Category: Worldwide

The NBA season tips off in Boston on Tuesday night as the Celtics host the Knicks for ring night, followed by the the Wolves and Lakers meeting in L.A. for what will be the TNT crew’s final NBA opening night. One of people’s favorite things to do this time of year is rank players and argue about it. Typically those come in the form of lists of the top 100 or tiered breakdowns where folks layout how they see the league’s hierarchy and then fans get very mad.

Here, we wanted to take a slightly different approach and look at the top five players at each position, because the truth is, once you get past the top stars, it can be a little tricky trying to decide who is better and who has a bigger impact when they do totally different things on the court. While that can make for a fun argument, we wanted to approach our preseason rankings position by position, where it’s a bit easier to put guys head-to-head. The exercise, even when broken down like this, still isn’t easy and that’s a testament to the insane level of talent in the league.

As for how we determined who fell into what category in this world of positionless basketball and guys often playing multiple positions depending on lineups, we went off of Basketball-Reference’s lineup data for each player from last year, as well as the projected starting lineups for this season. For example, Kyrie Irving now plays shooting guard primarily in Dallas next to Luka Doncic at point guard. From there, we polled our writing staff and social team for their top 10s and averaged out the top 5 from each list.

Point Guards

1. Luka Doncic
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
3. Steph Curry
4. Jalen Brunson
5. Ja Morant

One of the two deepest position groups in the NBA along with power forward, there is a ton of point guard talent in the NBA currently. A league average starting point guard now is a guy the caliber of, say, Jamal Murray or Jrue Holiday, which is insane. At the very top, we have Luka who edged out SGA in our rankings largely off what he did last postseason to cement himself as a primetime player. They are the two favorites for the MVP award this season for good reason, and it’s certainly possible for Shai to leapfrog into that top spot by next season if he and the Thunder can reach their full potential as a contender this year. From there, Stephen Curry is the last of the old guard still hanging on at the top of the point guard ranks, but his performance last year and this summer with USA Basketball proves he’s still got a ton in the tank.

Rounding out the top 5 are Jalen Brunson and Ja Morant, as Brunson made quite the statement of his talent last year, while Morant is a guy we expect to bounce back into elite form this year in Memphis. The honorable mentions list at point guard is lengthy, with Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Damian Lillard, De’Aaron Fox, and others all having cases for consideration and the talent to leap into the conversation with their play this year.

Shooting Guards

1. Anthony Edwards
2. Devin Booker
3. Donovan Mitchell
4. Kyrie Irving
5. Derrick White

The two-guard spot is not as deep, as the way the game has grown a lot of guys that would’ve been shooting guards in a past life are now scoring point guards. That said, there’s still plenty of high-end talent at the two spot, and the top four spots in our rankings were a near-consensus among our staff, with Anthony Edwards leading the way after his sensational season in Minnesota. Devin Booker spent a year playing point guard for the Suns last year, but with Tyus Jones on board and in the starting lineup, he moves back to shooting guard (primarily) for 2024-25 — and, to be honest, we needed more two guards to pick from and fewer point guards.

Donovan Mitchell once again reminded everyone of his ability to be a monster scorer in the playoffs with Cleveland, and his decision to re-sign is a big reason for optimism with the Cavs. Kyrie Irving has always been at his most dangerous playing off an elite point forward type, winning a title with LeBron and now making a Finals run with Luka. In Dallas, Luka is the actual nominal point guard in lineups, and Kyrie has shifted to the two with ease. The fifth spot was a bit more contentious, but Derrick White got the nod for his incredible two-way play in the Celtics run to a championship. Honorable mentions go to Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Alex Caruso, Zach LaVine, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Jalen Green.

Small Forwards

1. Jaylen Brown
2. Jimmy Butler
3. Kawhi Leonard
4. Jalen Williams
5. Mikal Bridges

Defining a small forward in the NBA right now can be a bit tricky, as a lot of guys that used to be 3s are now 4s in the modern era, but no matter how you slice it, no one is able to challenge Jaylen Brown’s claim as the best in the league. Brown is coming off of an absolutely remarkable postseason, one where he answered every single question about his game as he led the Celtics to an championship and got named the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Frankly, there is a bit of a drop off after him, but in our eyes, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard continue to be among the best of the best … if, of course, they can stay on the floor. When they can, both of them are capable of leading a team to incredible heights, particularly when the postseason rolls around. It’s just a shame that you can’t fully trust either guy, because their highs are worth the price of admission.

