Basketball

Joe Burrow torched the entire SEC ... and now the ex-LSU superstar says he can light up the NBA too ... saying he's confident he could drop 15 points in a real pro game!!!

Of course, Burrow was no one-sport athlete back in his high school days with the Athens Bulldogs in Ohio -- he was a damn good hooper as well.

How great does he think he was?? The 23-year-old says his stroke is so automatic, he could post up in his sweet spot and make it rain all night.

"I could spot up in the corner and get 12 to 15, make a couple 3s," Burrow told Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks.

Now, the question to Burrow was how many points could he score if he had an entire month to prepare for the game ... but given the dude's confidence, he probably doesn't think he'd need it.

"You gotta put me on a team with LeBron or Chris Paul or someone and I can just spot up in the corner and let them go to work, kick it to me."

Remember, we got a glimpse of Burrow's J back in December ... he hit a clutch shot against Oklahoma in a shooting challenge before their College Football Playoff matchup!!

As for the other side of the ball, it's a totally different story ... Burrow admits he'd be a huge liability on defense (guess he can't do EVERYTHING).

Larsa Pippen wants to make it crystal clear -- Scottie Pippen is NOT strapped for cash ... despite that god-awful deal he signed back in the day, which was a major story pointing the new MJ doc.

One of the biggest takeaways from episode 2 of "The Last Dance" was Pippen's incredibly bad 7-year, $18 million deal ... which made him one of the most undervalued players in the league.

Despite being Michael Jordan's wingman, Scottie was widely considered one of the best players in the Association during the '90s ... but couldn't crack the top 100 in earnings while in Chicago.

And, on top of that, there were rumors for YEARS that Scottie was broke as a joke even after his NBA career.

But, Scottie's estranged wife, Larsa, is stepping up to defend the Bulls legend ... clapping back at the haters by pointing to his 17-year career earnings -- $109 MILLION!

"Thx for your concerns Scottie did ok," Larsa wrote.

BTW -- Larsa filed for divorce back in November 2018, but they don't seem to be in a rush to officially cut ties. Court records show the divorce case is still technically active, but no one is really pushing to get it done.

So, could the doc actually bring Scottie and Larsa closer together and SAVE their marriage???

Stranger things have happened ...

As for the deal, Scottie explained he signed it because his family needed the money at the time ... and he was afraid of suffering a career-ending injury that would kill the gravy train altogether.

Bad decision? Of course, but after banking $109 MIL ... seems he's doing okay.

OKC Thunder player Terrance Ferguson will NOT face rape charges after prosecutors say they simply can't prove the 21-year-old committed a crime.

Ferguson was investigated by the Oklahoma City Police Dept. after a woman reportedly claimed he raped her at a house party in 2018.

Officials say the woman didn't file a police report until Feb. 2020.

Details surrounding the case have been thin, to say the least -- but the Oklahoman reports the accuser acknowledged she knew Ferguson before the alleged rape.

Now, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater says the probe is complete ... and his office will NOT be charging Ferguson with any crimes.

"Evidence to support the reporting person's allegations that the sexual conduct was not consensual was absent,” Prater told The Oklahoman over the weekend.

In other words, cops seem to be acknowledging that a sexual incident took place -- but can't seem to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that was rape.

Ferguson's attorney, Billy Bock, issued a statement saying -- "Terrance Ferguson is a very respectful young man who has recently had to defend himself regarding some false allegations."

"He cooperated fully with the investigation and appreciates the professionalism of the investigators with the Oklahoma City Police Department and Mr. Prater's office, which has declined to file charges."

"He continues to deny any wrongdoing and is looking forward to having this experience behind him."

Ferguson has started 123 games for the Thunder since it picked him with the 21st overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He's logged 4.9 points per game for the team in his 3-year career.

Were Michael Jordan's rookie teammates part of a "Traveling Cocaine Circus"???

The NBA's G.O.A.T. didn't exactly deny that ... confirming during his 1984-85 rookie year -- he caught his Chicago teammates having a party with blow, weed and women out in Peoria, Ill.

"I walk in, and practically the whole team is in there," Jordan said as part of one of his sit-down interviews for ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary.

