San Antonio Spurs

WNBA legend Tamika Catchings says Becky Hammon should get the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job ... and it's not so the NBA can make history, it's because Hammon DESERVES the gig.

Hammon -- a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach -- reportedly interviewed for the Bucks job, making her the first woman to ever be seriously considered for an NBA head coaching spot.

We got Catchings -- a 10-time WNBA All-Star -- out in NYC and asked if it was time the NBA hired it's first-ever female HC ... and Catchings agreed Hammon should get the hire, but gender ain't the reason.

"She's a great coach, I wish people would stop looking at female vs. male and just look at who's the best fit for the job."

When we asked if that person was Hammon, Catchings was very clear ...

If Kawhi Leonard is really unhappy on the Spurs and wants out, Clippers star Patrick Beverley says they'd LOVE him in L.A., telling TMZ Sports getting Kawhi would be like "Hitting the lottery."

We got Beverley in Beverly Hills -- it was his first ever TMZ shot (precious moments) -- and asked him about the rumors that Leonard is done in San Antonio and L.A. could be a landing spot.

"We'd hit the lottery with that, but those decisions aren't up to me!"

PB made it clear, he likes his current team if healthy, but still wasn't shy about gushing at the prospect of adding a 2-time All-Star and former NBA Finals MVP to the squad.

Gregg Popovich's wife, Erin, has died ... according to a statement released by the San Antonio Spurs.

Erin died Wednesday, but the cause of death is unknown at this time. The news comes as a shock to players and fans -- although it's being reported she'd been ill for an extended period ... Coach Popovich hadn't said anything publicly.

Erin and Gregg were married for 4 decades and have 2 kids and 2 grandchildren.

Spurs GM R.C. Buford says, "We mourn the loss of Erin ... She was a strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support and humor to all of us."

The Spurs are scheduled to take on the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their playoff series Thursday night in San Antonio. Kevin Durant was told the sad news at practice and was at a loss for words.

Erin was 67.

Look away, Spurs fans ... Gregg Popovich has done the unthinkable -- DECLARE HIS ALLEGIANCE TO THE WARRIORS!!

He's clearly just kidding around ... but it's funny!

After going down 0-2 against Golden State Monday night, Pop was spotted leaving Oracle Arena by a couple fans -- who gave him a shout-out for a solid Game 2.

That's when Coach Pop went full Benedict Arnold on his own squad ... which sent the Dubs faithful into a frenzy.

NBA star Manu Ginobili says there are lots of reasons he's still ballin' in his 40s ... but the BIG one is something he shares with Tom Brady -- the ol' ball and chain!

We got Manu out in D.C. ... and asked if his wifey, Marianela, has his back like Gisele does Brady. FYI, Gisele recently revealed she's A-OK with Tom playing football for as long as he wants ... as long as it makes him happy.

Turns out, Mrs. Ginobili doesn't just sign off on her man logging more game-time -- she's what's kept him sharp through his 16 YEARS on the Spurs.

"She's always very helpful and extended my career," Ginobili told TMZ Sports in D.C.

Sorry, Gisele -- Marianela's overtaken you in our WAGs rankings (yeah, we do that).

Spurs legend Sean Elliott is shutting down the reports on Kawhi Leonard wanting out of San Antonio -- saying Gregg Popovich and his franchise player being at odds is straight nonsense.

FYI, Kawhi's been out for months with a mysterious injury ... and there's allegedly been serious locker-room drama over whether or not Leonard should be suiting up.

But, when we got Elliott in D.C., he told us why that's all just noise.

"The organization's been great to him. He has a great relationship with Pop," Sean told TMZ Sports.

"I think he's really happy in San Antonio."

Gregg Popovich doesn't exactly like Donald Trump's White House, but he ain't down on all of D.C. ... 'cause Pop took the gang to another Washington landmark -- the Supreme Court!!

Unclear if Pop and co. were there on any official business or just to see the sights ... but they sounded pretty stoked talking to us on their way out.

Pop called the trip "great." Pau Gasol said it was "very nice." Manu Ginobili went the diplomatic route and told us their outing was "equal" to a White House trip.

FYI, Pop WRECKED Trump for leaving D.C. before March for Our Lives this past weekend -- calling it "cowardice" to avoid the protests and hang at his resort in Mar-a-Lago.

Coach is clearly in better spirits, now -- have you ever seen him smile like that?!

Karma is a bitch -- just ask Draymond Green, who got hit with a groin shot 2 years in the making last night!!

You remember the play ... in Game 3 of 2016's Western Conference Finals, Draymond's leg punted OKC Thunder big Steven Adams square in the nuts.

Dray's always maintained it was accidental ... but it looked pretty bad.

Fast forward to Warriors vs. Spurs Monday night -- when Draymond met Danny Green at the rim and took a knee right around the ball bag!

He immediately keeled over and went to the locker room ... and was later diagnosed with a pelvic contusion -- a fancy way of saying a deep, painful bruise.

Green now joins Steph, KD and Klay on the injured list ... and ya gotta think Adams (and all of OKC) is smiling right now.

2:00 PM PT -- The Cavs have announced an investigation into identifying the fan behind the comment. As for the phrase, there are discrepancies with what has been reported and whether the fan said "Jamaica called."

“Hey, Jamaican dog -- they want their bobsledder back! Jamaica just called, they want their bobsledder back!”

