Basketball

If the whole "basketball God" thing never happened for LeBron James, he could've earned his way as a real-deal professional boxer ... and if you don't believe it, just ask Canelo Alvarez!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the boxing superstar about partnering with King James for a docuseries leading up to his big fight with Daniel Jacobs ... and he says it's an incredible honor to work together.

So, how would Bron have fared if he took his talents to the ring instead of the court?

"He has the height, the body, the physique. But, an athlete of this level -- like ourselves -- I think we can do other sports fairly well."

Just for fun, here's the tale of the tape pitting LeBron James against heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder ...

We also had to flip the question on Canelo to ask what sport he'd like to dominate if he didn't become a boxer ... and you'll want to hear what he says!!!

As for the fight with Jacobs on DAZN this weekend, Canelo says he's feeling good leading up to the huge event on Saturday.

Stephen Jackson is giving some solid advice to D'Angelo Russell following his weed bust earlier this week ... telling the NBA star to keep his head up and be SMARTER with his pot moving forward.

As we previously reported ... DLo was cited for marijuana possession Wednesday at LaGuardia airport after TSA found a fake can of Arizona iced tea in his checked bag ... with green stashed away in a secret compartment.

Stack is now going to bat for Russell ... essentially saying it's NBD because ganja's practically legal everywhere now, but laws are laws and the young hooper can't be getting in trouble.

"Thinking bout @dloading stay strong kid," Jackson says. "They rather u take man made stuff so they can benefit."

Jackson added, "Gotta be smarter DLo but remember it’s a 'PLANT' not a drug. Facts. Do your homework."

FYI -- Jackson is a big marijuana advocate ... and has teamed up with fellow ex-NBA great Al Harrington's Viola cannabis company to share the benefits of weed as an alternative to prescription pills for pain relief.

Stack says although it's on its way to being legal everywhere, it's still a crime ... "It’s only a prob having it if u successful and black. It’s dam near legal."

Lamar Odom says he still battles the addictions that almost took his life, but says he's winning the war, and plans to fight for as long as it takes.

"Getting high is not on my agenda."

We talked to Lamar at LAX Thursday morning, just hours after he officially joined the "Enemies" team in Ice Cube's BIG3 league ... marking his return to pro competition against NBA level opponents.

Odom very candidly and bravely opened up to our guy not only about his new home in the BIG3, but about his state mind ... and most notably, his fight to stay sober.

"When you're an addict, that's something you live with forever, bro. You don't just put that behind you."

As for the BIG3, Lamar says he agrees with Cube -- who said he expects Odom will be the league's comeback player of the year.

"Hopefully I get nominated for an ESPY."

The fact that Odom is alive at all is A MIRACLE, the man survived 12 strokes and 6 heart attacks when he overdosed in 2015, and most doctors thought his chances of a full recovery were slim to none.

NBA star D'Angelo Russell was busted for marijuana at a New York City airport Wednesday night ... after TSA found weed stashed in his checked bag.

DLo's luggage was searched before his flight to Louisville took off from LaGuardia airport around 7 PM ... when a suspicious can of Arizona Iced Tea flagged the system.

As it turns out, it wasn't just an ordinary can of tea -- it was one of those "cans" that actually has a secret compartment people use to hide their drugs (y'all stoners know what we're talking about).

We're told there was more weed found in a grinder inside the fake can as well.

Law enforcement sources tell us Russell initially tried to say the weed belonged to his brother, but he was alone and in possession of the bag.

TMZ Sports has learned that Russell was cited for possession of marijuana (under 50 grams) ... and was allowed to leave. We're told the summons usually results in the defendant paying a fine.

The Brooklyn Nets released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, "We have been made aware of the situation involving D’Angelo Russell and are in the process of gathering more information at this time."

It was a breakout season for Russell ... who averaged 21 points and 7 assists per game and made his 1st All-Star game.

Kenny Smith says he's praying for his good friend and ex-teammate, Danny Ainge ... and says his heart attack should send a message to retired players -- take care of your health!

The Boston Celtics GM was treated for a mild heart attack earlier this week in Milwaukee ... but is expected to make a full recovery.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Jet at LAX on Thursday ... and Smith says there's actually some positive that can come out of this situation.

"It's important for guys who are retired to keep a type of awareness of their body, and the health of their body, the way they do when they're playing. A lot of us don't," Smith tells us.

"So hopefully this could be messages to a lot of former players that are still out there now not playing anymore."

Smith and Ainge go way back ... they played together from 1988-1990 on the Sacramento Kings, and have been friends ever since.

