Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks player Mike Scott pled not guilty to all charges stemming from his July 2015 drug arrest ... even though he previously admitted the drugs belonged to him.

As TMZ Sports reported, the 27-year-old forward was arrested last summer in Georgia after he and his brother allegedly led cops on a high-speed chase. When police searched their car, they found 10 grams of MDMA and more than an ounce of weed.

In a recorded interrogation with cops, Scott tried to take a bullet for his brother and said all the drugs were his. He was charged with two felonies -- possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. His brother was also hit with a bunch of charges.

According to a rep for the Banks County Court, Scott's lawyer pled not guilty on his behalf to both counts on Monday.

If convicted on all charges, Scott faces up to 25 years in prison.

The Atlanta Hawks' best defense against LeBron James during home games might be their badass organist who keeps the fans turnt up, and has 2 Chainz and Ludacris hanging on every note.

Sir Foster's become a breakout star during the Hawks' playoff run by busting out renditions of songs by Chris Brown, Outkast, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi ... pretty much every genre of popular music. He tells TMZ Sports it's all thanks to Craigslist.

Foster says he landed his dream job when "the team put out a Craigslist ad for an organist. I had zero experience playing sporting events, but I figured, 'I have nothing to do today,' so I went."

He nailed that audition 6 years ago -- and now that the Hawks are dominating deep into the playoffs, he's getting national recognition, and local celebs dig him too. "I've gotten a lot of support from artists like Ludacris, 2 Chainz, Pastor Troy and The Dream."

Foster says the key to his success is staying away from traditional (aka boring) stadium music -- "I play the songs people in Atlanta like to listen to."

He's smart too ... during last night's game, Foster busted out Lil B's "Wonton Soup." Always good to give props to The Based God.

Give Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed some credit -- even in the face of a dominant LeBron James ... he's picking his beloved Hawks to take out the Cavaliers.

Reed was out in L.A. on Thursday night when he made his prediction -- we're not shocked he's riding with the Hawks ... but the odds are stacked against them. DeMarre Carroll is nursing a bad knee, their best defender is out with a broken leg, and they've lost home court advantage.

Oh yeah, and LeBron.

So, the shocking part is the number of games he thinks the birds will need to come out on top. He's pretty much saying tonight is a must-win.

ATL Hawks forward Thabo Sefalosha hasn't been able to attend a SINGLE playoff game due to the injuries he suffered during an altercation with the NYPD and he's "devastated" ... sources tell TMZ Sports.

As we previously reported, Sefalosha claims he broke his right fibula and sustained ligament damage as cops tried to take him into custody following a stabbing outside of a nightclub last month.

Thabo underwent surgery ... and sources tell us he's basically been relegated to his home to rest and recover ever since .... while his teammates have been tearing it up in the NBA playoffs.

"It's killing him that he's not in the playoffs," one source close to Thabo tells us ... "He'd much rather be competing with his team."

Meantime, Sefalosha is still facing criminal charges from the night of the arrest -- obstruction of a police officer and disorderly conduct -- though we're told he's still fighting the case ... and expects to be vindicated.

Thabo Sefolosha is publicly blaming the NYPD for the "significant injury" he suffered during an arrest last week ... saying, "I am in great pain ... the injury was caused by the police."

We broke the story ... the NYPD has already launched an internal affairs investigation into the arrest -- in which you can see several officers physically corralling the NBA player.

In fact, you can see one cop pull out a baton and swing it -- though it's unclear from the footage if he connects with Thabo. The NYPD has said Thabo was acting in an aggressive manor which justified the use of force.

Thabo reportedly suffered a broken right fibula and ligament damage in the melee ... and now he's issued a statement blaming the police.

The NYPD has launched an internal affairs investigation into the arrest of NBA player Thabo Sefolosha -- who claims cops used excessive force during a violent incident last week.

As we previously reported, Thabo was taken into custody early Wednesday morning -- after cops say he was obstructing officers from investigating the stabbing of NBA player Chris Copeland.

We posted footage of the arrest on TMZ Sports -- which showed cops putting Thabo in a headlock and pulling him to the ground. At least one cop brandishes his nightstick.

Cops say Thabo was acting in an aggressive manor ... which justified the use of force. Thabo's attorney says BS ... and says the video essentially exonerates his client of any wrongdoing.

Now, an NYPD spokesperson tells us, "The issue has been referred to internal affairs, which is investigating the incident."

Atlanta Hawks star Thabo Sefolosha appeared to suffer a severe blow from an NYPD officer's nightstick during his arrest Wednesday night ... based on this new video of the violent take down.

TMZ Sports just obtained this new angle of Sefolosha's arrest, shot by a witness outside 1Oak Nightclub in NYC ... moments after Pacers Chris Copeland was stabbed.

In this video you can clearly see Sefolosha being tugged in different directions by 6 officers. Additionally ... you can see one of the officers take a big swing with his baton, and it sounds like he makes contact with something.

A witness says Thabo told police, "Calm down."

As we've reported ... Sefolosha broke his fibula during the scuffle with cops, and based on this video it's possible it could've been caused by the officer's baton.

In their report, police said Thabo was aggressively charging at one of the officers before they got physical with him. That's not evident from either video we've obtained ... since they start after the scuffle began.

Thabo Sefolosha's lawyer tells TMZ Sports ... the video of his client's arrest proves what Thabo has said all along -- he did NOTHING wrong.

We spoke with attorney Alex Spiro who tells us, "I fully expect this case to be dismissed. The video speaks for itself."

Of course, the video shows Sefolosha in a violent clash with 6 NYPD officers early Wednesday morning ... following the Chris Copeland stabbing.

Cops say Thabo was being aggressive toward police during the encounter and that's why things turned physical.

Sefolosha says B.S. -- and has vowed to fight the charges.