Rounding out our top-5 are one of the most promising young wings in the league and one of the best 3-and-D players in the NBA. The former is Jalen Williams, who took a gigantic step forward last year and legitimately looks like someone who can be an All-Star in Oklahoma City if he continues to get better. The latter is Mikal Bridges, one of the players the Knicks gave up a ton to acquire this offseason with the hopes that he can get them closer to a championship. Because of his star upside, we gave Williams the nod over Bridges, but both of them are wonderful players who should play crucial roles on two of the best teams in the NBA. Honorable mention goes to Franz Wagner, Khris Middleton, Desmond Bane, Herbert Jones, Bradley Beal, Brandon Miller, and Michael Porter Jr.

Power Forwards

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
T2. LeBron James
T2. Kevin Durant
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Paul George

Even with the depth at point guard, the power forward position is the most talented in the NBA right now. They are not what power forwards once were, but the versatility, athleticism, and skill of this group is just unfathomable. This was the position with the most variance in our rankings, as it’s very much a matter of personal preference as to who you roll with. At the top, we have Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was a bit out of sight, out of mind at the end of last season as he missed the playoffs with injury, but he’s still one of the most dominant singular forces in the NBA.

From there we had a tie for second in voting between the two members of the old guard, as LeBron James and Kevin Durant still command respect 15+ seasons into their careers. I’m sure Celtics fans will not be happy to see Tatum at 4 on this list after a run to the title, but he did earn a second place vote and is just a casualty of the talent at this position. Those four were at the top in some order on every ballot, but the fifth spot was all over the place, with Paul George earning the nod on aggregate. Honorable mention goes to (deep breath) Pascal Siakam, Paolo Banchero, Karl-Anthony Towns (who, maybe is just a center in NY but also might be the 4 when Mitch gets back), Jaren Jackson Jr., Draymond Green, DeMar DeRozan, Lauri Markkanen, and others as there’s just an embarrassment of riches at the 4-spot in the NBA right now.

Centers

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Joel Embiid
3. Anthony Davis
4. Bam Adebayo
5. Victor Wembanyama

You can argue that no position in the NBA is more fun right now than center, as it features arguably the two-best players in the league. In our eyes, Nikola Jokic edges out Joel Embiid for the No. 1 spot, largely due to availability — Jokic is almost always available and consistently puts up video game numbers. But when Embiid is healthy, his ability to dominate on both ends of the floor is unparalleled, and he’s the reason why the Sixers are so all-in on trying to win a championship right now. Whenever we’re fortunate to watch the two of them play, it just feels like you’re watching something special.

The rest of the top-5 really does hammer home how good of a place the position’s in right now. Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are a pair of Olympic gold medalists and are critical to the success of two teams that want to win a championship — for how good LeBron James and Jimmy Butler are, Davis and Adebayo are the players who will determine the ceilings of the Lakers and the Heat, respectively. And in fifth, we have the guy who is going to be the best player in the world sooner rather than later, as we’ve never seen anyone like Victor Wembanyama. He’s only 20, keeps getting better (rapidly), wants to be an all-time great, and is already the best defensive player on the planet. Even though he has to get better on the offensive end of the floor, Spurs should thank the good lord every day that the ping pong balls bounced their way in 2023. Honorable mentions are Rudy Gobert, Kristaps Porzingis, Domantas Sabonis, Jarrett Allen, Myles Turner, and Alperen Sengun.

In September, Metro Boomin — who was recently involved in arguably the biggest pop-cultural event of the year — bemoaned “stan culture” making everything “weird” in music. “The internet just makes it a little too wild now,” he said during a Forbes panel addressing his role in the Drake/Kendrick Lamar battle.

Social media stans have certainly done that in the ongoing cold war between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. While the two rappers have more or less ceased open hostilities, their fans keep overstepping boundaries in their efforts to harass and annoy one or the other. Most recently, it seems, Barbz “pranked” Cardi B with a call to Child Protective Services, and she’s steaming mad about it.

