Basketball

What do Chip and Joanna Gaines have in common with Ciara and Kevin Love? Other than the fact that they're megastars ... they all also have a Harvard class under their belts.

The A-listers were among the most recognizable faces this past week at the 4-day Harvard business course known as BEMS -- where top-level talent from all walks of life, including Hollywood stars, come out and share their experiences with each other ... brainstorming paths to success.

Some of the other celebs to join the group -- NBA stars Julius Randle and Luc Mbah a Moute, German soccer star Oliver Kahn, NCIS actor Eric Olsen and more.

By the end of it ... it looks like "Fixer Upper" couple and the rest of the gang walked away with certificates to show they'd completed the course -- which has hosted the likes of Chris Bosh, Michael Strahan and a myriad of CEOS and execs from different companies in the past.

Vince Carter's good looks are a total sweep!

Here is a 22-year-old version of the longtime American professional basketball player during a game in Houston, Texas against the Rockets, back when he was still playing for the Toronto Raptors in 1999 (left).

And, 20 years later ... the now 42-year-old shooting guard and small forward currently playing for the Atlanta Hawks was photographed earlier this year in the ATL showing off his baller looks during the Atlanta Hawks game against the San Antonio Spurs (right).

Whether the Warriors or Raptors take the W in the NBA Finals ... he has already won with these features!

The question is ...

Ice Cube's BIG3 league is missing out on a major ex-NBA talent who says the league needs to give him a look ASAP ... like YESTERDAY, because he's SURE he has enough game left to compete.

The man is Isaiah Rider ... who averaged 16.7 ppg over 9 NBA seasons -- a serious player -- and told us he feels like he's not getting a fair shake at continuing his hoops legacy in the BIG3.

"I been in the draft the last three years ... They know I'm available, it's a buddy league. One of my buddies need to pick me up and stop playing."

How does Rider know he'd cook (cook: meaning to do well playing basketball, it's how the kids talk) in the BIG3? He had an answer.

"They got people in the BIG3 that sat on the bench BEHIND me! Stop playing man!!!! Town bidness, stop playing man."

Note: the term "Town Bidness" refers to the fact that Isaiah Rider is from Oakland, CA. A place noted for not only it's amazing basketball players, but for a population that's not about BS of any kind.

Shawn Marion says high school phenom R.J. Hampton will get all the NBA prep he needs next year in Australia ... because that league is almost as tough as the NBA!!!

Hampton, who's an ultra-explosive combo guard that could've gone to any college he wanted, chose to play in Australia's NBL, before entering the NBA draft in 2020.

Marion is a part owner of the New Zealand Breakers, the team Hampton will be playing for Down Under, and he tells us the league will be no walk in the park for the young hooper.

"There is no other league more talented than the NBL right now. Them guards up there are really tough, and he can definitely get the experience he needs to get to the next level."

Shawn ain't lying, guys like Luc Longley, Andrew Bogut, and Stephen Jackson all got their start in the NBL, as well as current players like Patty Mills and Terrance Ferguson.

"A lot of those guys out there should be in the NBA, I'm not saying it because I'm a part of it, I'm saying it because I've witnessed it with my eyes. It ain't a cakewalk."

Draymond Green says there was NO "scuffle" with Drake after the Warriors lost to the Raptors on Thursday ... blasting a reporter for even asking about the altercation in the post-game presser.

"You got a question about basketball?" Green said.

Of course, it certainly looked like a scuffle to most of the world ... Green was nose-to-nose with the "God's Plan" rapper -- and Drake clearly used the word "trash" when jawing at the Warriors star.

But, Draymond is playing the whole thing down, saying, "I didn't hit him and he didn't hit me or I didn't push him or he didn't push me."

Green added, "We talked. We barked a little bit. But I wouldn't necessarily consider that a scuffle. Not really what I, personally, would consider a scuffle."

Drake's played a key role in Toronto's playoff run this season ... he pissed off Giannis Antetokounmpo and the entire Milwaukee Bucks roster last week -- and now he is clearly already under Golden State's skin.

Game 2 tips off Sunday night in Toronto ... and Drake's expected to have courtside seats once again.

CAN'T WAIT!!!

Ron Garretson -- a longtime NBA referee -- was arrested for DUI in Arizona on Wednesday after officials say he crashed into a tree near the Lake Havasu City Police Dept. Station.

Cops responded to calls about a man who slammed an orange Jeep Wrangler into a tree around 6:30 PM -- and when officers arrived at the scene, 60-year-old Garretson was covered in blood.

According to the police report, Garretson initially claimed someone had hit his car -- but cops say the story didn't make sense. Cops also say he reeked of booze and Garretson admitted to having a beer and a shot at a nearby cigar bar before getting behind the wheel.

Cops also say Garretson made it a point to say he's an NBA ref -- and insisted he's in great shape.

Despite that, Garretson bombed field sobriety tests -- and blew a .19 on the breathalyzer, more than TWICE the legal limit. He was arrested at the scene and hauled to a nearby station where he was booked for extreme DUI.

Garretson has been working in the NBA for 32 seasons -- working more than 1,900 regular season games.

