Basketball

Well, THAT didn't take long!!

Less than 24 hours after LeBron James lifted his social media ban on his oldest son ... Bronny James has 1 MILLION followers on Instagram.

The 14-year-old heir to the throne was welcomed to IG with a big shout-out from his daddy Monday afternoon ... as well as a warning shot to all trolls:

"Told him 3 years ago the summer of 2019 I’d let you him get one," Bron said. "Damn time flies! Hahaha! Anyways let’s get Bronny! P.S. Keep y’all hating asses off his comments or we pulling up‼️‼️"

Naturally, Draymond Green was one of the first "hating asses" to hit Bronny's comment section, playfully going after the teen hooper with a "Im at your f**king neck this summer G!!! All gas"

Other notable followers include Mike Trout, Odell Beckham, LaMelo Ball, RJ Barrett, Trae Young and Maverick Carter.

Greg Oden is officially a college graduate -- and just like the rest of the Class of 2019, he's on the hunt for a job ... telling TMZ Sports he'll do whatever it takes to get hired as a coach!!

The #1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft just copped a sports industry degree from Ohio State earlier this month ... and now he's looking to use his education to help land a coaching gig.

31-year-old Oden -- who led the Bucks to the National Title game in his one year at OSU -- was a student assistant coach while working towards his degree, but says he'll have to look elsewhere to get full-time work ... and he's not gonna be picky.

"My mind's open. I feel like I got a story that can help a lot of these kids and I know a little bit about playing basketball," Oden says. "Hopefully somebody gives me an opportunity, but i'm working on that now."

"I wanna get my foot in the door and i just wanna work my way up. I'm willing to learn and adapt, I just need a chance."

Oden is currently getting ready for the upcoming BIG3 season -- where he'll be competing as a player -- but clearly, he's (wisely) planning for the next phase of his career in case a jump back to the NBA isn't in the cards.

9:32 AM PT -- We spoke with Odom on the way out of "The View" and asked him why he thinks Hof tried to kill him. Odom says he's still trying to find the answers.

9:03 AM PT -- Lamar Odom claims the late owner of the Nevada brothel where he OD'd in 2015 tried to kill him ... and Odom says his legal team already has proof to back up his claim.

Odom just appeared on "The View" where he said Dennis Hof -- who owned the Love Ranch -- "tried to kill me."

Long story short ... Odom is adamant he did not intentionally consume any drugs -- including cocaine -- on the day of his overdose and he believes Hof (or someone working for Hof) poisoned him.

"Dennis Hof, I don't know what he had against me but I didn't do drugs that night," Odom said.

"I don't know what he had against me ... he tried to kill me."

Odom says his attorney has already investigated the allegation and found workers at the brothel who back up his claim.

Hof died in October 2018 -- but in 2016, he told TMZ Sports he was a fan of Odom and invited him back to the Love Ranch for the VIP treatment.

We've reached out to Hof's reps regarding Odom's attempted murder claim -- but so far, no comment.

As we previously reported, police who investigated the 2015 overdose say prostitutes at the Love Ranch told them they had heard Odom snorting substances before the OD and had a "vague knowledge of him using illegal narcotics."

Investigators later confirmed the presence of cocaine in Odom's system -- but clearly, Odom says he did NOT knowingly take drugs that night.

Lamar Odom says he believes his wild life story is fit for the big screen -- and he's already had talks about turning his new autobiography into a movie.

Odom was arriving to "The View" in New York on Tuesday to promote his new book, "Darkness to Light" -- in which he talks about everything from drug addiction to sex addiction to his failed marriage with Khloe Kardashian.

Odom says he's already spoken with people about turning his story into a movie but didn't say who those talks were with.

He's not wrong ... Odom went from being an NBA superstar to a reality star before hitting rock bottom ... when he overdosed at a Nevada brothel in 2015.

Odom suffered several strokes and heart attacks and doctors didn't think he'd fully recover.

But, Odom beat the odds and now he's getting ready to play professional basketball again with the BIG3 league.

It's an amazing story ... and it seems like it's only a matter of time before it gets the full-length feature film treatment.

Reason #2361230 why it's great to be LeBron James?? Flexin' on your superstar friends with the hottest shoes on the market ... before they even hit the market.

