Basketball

Amar'e Stoudemire is ready to follow Joe Johnson's lead ... telling TMZ Sports he's still training his ass off in hopes of signing with an NBA team next season.

36-year-old Stoudemire hasn't played in the NBA since 2016 during a stint with the Miami Heat -- but he hasn't stopped playing pro ball.

Amar'e went to Israel to play ball over there -- and spent a season hoopin' in Ice Cube's BIG3 league in 2018.

So, when we spotted the 6'10" former 6-time NBA All-Star out in NYC, we asked what's up with his pursuit of a new NBA contract.

"I'm still training and being patient," Amar'e told us ... "If a phone call comes my way, I'll be ready for it. If not, there's no pressure."

Part of the reason there's no pressure is because Amar'e made more than $161 MILLION from his NBA playing days ... not counting endorsement deals or his cameo in Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck."

We asked Amar'e why he thinks Joe (the reigning BIG3 MVP) is getting another NBA opportunity while he hasn't yet.

"Joe played last year (2017-18 season) in the NBA. So, they're pretty familiar with him. I was overseas in Israel for 3 years. So, kinda out of sight, out of mind. We'll kind of see what happens."

LeBron James is paying tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle while on his yacht vacation ... rockin' a dope custom Crenshaw jersey on Tuesday to honor the rapper.

Nipsey was gunned down in front of his Marathon Clothing store in South L.A. back in March. After his death, several high-profile athletes including LeBron, praised Nipsey for being a respected community leader who always gave back.

Clearly, his memory is still strong with LeBron who paid homage to Nipsey with the new personalized threads.

"I know you smiling down back at me my G! The Marathon will Always Continue all around the world with me! #TMC," LeBron said on Instagram.

The jersey is sick -- featuring Nip's famous Crenshaw logo on a blue Lakers alternate jersey.

And now, with Bron's stamp of approval, don't be surprised if people push to see these in an NBA game.

After Nipsey's death, LeBron spoke out on the tragedy ... calling it "one of the most unfortunate events that has happened in American history."

LBJ also wore a shirt to honor his friend at a Lakers game in the days that followed.

Nipsey was only 33.

Austin Rivers has a message for Lonzo Ball -- you're NOT "damaged goods," no matter what your father tells you.

Everyone was talking about LaVar Ball on Monday after he got into it with the New Oleans Pelicans player about the state of the family business, Big Baller Brand, during an episode of "Ball in the Family."

Lonzo floated the idea of changing the company name as part of a BBB relaunch, and LaVar shot that down ... taking a swipe at his son in the process.

"That’s like people saying, ‘Oh, hey, change Lonzo’s name to Alfonzo on the fact that he been damaged goods for the last two years."

Yeah, not good ... people are upset at LaVar saying he crossed a line.

So, when we spotted Austin leaving Poppy in L.A., we asked the Houston Rockets star how he would have reacted if his famous father would have said that to him.

"That'd be messed up," Rivers says.

Austin doesn't trash LaVar -- he's actually complimentary, but reinforces with Lonzo that he's not "damaged goods."

"He's a great player," Rivers says of the 2017 #2 overall NBA Draft pick.

For his part, LaVar issued an explanation through his rep, Denise White ...

Watch your back Patron, Michael Jordan's in the tequila business ... and he partnered up with a bunch of super wealthy NBA owners to launch the liquor.

MJ -- with NBA owners Jeanie Buss (Lakers), Wes Edens (Bucks), Wyc Grousbeck (Celtics) and Wyc's wife, Emilia Fazzalari -- just dropped Cincoro, a new premium tequila.

Yes, the people who run the Celtics and Lakers -- one of the most heated rivals in sports -- are now in biz together.

Cincoro has 4 tequilas -- blanco, reposada, anejo and extra anejo -- and it ain't cheap. The anejo costs $130, and the extra anejo -- aged for around 3 1/2 years -- costs $1,600!!

The grand plan for the tequila started to come together in 2016 ... when the owners -- in NYC for NBA meetings -- met at a restaurant and started choppin' it up over their love of tequila.

The seed was planted ... and 3 years later, the tequila is available in several markets across the country -- with a nationwide release coming early next year.

The launch also answers an important age-old question ... why the hell was His Airness walking through NYC last summer holding a tequila bottle in his hand?

