were picked to take part in a "freeze dance eliminator" challenge on the video board.

The rules were simple -- do an Irish dance and stop in your tracks when the music stops. If you don't, you're out.

Bam Adebayo is fed up with the 83-point game critics ... saying if Kobe Bryant was in his shoes on Tuesday, the late NBA legend would have done the same thing.

The Miami Heat star defended his career night after beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday ... spending most of his media availability weighing in on passing the Lakers Hall of Famer's 81-point outing for the No. 2 spot on the single-game scoring list earlier in the week.

Bam believes if the roles were reversed, there's no way in hell the Black Mamba would have pulled himself with 70 points and nine minutes left in a game.

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.