Did Nike just win the Zion Williamson shoe wars!?? Judging by this video we just got of the projected #1 overall pick ... it seems they Just Did It.

Check out this footage of Zion working out at a Los Angeles gym on Thursday. Pay attention to his feet.

ZW's wearing the Nike Kyrie 4s. VERY interesting ... considering EVERY major shoe company is looking to sign the ex-Duke superstar to the biggest rookie shoe endorsement deal since LeBron James.

In fact, ex-NBA star Jay Williams and shoe legend Sonny Vaccaro told us they wouldn't be surprised if a company shelled out $100 MILLION for Zion!

Now, Zion rocked Nikes in college -- but only because Duke had an endorsement deal with the Swoosh.

But, there was speculation he could switch to another company after his NCAA career was jeopardized because of that February incident when his Nike PG 2.5s busted open during the first minute of the UNC game.

Zion suffered a right knee strain during the shoe explosion ... and many wondered if he would bail for Adidas, Puma or even New Balance (hey, Kawhi Leonard did it).

However, Nike clearly has the advantage since Zion wore the Kyrie 4s multiple times in college ... and obviously likes them enough to wear them when he doesn't have to.

Don't plan the parades at Sierra Canyon High just yet ... 'cause the next generation of the James/Wade duo teaming up does NOT mean it'll have the same results as their dads -- so says Kenny Smith.

The basketball world pretty much lost their minds when the news broke that freshman Bronny James and senior Zaire Wade will be teammates next season -- bringing back memories of the Peanut Butter and Jelly combo, LeBron and D-Wade, had in Miami.

The Jet -- who has an AAU team and knows his stuff about youth hoops -- says Bronny and Zaire will be able to contend off the rip ... but California basketball is filled with massive, skilled kids ... so it'll be tough.

"There's multiple things that you need," Kenny says ... "Especially Bronny being so young, only being a freshman. The age difference is tough."

Of course, their daddies won 2 titles with the Heat ... and created tons of highlights together. Smith sees that in their future as well.

Scottie Pippen tells TMZ Sports he likes Doc Rivers' comparison between Kawhi Leonard and Michael Jordan ... but says there's another name that should be in the mix -- Kobe Bryant.

Earlier this week, Doc raved about the Toronto Raptors superstar while appearing on ESPN, saying Kawhi is "the most like Jordan that we've seen."

"There's a lot of great players," River said ... "LeBron is phenomenal, KD is phenomenal. Not that [Leonard] is Jordan or anything like that, but he's the most like him."

"Big hands, post-game, can finish. Great leaper, great defender, in-between game. If you beat him to the spot he bumps you off, and then you add his three-point shooting."

So, who better to weigh in than MJ's Chicago running mate? Who BTW, was leaving Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills in his sick Ferrari.

Ya gotta watch the clip ... at first, Scottie agrees with Doc's assessment but then brings up Kobe -- and ultimately can't make a decision about which one is closer to #23.

And, with the Golden State Warriors now entering their 5th straight NBA Finals -- with a possible 3-peat in the works -- we asked Scottie if he still thinks his '95-96 Bulls squad is still the best team ever.

Every time Drake opens his mouth during the NBA Finals, he's contributing to Too Short's new rap song ... so says Short Dog himself.

See, Too Short is a hardcore Golden State Warriors fan (Oakland!!), so when we saw him at Bootsy Bellows in L.A. (hanging with Jimmy O. Yang!) we asked how he plans to deal with Drake, whose Raptors fandom has been driving people crazy.

"We've had a meeting about this," Short tells TMZ Sports.

"What we're gonna do is, we're gonna watch Drake. We're gonna record every little bit of tape of Drake [during the NBA Finals]. Every word he says, we're gonna make a song with those words."

It's not a bad idea ... considering everything Drake touches turns platinum nowadays. As for the title for the project??

"It's gonna be called 'Drake Losing to the Warriors.'"

Yeah, the title could probably use some work -- but the idea is pretty solid!

By the way, Too Short and Drake are good friends -- in fact, Drake even paid homage to Short in the DJ Khaled track "For Free."

Good news, bad news for Drake -- Good news?? Klay Thompson likes your music. Bad news?? Klay Thompson HATES YOUR GUTS!!!

... as a Raptors fan.

The Warriors superstar was asked whether he's gonna get in the zone for the NBA Finals by vibin' out to some Drizzy, or skip his jams considering he's with the enemy Toronto Raptors ... and Klay had one helluva soundbite.

"If it's one of his soft, R&B songs, I'mma skip it 'cause I'm in 'kill mode' right now trying to get these 4 games," Klay says ... "So, I'll skip 'Hotline Bling' and anything along that line."

Side note -- Klay, don't do "Hotline Bling" like that. RESPECT "HOTLINE BLING"!!!!!! It's a classic.

Thompson -- who says he's been a Drake fan since high school -- added, "He's a great artist. Do I like him as a Raptors fan? No. But, I like him as a musician. He's extremely talented, but I will definitely skip the song if I don't like it."

Dennis Hof was a lover, not a murderer and he did NOT try to kill Lamar Odom ... so says Hof's best friend, porn star Ron Jeremy.