Nike's billion-dollar man hosted some of his closest NBA-star friends, like Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Tristan Thompson at his L.A. home for a Memorial Day Weekend bash ... and naturally, had to show off one time.

The bright green shoes on his feet in the pic above are the Nike Fear of God 1's in the Frosted Spruce colorway ... and they don't come out 'til this weekend -- but somehow, Bron got the hookup.

When they're available to the non-superstar public, they'll retail at $350, but good luck trying to get them for that price. They're expected to go for AT LEAST $1,000 on the secondary market.

FYI -- the original Nike FOG 1 colorway sold out within seconds when they went on sale late last year ... and these are expected to go just as fast.

As for the bro sesh ... it had everything you could ask for -- vibing to Nipsey Hussle, drinking adult beverages, smokin' cigars and watching "The Godfather" on repeat.

Ex-Lakers player Dwight Howard doesn't think the drama in LakerLand is a big deal -- in fact, he thinks it's all being blown out of proportion because "it's just business."

We got Dwight leaving Catch in West Hollywood over the weekend -- and had to ask him if saw any Lakers front office dysfunction during his 1 season stint with the team in 2012-13.

"It's part of basketball," Howard told us ... "It's just business. Not drama. It's just business."

In other words, Howard doesn't seem too shocked by the situation in L.A. -- almost like he's seen stuff like this with other organizations too and Dwight would know ... he's played for 6 teams.

We also asked Howard about the back injury that sidelined him for most of last season -- and he told us things are on the upswing.

"It's solid. I'll be good ... just continue to get right."

Howard only played 9 games this season before undergoing season-ending spinal surgery to relieve pain in his glutes.

The L.A. Lakers might as well start sellin' lip kits and flat tummy tea, 'cause Jay Williams says there's so much drama surrounding LeBron's team, he's dubbing them "the Kardashians of the NBA."

And, he ain't saying it as a compliment.

It's been a dumpster fire of an offseason for the Lakers ... with Magic Johnson going scorched earth on Rob Pelinka and accusing him of some old fashioned backstabbery. They fired Luke Walton and struggled to get a replacement coach.

And, of course, Lonzo Ball has Big Baller Brand drama.

Williams says things in LakerLand have gotten so bad, the team is starting to resemble the Kar-Jenners more than an NBA organization.

"I feel like we talk about everything but their on-court play ... that's kind of a signature of a lot of drama."

Williams says he still doesn't understand Magic's reasoning behind leaving the team ... and the very public breakup is gonna have players second-guessing whether they wanna be around that come free agency.

Would Donovan McNabb give up his legendary NFL career if he could have similar success in the NBA??

HELL YES ... so says the former Philadelphia Eagles QB himself, who told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV Show (airs weeknights on FS1) he believes basketball is the better team sport.

"At the end of the day, it's about team ball and moving that ball around."

Of course, D-Mac nearly had the choice of the NFL or the NBA coming out of college ... the guy was a beast in both sports back at Syracuse.

In fact, McNabb was part of the Orange team in the 1995-96 season that nearly won the NCAA Tournament ... falling just short to Kentucky in the final game.

Ultimately, McNabb chose football -- he was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft -- and things worked out pretty well for him after that.

Zion Williamson hasn't set foot on an NBA court yet and he already has a shoe and movie deal offer, courtesy of Master P and Romeo.

... but only if Zion actually comes to New Orleans.

We got the father-son duo out in Los Angeles, and they told us they have a role all carved out for Zion in the sequel to their comedy flick "I Got The Hook-Up 2," which comes out in July.

"I have a beautiful idea, we need to get Zion in 'I Got The Hook-Up 3.'"

The movie features Jeezy, Michael Blackson, A.J. Johnson, D.C. Young Fly, Jennifer Lee and a host of others -- and P and Romeo want Zion.

But, that wasn't all ... P had another offer for Williamson from his shoe company, MoneYatti.

"I know Zion gonna get a big shoe deal from Nike or Adidas or whatever. We gonna get him a deal just to have to wear shoes outside of basketball."

Question is, how much is P willing to pay?

"Just to wear it on the side, not in the game, I'm saying $20 [million]."