During an Instagram Live stream fans recorded and shared on Twitter, Cardi vented her disgust over the prank, which prompted a visit from CPS, who told her an anonymous caller claimed her three children were being abused. “Are you f*cking dumb?” she asked. “This is when the pranks start getting too far… You assholes think the sh*t is funny, and it’s not funny.”

She went on to explain that as the only person of color in her neighborhood, this comprises a greater risk than just irritating a rival pop star — as we’ve seen repeatedly over the years, police aren’t exactly best known for “asking questions first, shooting later.” Cardi threatened legal action against all parties involved, including hiring a private investigator to determine who made the call. As she denied ever hitting her kids, she issued one final warning in the clip shared to Twitter: “Don’t ever in your life play with my kids,” she said.

The 2024-25 NBA season will tip off on Tuesday night. To ring in the new season, TNT will broadcast a pair of games: An Eastern Conference showdown where the Boston Celtics will celebrate their championship against the New York Knicks, and a battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

TNT decided to celebrate the start of the year by asking the Inside the NBA guys to rank the top-50 players in the NBA. You can check out the full rankings for each dude if you’d like — here’s Chuck, here’s Shaq, here’s Kenny — while the fellas had their top-20 ballots laid out right here.

You can read their full, aggregate ranking below:

50. Derrick White

49. Evan Mobley

48. Alperen Şengün

47. Chet Holmgren

46. Tyler Herro

45. Brandon Ingram

44. Aaron Gordon

43. Bradley Beal

42. LaMelo Ball

41. DeMar DeRozan

40. Kristaps Porziņģis

39. James Harden

38. Lauri Markkanen

37. Jaren Jackson Jr.

36. Zion Williamson

35. Trae Young

34. Scottie Barnes

33. Pascal Siakam

32. Jamal Murray

31. Julius Randle

30. Kawhi Leonard

29. Tyrese Maxey

28. Jrue Holiday

27. Karl-Anthony Towns

26. Domantas Sabonis

25. Tyrese Haliburton

24. De’Aaron Fox

23. Donovan Mitchell

22. Damian Lillard

21. Jimmy Butler
20. Paul George
19. Victor Wembanyama
18. Kyrie Irving
17. Paolo Bancero
16. Ja Morant
15. Bam Adebayo
14. Jalen Brunson
13. Devin Booker
12. Anthony Davis
11. Anthony Edwards
10. Jayson Tatum
9. Jaylen Brown
8. Kevin Durant
7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
6. Steph Curry
5. LeBron James
4. Joel Embiid
3. Luka Doncic
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
1. Nikola Jokic

Georgia’s Supreme Court has reversed the criminal contempt of court ruling against Brian Steel, Young Thug’s defense attorney. According to Billboard, after reviewing the June ruling by Judge Ural Glanville, the Supreme Court ruled that Glanville should have recused himself and let another judge determine whether Steel was actually in contempt.

Glanville ordered Steel to 20 days in jail after the attorney refused to disclose how he found out about a secret meeting between the judge and prosecutors. The move sparked an immediate appeal and an outcry from lawyers across the internet once the news broke. Widespread calls for Glanville’s removal from the case were eventually granted, and the case has since proceeded with a new judge, who was none too impressed with the state’s handling of evidence and testimony.

Steel had protested Glanville’s “ex parte” meeting with prosecutors and witness Kenneth Copeland, asking for transcripts of the meeting during the June session. The judge instead demanded to know how Steel came by the information, and after Steel refused, Glanville sentenced him to 20 days in jail to be served on 10 consecutive weekends. Steel accepted the terms asking to be held with his client Thug so they could work on the case. Steele’s appeal put a stay on the sentence, and now that the Supreme Court has reversed Glanville’s ruling, he’s officially off the hook.

The trial has become the longest in Georgia state history. Young Thug is charged with racketeering, with prosecutors accusing him of being the head of a criminal organization disguised as a record label.

The 2025 Oscars aren’t until, well, 2025, but one Best Picture contender was just released into theaters and A24 has unveiled the trailer for another.

Directed by Brady Corbet, The Brutalist is set in post-war Europe and follows architect László Toth (played by Adrien Brody), who “arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes,” according to the official plot synopsis. “On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost…” The cast also includes Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, and Joe Alwyn.

