Basketball

"Entitled and spoiled? Mf watch yo mouth."

Damian Lillard just went OFF on ESPN's Dan Orlovsky over his criticism of the NBA star ... and the former Lions QB took the heat so hard, he issued an apology to Dame within minutes of the rant.

Here's the backstory ... Lillard said earlier this week he would sit out NBA games this summer if the league didn't provide his Trailblazers a "true opportunity" to make the playoffs.

Orlovsky took issue with those comments on Thursday's "Get Up!" ... and ripped the Portland superstar for coming off as "spoiled" and "entitled."

When Lillard got word of the name-calling ... he didn't hold back, taking aim at Orlovsky on social media, "Entitled and spoiled? Mf watch yo mouth. My background, family, and character couldn’t be further FROM entitled and spoiled. I said what I said!"

Lillard didn't stop there ... bashing Orlovsky for being a career backup in the NFL -- saying, "You sat out ya whole career basically."

To his credit, Dan was quick to backpedal off his comments ... writing back to Lillard, "No you’re right I was wrong to use that phrase at the end. That’s my bad."

"My comment started with saying I hope we all realize nothing is meaningless anymore. And if it’s about protecting loved ones-100%. I shouldn’t have said entitled or brat and that’s on me and my bad."

Doesn't seem Lillard cared much for the mea culpa ... 'cause he fired right back, "Go back on TV w @realskipbayless and tell all those viewers that."

"And tell skip I can answer his question as well 'what have I done' since y’all got so much to say. And I don’t know either one of y’all."

Apparently not -- Skip Bayless hosts 'Undisputed' on FS1 these days and hasn't been on ESPN in years!

"My boy was doing what he was supposed to be doing and ya'll go and kill my brother, man."

Stephen Jackson spent Tuesday emotionally reflecting on his time with George Floyd -- a man the former NBA star says he called "twin" -- and he's now demanding justice for the 46-year-old after officers appeared to have killed him Monday.

Jackson says he spent his childhood in the same Houston, Texas circles as Floyd ... and claims the two were so close, he had just sent the guy clothes days before his death this week.

"Floyd was my brother," Jackson said. "We called each other twins, bruh. Everybody knows me and Floyd called each other twins. My brother was only out there in Minnesota, he was trying to change his life."

42-year-old Jackson says he's now on his way to Minnesota ... and he's promising to help find justice for George after a cop pinned him down with a knee to the neck and wouldn't let go.

"I can't let this ride, dawg," Jackson said. "Ya'll not going to be mad until it hits ya'll front door. Bullsh*t."

As we previously reported, Floyd died in Minneapolis, Minn. after officers responded to a call about a forgery in progress on Monday.

During the stop, officers held down George for several minutes ... despite the man telling cops he could not breathe.

The FBI is now investigating the incident ... while all four officers involved have been fired.

Move over KSI and Dillon Danis, there's a new boxing opponent for Jake Paul -- ex-NBAer Nate Robinson ... who tells TMZ Sports he's DEAD SERIOUS about wanting to fight the internet superstar.

It sounds random as hell, but let us explain how we got here.

Nate tells us he's been following Jake's recent antics VERY closely lately ... and he's sick of hearing Paul calling out weak opponents like a "bully."

So, Nate -- who's been training like crazy in the ring -- has the perfect solution ... by offering to showcase his skills in a match against the 2-0 fighter!!

"I want all the smoke," Nate tells us. "I'm a top tier athlete!"

"I'm putting my everything on the line for (Jake). Let's get it done. It's that simple."

Nate says it would be the greatest accomplishment of Paul's career if the YouTuber came out with the W ... but explains he's eyeing some all-time greats to help keep that from happening.

"If I get trained with somebody like a (Mike) Tyson, (Floyd) Mayweather, (Terence) Crawford, (Vasyl) Lomachenko, if I fight and I train with some of the best of the best in the world, like please, I don't think he stands a chance."

Of course, Jake already has 2 wins under his belt ... with wins over Deji and AnEsonGib ... but Robinson's confident he'll hand him his first L.

Nate even has a message for Paul ... saying he's ready to stop talking and start fighting.

"Listen, I'm not gonna be talking and yapping, bro. Jake, just sign the papers and let's get it poppin'! I'mma let you do all the talking and I'll do all the training and then I'mma let my hands do the talking."

Could Michael Jordan be the next legend to hit iron shots with Phil Mickelson against Tiger Woods??

The lefty sure as hell wouldn't mind seeing it ... because Phil says he's trying to make "The Match" an annual event now -- hoping to get guys like MJ and Steph Curry to participate in 2021.

“I think you could showcase guys like Steph Curry and Michael Jordan or Tony Romo and Patrick Mahomes, who are all good golfers, elite talents and have great personalities," Mickelson told the LA Times after "The Match II's" wild success over the weekend.

