NBA

Every time Drake opens his mouth during the NBA Finals, he's contributing to Too Short's new rap song ... so says Short Dog himself.

See, Too Short is a hardcore Golden State Warriors fan (Oakland!!), so when we saw him at Bootsy Bellows in L.A. (hanging with Jimmy O. Yang!) we asked how he plans to deal with Drake, whose Raptors fandom has been driving people crazy.

"We've had a meeting about this," Short tells TMZ Sports.

"What we're gonna do is, we're gonna watch Drake. We're gonna record every little bit of tape of Drake [during the NBA Finals]. Every word he says, we're gonna make a song with those words."

It's not a bad idea ... considering everything Drake touches turns platinum nowadays. As for the title for the project??

"It's gonna be called 'Drake Losing to the Warriors.'"

Yeah, the title could probably use some work -- but the idea is pretty solid!

By the way, Too Short and Drake are good friends -- in fact, Drake even paid homage to Short in the DJ Khaled track "For Free."

Good news, bad news for Drake -- Good news?? Klay Thompson likes your music. Bad news?? Klay Thompson HATES YOUR GUTS!!!

... as a Raptors fan.

The Warriors superstar was asked whether he's gonna get in the zone for the NBA Finals by vibin' out to some Drizzy, or skip his jams considering he's with the enemy Toronto Raptors ... and Klay had one helluva soundbite.

"If it's one of his soft, R&B songs, I'mma skip it 'cause I'm in 'kill mode' right now trying to get these 4 games," Klay says ... "So, I'll skip 'Hotline Bling' and anything along that line."

Side note -- Klay, don't do "Hotline Bling" like that. RESPECT "HOTLINE BLING"!!!!!! It's a classic.

Thompson -- who says he's been a Drake fan since high school -- added, "He's a great artist. Do I like him as a Raptors fan? No. But, I like him as a musician. He's extremely talented, but I will definitely skip the song if I don't like it."

Dennis Hof was a lover, not a murderer and he did NOT try to kill Lamar Odom ... so says Hof's best friend, porn star Ron Jeremy.

Just hours after Odom went on "The View" and claimed the late Love Ranch brothel owner poisoned him on the day he overdosed back in 2015 ... we spotted Ron outside the Rainbow Bar & Grill in L.A. and asked him if there was any truth to LO's allegation.

"Read my lips," Ron told us ... "NOOOOO!!!"

Of course, Hof passed away in October 2018 ... so he can't exactly defend himself -- but Hof always described Jeremy as his best friend, so he might be the next best person to ask.

"Why would Dennis do this? What could he possibly gain?" Jeremy said.

Jeremy essentially told us he NEVER heard Hof discuss such plans to kill Odom and says he wants to see all of Odom's alleged evidence.

On the flip side, Jeremy says Hof had a ton of celebrity friends and was always thinking of ways to grow his business ... and murdering Odom wouldn't have been in his best interest.

Magic Johnson is strongly refuting an ESPN report that he bullied Lakers staffers during his time as an exec with the organization -- saying, "it never happened."

Just hours after ESPN published the bombshell report, Magic appeared on SportsCenter to address it, explaining that if the allegations were true, he would've been called into Jeanie Buss' office to deal with the incidents.

"Do you think Jeanie Buss would allow me to abuse the employees?" Magic said. "If that was the case, she would've called me in."

Instead, Johnson says he was never informed about such issues and believes the allegations in the report are not based in reality.

"I'm a person who brings everybody together, uplifting employees. I never abused an employee and I never will. That's not what I'm about."

As we previously reported, the ESPN article cites multiple unnamed Lakers staffers who claim Magic would berate employees and essentially created a hostile work environment

So, a bunch of LAPD officers were conducting roll call in Sherman Oaks, California on Tuesday -- when all of a sudden Magic Johnson walks out of a supermarket and starts high-fiving the cops!

It all went down in front of a Gelson's -- where cops from the Van Nuys station met up for their morning briefing before hitting the streets.

