NBA

Tough day at the office for Michelle Beadle ... who was forced to host an ESPN show while suffocating in Paul Pierce's fart cloud.

Yes. You read that right.

Beadle -- along with Pierce, Jalen Rose and Chauncey Billups were shooting an episode of ESPN's "Off the Clock" when The Truth let one rip.

You can see the moment when the scent hits Beadle's face -- and everything goes stank.

"Nasty," Beadle remarked.

Even Rose commented on the situation ... saying, "Michelle Beadle smelling something in the air."

Beadle noted, "We're trapped in a room y'all."

By the way ... the whole "Off the Clock" show is only 5 minutes long!!!!

Ex-NBA star Brandon Jennings COULDN'T BELIEVE the comments Ayesha Curry made about being jealous of the attention her husband gets from the opposite sex.

And, now ... Jennings has a message for Steph Curry's wife -- stop trippin'!!!

You know the backstory ... Ayesha went on "Red Table Talk" and admitted she's "bothered" by the lack of attention (in a desirous way) from men over the years while she watches groupies throw themselves at Steph.

"I don't have any of that," Ayesha said ... "I have zero -- this sounds weird -- but, like, male attention, and so then I begin to internalize it, and I'm like, 'Is something wrong with me?'"

Jennings -- who now runs his own Tuff Crowd clothing line -- was so shocked by the comments, he had to discuss out outside of Joey in Woodland Hills, CA.

"She said guys don't lust over her enough ... why would you want to lust over a woman who's married?"

Jennings says it's human nature to want to be desired by the opposite sex, but when it comes to Ayesha -- it's hard to watch her complain because she has "the best life."

Jennings points out that Ayesha is rich as hell, has a faithful husband, a beautiful family and an incredible career as a chef ... so, don't trip!

There's more ... Brandon also talks about his future basketball career. He's only 29 and feels he's got LOTS of game left.

Here's Drake ... stoked out of his MIND while watching his Toronto Raptors take a giant dump all over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday and taking a 3-2 lead in their playoff series.

Does he look worried about a curse to you?!

Drake was sitting right on the court at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as his squad put a 125 to 89 beating on Philly in a pivotal Game 5.

In the 4th quarter, with roughly 10 minutes left in the game, Drake ramped up the trash talk -- and started making airplane wing gestures at the 76ers players.

Of course, 76ers superstar Joel Embiid wasn't exactly at 100% -- he's battling a pretty nasty illness -- so, Drizzy might wanna tone it down until Game 6 ... which goes down Thursday night in Philly.

After the game, 76ers coach Brett Brown fired back at critics who were ripping Embiid's performance.

"[Embiid] was trying to do whatever he could to represent his organization and play basketball for the Philadelphia 76ers," Brown said.

"I'm kind of disappointed. He gets shaken around to me too much. He's trying to play for us. He's trying to get out of bed with a significant temperature and come represent the organization. I think it's grossly unfair, some of the criticism that he gets. I don't understand that."

Dwyane Wade is ready for the TB12 method -- no, not the avocado ice cream and weird stretches stuff -- the NBA superstar wants Gabrielle Union to start making Gisele money!!!

If ya missed it ... Tom Brady made waves this past week when he told Jimmy Kimmel he can afford to take massive pay cuts from the Patriots because his wife brings home the bacon in their relationship.

When we got D-Wade and Gabby after the Met Gala on Monday night ... we had to ask for their thoughts on Brady's admission.

Gabby's reaction? "Smart man."

Wade's reaction? PURE JEALOUSY!!!

"Very smart man," Wade told us ... "That's what I'm trying to get!"

Of course, Wade was just kiddin' around ... Gabby does just fine in their relationship -- she's an A-list Hollywood celeb.

Paul Pierce says he ain't worried about the Celtics being down 2 games to 1 to the Milwaukee Bucks ... telling TMZ Sports his guys will WIN the whole series in 6.

The Truth was leaving Meek Mill's birthday party at 1 OAK in L.A. on Sunday -- when we asked about his Boston Celtics losing 2 games in a row to Giannis Antetokounmpo and company.

Remember, the Celtics started off strong -- with a dominating 112 to 90 victory over the Bucks in Game 1.

But, the last 2 games have been all Milwaukee ... and now Vegas is highly favoring Milwaukee to win the series. The winner of this series will play the winner of the 76ers vs. Raptors series in the next round.

But, Pierce doesn't give a DAMN about the odds -- telling TMZ Sports he expects his guys to rally back and the take the series.

"Celtics in 6, homie. Stop playin'."

People at a Florida nightclub got a HUGE surprise Saturday night -- a 7-foot-1, over 300-pound one to be exact -- 'cause Shaq jumped into a mosh pit with them ... and danced his face off!!

