NBA

The "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special wasn't about to come and go without a couple shots at Bronny James ... with the Lakers rookie's name getting dropped for laughs during the show.

The 20-year-old was targeted toward the beginning of "Weekend Update" ... with Michael Che uttering a wisecrack about bringing his own form of nepotism to the staple sketch.

"Me and Colin [Jost] are actually the longest serving 'Weekend Update' anchors," Che said. "I've done 'Weekend Update' for so long, next season I'm co-hosting with my son, Bronny."

The NBA's new All-Star Game format took a ton of heat on Sunday night ... including from Warriors superstar Draymond Green, who said on live TV the event straight up "sucks."

Adam Silver's new look for this year's midseason showcase featured a mini-tournament of four teams playing in three games -- instead of the traditional one-contest exhibition -- and from the jump, there weren't many who were happily vocal about the way it was going down.

Hoop heads clowned it all on X throughout the evening ... and when Green -- a four-time All-Star who was helping broadcast this year's iteration for TNT -- was asked for his thoughts, he held nothing back.

Tristan Thompson's bouncing back from his recent on-court scuffle with the Toronto Raptors ... announcing he's looking to the future off the hardwood -- with a new role in a massive artificial intelligence endeavor.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star was named the Chief Content Officer and Lead Advisor for TracyAI -- a new project involving Virtuals Protocol, a leader in the A.I. space.

TracyAI -- announced in San Francisco during this weekend's NBA All-Star Game festivities -- will provide new real-time analysis for sports broadcasts ... enhancing the way fans of the sport get to see and understand the game.

The Mavericks fan who got tossed from a game this week for a heated exchange with Mark Cuban tells TMZ Sports he feels like his rights were violated ... and he's now considering taking legal action.

The clash with Cubes went down on Monday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas ... after Chris Taylor decided to try to start an anti-Nico Harrison chant during the Mavs vs. Kings tilt.

As Taylor -- who was upset over the way the Dallas GM traded away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month -- began riling up a crowd around him ... Cuban got up from his courtside seat and told him to stop.

Shaquille O'Neal had a bit of potty mouth while live on "NBA on TNT" on Thursday night -- but he wasn't apologizing for it ... in fact, he defended it in hilarious fashion!!

The funny scene all unfolded as the Lakers legend, Ernie Johnson, Kenny "The Jet" Smith and Charles Barkley were breaking down the first half action of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves tilt.

The guys were broadcasting from Northern California in anticipation of this weekend's All-Star festivities ... and after they did their customary "race to the board" -- which was a bit farther than usual due to the outdoor setup -- Shaq returned to his seat and let a cuss word fly.

9:10 AM PT -- TT got wind of Rajakovic's postgame comments ... and fired back with some words of his own.

"You wanna full court press with under a minute left in the game when you get cracked by 30 this will happen to you," the 2016 champ said. "Lose for draft lottery and be happy buddy boy."

"Hopefully you and most of your guys see the light at the end of [GM] Bobby [Webster] and [team president] Masai [Ujiri] long term plan. Bless up stay warm in MY CITY 😉😁."

Tristan Thompson made the most of his limited time on the court Wednesday night ... putting up four points, grabbing a rebound, dishing out an assist, and nearly fighting half the Raptors team after a last-second dunk!

The scene played out moments after the Cavaliers' 131-108 blowout win over the Raptors in Toronto. The NBA bet got some burn at the end of the game, and TT made the most of his opportunity.

With six seconds left -- the 33-year-old decided to stat pad a bit -- throwing down a dunk when the game was far out of reach. The Raptors didn't take too kindly to the jam.

All eyes were on Jimmy Butler's butt Wednesday night ... 'cause his shorts had a dark yellow stain on 'em -- leading many to believe he had crapped himself mid-game.

The unfortunate scene for the new Warriors star played out as he and Golden State were fighting to pull off a win vs. the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Eagle-eyed viewers of the tilt noticed that as Butler was making a drive to the lane with the Dubs down 109-107 late in the fourth quarter ... some unusual coloring had appeared on his white shorts.

The Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers sent shock waves through the NBA ... and the worth of his debut jersey could create even more, 'cause TMZ Sports is told the threads could fetch up to one million dollars!