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was treated after suffering a mild heart attack in Milwaukee on Tuesday ... and luckily, he's expected to make a full recovery.

The Celtics released a statement on Thursday ... saying the ex-NBAer received immediate medical attention and will be able to return to Boston, although it's unclear if he will be able to attend tomorrow night's Game 3 matchup in the Eastern Conference semis against the Bucks.

Ainge has had health issues in the past -- he also suffered a mild heart attack in 2009.

The 60-year-old won 2 titles with the Celtics during his 14-year career before taking his talents to the front office. He's widely considered one of the best execs in the league ... and helped put together Boston's 2008 title-winning roster.

LeBron James produces and acts in movies and TV -- he's on his way to Hollywood mogul status -- but now he's the one being offered a role ... by an up-and-coming R&B singer.

The dude with the voice is TOBi ... and a bunch of athletes from Todd Gurley to DeAndre Hopkins have been rockin' out to his music -- so when we saw him in NYC earlier this week, we asked about all the baller support.

"Man, it's crazy, man, cause these are people that we look up to in the sports world, and they love my music, and they're working out to it which is f**king dope. I love that."

TOBi says his favorite athletes are LeBron and Kawhi Leonard (he's from Toronto) ... so we asked if there might be a King James cameo in one of his videos.

It ain't out of the question ... LBJ appeared in the music vid for Ohio rapper Al Fatz's song, "Came Down," back in 2007.

TOBi says ... "You never know, that might happen. That just might happen. We're gonna get it poppin'!"

Robert Kraft still has some very powerful allies during his Asian Spa case ... including Jay-Z and Meek Mill.

Of course, Kraft has been friendly with both rap superstars for a while -- but teamed up with them on Wednesday as part of a meeting for the REFORM Alliance, dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system.

CNN's Van Jones -- who's the CEO of REFORM -- was also on hand along with Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

During the meeting, the group discussed everything from reform policy goals to employment rates and crime rates.

Earlier this year, the group pledged $50 MILLION in hopes of achieving their goal of getting 1 MILLION people released over the next 5 years.

For Kraft, his appearance at the meeting is interesting considering his lawyers in Florida had been battling all day long to keep officials from releasing surveillance footage in his spa case.

The guys could have easily asked Kraft to keep his distance from the group during his legal case because it could be viewed as a distraction -- but clearly, they don't feel that way.

Kraft not only had a seat at the table, but posed for a pic with the group -- everyone had big smiles.

Ice Cube sees big things in store for Lamar Odom ... telling TMZ sports he thinks L.O. will return to glory in the BIG3 league this season.

Hours before the 2019 BIG3 Draft kicks off in Las Vegas, Cube was raving about the huge stars he's locked up for the upcoming season -- most notably Lamar Odom.

As we previously reported ... Odom has been training his ass off in hopes of playing pro basketball again. We're told he's looking pretty good in the gym.

Now it's time to see if a BIG3 team still believes in Odom when the draft goes live at 7 PM PT.

"A lot of people counted him out, but not us," Cube said. "I think he's gonna be our comeback player of the year."

Cube is also excited about Royce White, a former first-round NBA Draft pick who ended up playing up overseas because of conflicts with NBA teams over the treatment of his mental illness.

Caron Butler says there's a diamond in the rough in the NBA playoffs ... a guy he says is "so special" the Trail Blazers better not sleep on him -- and that dude is Nikola Jokic.

The 7-footer from Serbia has emerged a force to be reckoned with this season -- and Butler says it's no fluke.

"He's so special," Butler tells TMZ Sports ... "I spent some time with the Denver Nuggets and his versatility is just amazing because he's able to shoot the basketball, ultimately facilitate and he has a high basketball IQ. He's just tough to stop."

24-year-old Jokic put his talents on display during Game 1 of his series with Portland -- pounding the Blazers for 37 points, 6 assists and 9 rebounds.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday night -- and Caron expects more of the same ... Jokic domination.

11:42 AM PT -- According to our NYPD sources, Octavia is now a person of interest and wanted for questioning in the case.

Sebastian Telfair's estranged wife claims the NBA star's sister threatened to "kill my kids and cut my face" ... all because she testified against Sebastian in his NYC gun case.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the LAPD responded to a call last week from Samantha Telfair, who claims Octavia Telfair called her roughly 52 times making various threats ... including a threat to "Slice [her] face and kill [her] children."

Samantha told cops Octavia was furious that Samantha took the stand earlier this month and told prosecutors she had seen Sebastian with multiple weapons, including the gas-operated submachine gun he was allegedly carrying when he was arrested in June 2017.