The Brutalist, which is over three hours long yet was made for under $10 million, has a 97 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won the Silver Lion (basically, Best Director) at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. It’s also recieving plaudits for having the year’s best movie trailer.

“I’m being deadly serious when I say we need to find a way to award trailer editors because I had almost no interest in seeing this film before and now it’s maybe my most anticipated movie of the year,” one X user wrote, while another added, “This trailer makes me want to desperately chase down a third watch. It’s a film that’s destined to become richer with age, but even the first watch floors you. A true American epic.”

Here’s a few more:

“nothing i love in this life more than a good trailer” (via)

“At the risk of sounding dramatic, I’d forgotten that trailers could be like this” (via)

“I’m probably going to force myself to watch The Brutalist trailer a million more times just to hear Daniel Blumberg’s masterful score again” (via)

“Now this is how all trailers should be. Builds up hype while giving nothing away. I cannot wait for this film” (via)

“Yea this feels special. What a trailer” (via)

The Brutalist comes out on December 20. You can watch the trailer above.

Alexander Skarsgård never rests for long. Although I do not believe that my hope of him resurfacing on Mr. & Mrs. Smith‘s second season will come true, at least we got to see him in retired assassin mode. On a more definite note, he will star in Apple TV+’s Murderbot, and then there’s his upcoming kinky biker movie, which has recently been acquired by A24.

With an intro like that, let’s not waste any more time and move on to what we can expect from Pillion.

Plot

If you are thinking of “sexy” and “bikers” in the same sentence right now, you might be having half-serious thoughts about Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders (inspired by a true story), which did present a figurative love triangle, in which the relationship between Austin Butlers’ Benny and Jodie Comer’s Kathy experienced friction due to the charismatic lure of Tom Hardy’s Johnny. Now romance between bikers will get literal with Pillion.

In what Cornerstone Films calls “a fun and filthy romance with heart,” Pillion stars Skarsgård (The Stand, Succession, The Northman) as Ray, “the impossibly handsome leader of a motorbike club,” according to the film’s synopsis. He will take a special interest in “a weedy wallflower letting life pass him by,” Colin (Harry Melling of The Pale Blue Eye, The Queen’s Gambit, and several Harry Potter movies), as more than a club prospect. Ray then takes Colin “on as his submissive.” More from the synopsis:

Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way. But as Colin steps deeper into Ray’s world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?

Well, Skarsgård already has dabbled on the other end of the leash (here he is modeling such an an accessory while promoting Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool), so perhaps we should have seen this role coming.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Harry Lighton wrote the script and will make his directorial debut for Cornerstone Films, and founders Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder have called the script “equally compelling and shocking as it is funny and entertaining — and one of the best we’ve read in years.” Consider the Skarsgård and Melling fanbases to be seated.

Release Date

Filming took place in Summer 2024, so it’s not a stretch to believe that we’ll see this in early-to-mid 2025.

Cast

Skarsgård and Milling are the only confirmed cast members at this time, although surely, loads more biker roles will be revealed before go-time.

Trailer

No teaser or trailer exists yet, but here’s a look at leashed (and switching) Skarsgård while promoting Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool.

Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah were among the artists honored by President Joe Biden with National Medals of Arts on Monday (October 21). The award is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. Past recipients have included writer Ralph Ellison, painter Georgia O’Keeffe, singer Ella Fitzgerald, actor James Earl Jones, and actor/activist Harry Belafonte.

Missy and Latifah were both honored for their contributions to music — Missy in 2022 and Latifah in 2023 — and actually given their medals by Biden at Monday’s ceremony, alongside fellow recipients Ken Burns, Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Idina Menzel, and Eva Longoria. The two rappers were the first rappers to receive National Medals of Arts since the honor was established in 1984. Incidentally, both were the first recipients of other prestigious honors; in 2023, Latifah was the first female rapper to become a Kennedy Center honoree, while Elliott became the first female rapper inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

On Twitter (not “X,” which is a horrible name), Missy wrote: “I am HUMBLY GRATEFUL! Crying Tears of JOY! Thinking of the days I wasn’t so strong but through FAITH & PRAYER I kept going..I’m SO THANKFUL @POTUS & CONGRATULATIONS to the other amazing ppl who was blessed with this honor. And a BIG CONGRATS to my sis @IAMQUEENLATIFAH who deserve all the bouquets she also was honored today! Thank you for kicking down doors QUEEN for me & those after you.”