MJ -- who we're told was involved in everything from designing the bottle to tasting the product -- was coming from a Cincoro meeting ... and he left with a bottle.

Teammates who dance together ... win together?!

That's what Russell Westbrook and James Harden are hoping for after partying together at the Drake concert Saturday night in Vegas.

The Houston Rockets stars looked like BFFs while dancing it out to "SICKO MODE" at XS Nightclub at the Encore.

It's good to see these guys having fun as they get ready to reunite on the court for the first time since the Oklahoma City Thunder days.

The guys played in OKC together for 3 seasons before Harden was traded to the Rockets in 2012.

Westbrook was just traded to the Rockets this past offseason -- and it's clear the guys are stoked about playing together again.

The Rockets are coming off a disappointing 2018-19 campaign -- losing in the Western Conference Semi-Finals to the Golden State Warriors -- because many people expected them to win a championship.

Kenneth Faried says he's knows Team USA did it's best in the FIBA World Cup Basketball tournament, but the young guys gotta play "tougher and harder" if they wan to win next time.

Faried knows what it takes to win on the international stage, he took home the gold with the 2014 U.S. FIBA team that featured All-Stars like James Harden, Derrick Rose, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Anthony Davis.

The 2019 team had far less star power and it showed, as they failed to even medal in this year's World Cup (c'mon guys). We got Kenneth at LAX and he says the international game is getting better, and our guys gotta want it more.

"I think them guys really went out there and really tried to play their hardest, just need to play tougher and harder."

Faried says the players from across the pond have blossomed into big NBA stars, and they have absolutely NO FEAR of the studs from America and that makes Team USA vulnerable.

Michael Blackson ain't impressed with Kobe Bryant's dance moves ... telling TMZ Sports he moves like "Michael Jackson with a concussion."

We know, not exactly politically correct ... but we still laughed.

Of course, Kobe posted footage of himself when he was 12 years old, bustin' some old school moves to "Ice Ice Baby" at a school dance performance. The point was to show people Kobe had other interests outside of basketball.

Earlier this week, Kobe came under fire for comments he made about a girl on his daughter's youth basketball team who chose a dance recital over a basketball game. People accused Kobe of shaming the child, but the NBA legend insists he was telling a story about commitment.

Either way, Blackson wasn't impressed with Mamba's dance moves ... and fired off a few zingers outside Argyle in L.A.

Ex-NBA player Al Harrington has serious questions about why he's getting so much attention from the police lately, telling TMZ Sports he truly believes he's being targeted by the po-po.

You might remember we got video of a police stop involving Al last month -- he was pulled over outside of his office in Hollywood for some reason, but never ticketed.

Al claimed the incident was a case of "driving while black," and said it wasn't the first time he'd been hassled by police, claiming they'd frivolously stopped him earlier in the summer as well.

We got Al entering a Viola Lifestyle event in Hollywood on Wednesday and he said he's just been stopped by the police AGAIN, and it's clear he thinks something is up.

"I think I'm being targeted too."

The LAPD tells us they take Harrington's claims "very seriously" and says it is still investigating the situation.

Lil Pump tells TMZ Sports he can dunk a basketball ... and TMZ Sports says PROVE IT, YOUNGBLOOD!!!

But, before we get to the Great Lil Pump Dunk Challenge of 2019 ... let's provide some context.

The "Harverd Dropout" rapper is featured in the uber-popular "NBA 2K20" video game this year. Although, only Pump can play as himself in the game, you can play against him in the game's "Neighborhood" feature.

The 19-year-old rap superstar says he's got serious "2K" skills in the game and warns cocky gamers, "Nobody wanna see me in '2K.' I'm the G.O.A.T. in '2K.'"

But, the big question ... does 5'8" Pump have the same REAL-LIFE skills that his video game character has on the digital court???

In other words, can you dunk, bro? Pump says ABSOLUTELY.

Okay ... let's see it then!!! Challenge made.

Now, we're not calling Pump a liar, but there are some important issues we'd like to point out ...

First -- the Internet says Pump is 5'6". We believe the Internet because the Internet never lies.

Second -- if Pump could dunk, we'd know that by now. How many closet dunkers do you know??? Exactly. None. 'Cause if you can really dunk, you post it on Instagram. Everyone knows that.