Magic had been inside the store doing some shopping and had no idea the cops would be gathering that morning ... but we're told once he saw the officers he dropped everything to go hang out.

One source tells us he chatted up everyone, thanked them for their service and posed for a bunch of pics.

As one officer put it, "It made our day!"

And get this, despite an ESPN report that came out Tuesday morning which painted Magic as a "bully" during his time as an exec with the Lakers, he didn't seem fazed ... we're told he was in a great mood and couldn't have been nicer.

Well, THAT didn't take long!!

Less than 24 hours after LeBron James lifted his social media ban on his oldest son ... Bronny James has 1 MILLION followers on Instagram.

The 14-year-old heir to the throne was welcomed to IG with a big shout-out from his daddy Monday afternoon ... as well as a warning shot to all trolls:

"Told him 3 years ago the summer of 2019 I’d let you him get one," Bron said. "Damn time flies! Hahaha! Anyways let’s get Bronny! P.S. Keep y’all hating asses off his comments or we pulling up‼️‼️"

Naturally, Draymond Green was one of the first "hating asses" to hit Bronny's comment section, playfully going after the teen hooper with a "Im at your f**king neck this summer G!!! All gas"

Other notable followers include Mike Trout, Odell Beckham, LaMelo Ball, RJ Barrett, Trae Young and Maverick Carter.

Greg Oden is officially a college graduate -- and just like the rest of the Class of 2019, he's on the hunt for a job ... telling TMZ Sports he'll do whatever it takes to get hired as a coach!!

The #1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft just copped a sports industry degree from Ohio State earlier this month ... and now he's looking to use his education to help land a coaching gig.

31-year-old Oden -- who led the Bucks to the National Title game in his one year at OSU -- was a student assistant coach while working towards his degree, but says he'll have to look elsewhere to get full-time work ... and he's not gonna be picky.

"My mind's open. I feel like I got a story that can help a lot of these kids and I know a little bit about playing basketball," Oden says. "Hopefully somebody gives me an opportunity, but i'm working on that now."

"I wanna get my foot in the door and i just wanna work my way up. I'm willing to learn and adapt, I just need a chance."

Oden is currently getting ready for the upcoming BIG3 season -- where he'll be competing as a player -- but clearly, he's (wisely) planning for the next phase of his career in case a jump back to the NBA isn't in the cards.

9:32 AM PT -- We spoke with Odom on the way out of "The View" and asked him why he thinks Hof tried to kill him. Odom says he's still trying to find the answers.

9:03 AM PT -- Lamar Odom claims the late owner of the Nevada brothel where he OD'd in 2015 tried to kill him ... and Odom says his legal team already has proof to back up his claim.

Odom just appeared on "The View" where he said Dennis Hof -- who owned the Love Ranch -- "tried to kill me."

Long story short ... Odom is adamant he did not intentionally consume any drugs -- including cocaine -- on the day of his overdose and he believes Hof (or someone working for Hof) poisoned him.

"Dennis Hof, I don't know what he had against me but I didn't do drugs that night," Odom said.

"I don't know what he had against me ... he tried to kill me."

Odom says his attorney has already investigated the allegation and found workers at the brothel who back up his claim.

Hof died in October 2018 -- but in 2016, he told TMZ Sports he was a fan of Odom and invited him back to the Love Ranch for the VIP treatment.

We've reached out to Hof's reps regarding Odom's attempted murder claim -- but so far, no comment.

As we previously reported, police who investigated the 2015 overdose say prostitutes at the Love Ranch told them they had heard Odom snorting substances before the OD and had a "vague knowledge of him using illegal narcotics."

Investigators later confirmed the presence of cocaine in Odom's system -- but clearly, Odom says he did NOT knowingly take drugs that night.

Lamar Odom says he believes his wild life story is fit for the big screen -- and he's already had talks about turning his new autobiography into a movie.

Odom was arriving to "The View" in New York on Tuesday to promote his new book, "Darkness to Light" -- in which he talks about everything from drug addiction to sex addiction to his failed marriage with Khloe Kardashian.

