Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings star Rajon Rondo swears he's no homophobe -- despite the fact he hurled gay slurs at a gay NBA ref -- saying the whole thing was out of frustration... not out of gay hatred.

Rondo was suspended earlier this week after he cussed out NBA referee Bill Kennedy on Dec. 3rd -- calling him a "motherf**king f**got" while storming off the court.

Kennedy has since come out as a gay man -- leading to a closer inspection into Rondo's verbal attack.

But Rondo insists he's not anti-gay -- saying, "My actions during the game were out of frustration and emotion, period!"

"They absolutely do not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community. I did not mean to offend or disrespect anyone."

Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé has also weighed in -- saying, "Rajon's comment is not reflective of the culture of the Sacramento Kings organization or the world we want to live in."

Everyone wants to be LeBron James -- including Kings owner Vivek Ranadive -- so, he got Jamie Foxx to teach him how ... and the video is HILARIOUS!!

The two hooked up during the Clippers vs. Kings game earlier this week ... when Foxx busted out a PERFECT IMPRESSION ... complete with the King James facial expressions.

He even nailed the look LeBron gives when he backpedals after a bad play.

Mark Wahlberg might be adding another athlete to his entourage ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned that the A-lister is in talks with NBA star Caron Butler about bringing his life story to the big screen.

Butler has a brand new book out called "Tuff Juice" -- in which the Sacramento Kings forward details how he overcame a hard life as a drug dealing youth to make it to the NBA.

Wahlberg has been all over "Tuff Juice" ... writing testimonials and tweeting his support for the book since its release. Caron tells us it hasn't stopped there ... and that the two men have talked about a feature film adaptation.

"It's a possibility ... I've spent some time with Mark Wahlberg. He loved my story."

Mark would be the guy ... with sports themed projects like "The Fighter" and his HBO show "Ballers" already proving to be huge hits.

Caron says while he's not getting too ahead of himself about the possibility of a big screen makeover ... he does know which A-lister he'd like to play him.

"Michael B. Jordan. I loved what he did in "Fruitvale Station." I think he would do a great job at sharing my story."

It doesn't matter that Ben McLemore was the 7th overall pick in the NBA draft ... or the fact he's considered a legit future star ... he's still a rookie -- which means, he's gotta carry a "Hello Kitty" backpack around NYC.

We spotted the Sacramento Kings shooting guard on his way to the team bus -- but it wasn't the fact that he's 6'5" that drew our attention ... it was the bright pink bag on his shoulder.

The 21-year-old admitted, "It's a rookie thing right here" ... yeah, no kidding.

Could be worse -- at least he didn't have to shave his head like Friar Tuck, right Tim Tebow?