"Those personalities are going to come out with this event. Or you could have someone who loves the game and is competitive but is really entertaining like Larry David and Bill Murray. I think that could shine.”

Of course, the possibilities seem endless right now ... given just how big of a success the Woods-Peyton Manning vs. Mickelson-Tom Brady outing went on Sunday.

According to multiple reports, MILLIONS of people tuned in to watch the event ... ultimately making it the most-watched cable broadcast in the sport's history.

Phil, Tiger and event organizers are all on board to run it back next year ... and it doesn't seem there will be a shortage of celebs lining up to join the golf legends -- in fact, Curry even tweeted during the event he wants in next year.

Soooooo ... Tiger and Steph vs. MJ and Phil in 2021??

Damian Lillard is threatening to sit out games if the NBA won't guarantee his Trailblazers a "true opportunity" for the playoffs in a return to play ... saying, "I'm not going to be participating."

"I'm telling you that right now," the superstar guard told Yahoo Sports in a phone interview Tuesday. "And you can put that [expletive] in there."

The NBA has been kicking around the idea of a shortened regular season for its comeback ... reportedly eyeing a possible plan of a few regular-season games followed by the playoffs.

But, Lillard says that just ain't going to fly with him ... because he says if Portland -- which is currently 3.5 games out of 8th place (and the final playoff spot) in the West -- doesn't get a fair shake to make the postseason, he's out.

"If we come back and they're just like, 'We're adding a few games to finish the regular season,'" Lillard says, "and they're throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don't have a true opportunity to get into the playoffs, I'm going to be with my team because I'm a part of the team. But I'm not going to be participating."

Of course, the NBA has also reportedly thrown around the idea of beginning its playoffs immediately ... and telling all the non-playoff teams to stay home.

Lillard says he'd rather see some sort of play-in-style tournament for squads on the bubble ... saying that would get him back on the court in 2020 no problem.

"If they come back and say it's something like a tournament, play-in style, between the No. 7 and No. 12 seeds, if we're playing for playoff spots, then I think that's perfect," Lillard says.

Michael Jordan memorabilia is ON FIRE -- a game-worn uniform from his legendary '96-'97 championship season just sold for $288,000 ... shattering the old record!

This particular uniform -- a jersey and shorts combo -- was rocked by MJ on April 14, 1997 ... when Detroit dominated the Bulls in a 108 to 91 smackdown.

Michael had an off-night -- only dropping 18 points (he averaged almost 30 PPG that season) ... but after the hype from "The Last Dance," collectors are paying TOP DOLLAR for all things Jordan.

The uniform hit the block at Goldin Auctions starting at $75,000 -- and when the final gavel banged, the price was at a cool $288,000!

We spoke with Ken Goldin who tells us the previous record for the most expensive MJ game-used threads was $173k for Michael's 1984 Team USA jersey.

The uniform is pretty sick ... a size 46 jersey made by Champion, with a black base and red pinstripes. It's pretty sweet.

And, get this ... Goldin Auctions also tells TMZ Sports a game-used Lebron James jersey also sold recently ... for $371,200!!!

How did that jersey fetch more than Jordan?

Goldin says Bron rocked that Cleveland Cavs jersey in 2003 (his rookie year) during his 5th and 8th games in the NBA.

In fact, LeBron wore this uniform during his first clash with his BFF, Dwyane Wade!

Michael Jordan is contradicting Michael Jordan ... and it's all on tape.

Remember when MJ said on "The Last Dance" that he didn't have any specific involvement in blocking Isiah Thomas from being on the legendary dream team?

Yeah, well ... now audio has surfaced from an old interview in which MJ says straight-up he told 1992 Olympics selection committee member Rod Thorn he's OUT if Thomas makes the team.

It's all on Jack McCallum's 'The Dream Team Tapes' iHeartRadio podcast -- here's the transcription.

"Rod Thorn called me. I said, ‘Rod, I won’t play if Isiah Thomas is on the team.' He assured me. He said, 'You know what? Chuck [Chuck Daly] doesn’t want Isiah. So, Isiah is not going to be part of the team.'"

So, which Michael Jordan do you believe?!

Of course, there was SERIOUS bad blood between MJ and Thomas after the Pistons walked off the floor without shaking hands with the Chicago Bulls in the '91 NBA Playoffs.

For his part, Thomas admits he's still "personally hurt" he was not asked to be a part of that legendary '92 dream team -- and back in April, he said it's all because he didn't shake Michael Jordan's hand.

The 14k gold-and-diamond ring Kobe Bryant gifted his mom 20 years ago has just sold ... and it brought in more than $206k!!!!

$206,080 to be exact.