So, here it goes, Sir Pump -- name a time and a place, and we'll send a camera guy to document your rim glory for all the world to see. Let's see these hops.

Oh ... and P.S. -- 10-foot rim.

James Harden is being sued by a man who claims the NBA star LIED to his face about how he intended to use a MASSIVE $30 mil Beverly Hills mansion ... claiming The Beard turned his spot into a party house!

The man behind the suit is George Santo Pietro who owns a 14,500-square-foot estate in the heart of Beverly Hills ... 8 bedrooms, 10 baths, gym, spa, wine cellar, pool, etc.

In other words, the place is INSANE!!!

Santo Pietro claims Harden signed a contract to use the home as a vacation rental for 1 week starting August 11, 2019 ... paying $82,200 for the stay.

But, Santo Pietro says there was specific language in the rental contract saying Harden could not have any more than 7 adults on the premises at any one time.

A larger gathering would be considered a "party" -- and Santo Pietro says he typically charges $150,000 for big events on the property.

In his suit, Santo Pietro says Harden agreed to the deal -- but threw at least TWO parties anyway with more than 15 people at the house.

Santo Pietro claims the property was damaged during the parties and neighbors are pissed -- and he wants Harden to fork over AT LEAST $300,000 to cover the usual party fee he charges.

Santo Pietro also claims Harden KNEW he would be throwing the parties before signing the contract and knowingly lied to Santo Pietro's face. He's also suing for punitive damages for fraud.

Santo Pietro claims he tried to work things out with the Houston Rockets superstar privately, but Harden wouldn't play ball ... so he filed his lawsuit.

Harden is currently in the middle of a 6-year, $228 million contract ... so he can afford it.

Look out, NBA ... ISO JOE IS BACK!!!

Ex-NBA All-Star-turned-BIG3 dominator Joe Johnson just signed a new contract with the Detroit Pistons on Thursday ... agreeing to a partially-guaranteed 1-year deal.

Don't be surprised ... 38-year-old Johnson LIT UP the BIG3 this season -- averaging 21.9 points a game and 3.9 assists a game for the Triplets, hitting 6-game winners during the season while leading his squad to a BIG3 championship. He was also named league MVP.

As the season wrapped up, there was a buzz NBA teams were interested -- and Ice Cube told us straight-up Joe was getting serious looks. In fact, NBA owners were attending games just to check out Joe's talents.

Johnson had been flirting with teams since the BIG3 wrapped up a couple weeks ago ... working out for the Bucks, Nets and Pistons and ultimately Detroit pulled the trigger.

Just a few weeks ago, we spoke with Johnson about a potential NBA career and he told us he willing to play his ass off for whoever signed 'em ... telling us he still has a blast playing basketball.

The 7-time All-Star last played for the Rockets in 2018 before joining Cube's league this past season.

It's not just a big move for Joe, but it also proves the BIG3 is a real option for players looking to prove they can still compete in the NBA.

And, if you think the BIG3 is bitter they're losing their best player, you're wrong. This was always the point of the league -- to flex real talent.

Kobe Bryant is continuing to explain himself after calling out a 7th grade girl on Instagram for missing a youth basketball game for a dance recital ... saying he did the same thing when he was a kid.

... and there's video proof!!!

Here's a 12-year-old Kobe -- in the green hat -- dancing his face off to "Ice Ice Baby." Nice moves.

Kobe included the caption, "When I was 12, I skipped basketball for two weeks so I could dance in a school show. I’m all about diversifying while young, then locking in on your passion."

What's interesting is Kobe is trying to dance his way out of the hot seat over the caption he posted on Wednesday ... in which he calls out a girl from his daughter's youth basketball team for attending a dance recital instead. Kobe updated the caption after catching hell online but the Internet sees all.

Here's the original caption ...

"Here’s our fourth place 'winners' picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time."

"From the original 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now) a player who's team in our area folded and a player who's family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing te players from the ground up. That journey continues. #Mambas."

Kobe later updated the caption to explain himself ... saying the photo is 2 years old and the girl now lives and breathes basketball:

"The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time, meaning she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine. Now? She eats sleeps and breaths the game. So from this original group of 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee."

The backlash continued ... so Kobe continued to explain himself online.