"It was things I had never seen in my life as a young kid. You got your lines over here, you got your weed smokers over here, you got your women over here.”

Jordan -- who had spent the previous three years at the University of North Carolina -- says the incident caused him to be an immediate loner on his new team.

"The first thing I said is, 'I'm out,'" Jordan said. "Because all I can think about is if they come raid this place right now, I am just as guilty as everyone else in this room. From that point on, I was more or less on my own."

Jordan's teammate at the time, Rod Higgins, confirmed MJ never partook in the partying that year ... saying the guy didn't even drink with his new NBA squadmates.

"Whatever somebody else might have been doing off the court, if it was partying or whatever, that wasn’t part of what he wanted to do,” Higgins said. "Orange juice and 7-Up was his go-to."

Turned out to be a pretty good move for Jordan ... he went on to change the culture of the Bulls and win SIX championships.

See, kids? Don't do drugs.

Ex-NBAer Aaron Brooks is admitting he was COMPLETELY wrong about his teammate LaMelo Ball ... saying his time with the phenom was nothing but positive.

TMZ Sports spoke with Brooks about playing with the youngest Ball bro on the Australian NBL's Illawarra Hawks ... and the ex-Houston Rockets star says he was against the idea at first.

"For me, when I found out that he was gonna be there, I was like, 'look, I don't wanna go through that,'" Brooks says.

"I come from the old school of being with Dikembe Mutombo, Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming ... and now I'm playing with an 18-year-old Kardashian kid."

But, don't get it twisted -- Brooks says his preconceived notions immediately diminished when he actually met Melo ... who quickly won over all his teammates.

"At 18, when I say there's guys who got drafted in Houston and they was rookies and was 21 and had less accolades than him and they were bigger a**holes, for him to be the way he was surprising to me."

Brooks praises Melo's work ethic, saying whenever they needed to put in extra time, he was down without hesitation.

As for Melo's NBA future, Brooks says the young hooper still has a lot to learn ... but there's no doubt in his mind Ball will be great.

BONUS -- we also asked Brooks about the rumors Ball is looking to buy the Hawks ... and he says it's a GREAT idea.

Gianna Bryant and her Mamba Academy teammates will be memorialized in a big way Friday night ... the WNBA is set to make them honorary picks in the org's annual draft, according to Vanessa Bryant.

GiGi, Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester -- who all passed away in a helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant -- will get the honor at some point during the televised selection process.

Of course, it's a huge deal for the trio ... they all had WNBA aspirations before their tragic deaths in January -- and Vanessa praised the tribute on social media Friday.

The league's show -- which is slated to be entirely virtual this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic -- is set to kick off at 4 PM PT on ESPN.

The WNBA becomes the latest in a long line of organizations, celebs and athletes that have paid tribute to the victims following the devastating helicopter wreck.

Remember, the Lakers held an emotional remembrance ceremony before their game against the Trailblazers on Jan. 31 ... while players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis got tribute tattoos.

Meanwhile, UConn -- Gianna's dream school to hoop at -- also paid tribute to Kobe's daughter by laying out a No. 2 jersey before its game in late January.

Others, like NBA stud Lou Williams, had murals of Kobe and GiGi painted to pay respects following the tragedy.

Two O'Neals are better than one ... just ask the LSU hoops program!

Shaq's 18-year-old daughter, Amirah O'Neal, announced she's headed to Baton Rouge to play basketball for the Tigers next season ... just months after her big bro, Shareef, committed to LSU.

"I am excited to say that I have decided to commit to being a student athlete at LSU along side my brother @shareefoneal," Amirah said on IG.

"I am Sooooo grateful to spend my next 4 years as a Tiger."

Of course, both O'Neals are following in their father's famous footsteps -- Shaq is an LSU legend who balled out in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center from '89 to '92 before lighting up the NBA.

As for Amirah (who's 6'3" tall) -- SHE'S LEGIT -- averaging 17.2 points per game during her high school career at Crossroads in Santa Monica.

She was also an Honorable Mention to the MaxPreps 2019 California All-State Girls Basketball Team.

Shareef -- who recently announced he was transferring to LSU after a short stint at UCLA -- he's VERY excited about Amirah's decision.