It all went down at Celine in Orlando ... where DJ Diesel serenaded a Cuatro De Mayo crowd with a late-night set.

Shaq broke out his signature beats ... but then took the party one step further -- jumping into a sea of people going insane!!!

The clip's awesome ... clubgoers are hanging all over Shaq -- and he's loving it!!!

Don't worry, no one was injured!!

Of course, Shaq has been spinning the 1s and 2s professionally for several years now ... and has earned all kinds of praise from world famous DJs for his sets.

In fact, Diplo just told TMZ Sports a few months ago he's a huge fan of what Shaq's doing ... saying, "He's great, Shaq Diesel, man. He's killin' it right now. Very heavy music."

Blake Griffin sure hopes Drake didn't seal Arya Stark's fate on "Game of Thrones" by shouting her out at the Billboard Music Awards ... him and everyone else, tbh.

We got the Pistons star outside of the Maxfield clothing store in WeHo Friday afternoon and asked him about Drizzy showing love to Maisie Williams' 'GOT' character Wednesday night when he mentioned her during his acceptance speech for the Top Billboard 200 Album.

ICYMI ... Drake made sure to plug Arya for "putting in that work last week" during Sunday's episode when she killed the Night King with some fancy dagger moves -- basically saving every living person in Westeros from eternal death in the process.

BTW, this is a spoiler -- and you should've seen it by now. If you haven't, well, here it is ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway ... Blake really, REALLY hopes the Drake curse doesn't kick in here for everyone's sake. Like he says, "I think we all need a little bit of Arya." Considering Champagne Papi's track record with supporting losing teams ... here's praying Blake's right.

Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss, listen up ... Lamar Odom says you've already interviewed the PERFECT candidate to replace Luke Walton -- JUWAN HOWARD!!!

Of course, Pelinka and Buss have been searching for a replacement for Walton since they canned him at the end of the season ... and they've already interviewed a few people for the gig.

Guys like Tyronn Lue and Jason Kidd are reportedly the favorites ... but L.O. thinks the Lakers should scrap 'em both in favor of Howard, and he told us why.

"Somebody that has some presence. Somebody that can handle having LeBron on your team."

Howard's name has definitely been floated around as a name for the Lakers top job ... he was a teammate of LeBron and coached him while he was with the Miami Heat.

So, let's be real for a second, the Lakers are almost certainly gonna hire Ty Lue ... BUT don't discount what Odom is saying, there might be an 11th-hour surprise.

If the whole "basketball God" thing never happened for LeBron James, he could've earned his way as a real-deal professional boxer ... and if you don't believe it, just ask Canelo Alvarez!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the boxing superstar about partnering with King James for a docuseries leading up to his big fight with Daniel Jacobs ... and he says it's an incredible honor to work together.

So, how would Bron have fared if he took his talents to the ring instead of the court?

"He has the height, the body, the physique. But, an athlete of this level -- like ourselves -- I think we can do other sports fairly well."

Just for fun, here's the tale of the tape pitting LeBron James against heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder ...

We also had to flip the question on Canelo to ask what sport he'd like to dominate if he didn't become a boxer ... and you'll want to hear what he says!!!

As for the fight with Jacobs on DAZN this weekend, Canelo says he's feeling good leading up to the huge event on Saturday.

Stephen Jackson is giving some solid advice to D'Angelo Russell following his weed bust earlier this week ... telling the NBA star to keep his head up and be SMARTER with his pot moving forward.

As we previously reported ... DLo was cited for marijuana possession Wednesday at LaGuardia airport after TSA found a fake can of Arizona iced tea in his checked bag ... with green stashed away in a secret compartment.

Stack is now going to bat for Russell ... essentially saying it's NBD because ganja's practically legal everywhere now, but laws are laws and the young hooper can't be getting in trouble.

"Thinking bout @dloading stay strong kid," Jackson says. "They rather u take man made stuff so they can benefit."

Jackson added, "Gotta be smarter DLo but remember it’s a 'PLANT' not a drug. Facts. Do your homework."

FYI -- Jackson is a big marijuana advocate ... and has teamed up with fellow ex-NBA great Al Harrington's Viola cannabis company to share the benefits of weed as an alternative to prescription pills for pain relief.

Stack says although it's on its way to being legal everywhere, it's still a crime ... "It’s only a prob having it if u successful and black. It’s dam near legal."

NBA star D'Angelo Russell was busted for marijuana at a New York City airport Wednesday night ... after TSA found weed stashed in his checked bag.

DLo's luggage was searched before his flight to Louisville took off from LaGuardia airport around 7 PM ... when a suspicious can of Arizona Iced Tea flagged the system.