A bunch of bogus Cavs, Spurs, Warriors and Bulls championship rings have been seized in a recent customs bust at LAX ... and officials say the crooks could have moved the pieces for around $560k!!!

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they intercepted a wooden box full of 28 title rings that was heading from China with a final destination in Arizona. Officials believe the fake rings were going to be sold as a collection.

The rings look pretty cool, but when compared to the real thing -- you can tell they're duds.

The collection included 28 rings -- and had they been genuine, the estimated value of the lot is somewhere close to $560k.

“Scammers take advantage of collectors and pro-basketball fans desiring to obtain a piece of sports history," Carlos C. Martel, CBP Director of Field Operations in L.A. says.

“This seizure illustrates how CBP officers and import specialists protect not only trademarks, but most importantly, the American consumer.”

This ain't the first time customs has stopped a bunch of crooks from stealing bogus championship rings -- they seized $12 MILLION worth of fake rings earlier this year.

Wyclef Jean says Michael Jordan's $1 million donation to Hurricane Dorian relief is "100% a big deal" ... but tells TMZ Sports it's important to make sure that huge contribution isn't lining the wrong person's pockets.

The Haiti native knows what he's talking about -- his massively successful Yéle Haiti charity campaign raised more than $16 million for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, only to close down after an investigation determined a large portion of the funds were misused.

So, when we asked Wyclef about MJ's massive donation, the musician praises His Airness for the gesture ... but calls for organizers to not take advantage of people in need.

"The most important thing for me is that the money is really allocated right and we really don't use distractions, don't use people for patsies, don't distract the crowd, have them looking another way," Wyclef says.

"It constantly happens because another man's disaster is another man's gain."

Wyclef says he's praying for the Bahamas and hopes everyone does the right thing.

Michael Jordan is pledging $1 MILLION to hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas -- saying he's "devastated" after seeing the destruction the storm has caused.

"I am devastated to see the destruction that Hurricane Dorian has brought to the Bahamas, where I own property and visit frequently," MJ said.

"My heart goes out to everyone who is suffering and to those who have lost loved ones."

Jordan, through his rep, Estee Portnoy, adds ... "As the recovery and relief efforts continue, I will be tracking the situation closely and working to identify non-profit agencies where the funds will have the most impact."

"The Bahamian people are strong and resilient and I hope that my donation will be of help as they work to recover from this catastrophic storm."

So far, officials say at least 50 people are confirmed dead -- but THOUSANDS of people are still unaccounted for.

Tons of stars are opening their wallets to help out ... from Tyler Perry to Luke Walton, Buddy Hield, Ludacris and more.

Beloved Cleveland Cavaliers play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod died suddenly Monday night ... after reportedly suffering a heart attack. He was 67 years old.

McLeod had been calling Cavs games since 2006 alongside Austin Carr ... and was a fan favorite in Cleveland.

The team released a statement Tuesday morning, saying, "The entire Cavaliers organization mourns the loss of their great friend and teammate."

"Fred’s deep love for Cleveland and the Cavaliers was clearly evident in everything he did in and around the community and on-air during his more than 1,000 Cavalier game broadcasts."

One of Fred's most legendary calls came in 2016 when the Cavs won the NBA title against the Golden State Warriors to end the city's championship drought ... screaming, "Goodnight, Oakland. It's over! The 52-year drought is over!!"

"He was a true, heart-felt ambassador for the team, fans and entire greater Cleveland community," the team said.

McLeod was preparing for his 14th straight year as the Cavs announcer on Fox Sports Ohio.

LeBron James -- who is currently vacationing in Portofino with his family -- took a moment to share his condolences ... saying "Man WHAT!!!!??? OMG this is extremely sad. @CavsFredMcLeod May you rest in Paradise my friend! @BethHMcLeod my prayers sent up above to you and your family!! #RIPFred"

Kevin Love added ... "Shocked and saddened to hear about the loss of Fred McLeod. He was a student of the game."

"He loved the CAVS but even more so the fans...Fred worked his ass off for the city of Cleveland and the NBA. Praying and sending my best to his wife Beth and kids."

"The Cavaliers extend our deepest condolences to Fred’s entire family, including his wife Beth, mother Marilyn, sister Lynn, and his three children, Sean, Jenna, Molly and each of their families."