You heard it, $20 million shoe deal plus a movie role, all if Zion ends up in New Orleans -- which has the #1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Isaiah Rider's wife was involved in a fight with another mom at a youth basketball tournament in Arizona ... with Isaiah allegedly threatening to get his gun from his car, this according to the police report.

48-year-old Rider -- who spent 9 seasons in the NBA -- is the head coach of the SkyRiders basketball team, which was playing a tourney at the Inspire Court gym in Mesa, AZ on May 17.

Cops responded to the tournament over reports of parents fighting -- and when they got there, they spoke with Isaiah's wife, Vanessa ... who said she had been attacked by another woman for "no viable reason."

Vanessa Rider also claimed her 9-year-old son was physically assaulted by an older boy and injured during the altercation.

When cops arrived, they found the other woman ... but she told a completely different story.

The woman claims her son's team had defeated the SkyRiders so Vanessa was bitter -- with Vanessa calling her a "bitch" and trying to swing at her.

The woman claims she fought back to "protect herself" and admits she connected with Vanessa.

That's when the woman claims Isaiah got involved -- jumping over bleachers and calling for his friends to help break up the situation.

Isaiah allegedly started asking, "Who hit my son?" -- and then "told his friends to get his gun out of his car."

We spoke with Vanessa who is adamant that someone else in the gym had threatened to pull a gun first -- and Isaiah reacted in an effort to protect his family.

The woman claims Isaiah left the building but never came back with his gun. Vanessa confirms to TMZ Sports her husband NEVER actually pulled a weapon.

Cops ultimately determined the women were involved in "mutual combat" -- but since they couldn't determine who started the fight, no one was arrested.

Dennis Rodman says he doesn't hit people -- and never has in his life -- so the latest claim that he randomly smacked a guy at a bar is total BS.

TMZ Sports got Rodman in Orange County, CA Friday and asked about what allegedly went down last week in Delray Beach, Florida ... he didn't want to divulge much, but he clearly denies any sort of assault.

We broke the story ... 30-year-old Jeff Soulouque claims the former NBA rebound king slapped him at the Buddha Sky Bar on May 17 "unprovokedly," which injured his eye. He filed a police report the next day.

Cops investigated, and found a witness named David Lee Roth -- but not THE David Lee Roth -- who corroborated Soulouque's story.

Rodman's been listed as an official suspect in an alleged battery as police continue their investigation, but he doesn't seem too worried about it. He insists "nothing happened" ... and his lawyers are dealing with it.

Rodman's attorney, Lorne Berkeley, already told us Dennis denies the allegations and adds that he was sober the entire night in question and nobody he was with saw a slapping incident.

5/24 -- Drake is surely not one to let a diss go unnoticed, the rapper responded to Edens' T-shirt with a social media shout-out.

The "Nice for What" rapper changed his Instagram profile picture to a photo of the model and wrote on his story, "All is fair in war and war and trust me I'll still get you tickets to ovo fest."

The Milwaukee Bucks are firing back at Drake in the most awesome way — hitting him where it hurts ... Pusha T.

Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks owner, Wes Edens, is sitting courtside with Aaron Rogers for game 5 ... and she’s wearing a freakin' Pusha T shirt.

Of course, Drake and Push bad MASSIVE BEEF last year ... with each hip-hop star dropping super personal diss tracks about the other.

It got heated.

So, why the shot at Drake?

Remember, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were PISSED at Drizzy after game 4 in Toronto — where the Raptors ambassador roamed the sideline, taunted MIL’s players.

Bucks coach, Mike Budenholzer, was hot at Drake’s antics ... saying, "There's certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors.”

Now that the series is back in Milwaukee ... Mallory — a model — fires back with King Push.

This is The Story of Giannis.

"[Bucks coach] Mike Budenholzer should be worried about his team. He shouldn't be worried about flexing on Drake."

That's how ex-NBA star Jay Williams feels about all the drama between the Milwaukee Bucks head coach and Drake ... after Budenholzer called out the league for allowing the rapper to have carte blanche court access during the playoffs.

Early Thursday, the Bucks head coach went off about Drizzy ... saying there's NO REASON Drake should be allowed to hang with Raptors players on the bench and shoulder rub the Raptors coaching staff.