As it turns out, it wasn't just an ordinary can of tea -- it was one of those "cans" that actually has a secret compartment people use to hide their drugs (y'all stoners know what we're talking about).

We're told there was more weed found in a grinder inside the fake can as well.

Law enforcement sources tell us Russell initially tried to say the weed belonged to his brother, but he was alone and in possession of the bag.

TMZ Sports has learned that Russell was cited for possession of marijuana (under 50 grams) ... and was allowed to leave. We're told the summons usually results in the defendant paying a fine.

The Brooklyn Nets released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, "We have been made aware of the situation involving D’Angelo Russell and are in the process of gathering more information at this time."

It was a breakout season for Russell ... who averaged 21 points and 7 assists per game and made his 1st All-Star game.

Kenny Smith says he's praying for his good friend and ex-teammate, Danny Ainge ... and says his heart attack should send a message to retired players -- take care of your health!

The Boston Celtics GM was treated for a mild heart attack earlier this week in Milwaukee ... but is expected to make a full recovery.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Jet at LAX on Thursday ... and Smith says there's actually some positive that can come out of this situation.

"It's important for guys who are retired to keep a type of awareness of their body, and the health of their body, the way they do when they're playing. A lot of us don't," Smith tells us.

"So hopefully this could be messages to a lot of former players that are still out there now not playing anymore."

Smith and Ainge go way back ... they played together from 1988-1990 on the Sacramento Kings, and have been friends ever since.

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was treated after suffering a mild heart attack in Milwaukee on Tuesday ... and luckily, he's expected to make a full recovery.

The Celtics released a statement on Thursday ... saying the ex-NBAer received immediate medical attention and will be able to return to Boston, although it's unclear if he will be able to attend tomorrow night's Game 3 matchup in the Eastern Conference semis against the Bucks.

Ainge has had health issues in the past -- he also suffered a mild heart attack in 2009.

The 60-year-old won 2 titles with the Celtics during his 14-year career before taking his talents to the front office. He's widely considered one of the best execs in the league ... and helped put together Boston's 2008 title-winning roster.

LeBron James produces and acts in movies and TV -- he's on his way to Hollywood mogul status -- but now he's the one being offered a role ... by an up-and-coming R&B singer.

The dude with the voice is TOBi ... and a bunch of athletes from Todd Gurley to DeAndre Hopkins have been rockin' out to his music -- so when we saw him in NYC earlier this week, we asked about all the baller support.

"Man, it's crazy, man, cause these are people that we look up to in the sports world, and they love my music, and they're working out to it which is f**king dope. I love that."

TOBi says his favorite athletes are LeBron and Kawhi Leonard (he's from Toronto) ... so we asked if there might be a King James cameo in one of his videos.

It ain't out of the question ... LBJ appeared in the music vid for Ohio rapper Al Fatz's song, "Came Down," back in 2007.

TOBi says ... "You never know, that might happen. That just might happen. We're gonna get it poppin'!"

Robert Kraft still has some very powerful allies during his Asian Spa case ... including Jay-Z and Meek Mill.

Of course, Kraft has been friendly with both rap superstars for a while -- but teamed up with them on Wednesday as part of a meeting for the REFORM Alliance, dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system.

CNN's Van Jones -- who's the CEO of REFORM -- was also on hand along with Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

During the meeting, the group discussed everything from reform policy goals to employment rates and crime rates.

Earlier this year, the group pledged $50 MILLION in hopes of achieving their goal of getting 1 MILLION people released over the next 5 years.

For Kraft, his appearance at the meeting is interesting considering his lawyers in Florida had been battling all day long to keep officials from releasing surveillance footage in his spa case.

The guys could have easily asked Kraft to keep his distance from the group during his legal case because it could be viewed as a distraction -- but clearly, they don't feel that way.

Kraft not only had a seat at the table, but posed for a pic with the group -- everyone had big smiles.

Caron Butler says there's a diamond in the rough in the NBA playoffs ... a guy he says is "so special" the Trail Blazers better not sleep on him -- and that dude is Nikola Jokic.

The 7-footer from Serbia has emerged a force to be reckoned with this season -- and Butler says it's no fluke.

"He's so special," Butler tells TMZ Sports ... "I spent some time with the Denver Nuggets and his versatility is just amazing because he's able to shoot the basketball, ultimately facilitate and he has a high basketball IQ. He's just tough to stop."

24-year-old Jokic put his talents on display during Game 1 of his series with Portland -- pounding the Blazers for 37 points, 6 assists and 9 rebounds.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday night -- and Caron expects more of the same ... Jokic domination.