NBA

Lamar Odom is serious about getting Bam Margera the desperate help he needs ... stopping in to visit the "Jackass" star while he's in the hospital, and inviting him to Lamar's very own rehab center.

The former NBA star stopped in to see Bam Tuesday with an offer to get him back on the right path -- sources close to Lamar say he's trying to arrange for Bam to get treatment at one of his Odom Wellness Treatment Centers once he's released from his 5150 hold.

We're told Bam was receptive to going to rehab and was very hopeful during their chat ... saying he wants to see his son, Phoenix. Sources say Bam and Lamar hugged it out as the former NBA star told Bam he'd do everything he can to get him treatment.

As we reported, Lamar has opened up 3 drug treatment centers after his own battles with addiction in the past. He's got Gold Bridge Addiction Center in Louisburg, KS, Wavelengths in Huntington Beach, and Project West in San Diego.

TMZ broke the story, LAPD tracked down Bam Sunday to Trejo's Tacos in L.A. -- law enforcement sources told us his erratic speech and behavior, mixed with his recent threat to smoke crack until he dies, was enough to warrant the psych hold.

Lamar also sent Bam a rehab invite in April after Bam turned himself in for allegedly assaulting his brother. At the time, Lamar talked to us about the advice he'd love to pass along to Bam, as well as why his treatment centers could be a huge help.

Add "Girl Dad" to Zion Williamson's resume ... the former number one overall draft pick, who is expecting a child with his girlfriend, just learned they're having a baby daughter!!

The 22-year-old and his pregnant GF Ahkeema invited some of their closest family and friends over for the gender reveal, and did it in a pretty awesome way ... courtesy of a fireworks show!

After the catered food, baby games, and presents were opened, it was time to get down to business. Zion and Ahkeema stood a few feet away from a sign that read "Boy or Girl," as the fireworks show began.

Then, poof ... pink confetti shot into the air, and the couple lost it!

"My baby, you’re going to see this at some point," Williamson said. "I don’t know what the future holds, but mommy and daddy love you."

"If you don’t know nothin' else in this world, know that mommy and daddy love you -- for life."

The Pelicans star signed a 5-year rookie extension worth $193 million with New Orleans in July ... and fans desperately hope the 2-time All-Star's on the court for the start of the '23-'24 season after missing more than 50 games this year.

Kim Kardashian clearly has no problem poking fun at her sister's love life, as evidenced by the T-shirt she's flaunting with Kendall Jenner and all of her NBA ex-boyfriends!

The video, featuring Kim K and North West, was posted Sunday from their joint account ... the mommy-daughter duo was seen dancing around, as KK styled North's hair, but fans overlooked all that to focus on Kim's wardrobe.

The shirt in question has a close-up photo of Kendall surrounded by 5 NBA stars -- Jordan Clarkson, Blake Griffin, Ben Simmons, Kyle Kuzma, and her most recent ex Devin Booker -- with the text, "Kendall Starting Five" plastered on the front.

You'll recall, Kendall dated Jordan Clarkson back in 2016 when he played for the Lakers, but they wound up breaking up later the same year. The following year, she moved on to Blake Griffin, who currently plays for the Boston Celtics. They called it quits in 2018.

She had an on-and-off relationship with Ben Simmons from 2018-2019 before dating Kyle Kuzma, who is currently with the Washington Wizards. In 2020, she was with current Phoenix Suns player, Devin Booker, until they eventually ended last November.

And, it's not the first time the shirt has made a cameo ... Kim even wore it in the season 3 trailer of "The Kardashians."

Of course, Kendall has ventured off from athletes and is now with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny. The two have been a thing for a few months now ... and have been spending a lot of time together.

If Nikola Jokic can finish off the Miami Heat this month, he'd have a serious case to be on the Mt. Rushmore of Denver sports athletes ... so says Terrell Davis.

The Broncos legend didn't specify where exactly the Nuggets big man would rank amongst the John Elways, Patrick Roys and Todd Heltons ... but he did say a championship would put Jokic right there with the city's all-time greats.

"He's up there already," Davis told TMZ Sports, "and this would only cement his place in the greatest athletes to come out of Denver."

Davis said this title would carry some more weight than others in Denver sports history ... as it'd be their first NBA one.

"When you bring a city its only championship, you're going to be held to a really, really high place there," the former running back said. "And, I think Jokic is on his way."

Of course, Davis would know a thing or two about the matter ... he said following his first Super Bowl win with the Broncos in 1998, it changed the way fans interacted with him around the city forever.

Davis promises to keep cheering on Jokic too -- despite his incident at the Nuggets vs. Heat Game 2 on Sunday night.

