NBA

The NBA Dunk Contest is on relevancy life support ... but Julius Erving, the first-ever winner in the event, has a way to save it -- telling TMZ Sports it's time for the league's biggest stars to brush up on their history.

We caught up with the Hall of Famer in NYC this week ... and considering he has countless iconic slams to his name, we had to ask about the state of the All-Star Weekend staple.

It's no secret fans are starting to roll their eyes at it ... with randos competing against each other instead of franchise players. Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon and G League star Mac McClung have certainly helped the cause ... but overall, it's been a dud for quite some time.

One of Anthony Edwards' baby mamas is helping his other baby mama out in court, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Ayesha Howard -- who has a daughter named Aubri, born in 2024 -- submitted new evidence in her legal battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves star.

Ayesha obtained a declaration from Anthony's other baby mama, Alexandria Desroches -- who has a son named Amir with Anthony -- that she is using.

The NBA world is in the dark about LeBron James' future ... but if the King were to return to Cleveland for a final season, his old teammate tells TMZ Sports it would be "the coolest story."

We caught up with Cavs champ Iman Shumpert at LAX this week ... and asked if he wants to see the kid from Akron go home (again) before retiring.

Shump said James has obviously earned the right to decide for himself ... but admitted the opportunity to bring things full circle to end his career is pretty enticing to him.

James' return worked out well the first time around -- he ended up raising a championship banner and ending the city's 52-year title drought.

LaMelo Ball is facing a ton of criticism for tripping and injuring Bam Adebayo in a Play-In Tournament matchup on Tuesday ... but the Charlotte Hornets star claims the incident was the result of getting hit in the head.

The play went down early in the second quarter of the elimination game ... when Heat forward Simone Fontecchio blocked Ball's shot, and Adebayo tried to save it from going out of bounds.

Ball found himself lying out on the hardwood during the sequence ... and he reached out and grabbed Adebayo's leg, forcing him to join him on the ground.

Age ain't nothing but a number as 41-year-old LeBron James enters the playoffs ... so says his former teammate, Channing Frye, who tells TMZ Sports the only thing on the King's mind right now is winning ... not Father Time.

All eyes will be on the four-time champion as L.A. prepares for its date with the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2026 postseason ... even more so now that Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are out with injuries.

Frye -- who won a title with James on the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers -- explained the superstar's mindset ahead of a showdown with Kevin Durant and Co. ... and he said it really is as simple as scraping together some victories.

Of course, James has had enough success for 10 NBA careers ... but it doesn't mean he's cool with mailing it in at all just 'cause his team's short-handed.

Shaquille O'Neal was running a full-court press in New York City -- and it had nothing to do with basketball!

The Big Diesel ran into our TMZ Sports' photog in the Big Apple, and while she tried her absolute best to steer the convo towards the NBA Playoffs, Shaq had a totally different game plan.

Instead of breaking down the X's and O's, O'Neal showered her with compliments as he flashed that trademark grin.

Jayson Tatum, less than a year after rupturing his Achilles, returned to the location of the worst moment in his pro career ... and while his Celtics lost to the Knicks, the superstar hooper left the historic arena on his two feet -- a win in itself.

Tatum's Celtics faced the Knicks on Thursday night, losing a tightly contested game, 112-106 ... but arguably, the bigger issue was getting Jayson through the game healthy, mentally, and physically.

"Absolutely," JT responded when asked if he was relieved to get the game behind him.

It was a big moment, a big hurdle for me. I was nervous and anxious to come back here," Tatum said.

Desmond Bane had a courtside curveball thrown his way Monday night -- and it came from an unexpected source.

The Orlando Magic guard was in the middle of a routine postgame interview after Orlando’s 123-107 win over the Detroit Pistons at Kia Center … when outta nowhere, Howie Mandel popped into the shot.

Mandel -- rockin' a cap and prepared for his cameo -- leaned in and hit Bane with a quick compliment … “You got talent.”

Steph Curry has been wearing all sorts of kicks after he broke up with Under Armour -- and he's now auctioning off more than 70 pairs (some game-worn) ... including the Kobe Bryant 6 Protro he wore the day after his sneaker free agency announcement.

