New York Knicks

Ya play well, ya eat well ... that seems to be the motto with the New York Knicks -- 'cause Kristaps Porzingis just got invited to dinner at Carmelo Anthony's house.

Melo's actress wife LaLa -- star of "Unforgettable" -- was out in NYC when she told us Porzingis has been playing so well, he's "earned a spot at our dinner table."

FYI -- Porzingis has been playing out of his mind this season ... racking up 9 double-doubles in 19 games ... as a 20-year-old rookie.

In fact, the Latvian sensation is so impressive, Lala says Melo has even made the effort to learn some of Kristaps' native language. Interesting, since Kristaps once told TMZ Sports he didn't think ANYONE would wanna learn Latvian!

Funny how things change ...

A 19-year-old man says he was CHOKED by Cleveland Cavs star J.R. Smith ... and claims it was all because he made fun of Smith for getting traded out of New York.

The man behind the allegation is Justin Brown -- who claims he and some friends encountered Smith at a NY pizza joint around 4 AM on Nov. 13th.

In a complaint filed with the NYPD, Brown claims Smith refused to take a picture with his group and an altercation ensued.

As Smith walked away, Brown shouted to the NBA star -- "That's why New York kicked you out, yo!"

Brown claims Smith then slammed him against a wall and choked him with his hands.

Brown filed the report 3 days after the incident.

We spoke with cops who say Brown had no visible injuries at the time he filed the report.

Tracy Morgan got one helluva of a "welcome back" moment at the Knicks game Sunday -- getting huge props from Kobe and Magic ... and the GAME BALL from the Knicks!!

If Lamar Odom thought he had a shot at rejoining the NY Knicks, he was sorely mistaken ... this according to sources in the Knicks organization.

As we previously reported, Odom's personal trainer says Odom had "recently" been in talks with the Knicks about coming back to the NBA -- and it was motivating him to get back in shape.

But our team sources tell us ... while they liked Odom as a person, especially Phil Jackson, the team never made an offer or even floated the idea of bringing him back as a player.

Odom was signed by the Knicks in 2014 but was waived a short time later ... with Jackson explaining that Odom was "unable to uphold the standards to return as an NBA player."

That said, we're told the Knicks organization is shocked and saddened by Odom's current condition -- and wish him a speedy recovery.

The top ranked prospect on Phil Jackson's board stands just 5'1" tall and has never played a lick of professional basketball -- and she goes by the name of Lady Gaga.

While other NBA execs are hammering the phones, scouring through pages of scouting reports and reviewing game tape, the Zen Master spent his Monday night at Radio City Music Hall seeing Gaga perform with Tony Bennett.

Unless Gaga and Tony did a special performance with Kristaps Porzingis, we're guessing this outing didn't help him prepare for Thursday's draft one bit.

The NY Knicks must have done something terrible to someone in a past life, 'cause they're more cursed than the John Madden cover ... so says "Inside the NBA" star Kenny Smith.

Of course, Smith's reacting to the Knicks getting the #4 pick at Tuesday night's NBA Draft lottery ... after getting beat out by Minnesota (#1), the Lakers (#2) and Philadelphia (#3).

FYI -- the way the lottery works, the teams with the worst record have the best odds to get the #1 pick ... and the Knicks had such a bad record this season, they had the SECOND best odds to get the #1 pick in the lottery. Instead, they got screwed.

You gotta check out Kenny's analysis -- it's pretty hilarious.

Carmelo Anthony's wife La La just totally one-upped the basketball star's promise of a Knicks championship ... by promising the whole world a look at two even more coveted trophies ... her boobs.

La La sat down for an interview with "The Breakfast Club" where she talked about a milestone in her exploding acting career -- an upcoming episode of the Starz show "Power" where she has her first sex scene.

That's when Charlamagne Tha God jumped in ... asking La La if the love scene would feature any 'freeing of the nipple' on her part ... to which she very gleefully answered, "Yes."

The Knicks will NOT SUCK next year ... well, at least they won't be as terrible ... so says Carmelo Anthony's wife.

We spoke with La La Anthony on the way out of FOX Studios in NYC Monday -- who told us Melo is still "100% dedicated to the team" ... and predicted a serious turnaround when they get back on the court.

Of course, it's hard to get any worse ... the Knicks finished the season this year with the 2nd worst record in the NBA -- only winning 17 games.

As for who La La wants the Knicks to select in the draft -- "I'll take anybody at this point."

Here's Rick Fox ... basically saying Phil Jackson tanked the Knicks this season -- while trying to be super politically correct at the same time.