If you missed it, Davis found himself in the middle of a Heat celebration sandwich near the end of the tilt -- and his disappointed reaction was priceless.

But, Davis was a good sport when recapping it all with us ... and he said there's no chance it'll deter him from coming back to Ball Arena later this series.

Ja Morant is doing "good" as his fate hangs in the balance after again flashing a gun on social media ... so says teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. who believes the Grizzlies superstar will come back with a vengeance!

"He's good," 23-year-old Jackson said Monday on Paul George's podcast.

"He's I think just growing up with this much attention on you, especially being this young. It's a lot to deal with."

Of course, Morant, outside a short, prepared statement, has been silent since the controversial video ... a moment Jaren clearly believes doesn't accurately portray the 23-year-old NBA superstar.

"Dude's great. People always gotta understand that everybody human. That's my brother though, no matter what. I stand my brother and I think that's the lesson everybody should take away from this."

Morant's going to be suspended -- the only question is for how long. After the Denver-area strip club incident, the NBA sat Ja down for eight games. The incoming punishment will presumably be much more severe.

But, Jackson -- who's played with Morant since 2019 -- wholeheartedly believes Ja will come back with a chip on his shoulder, and be better than ever.

"He works hard. He's smart as hell. He should've been MVP the other year," Jackson says, adding ... "The dude is high-level."

Denver Broncos legend Terrell Davis looked like he wanted to disappear during the NBA Finals on Sunday ... finding himself sandwiched between two rowdy groups of Heat fans as his Nuggets lost Game 2 -- and his reaction was priceless!!

The Hall of Famer was at Ball Arena in hopes of witnessing Denver take a 2-0 lead in the series ... but unfortunately for him, Miami had a huge 4th quarter to steal the win on the road.

During the comeback, Heat fans were understandably excited when Jimmy Butler hit a corner three-pointer to put Miami up 95-89 with under seven minutes left ... and TD had a front-row seat for the celebration.

The broadcast showed a woman wearing a Jimmy Butler jersey lean over and give another Heat fan sitting nearby a high-five right in front of Terrell's face ... and judging by his expression, the former running back wasn't too thrilled about it.

Naturally, the clip went viral on social media ... with fans joking about the Denver legend's miserable body language.

Of course, Davis has had a lot to smile about this postseason ... as the Nuggets were previously undefeated at home before Sunday's loss.

The Heat secured the 111-108 win ... and TD's gotta be at least a little bit worried now.

Aaron Gordon is a helluva basketball player and apparently one whale of a teammate too ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the Nuggets star gifted Jamal Murray a sick diamond pendant before the start of this week's NBA Finals.

We're told AG was so thrilled over the way Murray's helped lead Denver this season ... he hit up Mile High Jewelers to make a custom piece to show his appreciation.

Gordon wanted the new bling to represent Murray's signature on-court celebration ... and the jeweler certainly delivered.

You can see the piece features a bow and arrow ... with Murray's initials and jersey No. 27 in it. We're told it's all filled with 10 carats of white and blue VVS diamonds.

We're also told it took 10 days to make, which is an expedited time as Gordon wanted to be sure Murray had it before the start of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

And, check out the video, Murray was pumped to receive it earlier this week!!

"[Aaron] wanted to show his appreciation for his outstanding play, effort and being a great teammate/brother during his time in Denver," the jeweler told us.

Murray is certainly deserving of the present from Gordon -- the 26-year-old averaged 20 points, 6.2 assists and 4 rebounds per game in the regular season ... and has absolutely balled out this playoffs.

The NBA Finals are underway ... and while most of the sports world is focused on Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler, it's time to put the spotlight on the REAL stars of the series -- the wives and girlfriends of the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets!!

Jokic's wife, Natalija, has been supporting the 2-time MVP ever since he was in high school ... and continues to do so in the stands throughout her man's pro career (alongside his famous brothers).

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's pregnant wife, McKenzie, might pull up to a few games with her growing baby bump ... and DeAndre Jordan's "boo bear", Bethany, will certainly be pulling for her man as well.

When it comes to the Heat, expect to see Udonis Haslem's wife, Faith ... considering this may very well be her last chance to watch his games before he retires.

Kevin Love's model wife, Kate, knows her way around the Finals dating back to his days in Cleveland ... and there's hope Katya Elise Henry will get to catch Tyler Herro come back from injury and get some minutes.

It's not just the players with beautiful partners -- Erik Spoelstra's wife, Nikki, has been there every step of the way ... and we're sure she helped keep him calm throughout the Eastern Conference Finals.

College hoopers looking for a place to showcase their skills this summer just got some great news ... The Game, Dom Kennedy and a host of other hip hop stars are helping to start a new basketball league in L.A.!!

