TMZ Sports - Page 5

LeBron James did not suit up for the Lakers' season opener -- the first time he's missed a Game 1 in his NBA career ... and his good buddy Draymond Green couldn't help but roast his "old ass" for the absence.

The four-time NBA champ was out as L.A. hosted the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday night ... marking the first time in 23 years the NBA tipped off without the King.

While fans were sad to see James in street clothes on the bench due to his injury, Green saw it as a perfect chance to clown his rival ... joking about Father Time with reporters.

Kevin Durant took his cold reception in Oklahoma City in stride ... clapping back at a fan's jeers ahead of his debut with the Houston Rockets -- telling the spectator, "boo you, too, motherf***er!!"

K.D. -- who played eight seasons for the Thunder -- visited the reigning NBA champs in the season-opening matchup at the Paycom Center on Tuesday ... and even though it's been nine years since he left the organization for the Golden State Warriors, at least one person in attendance wanted to make it clear they haven't forgiven him just yet.

Instead of getting pissed about the boo birds, Durant sent them right back with a smile on his face ... while also including the F-bomb.

Victoria Beckham struggled through her eating disorder silently ... not even opening up to her better half, David Beckham, as she clawed her way out of the dark period in her life.

The fashion designer opened up about the trying time during her Wednesday appearance on "Call Her Daddy" ... revealing to host Alex Cooper she felt she could not "trust anyone at all" to help her.

She confirms David knew she was "very disciplined" about how she ate ... but didn't turn to him for advice. Instead, VB says she worked on her relationship with food herself and taught herself it was about balance.

His Airness has apparently been grounded for good.

Michael Jordan revealed on Tuesday night just before the start of the 2025-26 NBA season that he no longer plays basketball -- not even occasionally in a random gym or driveway.

The iconic hooper, working in his new "MJ: Insights to Excellence" role at NBC for the first time, told Mike Tirico he actually hasn't picked up a ball "in years" -- outside of one free throw attempt during last month's Ryder Cup.

Joey Fatone offered up some great advice to Bad Bunny this week ... and he did it all while on the TMZ Sports Live Stream!!

The *NSYNC band member joined Edward Lewis, Lucas Widman and the rest of the newsroom guys and gals on Monday to talk music, sports ... and the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show.

Fatone said he really liked the NFL's pick for SB LX -- explaining that while he knows the Bad Bunny selection divided some people, he's actually in favor of the Big Game rotating performers from all kinds of genres.

Here’s some fitness inspo for ya -- Jelly Roll’s showing off a brand new bod after dropping 200 pounds ... and damn, dude’s lookin’ good.

Peep these snaps of the superstar -- Jelly Roll landed in Sydney Tuesday for his "Down Under" tour ... and after going from 540 lbs to 357, the guy was basically rocking a whole new stage persona!

He kept it simple in a black hoodie and pants -- which only made that slimmer frame pop even more... cruising through the airport looking all kinds of happy and healthy.

Bryant Gumbel is currently hospitalized in NYC after some sort of "medical emergency" ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, the former "Today" cohost was transported Monday, just after 9 PM, from his Manhattan apartment building.

We're told first responders had Bryant on a gurney, as they left the building and took him to a nearby hospital where he remains as of Tuesday afternoon.

Russell Wilson took aim at Sean Payton on Tuesday ... blasting his former coach for some postgame comments he made on Sunday -- all while referencing "Bountygate."

The New York quarterback fired away at Payton on his X page ... just two days after the Denver head man told reporters he was disappointed the Broncos had to face off with Jaxson Dart -- and not Wilson while at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.

Payton seemed to indicate Russ would be a much easier assignment ... and the words clearly ticked off his former signal-caller.

Brendan Allen isn't mincing his words after pulling off a short-notice upset win against Reinier de Ridder ... telling TMZ Sports his opponent's team wasn't responsible for calling it quits, but the fighter himself!!

We chopped it up with Allen following his massive performance at UFC Vancouver over the weekend ... which ended when RDR failed to answer the bell to start the fifth round.

Allen said he watched back the moment RDR's corner threw in the towel ... and while Reinier's coaches swore it was their call, he had a different view.

No surprise here -- the New York Giants released kicker Jude McAtamney after he missed two crucial extra points on Sunday ... and Big Blue fans didn't hold back when reacting to the news.

The G-Men made the roster move on Tuesday following their 33-32 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday ... with McAtamney's errors proving costly in the result.

This, of course, was just a few weeks after NY activated the undrafted kicker from the practice squad.

It looks like Kurt Suzuki's going to be putting on a Los Angeles Angels uniform again ... because he's reportedly set to serve as the team's next manager.

Sources spoke to ESPN and claimed the athlete has been called up to lead the team, which hasn't made it to the postseason since 2014.

Kurt spent a total of 16 seasons playing catcher in the MLB, and he was part of the Washington Nationals when they won the World Series in 2019.

The athlete spent his final two years as a player with the Angels, and he was later hired as a special assistant to the team's general manager, Perry Minasian.

Although former Angels Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter were reportedly in consideration for the gig, Kurt apparently came out on top.

He'll be replacing Ron Washington, who had to sit out much of the 2025 season to deal with health issues.

Travis Kelce is channeling his inner kid with his latest business move -- the Kansas City Chiefs superstar loves roller coasters so much, he invested in Six Flags!!

Taylor Swift's fiancé revealed the news on Tuesday ... saying it was an opportunity he had to pounce on due to his family's countless trips to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio growing up.

Kelce -- who grew up in northeast Ohio -- teamed up with JANA Partners to get a piece of Six Flags ... which merged with CP's parent company, Cedar Fair, in 2024.

Pacers rookie Kam Jones apologized on Tuesday for his Monday arrest ... but his head coach sure made it sound like he's not the least bit disappointed in the 23-year-old.

Roughly 24 hours after Jones was thrown behind bars for allegedly evading a cop for four miles on an Indianapolis-area highway, he issued a mea culpa for his actions.

He told a gaggle of reporters out at practice he was "obviously deeply sorry" ... and added that it was "a traumatic experience" and one he's learned a lot from.

Shaquille O'Neal is stoked to hear about Allen Iverson's decision to quit drinking ... telling TMZ Sports he's "proud" of the NBA legend's new lifestyle.

We caught up with Shaq at the premiere of the new "Allen Iv3rson" Prime Video documentary in NYC on Monday ... and he raved about not only A.I. the player -- but the man off the court as well.

Shaq -- who was an executive producer alongside Stephen Curry -- explained why being involved in the project was so important to him ... saying Iverson deserved to have his story told from his point of view.

Bad Bunny might be the most controversial Super Bowl Halftime Show artist ever ... but Shakira doesn't quite see what all the backlash is about.

The Queen of Latin Music told Variety, "It's about time!"

Shakira said she's proud of BB ... not only for representing Latin culture, but also for how universal Spanish-language music has become.

Caitlin Clark's impact has made it to the Miss USA 2025 beauty pageant -- thanks to Miss Indiana's costume tribute to the Fever superstar!!

The fashion statement went down at the competition's preliminaries at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on Monday ... where Sydney Shrewsbury and the rest of the contestants took part in the state costume show.

While some elected for animals and weather-themed looks, Shrewsbury showcased her sporty spirit by wearing a custom crop top and shorts in Indiana Fever colors and featuring Clark's No. 22.