That was the racist heckling directed at Spurs baller Patty Mills Sunday at The Q ... while he was at the free-throw line at the end of a blowout win over the Cleveland Cavs.

Patty -- who's not Jamaican, but Aboriginal Australian -- didn't hear the taunts during the game ... but when a fan brought it to his attention aftewards, he reacted like a true pro.

"I am a proud Islander. Like my Jamaican Brothers, me & my family in the islands of the Torres Strait have experienced racial slurs for decades. Hope your efforts will enlighten this confused, hateful fan. #BlackHistoryMonth," Mills said.

FYI, this is the second instance of racist heckling in a major U.S. sports league this month. A group of Chicago Blackhawks fans chanted "basketball" at black NHL player Devante Smith-Pelly last weekend ... and were later slapped with a lifetime ban.

Spurs baller Dejounte Murray was the real winner of All-Star weekend -- ditching his NBA bros for his INSANELY HOT IG model GF ... and bae-cationing in Maui.

Yeah ... good call.

For those unacquainted, that's 21-year-old Jilly Anais -- the apple of Dejounte's eye for the past year and change.

Murray and Anais were all over each other at the Four Seasons' Wailea beach -- makin' out and ass cuppin,' splashin' around in the water ... basically doing the kinda stuff you'd expect from a man with the baddest chick on the island.

Seems like things are getting serious, too. Jilly captioned one of the pics, "Falling head over heels for you is easy" (shout-out to Chris Brown).

Lock it down, young man. Lock it down.

How great is it to be NBA player Dejounte Murray?? Let this clip of the Spurs baller and his insanely gorgeous GF hittin' up an L.A. hot spot do the talking.

The 21-year-old and Insta model Jilly Anais went on a hot date Wednesday night at Mastro's in Bev. Hills for a romantic night ... and while Dejounte's outfit stands out, all eyes were on Jilly.

The couple have been together for about a year now, and they seem to be inseparable ... posting pics together on social media all the time.

Gregg Popovich is absolutely fed up with President Trump ... calling POTUS a "pathological liar" and "soulless coward" for comments he made while talking about the deadly ambush in Niger.

Here's the deal ... Trump has been criticized for not publicly addressing the 4 U.S. soldiers who were killed in an ambush in Niger on October 4.

Today, POTUS defended himself while calling out former presidents ... claiming he is more caring with families of fallen soldiers.

Popovich -- whose never held back when it comes to Trump -- RIPPED into 45 in a conversation with The Nation about his swipe at Barack Obama and George W. Bush ... and everything else.

"This man in the Oval Office is a soulless coward who thinks that he can only become large by belittling others," Pop said.

"This has of course been a common practice of his, but to do it in this manner -- and to lie about how previous Presidents responded to the deaths of soldiers -- is as low as it gets."

Tim Duncan made it official ... he's retiring from the NBA after 19 seasons, all with the San Antonio Spurs.

40-year-old Duncan's leaving the game with a ton of hardware -- 5 NBA rings, a Rookie of the Year award and 2 MVP trophies.

The surefire future Hall of Famer will be replaced by Pau Gasol, who the Spurs signed last week.

Duncan was never the most thrilling player, but he consistently dominated enough to become the 14th highest scorer in NBA history.

One of the greatest moves of his career happened in defeat -- dragging his wasted teammate Aron Baynes out of a Hollywood nightclub. Solid effort, TD!

Nia Long might NEVER want the San Antonio Spurs to win another ring ... telling TMZ Sports she sometimes roots for her fiance's team to lose in the postseason ... so he can come home.

Nia's fiance' is former Spurs stud -- and current assistant coach -- Ime Udoka and when we got the two out on date night earlier this week we had to ask if she was secretly excited when the Spurs got knocked out of the NBA playoffs.

Check out the clip -- Nia keeps it all the way real -- maybe too real for Spurs fans -- before dialing it back a little so she's actually allowed back in south Texas.

The guy who organized the San Antonio Spurs post-Game 7 mega-bash was their very own coach -- who paid for a fancy steak dinner, drinks and a party bus to thank his players ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Our Spurs sources tell us ...Coach Gregg Popovich wanted to show his appreciation to his players after they were eliminated from the playoffs Saturday night ... so he organized a night out in Hollywood.

We're told he set up a post-game steak dinner at Mastros in Beverly Hills ... and paid for EVERYTHING (and this place sure as hell ain't cheap).

Afterward, Pop hired a party bus to chauffeur the guys to Project Club L.A. -- and encouraged the team to "take their minds off the game and let loose" ... not wallow in their sorrows.

The guys did just that ... some harder than others ... and as we previously reported, Tim Duncan had to carry at least ONE of his over-intoxicated teammates back to the bus.

Pretty cool boss.

** WARNING -- VIDEO CONTAINS TIM DUNCAN SAYING A CUSS WORD**

The San Antonio Spurs PARTIED LIKE CHAMPS hours after they were eliminated ... with Tim Duncan dragging one of his hammered teammates out of a nightclub ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw and the rest of the squad hit up Project Club L.A. in Hollywood on Saturday right after losing a Game 7 thriller to the Clippers.

You gotta check out the clip -- Aron Baynes was in especially rare form ... with Tim Duncan telling him to "Shut the f**k up" as he dragged the seemingly HAMMERED 28-year-old down the street.