The program is called the Real Run College Basketball Summer League -- and it's all slated to begin on June 17 ... and run until August 13.

It'll feature both women's and men's basketball players ... and ex-NBA player Pooh Jeter, who's partnering up with Real Run founder Deanthony Langston, tells TMZ Sports he's hoping it'll change countless lives.

Jeter explained ... the league will not only offer high-level games for college players, but rappers like Game, Dom Kennedy, BlueBucks Clan and G PERICO will all be in charge of teams -- and will help provide athletes a bridge from sports to musical culture in addition to on-court competition.

"A lot of the rappers was like, 'This is something amazing,'" said Jeter, an L.A. native who played for the Sacramento Kings in 2010. "'This is something we can change the game with.'"

Jeter says college basketball stars like Boogie Ellis and JuJu Watkins have already planned to play ... and he's hoping it will all eventually inspire other musicians to join in too.

"I would love for Diddy and Snoop or whoever!" Jeter said. "If you from L.A., show up, and let's do something amazing for our community."

The Denver Nuggets had a ton of horsepower rooting for them in the stands during Game 1 of the NBA Finals ... 'cause current and former Broncos like Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson and coach Sean Payton were present for the big win!!

The trio of NFL greats were in great spirits as the home team wrecked the Miami Heat 104-93 ... and they all had the best seats in Ball Arena.

Manning was smiling from ear to ear throughout the night ... even spending some time chopping it up with Shaquille O'Neal.

Wilson hit up the game with his stepson, Future Zahir ... and the youngster came dressed to support the hometown team, wearing a No. 27 Jamal Murray jersey.

Payton -- who joined the Broncos this offseason -- is clearly fitting in with his new home ... as the Super Bowl-winning coach appeared zoned in on all the action.

Not all the celebs stood by and watched, though ... 'cause comedian Ken Jeong hilariously bombed multiple half-court shots after watching Nuggets mascot "Rocky" nail a backward, over-the-head heave from the same spot.

"The Hangover" star was a good sport about it all ... and the raucous crowd got a kick out of his failures.

Ja Morant will have to wait at least a couple more days to learn his fate following his second gun video ... Adam Silver said Thursday the NBA will not announce anything regarding the Grizzlies superstar until after the Finals.

The commish spoke at length about Morant with reporters just before Game 1 of the Nuggets vs. Heat series ... and he made it clear, the league has basically wrapped its probe into the 23-year-old.

But, he said they don't want to announce any of their findings just yet ... out of respect for the Denver/Miami championship.

"We probably could have brought it to a head now," Silver said, "but we made the decision -- and I believe the Players Association agrees with us -- that it would be unfair to these players and to these teams in the middle of this series to announce the results of that investigation."

Silver added that because it's the offseason -- and Morant has already been suspended indefinitely by Memphis -- he didn't see any need expedite a ruling that could possibly overshadow the Finals.

"It seemed better to park that at the moment," he said.

Silver did not indicate whether or not Morant would be receiving a hefty suspension -- though he did say "the history of prior acts" and "the individual player's history" would factor into any sort of punishment.

Of course, Morant has already been suspended once for flashing a gun on camera back in March ... and many expect a more lengthy ban to be coming following his most recent gun incident.

"My sense now is that shortly after the conclusion of the Finals," Silver added, "we will announce the outcome of that investigation."

The fire that ravaged Mike Breen's home last year destroyed nearly everything he owned ... but he revealed this week that, somehow, an invaluable jersey that Kobe Bryant had signed for him was able to be salvaged.

The NBA announcer -- who will broadcast this month's Heat vs. Nuggets Finals series -- shared the amazing news while talking with The Athletic about the September blaze that burnt his Long Island home to the ground.

In the interview, Breen explained he had gotten the jersey from his ESPN family way back in 2014 ... in honor of the NBA allowing its players to wear nicknames on the backs of their uniforms.

Breen's custom jersey was a Brooklyn one -- he was broadcasting a Nets game at the time -- and it featured "Gray Mamba" on the back.

The 62-year-old loved it so much, he eventually had Kobe -- the Black Mamba -- sign it for him ... adding that Bryant had written in his autograph, "From one Mamba to another."

Breen said he thought the prized possession was turned to ashes by the fire ... but he explained to The Athletic his wife was able to somehow locate it in the rubble, and have it restored.

Breen, though, did lose countless other belongings in the fire -- clothes, NBA memorabilia, a piano, and just about everything else -- but he said he was just grateful no one was hurt, and he was thankful for the outpouring of thoughts and prayers he received in wake of it all.

Damian Lillard agrees with former head coach turned broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy ... halftime's pointless, and the league would be wise to eliminate the 15-minute break!