Unfortunately, there’s no report on whether Biden put his thang down, flipped it, and reversed it, but one can only hope.

We’re in the middle of the biggest Radiohead drought in the iconic band’s history: Their most recent album, A Moon Shaped Pool, came out in 2016, over eight years ago at this point. Inversely, The Smile, a new project featuring Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, has been particularly active: The trio, which also includes Tom Skinner, just released Cutouts, their second album of the year and third since 2022.

This situation might leave fans wondering what Radiohead’s deal is. Well, Yorke doesn’t especially feel like he owes anybody any explanations, he indicated in a new interview with Australia’s ABC News.

As far as prioritizing The Smile over Radiohead these days, Yorke said, “No offense to anyone and err, thanks for caring. But I think we’ve earned the right to do what makes sense to us without having to explain ourselves or be answerable to anyone else’s historical idea of what we should be doing.”

He went on to add, “I don’t think we feel the need to live up to anything. That feels like a non-problem. We are in this privileged position where we are still able to make music because of Radiohead, so no complaints.”

Check out the full interview here.

With the Boston Celtics raising banner 18 in the TD Garden on Tuesday night as they host the Knicks, the 82-game marathon that is the NBA regular season will officially get underway. That means a return to the floor from the best men’s basketball players on earth, and their presence on the hardwood always brings out stars from the world of entertainment, music, and other sports to watch them do what they do best. There are some teams like the Lakers and Knicks that have dozens of celebrities seated courtside on most game nights, while smaller markets tend to have fewer stars with their feet on the floor, but there’s a star out there that represents for each of the 30 teams in the league.

Here we wanted to take a look at the biggest celebrity fan of every team, with a few ground rules in place. For one, we tried our best not to include a celebrity that’s part of the current ownership group. We also aren’t including former players as celebrities — for instance, Shaq does not count — and aren’t going with active athletes who have just adopted a team in the city they currently play for. Finally, for the teams with a lot of celebrity fans, we lean on the frequency you see them at games and how long they’ve been a regular at the arena break ties.

Atlanta Hawks: 2 Chainz

There are a ton hip-hop artists that you could argue in this spot, but the tiebreaker in this space goes to the celebrity you will most often see courtside repping their team. In Atlanta, that means Mr. Tity Two Necklace, who has been a staple courtside with his kids at State Farm Arena for years. He is involved as an owner with the G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, but not with the big club, so he earns this spot.

Boston Celtics: Ben Affleck

Take your pick of Affleck, Matt Damon, or Mark Wahlberg. The tiebreaker here is tough because none of them are in Boston at games all that often, but Affleck is almost always courtside for a Lakers-Celtics game in L.A. so we’ll give him the nod here. Also his deep affection for Kendrick Perkins is something that only a true, diehard Celtics fan could have.

Brooklyn Nets: Jay-Z

Jay-Z is no longer the owner of the Nets so he qualifies here, and while he’s not a nightly presence at Barclays Center, he still pops up and is, without question, the most famous person associated with the franchise. I will say, the funniest answer I found in my research was that if you do a Getty Images search for “celebrities attend Brooklyn Nets” you will get pictures of Ben Simmons seated on the Nets bench in street clothes listed as a celebrity.

Charlotte Hornets: J Cole

I don’t think there’s any real competition here, but the North Carolina native proudly reps his Hornets. The best part of being a Hornets fan is not the joy they give you on the basketball court, but the joy wearing a retro Hornets Starter jacket provides and J Cole takes advantage of that.

Chicago Bulls: Barack Obama

The more common courtside fan is, well, Common, but he just cannot touch the level of fame of the former President of the United States. Obama loves his hoops and specifically his Bulls, and I’d love to get his honest thoughts on Jerry Reinsdorf one day.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Drew Carey

With respect to Machine Gun Kelly, it’s gotta be Drew Carey. I don’t think any famous person has ever ridden harder for the city of Cleveland than Drew, and the Price is Right host loves him some Cavs basketball.