"THE BROTHER SISTER DUO," Shareef posted on social media ... "Congrats to my sister on committing to LSU."

The 6'9" Shareef was a top-ranked high school player before heading to UCLA in 2018  -- but his freshman season ended before it began after doctors discovered an irregularity with his heart.

Shaquille O'Neal says he's still so emotional about the death of Kobe Bryant, he will NOT watch the 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony because it will simply make him too sad.

Kobe is set to be formally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August -- the ultimate honor for one of the greatest players of all time.

But, Shaq admits he can't muster up the strength to watch -- mostly because he can't handle another bout of soul-crushing sadness after Kobe passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

"Still miss him. Still think about him every day," O'Neal said on "The Big Podcast with Shaq."

Shaq says on the "scale of sadness" with 10 being the worst, he's finally at a "2" right now ... and watching the HOF ceremony "would bring me back to a 7, 8, 9 and I can't right now."

O'Neal continued, "It would be great if his wife gave a speech or his mom or dad give a speech but I'll see that afterwards. I'm not gonna watch the ceremony."

He also floated the idea of having a Kobe hologram at the ceremony -- saying it would be "nice" to have a Kobe-gram "sitting next to everyone else."

Kobe's Hall of Fame class is pretty stacked -- he'll be inducted along with Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

Scottie Pippen says he got FIRED from his role with the Chicago Bulls ... but don't feel bad for the guy, 'cause he's pretty glad to be away from that mess!!

The 6-time champ revealed the move on the Thuzio Live & Unfiltered podcast (which was recorded during All-Star Weekend but released Wednesday) ... explaining he couldn't come to an agreement with the Bulls front office prior to the 2019 season, so they canned him.

"I got fired this year. I didn't really want it to be in the public, but I'm no longer employed by the Bulls," Pippen said in the interview.

Here's what went down ... the Bulls reportedly met with Pippen before the season and asked him to make several commitments that would mess up his gig with ESPN's "The Jump" ... but wouldn't budge on compensation, so they let him go.

So ... how is Pippen taking it?? Let's say pretty well.

"It's probably a good thing, right? ... I like to associate myself with winning."

Ouch.

Of course, the Bulls are not great right now -- they're 22-43 and don't really have any star players outside of Zach LaVine.

Chicago DID, however, just hire ex-Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to replace John Paxson ... so at least they're heading in the right direction.

"He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts!"

That's Kanye West ... explaining why he and Kobe Bryant were one and the same -- LEGENDARY -- and in typical Kanye style, he's not holding back.

It's spelled out in a candid (just released) interview with GQ that went down back in February, less than a month after his good pal Kobe died in a helicopter crash very close to Kanye's Calabasas-area home.

As part of the interview, Kanye agreed to take photos on a basketball court -- and admitted, it was therapeutic.

"One thing I thought was really amazing is that we were able to find a groove with the photographs today even as out of it as I was with the loss of Kobe," Kanye said.

"We were able to just go to the court and play ball."

Kanye says he often drives on a street near the spot of the helicopter crash ... and it makes him motivated to dominate in life like his friend Kobe did.

"There’s no way for me not to be as determined as Kobe every time I drive down that street. It’s game time. There’s no move that we can’t make, or that we’ll wait to make."

Of course, Kanye and Kobe were close friends for years -- they trained together, starred in Nike commercials together ... and Kanye was even courtside for Kobe's last game.

Now, Kanye says he continues to draw motivation from Kobe -- attacking challenges in life and business with that trademark Mamba Mentality.

"Everyone in our life is now a member of the Lakers on one of Kobe’s championship teams. The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now."

Vanessa Bryant is reflecting on one of the most special days of Kobe's career ... wishing she had more time with the NBA legend on the 4-year anniversary of his retirement.

After 20 seasons in the NBA, Kobe finally hung it up on April 13, 2016 -- Mamba Day -- and went out in true Bryant fashion by dropping 60 points on the Utah Jazz.

Vanessa went to social media Monday to explain why the special day was more about family than basketball.

"My husband worked his ass off for 20 years," Bryant said on Instagram. "Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time."

"He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives."

Vanessa goes on to list how many accomplishments Kobe had in the 3 years and 9 months they shared of his time away from basketball.

