Fool me once

Lakers forward Matt Barnes is rumored to be dating actress Eva Longoria, though both deny that they are romantically involved.

Longoria, who is recently divorced from San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, picked up Barnes from the airport earlier this week, according to TMZ, prompting gossip sites around the Web to whisper.

True, driving to the airport could mean nothing more than doing a friend a favor -- but when a woman agrees to suffer through LAX traffic and its cacophonous symphony of honks for a man, people are going to go "hmmmm."

Barnes announced his breakup with reality-TV star Gloria Govan in October. Could this be the birth of a new athlete-celebrity relationship? Following the Kim Kardashian-Kris Humphries divorce after 72 days of marriage, the world seems to be fiending for romance, real or imagined.

Barnes and Longoria were also spotted eating dinner together in New York a few weeks ago and partying at a nightclub in Las Vegas in October. And the two work together on Longoria's foundation, Padres Contra El Cancer.

Longoria is reportedly dating Penelope Cruz's younger brother, Eduardo, and after the rumors began flying, she posted this to her Who Say account: "First Jessica Simpson, now this. Once again, press gets it wrong, Matt Barnes and I are not dating! Why is the truth never the headline?"

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Photos Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria

Eva Jacqueline Longoria Parker (born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.

Longoria first became famous on television in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. She became a nationally recognized in the 2000s after appearing in several high-profile advertising campaigns and numerous men's magazines, reaching #14 in the FHM "Sexiest Women 2008" poll, and having appeared on the cover of various international women's magazines including Vogue, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar