Chicago Bulls

The "Crying Jordan" meme will never die ... at least it won't for this dedicated Michael Jordan fan, who got an insanely realistic thigh tattoo of the viral pic!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the artist behind the work, Steve Butcher -- who's known for his unreal sports-themed tattoos --- who says the whole thing took about 10 hours to complete.

Butcher says the person is a MASSIVE Chicago Bulls fan ... and the dude is planning on getting the whole leg inked with Bulls tats.

You've probably seen Butcher's work before ... he worked on a dope Tupac piece for Matt Barnes back in June.

We're told the fan was totally thrilled with the finished product ... and we're assuming it had him crying tears of joy.

What's the only thing hotter than the stogie Michael Jordan lit up on his vacay in Italy this week?? HIS KICKS!!

His Airness was out in Positano on Monday -- coolin' it on boats and hangin' with his entourage -- rockin' a fresh pair of all white Js.

Our sneaker experts tell us they're some kind of Jordan lows ... without a swoosh and DEFINITELY not available for retail.

We're told the basketball GOAT really likes the kicks ... so Nike hooked him up with the one-of-a-kind pair.

This ain't the first time MJ has flossed super rare sneaks while on vacay -- 'cause back in December while in Barbados, he rocked special kicks we'd never seen before.

A judge has dismissed the weapons charges against ex-NBA star Ben Gordon -- after Ben cut a fat 5-figure check to the man he allegedly robbed at knifepoint back in November.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former Chicago Bulls player was initially arrested for felony robbery after allegedly going to an L.A. apartment building, pulling a blade on the manager and demanding thousands of dollars in cash.

We're told the incident stemmed from a dispute over Ben's security deposit -- which is odd considering Gordon made $84 MILLION during his NBA career.

The charges were later reduced to 4 misdemeanors -- battery, brandishing a weapon, criminal threats and carrying a knife in plain view.

But now, we've learned ALL of the charges have been dismissed after Ben reached a "civil compromise" with the alleged victim.

Our sources say Gordon cut a $25,000 check and the manager decided to back off.

Before Kim Jong-un met Dennis Rodman in North Korea -- he reached out to Michael Jordan, but got shot down by His Airness ... this according to Rodman himself.

The Worm appeared on "TMZ Live" and said the first time he met Kim Jong-un was in 2013 on a basketball trip with the Harlem Globetrotters.

During the trip, Rodman says Kim Jong-un's people invited him to meet with the North Korean leader and they hit it off ... and became friends.

But Rodman says he wasn't Kim's first choice -- revealing, "Basically, he asked Michael Jordan first and Michael Jordan said, 'No.' So then he asked about me and I said, 'Yes.' That's how it all started."

Turns out, Kim Jong-un is a huge fan of the legendary Chicago Bulls teams of the '90s!

So, why did Rodman -- who's now working as a consultant for AnyTickets.com -- accept the invite? His explanation is actually pretty interesting.

The greatest-of-all-time argument between LeBron James and Michael Jordan is just like the dodo bird and T. rex ... dead forever, so says Michael Rapaport.

Rapaport's point ... LBJ getting swept 4-0 by the Warriors effectively ends any conversation that he's better than MJ ... 'cause nothin' like that ever happened to His Airness.

"It's over. You're not better than Jordan. Jordan won 6 rings."

We then threw it back to Rap ... asking him if his opinion would change if LeBron got on a hot streak and ended up winning as many rings as Jordan.

"There is no 'let's say.' He got f**king swept."

Michael Jordan might be the Michael Jordan of Spring Break -- getting a sexy bikini dance from his smokin' hot wife at a Miami beach party ... and TMZ Sports has the footage!

MJ and Yvette Prieto hit up the Hyde Beach party at the SLS Hotel over the weekend -- where they balled out with a private cabana stocked with tequila and surrounded by muscle-bound private security.

She was boozin'. He was smokin'. These two live a helluva life.

We're told the place was packed with college-aged kids raging it up on Spring Break -- so, most 55-year-olds may have looked out of place ... but this is MICHAEL JORDAN ... so, it was cool.

One more thing ... take a look at that diamond ring on Yvette's finger -- bigger than her knuckle!

Get it!

How does Scottie Pippen feel about his good friend, Kim Kardashian, naming her baby after his beloved Chicago?!

Scottie loves it!!

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon can breathe a LITTLE easier ... because he will NOT be charged with a felony stemming from his November robbery arrest in Los Angeles.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... 34-year-old Gordon was accused of flashing a knife and roughing up a manager at his old apartment complex in an effort to get his 4-figure security deposit back. (FYI, Gordon reportedly made $84 mil during his NBA career).

Gordon fled from the scene and then returned AFTER cops had arrived -- they arrested him on the spot. He was booked for felony robbery.

Now, we've learned the L.A. County District Attorney has rejected the felony case -- and kicked it over to the L.A. City Attorney to consider filing misdemeanor charges instead.

Barack Obama just gave Michael Jordan the royal seal ... telling Prince Harry that he'd take His Airness over King James as the GOAT, without hesitation.

