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Steve Nash: You had a six-year run with the Lakers and won a championship. It's the most, if not the most famous, it's one of the top famous franchises in all of sports. And you won a championship in the Lakers. You're here six years. It's a chunk of your career. LeBron James: No, no. I mean, listen, man. I came to a lot of people said, you know, when I came to the Lakers, like I was just coming to be in Hollywood and do movies and sh*t like that, you know, but like, I've always loved a huge challenge. To come to a historical franchise um that has some of the greatest basketball players that we've ever seen in the history of sports. To be a part of that one was like a super duper big thing to me. It was like super cool and like humbling at the same time. I think there's a Sports Illustrated cover, when I signed with the Lakers a Sports Illustrated cover that they had like all the Laker greats on it and then I was on there I was like holy sh*t this is this is different, so the expectations around here in Los Angeles when it comes to the Lakers is like let's win championships and I heard that and I understood that and for us to be able to to to win one you know that was something I would never forget like obviously you know to with that group with that team you know for this city. You know, I still think about like not being able to do the parade. Nash: I was going to say scale of 1 to 10, how much does that bother you? James: That bothers me 1 to 10? 20!
What's more stressful? Directing a major Hollywood production or watching the fourth as a fan? Ben Stiller: No question. Watching watching a game, watching a Knicks game of fourth quarter. I mean, first of all. But, you know, honestly, like I actually asked Jalen Brunson this once about that. like how do you guys do that when you know and he said, "For us it's different than for you because we're just doing what we do." And the same thing when you're directing a movie. Like for me it's not stressful at all first of all there aren't like you know 50 million people watching in the momento and you have to get it right in that momento. Like that's what I actually love about movies is you can do it over and over again and get it right for the good part, you know.
The hunt for Knicks tickets has created a cutthroat Hunger Games–like competition during this week’s NBA Finals. But Hollywood stars and Wall Streeters pursuing Celebrity Row seats at Madison Square Garden should be forewarned: There are some unofficial rules to scoring the ultimate in luxury, courtside seats, say sources. As the Knicks and Spurs face off at the World’s Most Famous Arena, they’ll be flanked by a few dozen camera-friendly seats that have become known for hosting A-listers like Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee, Kylie Jenner, Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan, and Fat Joe.
But in Hollywood, any execs watching the game on TV in LA were, of course, more interested in which of their bosses, colleagues and competitors were at the game instead of them, and how much the tickets might’ve cost. Many moguls sat in their own season seats. Jealous sources told us that WME and TKO exec Mark Shapiro was spotted sitting on the floor with former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in WME’s seats. Next to them were Warner Bros. Discovery seats occupied by CEO David Zaslav, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Larry David, Ari Emanuel andPatriots owner Robert Kraft, spies said.
Lou Williams: What's the difference between the Clippers and the Lakers? The Clippers is the hood. Make no mistake about it, and the Lakers is Hollywood. Make no mistake about it. We’re not confused about our identity at all. Like if you play for the Clippers, you embrace the idea of being, hey, you little brother, but you the gangster though.
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Who has time for the Met Gala when the Knicks are in the playoffs? That seemed to be the feelings of Hollywood A-lister Timothée Chalamet, who skipped the biggest night in fashion in order to watch the Knicks in a 108-105 comeback win over the Celtics in Game 1 of the second-round playoff series. Chalamet, a noted Knicks fan, posted several times to his Instagram story showing himself watching and reacting throughout the night as he suffered through the roller coaster win like every other Knicks fan did on Monday night. In a post on the social media platform, Chalamet shared an image of himself watching the game on an iPad.
Michael Cooper on Jack Nicholson: "Jack was so down to Earth because we used to go to 'On the Rocks', which is above 'The Roxy' in Hollywood, and Jack would be in there and we used to party with him, drinking and it was an intimate setting nightclub so we'd all be up in there and just to hear some of the stories… But again you watched 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', you watched him in many other movies and I couldn't believe that this guy was standing next to me, but so knowledgeable of a fan, knew the game inside and out. My one great memory of Jack is that in 1984 and obviously not being able to beat the Celtics that year, we go there and the Celtics beat us but Jack said 'You know? F-ck y'all I’ll moon them'. He pulled his pants down and mooned the fans on our way out. For us, that was our sign that 'you know what? The Celtics will never beat us again’, and then we came back in '85 and beat them. Jack was our unspoken leader."
Gilbert Arenas: You have this incredible selling point. Like, LA—its selling point is Hollywood. Whatever money you might lose in taxes or contract negotiations, you can make it back in endorsements. That’s how the Lakers and Clippers pitch it: 'Okay, you lose $20 million here, but we’ve got movies, actors, sponsorship deals—you’ll make it back in endorsements.' Miami’s got the beach, the weather, the women. You mean to tell me you can’t sell that to 19-to-30-year-olds? Are you kidding me? Instead, it feels like as soon as you get off the plane, you’re handcuffed. Like, you tricked me!
For celebs, attending Lakers games became a form of Hollywood street cred, a place to be seen, but for Nicholson, it was never about publicity. He had grown up in New Jersey playing basketball, and his love for the game remained strong, even as life took him to the West Coast. Rolling Stone magazine once identified Nicholson’s passions as art, movies, skiing, books and basketball. Writer Tim Cahill asked Nicholson for a common denominator. “There’s poetry in all those things,” the actor said in the 1981 story. “When I look at a painting, I get involved. There is a moment of truth somewhere. And basketball … when you miss a play, it’s a matter of microseconds. Little moments of truth. Skiing is like that. It’s all little moments of truth and extending the limits of control.”
A judge on Tuesday dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who accused James Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden and governor of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, of unwanted sex nearly a decade ago while also alleging that Dolan facilitated an encounter with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, whom she also claimed sexually assaulted her. The lawsuit was dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge in California, according to a three-page filing Tuesday night that was obtained by ESPN.
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The key debate, sources tell FOX Sports, would be whether associate head coach Kimani Young or assistant coach Luke Murray, the son of Hollywood legend Bill Murray, is given the job. Based on what I have heard, it looks like whoever wouldn't get elevated would join Hurley in the NBA — especially if Murray is not named head coach, he would follow Hurley to L.A. — thus giving that person a nice concession prize and the opportunity to land a head coaching job down the road.
From the court to the silver screen — a former Memphis Grizzly has pivoted his focus to Hollywood with a screenplay set in his hometown. "Break the Cycle," written by Jarnell Stokes and featuring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. in a starring role, is set to start filming in Memphis, Tennessee this March.
Clutch Points: “When I got with the Lakers, I went to one of those Hollywood parties, and everybody in there was doing this new thing. … I hit that pipe and I watched my life, my merits, my career just melt down to nothing.” Spencer Haywood sheds light from a troubled chapter of his life 🗣 pic.twitter.com/Uephr3jiTr
As a SoCal kid who grew up far from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, Paul George is clear about his goal. “A championship with the Clippers 100% will outweigh a championship being with the Lakers,” he says. He tells me bringing the first chip to “this part of LA” would be legacy-defining.