Rick -- who we love by the way (super nice guy) -- was out in L.A. this weekend ... when we asked if the man who coached him on the Lakers intentionally shut down the Knicks to get a better draft pick.

There was some serious tap dancing ... and he doesn't specifically say "yes" -- but he talks about how Phil "made a decision to purge the team of whatever personnel was there."

Derek Fisher's wife says she was completely "blindsided" when the NBA legend served her with divorce papers last month ... and was even more shocked that he moved all of his stuff out of their home in the middle of the night ... this according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

As we previously reported ... Derek filed divorce docs in L.A. on March 18th ... one month after they celebrated their 10th anniversary.

Now, Candace Fisher has filed court docs of her own -- telling a shocking tale of a husband that not only surprised her by bailing on the marriage ... but freezing her out of his life almost immediately.

According to the docs, Candace says Derek refused to answer her calls and texts for nearly two weeks ... and even blew off their kids for several days.

Candace says she finally went to their NY apartment the week of March 30th ... only to find that all of Derek's clothing, personal items and computers had already been removed from the home.

There's more ... Candace also says Derek now wants to keep their 8-year-old twin boys in NY to live and attend school -- despite the fact she says all of their family, friends and schoolmates are in L.A.

Tom Hanks reunited with TWO of his former big screen co-stars Tuesday night ... Kevin Bacon and Ed Burns ... and it was the most exciting thing that's happened at a Knicks game in months.

The actors all chilled out courtside as the last place Knicks took on the almost-last place Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden.

Of course, Hanks starred in "Saving Private Ryan" with Burns ... and shared the screen with Kevin Bacon in "Apollo 13."

Also in attendance ... the Beastie Boys rapper Adam Horovitz (aka Ad-Rock).

Bill Bradley clearly agrees with Aaliyah about that whole "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" thing ... 'cause at 71 he tells TMZ Sports he's willing to suit up for the struggling Knicks RIGHT NOW.

The former Knick -- and U.S. Senator -- was out in D.C when we asked him what exactly the Knicks need to get them out of the kingdom of suckdom that they have resided in all year.

"I'll go back for the average salary as a designated free throw shooter," Bradley said.

He was obviously joking around ... but he definitely turns serious when asked how many years he thinks it'll take his friend Phil Jackson to turn the team around.

The NY Knicks are the Lakers of the East Coast ... and not just because they suck -- they drew some of the biggest stars in the world to their home opener last night.

Everyone from Justin Bieber to Spike Lee to Ben Stiller was there ... but the winner of the celebrity showdown was clearly Taylor Swift -- who sat courtside with a hot lingerie model friend.

Taylor and Victoria's Secret stunner Karlie Kloss drank beers and Diet Cokes as they cheered on the Knicks ... who got crushed by the Chicago Bulls.

Of course, Taylor became the new Global Welcome Ambassador for New York after buying a $20 million apartment earlier this year ... so watching the Knicks play seems like it would be a job requirement.

Carmelo Anthony's Knicks are crushing their crosstown NBA rivals ... in the closet, anyway -- according to one of NYC's biggest names in fashion.

The Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs last season, while the Knicks were sitting at home -- but Sean John President Jeff Tweedy explained why 'Melo still leads his team to dominance on the NY fashion scene.

Cheer up Nets, at least you still have hip hop legend Jay Z as an owner. Oh, right.

Well ... your black unis are very slimming.

The war may be over -- but NY Knicks superfan Michael Rapaport couldn't help but take one last shot at Spike Lee ... and it was pretty hilarious.

Lee and Rapaport had been feuding for months over how to fix the problems in New York City -- Rapaport called Lee a "s**t stain" and Lee said Michael was "stupid."

But Michael recently told HuffPost Live they spoke on the phone and squashed the beef for good.

In fact, when we saw Michael out in NYC Monday ... he was PRAISING Spike as the biggest Knicks fan in the world -- even bigger than he is -- but dropped one last zinger at the famous director.

Jewish NY Knicks star Amar'e Stoudemire says he'll be fasting for Yom Kippur when the sun goes down tonight ... and won't eat all day tomorrow ... despite the fact he's in the middle of NBA training camp.

Stoudemire just went to Instagram and posted ... "Day of Atonement !! Sundown tonight - Sundown tomorrow."

He added, "This is going to be the hardest one yet. No eating or drinking during camp."

It's kind of a big deal, considering the Knicks have been busting their asses during the training sessions ... and Stoudemire has vowed to refrain from nourishing himself after the brutal workouts.

FYI -- Amar'e's decision comes almost 49 years ... to the day ... from when Sandy Koufax famously decided to NOT pitch in a World Series game to observe the Jewish Holiday.