"We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time."

Kobe and Gianna -- along with 7 others -- were killed in a helicopter accident back in January ... and Vanessa wishes she could change what happened that fateful day.

"I wish I could back to that morning, every day. I wish they had a normal local game on 1/26. Life truly isn’t fair. This is just senseless."

Since his passing, Kobe has been voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and will be formally inducted later this year.

LaVar Ball says he wants both NBA AND NFL players under the BBB umbrella going forward ... and he says he's got a plan that could make them $40 MILLION on their 1st contract with the company!

The Big Baller tells TMZ Sports he wants to sign big-name football and basketball draft prospects starting next year ... and he says his deals with them will be VERY different than what Nike and Adidas are offering.

LaVar tells us his vision for BBB athletes is to have an ownership stake in their products ... and rather than getting fixed money upfront -- they'll get a percentage of ALL their sales going forward!!

"The guys that I want to be involved with, I want them to believe in themselves," LaVar says. "So, I would give them 40 percent of the profit of what they make."

Ball continued, "I'm not going to give them the 5-year, $10 million deal. Because everybody's like, 'Oh, he's passing up $10 million!' Like, nah, if you really believe in yourself and you're going to be the head of a franchise, you'd rather have ownership."

LaVar says the math is pretty simple ... if a guy sells a million shirts worldwide at $100 apiece, and gets 40 percent of the profit, he can make $40 MIL on his first deal no problem!!

All you basketball know-it-alls got it wrong ... Michael Jordan is NOT the G.O.A.T of college hoops -- so says Bill Walton, who tells TMZ Sports that honor belongs to Kareem!

We got the basketball legend just days after MJ was crowned king of ESPN's "College Basketball's Greatest of All Time Bracket" ... and he says the voters got it flat-out wrong.

Don't get it twisted -- Bill LOVES Jordan, saying he's "one of the greatest players, phenomenal" ... but he tells us he believes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was just better.

"He has the records," Walton says of the former UCLA center. "He has the three championships."

Kareem -- a 1-seed to begin the event -- was shockingly upset in the bracket early on by nine-seeded Shaquille O'Neal.

MJ, meanwhile, ran the table as a 2-seed ... eventually beating Larry Bird in the bracket's championship.

As for how Kareem's college career at UCLA stacks up with Jordan's at UNC ... it seems Walton's got a point when you pull up those numbers.

Kareem -- who went by Lew Alcindor back then -- won three titles and averaged 26.4 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in his three-year career.

Jordan, meanwhile, won one championship while averaging 17.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in his three-year career.

Walton tells us he ain't too worried about the results, though ... and rightfully so, 'cause the guy's got an awesome virtual charity bike ride coming up this month -- where all the money raised is going toward COVID-19 relief efforts!!

Riff Raff says his cousin, star Georgetown Univ. hooper Mac McClung is a future NBA All-Star who reminds him of Dwyane Wade ... and he should be a lottery pick in the 2020 draft.

McClung -- a 20-year-old sophomore who averaged 16 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists on Patrick Ewing's GU squad this season -- recently declared for the NBA Draft.

Mac still has the option to return to school, but that's something his hip-hop star cuz tells TMZ Sports should NOT happen ... if NBA teams have a brain.

We asked the Neon Icon how good McClung could be. His answer?

"All-Star level. All-star, ya know? All-Star. Starting point guard, easily."

Riff says he sees similarities between MM and future 1st-ballot Hall of Famer, D. Wade.

"[Wade] was a pretty good college basketball player at Marquette. Went to the NBA, immediately started," Riff Raff says.

"[Dwyane's] about 6'2", 6'3". Mac is 6'2", 6'3". He's not small. He's not a small player, has long arms. People compare him to Jason Williams. Jason Williams is about 6'2", 6'3"."

Obviously, Wade had a great college career (he was an All-American in 2003), was the 5th pick in the draft, and ended up winning 3 NBA titles and making 13 All-Star teams.

So, yeah ... Wade was a legendary player, and "White Chocolate" wasn't too shabby either.

But, when we asked Riff Raff if he truly saw similarities between the ballers, he did NOT hesitate.

"Yes and yes."