Los Angeles Lakers

It's that time of the year once again -- Magic Johnson is exploring Europe with his A-list pals this week ... enlisting Samuel L. Jackson and Cedric the Entertainer for the festivities!!

The 64-year-old Hall of Famer and his wife, Cookie, have been documenting their whole trip on social media ... raving about their time in Ibiza, which has included feasting on lobster and sea bass and cruising on a luxurious yacht.

The gang made their way around the Mediterranean Sea on a smaller boat as well ... and judging by the pics, the vibes were at an all-time high.

Bronny James is opening up on his decision to rock No. 9 in the NBA ... confirming he chose it to honor late musician Juice WRLD.

LeBron's eldest son faced the media for the first time as a Los Angeles Laker on Tuesday ... and after fielding several questions about his relationship with his four-time champion pops, who was in attendance for the presser, he explained how the digit he'll sport during games was far from random.

"Juice has just been a big part of me, keeping calm in some situations that I've been through," 19-year-old Bronny said minutes ago. "So yeah, just paying homage to him especially because he passed. It's a really important thing for me."

12:23 PM PT -- BET is blaming an "audio malfunction" for Usher's muted speech and ponied up an apology via The Hollywood Reporter.

Usher got deep reliving hardships of his life and career during the 2024 BET Awards -- but the TV audience missed much of his Lifetime Achievement speech, because he made the censors work overtime!!!

Fans posted their frustration on social media and it was clear why they were upset -- BET was forced to mute big chunks of his speech, due to Usher dropping some colorful language.

Rich Paul says Bronny James would be in the NBA even if his name was John Smith ... downplaying all the critics' claims of nepotism playing a major role in LeBron James' son getting drafted to the Lakers.

Bron and Bronny's agent touched down at LAX on Friday -- just 24 hours after the rookie had his name called with the 55th pick in the draft.

Paul talked all about the highly-publicized selection for the Purple and Gold ... saying first and foremost, he's thrilled for the 19-year-old hooper -- 'cause he definitely deserved the opportunity.

Here's the first look at Bronny James in Purple and Gold -- LeBron's son will wear No. 9 for the Lakers ... as well as "Jr." on his nameplate.

L.A. just released visuals of its newest rookie on Friday ... showing the 19-year-old guard proudly donning the threads.

The digit is interesting -- Bronny rocked No. 6 with the USC Trojans last season, but that is retired leaguewide in honor of NBA legend Bill Russell.

Savannah James got emotional watching the Lakers draft her eldest son, Bronny James, on Thursday night ... needing a tissue to wipe away her tears of joy.

LeBron's wife was seen standing just behind the 19-year-old hooper when it was revealed L.A. took him with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft ... and just after she handed her boy a Lakers hat, the waterworks started flowing.

Check out the clip, Mom couldn't have been more proud!

Bronny James -- son of NBA superstar LeBron James -- is a Los Angeles Laker ... being selected with the 55th pick in the 2024 Draft.

This makes LeBron and Bronny the first-ever father-son duo in NBA history -- and they're on the same team.

The big moment went down minutes ago ... with league deputy commissioner Mark Tatum taking the dais at ESPN's Seaport District Studios in Manhattan to announce the move.

Bronny James might not have been one of the handful of prospects at the Barclays Center for the NBA Draft, but he's still living it up in the Big Apple this week ... getting spotted out in NYC prior to Wednesday's event.

Right around the same time Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Ron Holland and the rest of the rookies were getting dressed to the nines ahead of the first round ... Bronny and his brother, Bryce, hopped out of an SUV decked out in stylish streetwear.

Both of LeBron's kids rocked jeans, sneakers and white tees ... with the 19-year-old former USC guard also including a purple hoodie with his 'fit.

The Lakers job might be JJ Redick's first foray into coaching, but Chris Duhon says he's almost positive his former teammate is getting a big assist on how to navigate the new gig from none other than Mike Krzyzewski.

Duhon -- who played with Redick at Duke and then again with the Orlando Magic in the NBA -- tells TMZ Sports ... he thinks it's more than likely Redick hit up Coach K for advice on what his first moves in L.A. should be.

"I'm pretty sure he may be getting some type of guidance from Coach K," Duhon said. "Who's saying, 'Hey, make sure your staff is X, Y and Z as far as that fits your personality.'"

Justin Timberlake's arresting officer is living his best life, country star Shaboozey is making history with Jack Daniel's, and JJ Redick is sliding into a new role ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles react to exclusive footage of the Sag Harbor rookie cop who busted JT for DWI enjoying his summer on a boat ... close to where he arrested Justin.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is flat-out denying he called a woman the N-word while a member of the Duke men's basketball team ... saying the interaction simply never happened.

Halleemah Nash -- an author, speaker, and Duke alum -- dropped the bombshell allegation on social media on Tuesday ... claiming, "I've only been called the N word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team."

"And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world."

JJ Redick is a content creator no more -- the Los Angeles Lakers head coach just announced he's putting his podcasting career on hold after accepting his new gig with the Purple and Gold.

The former NBA sharp-shooter revealed the status of his "Mind The Game" podcast with LeBron James during his introductory press conference on Monday ... and it's bad news for fans of the show.

"For the time being, and hopefully it's a very, very long time, I am excommunicated from the content space," Redick said minutes ago. "There will be no podcasts. We'll do something when I have a breather from what we have coming up -- I'm gonna be drinking from a fire hose for the next month."

JJ Redick is the guy for the Los Angeles Lakers -- the ex-NBA player was reportedly just hired as the organization's next head coach.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the news on Thursday ... saying after a thorough interview process, Redick was offered the gig and has already started building his staff.

The Lakers reportedly also interviewed names like Danny Hurley, James Borrego and Sam Cassell ... and also had interest in Kenny Atkinson, Mike Budenholzer and Ty Lue.

The Boston Celtics are ridin' high after winning their league-leading 18th NBA championship, and former star Celtics hooper turned team broadcaster Cedric Maxwell is ensuring the world knows where the best franchise resides -- and it isn't L.A.!

Maxwell, a 2x NBA champ with the Celtics who was named Finals MVP in 1981 (he played in Boston from 1977-1985), joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) following Beantowns 4-1 series victory of the Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks.

And, if you thought the Celtics wouldn't point out they've now got more 'chips than their rivals on the West Coast, you're mistaken (the Lakers have 17)!

Dan Hurley went back to UConn ... so the Lakers should now turn their attention toward Sam Cassell -- so says Reggie Theus, who tells TMZ Sports the ex-NBA star would be an "excellent" choice for L.A.'s vacant head coaching job.

Theus -- a former NBA player and ex-coach of the Sacramento Kings -- said out at LAX this week that Cassell is "my guy" ... and would be his top choice to fill in for Darvin Ham now that Hurley is officially out of the picture in Los Angeles.

"I love Sam," he said. "I think he's been around -- he's earned his dues."