Odom says he's already spoken with people about turning his story into a movie but didn't say who those talks were with.

He's not wrong ... Odom went from being an NBA superstar to a reality star before hitting rock bottom ... when he overdosed at a Nevada brothel in 2015.

Odom suffered several strokes and heart attacks and doctors didn't think he'd fully recover.

But, Odom beat the odds and now he's getting ready to play professional basketball again with the BIG3 league.

It's an amazing story ... and it seems like it's only a matter of time before it gets the full-length feature film treatment.

We all know Drake can draw a crowd anywhere he goes -- but who would've guessed he gets the construction site treatment in the Bahamas???

TMZ broke the story ... Drake and co. touched down in the Caribbean Monday with his massive new custom OVO jet, which made other nearby airliners look puny.

His plane is a 767-300F Boeing model, which can retail anywhere from $185 mil to $220 mil brand new.

As if his standout sky ride wasn't a dead giveaway that Champagne Papi was in town, his mere presence at a resort on the island nation wasn't necessarily kept incognito either.

Multiple witnesses saw Drake making his way through The Cove Luxury Resort, where folks couldn't help but hoot, holler, sing and whistle at Drizzy as he passed through with his entourage. Hey, we get it ... he's one handsome feller. Catcall when you get the chance.

Drake was later seen inside the Atlantis Casino playing the tables with none other than ... Philadelphia 76ers team investor Michael Rubin?! Yep, it'd seem Drake's NBA allegiance sees no jersey when he's not on the court cheering his home team, the Toronto Raptors ... who bounced Rubin's guys earlier in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

BTW ... we're told they were posted up at $500 minimum blackjack tables. High-rollers, obviously.

Reason #2361230 why it's great to be LeBron James?? Flexin' on your superstar friends with the hottest shoes on the market ... before they even hit the market.

Nike's billion-dollar man hosted some of his closest NBA-star friends, like Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Tristan Thompson at his L.A. home for a Memorial Day Weekend bash ... and naturally, had to show off one time.

The bright green shoes on his feet in the pic above are the Nike Fear of God 1's in the Frosted Spruce colorway ... and they don't come out 'til this weekend -- but somehow, Bron got the hookup.

When they're available to the non-superstar public, they'll retail at $350, but good luck trying to get them for that price. They're expected to go for AT LEAST $1,000 on the secondary market.

FYI -- the original Nike FOG 1 colorway sold out within seconds when they went on sale late last year ... and these are expected to go just as fast.

As for the bro sesh ... it had everything you could ask for -- vibing to Nipsey Hussle, drinking adult beverages, smokin' cigars and watching "The Godfather" on repeat.

Ex-Lakers player Dwight Howard doesn't think the drama in LakerLand is a big deal -- in fact, he thinks it's all being blown out of proportion because "it's just business."

We got Dwight leaving Catch in West Hollywood over the weekend -- and had to ask him if saw any Lakers front office dysfunction during his 1 season stint with the team in 2012-13.

"It's part of basketball," Howard told us ... "It's just business. Not drama. It's just business."

In other words, Howard doesn't seem too shocked by the situation in L.A. -- almost like he's seen stuff like this with other organizations too and Dwight would know ... he's played for 6 teams.

We also asked Howard about the back injury that sidelined him for most of last season -- and he told us things are on the upswing.

"It's solid. I'll be good ... just continue to get right."

Howard only played 9 games this season before undergoing season-ending spinal surgery to relieve pain in his glutes.

The L.A. Lakers might as well start sellin' lip kits and flat tummy tea, 'cause Jay Williams says there's so much drama surrounding LeBron's team, he's dubbing them "the Kardashians of the NBA."

And, he ain't saying it as a compliment.

It's been a dumpster fire of an offseason for the Lakers ... with Magic Johnson going scorched earth on Rob Pelinka and accusing him of some old fashioned backstabbery. They fired Luke Walton and struggled to get a replacement coach.

And, of course, Lonzo Ball has Big Baller Brand drama.