Obama sat down with Harry in a rare interview that aired Wednesday on BBC Radio 4 ... talking about everything from his presidency to Donald Trump.

But, when it came to the Prince's round of rapid-fire questions ... Harry immediately got Barack -- a HUGE NBA fan -- to close the book on the MJ vs. Bron debate.

"Jordan. Although I love LeBron, I'm a Chicago guy," Obama said.

Of course, Barack's pick ain't too surprising given his Bulls allegiance ... even though him and MJ haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything.

American Airlines has issued an apology to two professional basketball players -- including ex-Chicago Bulls player Marquis Teague -- after they were kicked off a plane by a flight attendant who accused them of stealing blankets.

Teague -- the Bulls 1st round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft -- boarded a flight in Dallas on Sunday with his Memphis Hustle teammate Trahson Burrell. Both players are black.

As they headed back to their coach seats, two 1st class passengers handed the players their blankets. Problem is ... a flight attendant accused the men of stealing the blankets and kicked them off the plane.

American Airlines says the flight attendant involved is also black.

Chicago Bulls player Nikola Mirotic says he's ready to bury the hatchet with teammate Bobby Portis ... saying he's accepted Portis' apology for punching him during a practice last month.

Mirotic -- who had been sidelined since Oct. 17 with 2 broken bones in his face -- returned to practice on Wednesday ... and told reporters he's ready to move past the incident.

“We are teammates. We’re fighting for this team. We’re going to do what we need to do to make it work," Mirotic said.

“Bobby and me, and the team, we’re doing what we’re supposed to do and being professional.”

Ex-NBA player Ben Gordon was arrested in L.A. Monday afternoon -- after allegedly roughing up a guy at an apartment building ... and leaving with several thousand dollars of his money, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the 34-year-old went to the apartment complex where he used to live in an effort to get his security deposit back. We're told there was a dispute about the money and Gordon allegedly put hands on the guy and threatened him.

We're told the man gave Gordon at least some of the money back -- mostly because he was scared -- and Gordon left. The man called police moments later.

But get this ... after cops arrived to the building, Ben RETURNED to demand the REST of his security deposit (a couple thousand dollars). Instead, cops arrested him on the spot for felony robbery.

He was hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and later released on $50,000 bail.

Gordon has had all sorts of trouble with police lately -- he was placed on a psychiatric hold in NYC after allegedly locking himself in his gym with a woman, while brandishing a blade.

He was also arrested in L.A. back in June for pulling fire alarms at his apartment complex.

Want the ultimate proof that heated rivals can become total bros??

Michael Jordan not only attended Patrick Ewing's head coaching debut for Georgetown on Sunday ... he got invited into his locker room for a post-game photo op!!

Pretty dope shot -- M.J. huddled up with the G-Town ballers up front ... while all 7 feet of Coach Ewing kept as low of a profile as humanly possible so his guys could fanboy out.

Classy move from Pat -- who went toe-to-toe with His Airness for years way back when the Bulls and Knicks were the beasts of the East ... and before that in college:

Bobby Portis is paying the price for his brutal punch on Bulls teammate Nikola Mirotic ... as the team has slapped him with an 8-game ban.

Portis laid out Mirotic at practice on Tuesday ... sending him to the hospital with a fractured jaw and a concussion.

Nikola was discharged from the hospital later that day, but will likely need surgery -- forcing him to sit out at least 4 weeks.

The incident went down after the Bulls forwards got into it with trash-talk and shoving. Multiple reports claim Mirotic was the aggressor -- repeatedly charging at Bobby before being put down.

Which is probably why Portis only got 8 games. Could've been a lot worse.

4:18PM PT -- The Bulls released a statement addressing the incident.

"Chicago Bulls forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic had a physical altercation during today's practice. As a result of the incident, Mirotic suffered a concussion and maxillary fractures. Surgery is likely required. Mirotic is out indefinitely."

Bulls forward Bobby Portis socked teammate Nikola Mirotic and broke his face and gave him a concussion at practice today.

Portis and Mirotic reportedly got into a shoving match ... that ended with Bobby cheap-shotting Nikola ... The Vertical reported.

Mirotic was taken to the hospital with multiple broken bones in his face. He was also evaluated for a concussion. The report says N.M. has since been released from the hospital.

Mirotic was expected to begin the season as the team's starting PF, ahead of Portis.

NBA star Zach LaVine has high ambitions in Chicago ... but can the high-flyin' dunk master jump over the Jumpman and pass Michael Jordan as the best Bulls dunker of all time??

That's exactly what we asked LaVine -- who was just recently traded from Minnesota to the Windy City -- and while the 2-time dunk contest champ has some serious hops, he doesn't think he'd ever match His Airness' classic moves.

It's a pretty humble response from LaVine, who's only 22 years old and has already put on a dunking clinic in just 3 years in the league ... but we get it. It's M.J. we're talking about.

We also asked about getting traded away from the T-Wolves ... and it's nothing but love for his old squad.