Dallas Mavericks: Patrick Mahomes

It helps him that Kansas City doesn’t have an NBA team so he can stay true to his Mavs roots, but Mahomes is one of a few active athletes who has stayed a true diehard of a team from outside the city he plays in and regularly pops up at games. He’s a pretty frequent courtside patron of Mavs games, taking advantage of the fact that the NFL season ends right when the NBA’s stretch run gets going. He’s not the first quarterback to be a regular presence at Mavs games. Remember when Tony Romo suited up for the Mavs one time and got a full intro with the team and everything? That was wild, and now that Mark Cuban’s not running the show, I doubt Mahomes will ever get that kind of opportunity.

Denver Nuggets: Peyton Manning

Denver doesn’t have a ton of celebs, but the former Broncos QB has adopted Denver as his home and pops up courtside to watch Nikola Jokic and company fairly regularly.

Detroit Pistons: Eminem

Like Atlanta, there are a handful of Detroit artists that you’ll find at Pistons games, but while Eminem isn’t a frequent patron of Little Caesars Arena, he is by far the most famous of the celebs that support the Pistons.

Golden State Warriors: Guy Fieri and E-40

I’m making it a tie between Guy and 40 because this feels like a #TwoAmericas situation. At this point I think on the whole Fieri is more famous, but E-40 is an absolute legend and a constant presence at Warriors games so we’ll pick them both.

Houston Rockets: Travis Scott

Travis Scott rides with his hometown team and has been a regular at the Toyota Center even through some lean post-James Harden years. That’s not always the case with celebrity fans, but Cactus Jack is not a fair weather supporter.

Indiana Pacers: David Letterman

It’s either Letterman or Jesse Eisenberg in this spot, and I feel like the former Late Night host is more popular and loves to represent for Indianapolis. Also, he also once asked Kevin Durant why people call him KD in a press conference while he was on the Nets, which has little to do with the Pacers but I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention it here.

Los Angeles Clippers: Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal is in the Basketball Hall of Fame now for his Clippers fandom, which makes it pretty easy to choose him for this spot, but honestly that is an honor that should be bestowed upon anyone that had Clippers season tickets in the 90s and early 2000s.

Los Angeles Lakers: Jack Nicholson

There are few places on earth where you can find more famous people in one room than at a Lakers game on any given night. And yet, out of all of celebrities you’ll find courtside at a Lakers game, the only answer here is Jack, who also joined Crystal and Spike Lee going into the Hall of Fame this year as superfans.

Memphis Grizzlies: GloRilla

Justin Timberlake isn’t eligible given he’s part of the ownership group, and there are a lot of Memphis artists that could stake claim to this spot. For this season, we’ll go with the biggest rising star from the Memphis rap scene, GloRilla, provided her allegiance hasn’t flipped to Damian Lillard’s Bucks.

Miami Heat: DJ Khaled

The Heat have a number of famous folks roll through their games, but no one is a more regular fixture courtside at the Kaseya Center than DJ Khaled (and sometimes his shoe pillow).

Milwaukee Bucks: Sheryl Crow

There are not a lot of options for Milwaukee — which, hey, if you’re a celebrity looking to become the most famous fan of a team, that’s a pretty good bandwagon to jump on — but we’ll go with Sheryl Crow who was a regular during the Bucks title run in 2021. Gucci Mane was also on the bandwagon for the Bucks then, which was perhaps just something he did to spite Drake.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Jimmy Jam

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer might not be a household name to a younger generation, but the legendary songwriter and former collaborator with Prince and Morris Day has been a regular at Bucks game since the franchise arrived in Minneapolis.

New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Mackie

There are some New Orleans artists like Juvenile and Curren$y that certainly could stake a claim here, but Anthony Mackie has a bit of a broader audience by way of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The New Orleans native has been riding with the Pelicans for years, and the new lead of the Captain America franchise rocks very heavy with New Orleans sports.

New York Knicks: Spike Lee

Spike is the best known celebrity fan in the NBA, period, and there is no other answer in New York. Even with some other very famous diehards (shouts to Ben Stiller, who only tweets about charity work, his movies, and the Knicks), it’s Spike by a mile. No one else becomes a central figure, for better or worse, more often than Spike when courtside.

Orlando Magic: Tiger Woods

Tiger doesn’t frequent the Kia Center much anymore, but he used to be a staple at Orlando games and he is, without question, the most famous person to ever regularly support the Magic. Maybe with their resurgence behind Paolo Banchero, the Big Cat will return courtside more often.

Philadelphia 76ers: Kevin Hart

The Sixers are sneakily a really tough choice. We go with Hart because no one is more vocal (shocker) about their Sixers fandom than the comedian, but he’s got stiff competition from Meek Mill and M. Night Shyamalan, the latter of whom goes to more Sixers games than just about anyone. Also, because he is a minority owner of the team (and also rarely at games), Will Smith is not eligible here.

Phoenix Suns: Alice Cooper

We’ll give Cooper the nod over Phil Mickelson and David Spade here. He doesn’t go to games quite as much anymore, but the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is a long-time Suns fan and has performed at some Suns games in the past.

Portland Trail Blazers: Ty Burrell

The options here are Ty Burrell (most famously Phil from Modern Family), Danger Ehren from Jackass, or comedian Ian Karmel. I think Modern Family has the largest reach, so we’ll go with Burrell, but shouts to Danger Ehren, who was putting up Wilt numbers in Jackass Forever.

Sacramento Kings: Hasan Minhaj

He might have lost his chance at the full-time Daily Show gig, but he is the most famous Sacramento Kings fan, so that’s gotta be worth something.

San Antonio Spurs: Selena Gomez

The Spurs still get use out of a GIF from years ago of Selena Gomez proudly showing off her Spurs jersey courtside, so even though she hasn’t been to a game in awhile (that there’s photos of on Getty, at least), she still is the biggest celebrity to rep the Spurs.

Toronto Raptors: Drake

There’s not really any competition in Toronto, where it’s very clearly Drake. He is constantly seated courtside, hops on the broadcast just to chop it up with the announce team sometimes, serves as a team ambassador, and pretty regularly collaborates with the Raptors for merch with his OVO line.

Utah Jazz: Gabrielle Union?

I gotta be honest, it’s very hard to find a celebrity Jazz fan that is not part of the ownership group in some way, so I’m going to finally cheat here and say Gabrielle Union-Wade who was at Jazz Summer League games (!) with her husband, Dwyane Wade who has a minority stake in the team.

Washington Wizards: Wolf Blitzer

Wale also has a claim here, but Wolf Blitzer is always at Wizards games and for some reason it makes me very happy that Wolf is just a diehard Wizards fan.

Sometimes, we get Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit. Sometimes, it’s just Jason Isbell. At the start of 2025, it’ll be the latter on Isbell’s just-announced solo tour, An Intimate Evening With Jason Isbell.

The shows kick off in February 2025 and run through the end of March. The trek includes two-night stands in New York and Washington DC, along with four consecutive shows at Nashville’s The Pinnacle.

Tickets go on sale on October 25; Find more information on Isbell’s website.

In an interview last year, Isbell told Uproxx that his latest album, 2023’s Weathervanes, was easier to write than 2020’s Reunions saying, “This one was a lot easier. And I think the main reason for that was that I just admitted to what was bothering me. It took a long time because I’m still learning this stuff. And I am still a man from Alabama at my core, so sometimes it can be a big challenge for me to actually be honest with myself and say, ‘OK, you’re scared.’ But once I did that, things got a lot better, and it became much more enjoyable for me to write and record songs again.”

Find the list of Isbell’s solo tour dates below.

Jason Isbell’s 2025 Tour Dates: An Intimate Evening With Jason Isbell

02/15/2025 — Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
02/16/2025 — Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
02/17/2025 — Portsmouth, NH @ The Music Hall
02/18/2025 — Providence, RI @ Providence Performing Arts Center
02/21/2025 — New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
02/22/2025 — New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
02/28/2025 — Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
03/01/2025 — Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
03/14/2025 — Los Angeles, CA @ Walt Disney Hall
03/15/2025 — Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre
03/20/2025 — Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle
03/21/2025 — Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle
03/22/2025 — Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle
03/28/2025 — Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle
03/29/2025 — Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theater