Just hours after Odom went on "The View" and claimed the late Love Ranch brothel owner poisoned him on the day he overdosed back in 2015 ... we spotted Ron outside the Rainbow Bar & Grill in L.A. and asked him if there was any truth to LO's allegation.

"Read my lips," Ron told us ... "NOOOOO!!!"

Of course, Hof passed away in October 2018 ... so he can't exactly defend himself -- but Hof always described Jeremy as his best friend, so he might be the next best person to ask.

"Why would Dennis do this? What could he possibly gain?" Jeremy said.

Jeremy essentially told us he NEVER heard Hof discuss such plans to kill Odom and says he wants to see all of Odom's alleged evidence.

On the flip side, Jeremy says Hof had a ton of celebrity friends and was always thinking of ways to grow his business ... and murdering Odom wouldn't have been in his best interest.

TMZ Sports has obtained police footage of the moments after Jim Boeheim struck and killed a man on a NY highway in February ... and cops clearly felt awful for the Syracuse coach.

The 74-year-old was returning home from dinner on Feb. 20 at around 11 PM when he says he "observed a vehicle sitting in the roadway" on Route 690 in the City of Syracuse.

When Boeheim swerved to avoid the car ... he hit a pedestrian named Jorge Jimenez in the road -- killing him.

When police arrived on the scene ... they were shocked to find it was the legendary basketball coach behind the wheel -- with one cop saying, "It's f*cking Jim Boeheim!"

As the police learn more about the accident and what went down ... you can tell they feel sorry for the coach, 'cause one officer says, "That's fucking awful; he's shook up isn't he?"

You can see from pictures obtained by TMZ Sports the scene WAS horrific ... with an imprint of Jimenez's body clearly left on the hood of Boeheim's SUV.

Cops eventually took Boeheim back to the station to officially record his side of the story ... and afterward, officers commented once again on how badly they felt for the coach.

"Dude, that sucks, though," one cop says ... "Like, you're not doing anything wrong and you just go kill somebody?"

Cops eventually determined Boeheim was going 11 MPH over the 55 MPH speed limit ... but they classified it as a "tragic accident" and declined to file charges.

Just hours after announcing he's skipping college to play pro ball in Australia, 18-year-old hoops phenom RJ Hampton was already spending cash like a boss in New York City!

TMZ Sports spotted Hampton taking his family to dinner at Catch NYC -- one of the hottest restaurants in town ... where he told us paid for the entire meal himself! And, this place ain't cheap!

Earlier in the day, Hampton -- one of the top-rated high school stars in the country -- announced he turned down scholarship offers from schools like Kansas and Kentucky to play overseas for the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian National Basketball League.

"It's a big deal," Hampton told us Tuesday night ... "I think it's the best route for me and I'm so excited I did it."

So, why this particular team?

"They got a lot of ex-NBA guys that own the team," Hampton said ... "The coaching staff's really good. The team is actually a really good team. They're all bought in and invested in me getting to the league as quickly as possible."

Hampton says the plan is to spend 5 or 6 months overseas before coming back to the U.S. in March to prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft.

And, get this ... now that Hampton can start negotiating endorsement deals without worrying about losing college eligibility, he told us he's looking at his options for a possible shoe deal.

"I'll probably figure that stuff out in the next couple of weeks."

Hampton says his biggest message that he hopes to send to young players is simple ...

"You need to have your own brand. You need to be yourself. You don't need to let others dictate who you are and how you play. Just take control of your future."

Hampton is expected to make his debut with the New Zealand Breakers in October ... and you can bet your ass there will be A LOT of people watching!

Magic Johnson is strongly refuting an ESPN report that he bullied Lakers staffers during his time as an exec with the organization -- saying, "it never happened."

Just hours after ESPN published the bombshell report, Magic appeared on SportsCenter to address it, explaining that if the allegations were true, he would've been called into Jeanie Buss' office to deal with the incidents.

"Do you think Jeanie Buss would allow me to abuse the employees?" Magic said. "If that was the case, she would've called me in."

Instead, Johnson says he was never informed about such issues and believes the allegations in the report are not based in reality.

"I'm a person who brings everybody together, uplifting employees. I never abused an employee and I never will. That's not what I'm about."

As we previously reported, the ESPN article cites multiple unnamed Lakers staffers who claim Magic would berate employees and essentially created a hostile work environment

So, a bunch of LAPD officers were conducting roll call in Sherman Oaks, California on Tuesday -- when all of a sudden Magic Johnson walks out of a supermarket and starts high-fiving the cops!

It all went down in front of a Gelson's -- where cops from the Van Nuys station met up for their morning briefing before hitting the streets.

Magic had been inside the store doing some shopping and had no idea the cops would be gathering that morning ... but we're told once he saw the officers he dropped everything to go hang out.

One source tells us he chatted up everyone, thanked them for their service and posed for a bunch of pics.

As one officer put it, "It made our day!"

And get this, despite an ESPN report that came out Tuesday morning which painted Magic as a "bully" during his time as an exec with the Lakers, he didn't seem fazed ... we're told he was in a great mood and couldn't have been nicer.