Williams says things in LakerLand have gotten so bad, the team is starting to resemble the Kar-Jenners more than an NBA organization.

"I feel like we talk about everything but their on-court play ... that's kind of a signature of a lot of drama."

Williams says he still doesn't understand Magic's reasoning behind leaving the team ... and the very public breakup is gonna have players second-guessing whether they wanna be around that come free agency.

Would Donovan McNabb give up his legendary NFL career if he could have similar success in the NBA??

HELL YES ... so says the former Philadelphia Eagles QB himself, who told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV Show (airs weeknights on FS1) he believes basketball is the better team sport.

"At the end of the day, it's about team ball and moving that ball around."

Of course, D-Mac nearly had the choice of the NFL or the NBA coming out of college ... the guy was a beast in both sports back at Syracuse.

In fact, McNabb was part of the Orange team in the 1995-96 season that nearly won the NCAA Tournament ... falling just short to Kentucky in the final game.

Ultimately, McNabb chose football -- he was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft -- and things worked out pretty well for him after that.

Drake's refueling in the Caribbean before his Raptors take on the Warriors in the NBA Finals -- flying down in his massive new jet ... which is a monster compared to other airliners.

Champagne Papi's new custom "Air Drake" plane was spotted on a landing zone in the Bahamas Sunday, where all its grandeur and OVO swag were on full display as it sized up what appears to be a much smaller Delta-branded model nearby -- maybe a -700.

Drake didn't settle for a standard G4 -- he opted for a custom 767-300F Boeing plane, which normally seats hundreds of passengers or even cargo loads. The retail price for this type of ride has ranged anywhere from $185M to $220M over the past couple years.

He also gave a tour of the plane as it was being finished up earlier this month, and it's definitely got all the bells and whistles you might expect.

Can't blame Drizzy for wanting to get away for a few days either -- he was Toronto's biggest cheerleader these past few days ... and could certainly use some rest if he's gonna bring that same energy for Oakland (which we're sure he will).

Zion Williamson hasn't set foot on an NBA court yet and he already has a shoe and movie deal offer, courtesy of Master P and Romeo.

... but only if Zion actually comes to New Orleans.

We got the father-son duo out in Los Angeles, and they told us they have a role all carved out for Zion in the sequel to their comedy flick "I Got The Hook-Up 2," which comes out in July.

"I have a beautiful idea, we need to get Zion in 'I Got The Hook-Up 3.'"

The movie features Jeezy, Michael Blackson, A.J. Johnson, D.C. Young Fly, Jennifer Lee and a host of others -- and P and Romeo want Zion.

But, that wasn't all ... P had another offer for Williamson from his shoe company, MoneYatti.

"I know Zion gonna get a big shoe deal from Nike or Adidas or whatever. We gonna get him a deal just to have to wear shoes outside of basketball."

Question is, how much is P willing to pay?

"Just to wear it on the side, not in the game, I'm saying $20 [million]."

You heard it, $20 million shoe deal plus a movie role, all if Zion ends up in New Orleans -- which has the #1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Dennis Rodman says he doesn't hit people -- and never has in his life -- so the latest claim that he randomly smacked a guy at a bar is total BS.

TMZ Sports got Rodman in Orange County, CA Friday and asked about what allegedly went down last week in Delray Beach, Florida ... he didn't want to divulge much, but he clearly denies any sort of assault.

We broke the story ... 30-year-old Jeff Soulouque claims the former NBA rebound king slapped him at the Buddha Sky Bar on May 17 "unprovokedly," which injured his eye. He filed a police report the next day.

Cops investigated, and found a witness named David Lee Roth -- but not THE David Lee Roth -- who corroborated Soulouque's story.

Rodman's been listed as an official suspect in an alleged battery as police continue their investigation, but he doesn't seem too worried about it. He insists "nothing happened" ... and his lawyers are dealing with it.

Rodman's attorney, Lorne Berkeley, already told us Dennis denies the allegations and adds that he was sober the entire night in question and nobody he was with saw a slapping incident.