Sebastian -- a former NBA prodigy who flamed out -- was convicted in his gun possession case last week and now faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced in June.

Samantha lives in L.A. which is why the LAPD is involved. We're told officers took a criminal threats report and the LAPD is now investigating.

We're told Octavia is believed to live in New York -- and sources tell us the NYPD is also involved in the investigation because Samantha filed an aggravated harassment report in New York as well.

Attempts to reach out to Octavia for comment were unsuccessful.

As we previously reported, Telfair -- a 33-year-old former high school phenom who spent 12 seasons in the NBA -- was arrested in June 2017 in Brooklyn when cops found several weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair had 3 pistols and what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle along with a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.

Two things in this photo ...

1) Check out the pic of Steph Curry's gnarly dislocated finger from Tuesday night's playoff game against the Houston Rockets ... pretty sick, right?

2) Did you also know Steph Curry has a Hebrew tattoo on his left hand?

Wanna know what it says? When read phonetically, it's pronounced "Curry."

As for the finger ... seems the Golden State Warriors training staff popped it back in and taped it up ... and of course, he went back to hitting shots like nothing was wrong.

The Warriors ended up winning the game 115 to 109 ... with Curry dropping 20.

Now, the Warriors are up in the series 2-0.

Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert says he doesn't want Skynet creations taking over NBA officiating -- he just wants transparency, honesty and accountability from the flesh and blood zebras.

The NBA refs are on the hot seat right now, with some fans thinking they handed a gift game to the Golden State Warriors in the first run of the Western Conference semifinals against Houston.

Gobert was one of the critics on Twitter, saying his Jazz got different treatment from the stripes when they faced off against the Rockets in the 1st round.

There's been talk for years that the way to fix bad calls is to have robot or computer refs take the court over (seems terrifying), but when we got Gobert out he said all that ain't necessary.

"I think it would take something away from the game if you do that."

Gobert, one of the best defensive players in the league, says that carbon-based refs are fine, as long as the players are able to have honest talks with them.

"Dialogue is the most important thing."

Jimmy Butler wanted to make one thing clear to his coach after the 76ers' big victory over the Raptors on Monday ... "MY NAME IS NOT JAMES!"

Here's the deal ... Butler was a 1-man wrecking crew against Toronto -- putting up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in a 94-89 playoff victory.

After the game, 76ers head coach Brett Brown was RAVING about Butler to the media -- and in an attempt to compliment his star, he referred to him as "James."

"This was James Butler," Brown told the media ... "That was the adult in the gym."

"He was just a tremendous sort of rock. He willed us to a lot of different situations."

Good stuff.

A few minutes later, Butler faced the media and was asked how he felt about the "James" thing -- his response was hilarious.

"My name isn't James! It literally is Jimmy!"

The media cracked up laughing.

It's becoming a tradition unlike any other -- win a national title, get a fast food smorgasbord from President Trump ... and Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey's face says it all.

The Lady Bears celebrated their title at the White House after beating Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament earlier this month ... and of course, there was all the Wendy's, McDonald's and Burger King they could eat.

It looks like the players were cool with the menu -- but how did Coach Mulkey feel? Just look at the pic ...

The fast-food feast all started back when Clemson visited the White House during the government shutdown in January ... and at the time, Trump explained the menu by saying, "I would think that's their favorite food."

But, it's become POTUS' "thing" to keep the burger buffet goin' ... and the kids seem to love it, just ask Clemson superstar QB Trevor Lawrence!!

We should note -- Trump hasn't busted out the burger love for EVERY championship team that's come to visit ... the Washington Capitals didn't get ANY food when they rolled through last month.

So, maybe it's just a college athlete thing??

Forget $100k ... the Warriors' official scorer's sheet from Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game sold for over $214,000 at auction ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Wilt's Philadelphia Warriors played the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1962 ... and Wilt scored 100 POINTS -- the only player to ever reach triple digits.

The scorer's sheet -- autographed by Chamberlain -- had never been sold before. The Warriors' official scorer held the item ... and when he passed away, his widow gifted it to a close friend who held onto it for years ... before auctioning it off.

SCP Auctions tells us the historic piece -- which they estimated would sell for around $100k-- blew that estimate outta the water and sold for $214,579.

"This scoresheet, with such well-documented provenance, may be the most important, authentic piece that collectors ever have a chance to acquire," SCP Auctions Director Brendan Wells says.

"It certainly got the price it deserves.”