Atlanta Hawks star Thabo Sefolosha was grabbed around the neck -- and flung to the ground -- in a struggle with several NYPD officers during his Wednesday arrest ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Before the video begins, Thabo's teammate Pero Antic was already sitting on the curb -- subdued by police for allegedly obstructing cops from investigating the Chris Copeland stabbing.

But when cops tried to corral Thabo, something went wrong -- and a scuffle breaks out between the NBA player and 6 officers.

At one point during the struggle, you can see an officer reach out and grab Thabo by his neck ... while two other officers help take the 6'7", 220-pounder down to the ground.

Eventually, Thabo is placed in cuffs -- and officers walk him down the street ... while onlookers shout obscenities in French directed toward the police.

Moments ago, it was reported that Thabo suffered a fractured tibia in the melee and will miss the remainder of the season.

Two Atlanta Hawks basketball players claim allegations they got in the way of a police investigation at the scene of an NYC stabbing are UNTRUE ... and they vow to fight the charges in court.

As we previously reported, Thabo Sefolosha and Pero Antic were arrested near 1Oak nightclub after Indiana Pacers player Chris Copeland was stabbed in an early morning attack.

Cops say Pero and Thabo obstructed police from investigating the crime scene -- and were acting disorderly when asked to get out of the way. Cops also say Thabo resisted arrest and it took several officers to take him into custody.

But now, the players have issued a joint statement calling BS on the NYPD ... saying, "We will contest these charges and look forward to communicating the facts of the situation at the appropriate time."

They continued, "As members of the Atlanta Hawks, we hold ourselves to a high standard and take our roles as professionals very seriously."

Seems T.I. has taken himself out of the running to buy the Atlanta Hawks -- telling us NBA owners have no real power and the whole thing seems like a waste of money.

T.I. was leaving Ricardo Steakhouse in NYC Wednesday night -- when he told us he's "excited" about how well the Hawks are doing this season ... but says he's flat out "not interested" in ownership.

"The thing about me owning a NBA franchise ... you never get bigger than the NBA," T.I. says.

"So, whatever it is that you do, it'll be controlled by a bunch of people who probably have more money than you. And who have been involved with the organization for longer than you. So you won't be able to do a lot of the things that you want to do. So, I'm not interested."

The new Atlanta Hawks owner could be in a very tough spot ... having to pick one hip hop spokesman for his team out of all the music superstars in A-Town -- and he's not looking forward to settling the matter.

We tried to nail down John Rutherford Seydel II on whether he's going to follow the lead of the Raptors and Wizards -- which recently enlisted Drake and Wale as respective spokesmen for their hometown squads.

Seydel gave T.I. props for performing on the Hawks' opening night, but also mentioned he has ties to Usher. Throw in Jermaine Dupri, Rich Homie Quan, Ying Yang Twins, and Wocka Flocka Flame -- to name just a few -- and Sydel would have an impossible decision.

ATL Hawks owner Bruce Levenson is being UNFAIRLY labeled a racist over his now infamous email -- so says ATL rapper Killer Mike who tells TMZ Sports the only color on BL's mind was GREEN!

The email (from 2012) went viral last weekend -- and in it, Levenson explained that the high percentage of black people at his games was scaring off rich white people.

Mike, who's signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle label, says there's NOTHING WRONG with making those observations.

"It's not remotely racist at all. What I read was a business man trying to fill up his seats with the demographic that spends the most money."

Mike adds, "I own a barber shop. I make it a point for people to know I cut white people's hair. If white people 30 to 55 aren't coming to Hawks games, you have to do whatever you need to do to get them there."

Mike does admit that the email was "crass" -- but he thinks people should stop being so quick to throw that word "racist" around.

Al Sharpton tells TMZ Sports ... he's been a part of discussions with NBA Commish Adam Silver on how to handle the situation with racist Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson.

Sharpton -- who previously sat down with Adam Silver in the middle of the Donald Sterling crisis -- tells us, "In the discussions we've been having with the Commissioner, they said they were gonna vet everyone out [before allowing a sale of the team]."

The Rev says, "We challenge the NBA Commissioner Silver and others to not just go from one billionaire to another without opening up the diversity of ownership in the NBA."

"We only have one team. Michael Jordan owned by a black [Charlotte Bobcats] ... yet look at the percentage of players that are black."

With racist-ass racist Bruce Levenson on the outs ... TMZ Sports has learned NBA legend Dominique Wilkins is actively trying to become the next owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

Multiple NBA sources tell us ... Dominique is "extremely interested" in becoming the next owner of the Hawks -- and has already been pre-approved for ownership by the NBA.

We're told Wilkins -- who has amassed his own small fortune over the years -- has partnered up with a "very well-known businessman" who believes Wilkins would be the best person to lead the Hawks back to NBA glory.

Of course, Levenson recently tendered his letter of resignation as current Hawks owner after an incredibly racist email he wrote back in 2012 came to light ... in which he complained that too many black people were attending his games.

Wilkins played for the Hawks for 12 years during his NBA career ... and was a 9-time All Star ... and they still LOVE him in the ATL.

Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson abruptly announced he's selling the team because he's guilty of sending an email so racist ... it would make Donald Sterling cringe.

Levenson admits he sent the email to team execs back in 2012, urging them to get more suburban white fans at games. He then laid out all the problems with the current fan base, listing the following:

- it's 70 pct black
- the cheerleaders are black
- the music is hip hop
- at the bars it's 90 pct black
- there are few fathers and sons at the games
- the concerts [after games] are either hip hop or gospel

Levenson continued in the email ... "My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base." He also complained that he's told team execs, "I want some white cheerleaders ... I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too black."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says Levenson copped to the email in July -- about 2 months after Donald Sterling was banned -- and immediately informed the league he would sell the team.