"I will say, again, I see it in some timeouts, but I don't know of any person that's attending the game that isn't a participant in the game, a coach -- I'm sorry, a player or a coach, that has access to the court," Budenholzer said.

"there's certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors. You know, to be on the court, there's boundaries and lines for a reason."

Enter, Williams who has this message for the Bucks players and staff -- DEAL WITH IT!!!

"[Drake] is like a 2019 Spike Lee ... just on steroids," Williams said referring to Lee's fan allegiance to the NY Knicks.

"You cant take one dude talking trash to you, I don't know what to tell you!"

The Bucks and Raptors play again Thursday night in Milwaukee -- but they return to Toronto for Game 6 on Saturday.

Life lesson ... text is text, and DM is DM.

Chris Broussard just learned this lesson HARD, courtesy of comments he made about his relationship with NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

This all started when Chris went on FS1's 'Undisputed' and suggested the Warriors playing well in Durant's absence was a "nightmare" for KD ... prompting Durant to clap back on Twitter.

So, Broussard went back on FS1 and discussed his relationship with KD -- saying he and Durant "text" all the time about a variety of topics ... some good, some bad.

Stay with us here ...

That prompted Durant to return to Twitter and let the world know he's NEVER texted with Broussard, and doesn't even have his phone number.

Soooooo ... who's lying?

Well, no one according to Chris ... who just made a video saying he does talk to Durant often, but when he said "text" he was referring to DMs on Instagram and Twitter.

So, he's never texted KD. But, he has texted KD -- explaining that he doesn't really see a difference between text and DM because a private convo is a private convo.

It's a fair point but fact of the matter is ... it's not the same.

Just to help everyone out ... here's the hierarchy of communication so everyone can navigate these newfangled technology streets:

1. Actual phone convo

2. Text

3. DM

4. Comments (back and forth)

5. Mere social media follow

Here's the best Rookie of the Year trophy ever ... Quavo hooked up NBA star Trae Young with a custom diamond chain for his huge 1st season in the league -- and the bling is awesome!!!

"Welcome to the A," the rap star told Young as he presented the jewelry.

Trae killed it for the Atlanta Hawks this year ... averaging 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game in 81 starts -- and to show his thanks, Migos' Atlanta superfan got him some ice.

The chain -- made by famous ATL jeweler Wafi -- is pretty epic ... it features a huge basketball pendant surrounded by dripping diamonds with the nickname "Ice Trae" on it.

The Hawks PG clearly loved the gift ... writing on Quavo's social media page, "YESSSSSSSSIR Much Love My Brotha!!!"

Of course, Trae ain't officially the NBA's Rookie of the Year ... the award won't be announced until the league has its end-of-season ceremony next month.

In fact, Trae ain't even the favorite to land the honor ... Dallas Mavericks PG Luka Doncic is expected to take home the hardware.

Kendall Jenner's far away from her family and chilling in France, and it might be a sign of a fresh start for the supermodel ... in the dating world.

Kendall was soaking up some sunshine Thursday in Cannes with Kardashian family friend and Kourtney's former fling, Luka Sabbat. It looks super casual, but the timing is interesting ... because Kendall and her NBA star boyfriend, Ben Simmons, have reportedly broken up.

They haven't been seen together much lately, so people were starting to wonder and although there's been no announcement ... splitsville's looking very real. Kendall flew into France Wednesday -- presumably to hit up some Cannes Film Festival premieres, and attend the amfAR Gala later Thursday.

That busy schedule explains why she missed out on Kylie's big skincare launch and roller skating party.

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly wrapped up their investigation into that Kristaps Porzingis fight in Latvia ... and concluded he was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

TMZ Sports posted video showing the 7'3" superstar bloodied and pissed off on May 12 outside of a bar in his home country, after apparently being jumped.

Our sources told us the attackers were a bunch of Russians who were pissed off that Porzingis had been traded from the Knicks to Dallas.

There were reports that Porzingis may have suffered a broken hand in the melee -- but the Dallas Morning News says they spoke with a team source who says that's not true and his hands are fine.

DMN is also reporting that team officials spoke "at length" with Porzingis who insisted he was truly an innocent victim who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time ... and the team is buying his story.

Of course, the NBA could step in and punish Porzingis -- so he's not out of the woods -- but this definitely bodes well for him.