"I’m w [Van Gundy] on halftime lol… I do not fw it," the 7x All-Star proclaimed on social media, responding to the former Knicks coach's proposed rule change.

It was during a recent interview with The Athletic that Van Gundy suggested several substantial ways to speed up/improve the game.

"This whole idea of what goes on at halftime, I think is so misunderstood," Jeff told the outlet. "It’s a lot of either praising what just happened or correcting. But you could do that in two minutes out by the bench in an elongated timeout."

Bottom line, Jeff feels halftime is too long and drawn out, describing it as "the biggest waste of time," adding players only need time to go to the bathroom and possibly make a few adjustments, which could be done within 5 minutes.

The 61-year-old analyst didn't stop at halftime ... JVG also said the NBA should save free throws for crunch time.

“So my most radical one is to eliminate free throws until the last four minutes,” Van Gundy said. "If you get fouled on a shooting foul, you just get the points. You don’t go to the line. And you don’t go to the line for technical free throws."

While the networks probably won't love Jeff's halftime idea (commercials!) -- likely making it a nonstarter -- Van Gundy is adamant his free throw rule change needs to be adopted.

Longtime NBA referee Eric Lewis won't be needing his whistle anytime soon ... the league just announced he will not work the Finals amid an investigation into claims he used a Twitter burner account to defend himself and his colleagues.

The Association just announced the officials for the Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat series ... and Lewis, who previously worked the last four NBA Finals, was not one of the 12 individuals selected for the matchup.

NBA spokesperson Mike Bass confirmed the omission is directly related to the investigation ... saying, "Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter, and he will not be working the Finals."

The NBA launched a probe into Lewis, a 19-year veteran who has officiated over 1,200 regular and postseason games, after a Twitter account responded to posts on league officiating, seemingly defending Lewis and his contemporaries.

The tweets in question have reportedly been deleted, but the account, listed under "Blair Cuttliff" with the handle @CuttliffBlair, is still active.

It's unclear if Lewis was really behind the burner account. It's a big problem if he was ... as the NBA has a rule prohibiting referees from publicly commenting on officiating without authorization.

SHEIN is taking swift action after being accused of selling knockoff Jordan 11s on its site this week ... with the company telling TMZ Sports the product has been wiped from its store.

The Chinese-based online fast fashion retailer recently featured athletic kicks described as "professional basketball sports shoes for men" ... which were selling for $49.99.

However, the shoes looked just like the Air Jordan 11s (which come with a $225 retail price tag) ... all the way down to the patent leather mudguard. The only key difference?? The obvious absence of the iconic Jumpman logo.

Sneakerheads got wind of the bootleg kicks ... and quickly went to social media to call SHEIN out for the item.

One person joked on Twitter saying, "SHEIN got space jam 11s y’all better get y’all a pair" while another person tweeted, "Fordan 11s to go with my Fucci bag and Folex watch."

We reached out to Shein about the matter ... and the company is placing the blame on an outside retailer.

"SHEIN takes all claims of infringement seriously and we have removed the product in question," a spokesperson said Wednesday.

"Third-party sellers are required to comply with our SHEIN Marketplace policies and certify their products do not infringe IP."

It's not the only issue the company has -- the site also appears to have bootleg versions of the MSCHF Big Red Boots, Yeezys, Balenciaga, and more.

Robert Horry played alongside Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan -- three of the greatest players to ever grace a court -- but who was the best?? Big Shot Bob says it's The Dream, and it's not even close!

52-year-old Horry recently joined Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their "All The Smoke" podcast ... when the convo turned to the 7x NBA champ's list of the top five big men in NBA history.

"Dream is number one by far," Horry told the guys. "Nobody wants to talk about it. I think you have these guys who are quiet. Dream, he's a really quiet guy. You can't get him to do much, to say much. So, we kind of veer away from him. We don't talk about him."

Of course, Horry was with Hakeem for four seasons, Shaq for seven, and Duncan for five.

Rob says if you look at the totality of Hakeem's career (winning Defensive Player of the Year and MVP in the same season), he deserves the top spot over Shaq and TD. Dream also made 12 All-Star teams.

Horry won back-to-back championships with Olajuwon in 1994 and 1995 before joining the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was an integral piece in winning three championships with Shaq and Kobe Bryant.

After his time in L.A., Rob finished his career with the Spurs, winning another two titles alongside Duncan.

As for who's the best ... pick your poison. All three legends have out-of-this-world numbers and career achievements.

Shaq won an MVP in 2000. He's also a 15x All-Star and 3x NBA Finals MVP. Duncan was a 2x NBA MVP and 15x All-NBA defender who was named to 15 All-Star games.

Ultimately, Rob says he's grateful he was able to play with Hakeem, Shaq, and Tim, but it's Olajuwon who gets the nod.