TMZ Sports has learned the Golden State Warriors superstar is teaming up with Sotheby's to part with shoes from across his 17-year NBA career ... and several pairs stand out.

Steph's Kobe "Mambacita" kicks he wore after he revealed he was splitting with Under Armour after 12 years are part of the batch.

DJ Diesel -- aka Shaq -- has played in the biggest games on the planet -- but even he got the jitters stepping onto the stage at Sphere.

The Big Aristotle pulled up as a guest for Friday night’s show during Illenium’s “Odyssey” finale weekend … and afterward, the 7-foot-1 Hall of Famer admitted the moment hit different.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life and it’s hard for me to get nervous,” O’Neal wrote on Instagram, “but this is one of the few times I got on stage and was actually nervous.”

Vanessa Bryant kept her Easter tradition hopping this weekend ... back at Disneyland with the kids and fully in her happy place!

Peep the egg-stra cute snaps with Natalia, Bianka, and Capri ... mama bear rocked the ears, threw on the shades, and looked totally at peace, just soaking it all in.

And it wasn’t just for the vibes -- the whole crew was out there clocking rides and making the rounds.

Luka Dončić isn’t waiting around for his hamstring to heal ... the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has already jetted to Europe for aggressive treatment -- and it’s all about beating the playoff buzzer.

Luka suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain in Thursday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder -- he grabbed at his leg mid-game, dropped to the floor in pain ... and now the clock is ticking with the postseason just two weeks away.

The Lakers have already ruled him out for the rest of the regular season … but injuries like this usually take weeks, sometimes more than a month to fully heal.

3:05 PM PDT -- Bad news, Lakers fans ... Luka Doncic will miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a left hamstring injury during Thursday's game.

His status for the playoffs remains uncertain.

His agent, Bill Duffy, said in a statement that Doncic's historic season should still be considered for the league's end-of-the-year honors like MVP ... and they will apply for the "Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge" to the 65-game eligibility rule.

"His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night’s unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances," Duffy said.

"We look forward to working with the NBAPA and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter."

Austin Reaves unloaded on a fan during the Lakers vs. Thunder game on Thursday ... telling a guy to "shut the f*** up" after making fun of Luka Doncic's injury.

The heated exchange went down at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, when Doncic was laying on the hardwood after suffering a hamstring injury in the third quarter.

As Reaves, LeBron James, and other Lakers gathered around the Slovenian superstar, a man in attendance can be heard on video shouting, "Now you know what it's like to play defense!"

That pissed Reaves all the way off.

Jaden Ivey jetted out of town after the Chicago Bulls cut him following his anti-Pride comments ... with the hooper going live to discuss the situation as he waited to take off, before a flight attendant made him turn off his phone.

The 24-year-old's destination was unknown, but he was on a commercial flight when he started streaming to some of his 219K Instagram followers ... loudly discussing religion and sin.

As Ivey spoke, the safety briefing played in the background. A flight attendant eventually approached him, asking him to wrap things up as the cell phone could interfere with the communication system.

When you gotta go, you gotta go ... and Anthony Edwards was the perfect example of that when he missed the start of the Timberwolves vs. Mavericks game -- hilariously admitting to reporters it's because he was "taking a s***."

The superstar guard made his return to the lineup on Monday after sitting out six games due to knee soreness ... but was noticeably MIA for the first few minutes.

Mike Conley took his spot for the time being until AE finally checked in ... and reporters asked after the 124-94 win what that was all about.

And anyone familiar with Edwards knows he doesn't sugarcoat anything.

The Chicago Bulls are done with Jaden Ivey after the NBA player made anti-LGBTQ comments and criticized Pride Night promotions in videos making rounds on social media.

ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news on Monday ... saying the Bulls have decided to part ways with Ivey, who they just picked up in a three-team trade with the Timberwolves and Pistons last month.

This decision comes after Ivey, 24, posted a series of lengthy videos on Instagram over the weekend ... venting about several topics, including the NBA's celebration of the LGBTQ community with Pride Night.