David Kohler, founder of SCP auctions -- who also has arguably the most impressive personal collection of Lake Show memorabilia -- tells us the purple and gold Lakers jersey donned by Doncic is likely worth "500K to 1 million" at auction.

It's unclear if the 25-year-old NBA superstar rocked the same jersey throughout the whole contest or if he switched out at the half ... but either way, the jersey would still fetch a fortune.

A Dallas Mavericks fan was booted from the team's home matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Monday ... 'cause apparently calling for the GM to be fired for trading away Luka Doncic is a big no-no.

It all went down at the American Airlines Center, where at least two Dallas supporters made their frustrations with Nico Harrison crystal clear.

They had two bright poster boards that read "Fire Nico" on them ... but if that wasn't enough, one of the guys also took advantage of a karaoke segment on the scoreboard to really bring it home.

Some of Hollywood's brightest stars were drawn to Crypto.com Arena on Monday night to catch Luka Doncic's first-ever Lakers game ... and the new L.A. superstar didn't disappoint.

Logging his first minutes in purple and gold since the Mavericks traded him away earlier this month, Doncic played well in a 132-113 win over the Utah Jazz ... as a ton of A-listers sat just feet away.

Adele, Rich Paul, Floyd Mayweather, Will Ferrell and a gaggle of others -- including Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki -- caught the action ... and enjoyed an impressive victory in Doncic's debut.

If you want to catch Luka Dončić's Lakers debut in person Monday night, ya better have some deep pockets ... 'cause ticket prices for the big matchup are currently soaring.

Victory Live -- a company that tracks the sales of tickets across secondary markets -- said in a statement to TMZ Sports just hours before L.A.'s tip-off against the Jazz that the demand for the tilt is going through the roof.

The co. stated that prior to Doncic's acquisition, fans could get into Crypto.com Arena for an average of about $131. But, after it was announced the game would be LD's first in purple and gold, the average price has jumped to around $358.

Ex-NBA player-turned-commentator Ryan Hollins is addressing a recent in-game comment that left him with "childish embarrassment" ... apologizing to anyone who was offended by his words.

A four-second clip of the former journeyman's call during the Rockets' 94-87 win over the Raptors made rounds on social media ... which came after Toronto hooper Gradey Dick was shown laying on the court in pain.

Hollins innocently tried to explain to play-by-play guy Craig Ackerman what happened ... saying, "Somebody got Dick in the face, Craig. See if he's okay."

Luka Doncic is making his presence felt in an amazing way before even debuting for the Lakers ... by donating $500K to help his new city of Los Angeles recover after the wildfires.

The 5-time All-Star -- who was traded to the Lakers in a blockbuster deal last weekend -- revealed the generous contribution on Monday ... expressing how heartbreaking it was to witness the damage the blazes left behind since his arrival.

The fires, which occurred from January 7th to the 31st, killed 29 people ... and others remain missing. Over 57k acres were burned, including more than 18k structures that were either damaged or destroyed.

Marcus Jordan entered a not guilty plea in his DUI case on Friday, TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... Michael's son is facing three charges stemming from his run-in with police earlier this week -- DUI crash with property damage, possession of cocaine and resisting an officer without violence.

Jordan allegedly got his Lamborghini SUV stuck on train tracks early Tuesday morning after a night out in Florida ... and when cops arrived at the scene, they claim he showed signs of intoxication.

Ben Affleck scored some major dad points Thursday night ... not only did he snag himself and his kid some better seats than Kamala Harris for the Lakers game -- he also got Steph Curry to swing by for a meet-and-greet!

Ben and little Samuel Garner Affleck scored some courtside chairs for L.A.'s home tilt vs. the Golden State Warriors ... and the two seemed to have a blast as Curry and LeBron James duked it out on the floor.

The guys were seen cheering often ... with the young Affleck even animatedly celebrating a few 3-pointers in his James jersey.

Marcus Jordan is breaking his silence days after he was busted for DUI ... saying he appreciates everyone who reached out following the arrest -- but for now, he's shifting his focus elsewhere.

The son of NBA legend Michael Jordan posted to his Instagram story Thursday morning ... saying his priority is his store, The Trophy Room, and "won't be making any comments on recent media stories and my personal life."

"I sincerely appreciate your concerns & thank you for your kind understanding," he added.