As we previously reported, Kobe bought two identical, blinged-out rings for his parents to commemorate his first NBA championship with the Lakers following the 1999, 2000 season.

Kobe's mom, Pamela Bryant, famously tried to sell the rings, along with a bunch of other Kobe memorabilia back in the day ... and Kobe sued to try and stop the sale.

Kobe ultimately agreed to allow his parents to sell 6 items -- including the rings -- and, in 2013, they sold to a private collector (a big Lakers fan) for a total of $280,000.

Now, that private collector went to Goldin Auction to see what they could get for the rings ... and obviously, the value has skyrocketed.

The minimum bid was $15,000 -- and after 20 total bids, it sold for $206k.

AND ... the ring Kobe gave his father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, is expected to hit the auction block soon and it could fetch even more than Pam's ring.

As for the identity of the new buyer, that has no been disclosed -- and may never be.

Paul Pierce says there's NO WAY LeBron James deserves to be considered one of the 5 best players in NBA history ... and he's got a pretty ironic reason for the snub.

The Boston Celtics legend dropped the scorching hot take on ESPN Monday, saying the King never established a winning culture on his own ... and therefore, shouldn't be mentioned among the best in the game.

"I go back and I ask myself, 'What has LeBron did to build up any organization from the ground-up?'"

"Look at the names I said -- Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Magic (Johnson), (Michael) Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe (Bryant), (Larry) Bird ... these guys are all top 10 players who either helped build up their organizations or continued the tradition."

Pierce explained his case against LBJ ... saying, "He went and put together a team in Miami. He came back to Cleveland to put that team together. Then he went to the Lakers, where a tradition has already been made and that's still to be continued ... so, that's my argument."

Jay Williams tried to talk some sense into Pierce ... saying, "You don't need to make an organization great in order to be one of the greatest of all time."

But, The Truth wasn't hearing any of it ... saying his Top 5 is MJ, Kareem, Russell, Magic and Kobe.

Of course, Pierce's take is a bit hypocritical ... considering his only championship came when he teamed up with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to form the first "super team" in 2007 -- but then again, no one's putting Pierce in their top lists.

On top of the take, Pierce has thrown some major shade at Bron's Lakers back in 2019 ... telling TMZ Sports "LeBron is doing very well out here -- with his production company."

So ... is Pierce just bitter ... or is he really speaking his Truth??

Hello, kids. This is what it's like to get DUNKED ON HARD by an actual NBA player!

Here's Spurs star Dejounte Murray just dishing out some punishment to some of his young neighbors in San Antonio ... and the video is awesome!!

Of course, this was all in good fun -- and the kids LOVED IT!

But man, the dunk show was FEROCIOUS!!

Off the wall dunks?? Yep. Reverse dunks? Mmmhmmm. In your face banger dunks? ABSOLUTELY!

Murray says he knows the local kids had been wanting to play for months ... and they finally built up the courage to ask, so he delivered.

"I Guess For The Past 2 Months These Kids Been Scared To Come To My Door To Ask Me To Play With Them And Today They Finally Wasn’t Scared To Ask And We Got To Play And Become Friends," Murray said.

"I Swear This What Makes My JOB The Best Because I Get To Connect With People All Around The World!!"

Murray even posed for pics with the kids and their families afterward.

23-year-old Murray -- who signed a 4-year, $64 million extension -- missed the entire 2018-19 season after tearing his ACL ... but he's got insane potential.

We all thought it ... but now some confirmation -- Dennis Rodman intentionally went after Karl Malone during the 1998 NBA Playoffs to help push a pro wrestling storyline involving both NBA stars.

... this according to former WCW president Eric Bischoff.

Remember, Rodman famously slapped Malone on the ass during Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Bulls vs. Jazz.

Of course, both NBA stars would clash at the WCW pay-per-view event, "Bash at the Beach," just a short time later ... begging the question, was the in-game altercation scripted beforehand?

The answer ... sort of.

Bischoff admits he encouraged Rodman to mix it up with Malone -- but not in any way that would affect the outcome of the game.

"Now, what I said to Dennis, not to Karl was, 'Hey Dennis, if anything were to happen off court while there's a timeout, while there's no gameplay ... so that the feud between Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman is real, on a kind of a 360-degree basis, not just what happens on our TV show,' that wouldn't piss me off at all."

In other words, Bischoff says he didn't give a direct order -- but didn't talk Dennis out of it either.

Bischoff also tells TMZ Sports he made sure both his boss at Turner Sports and the NBA knew that the Rodman vs. Malone story "didn't interrupt the gameplay."

Bischoff says he LOVED how it all played out during the game -- "I chuckled like a little kid because it accomplished so much."

"As a wrestling producer, to be able to create a moment ... that played out on a platform so huge as the NBA playoffs was really satisfying."

So, how did the wrestling match turn out?

Rodman and Hollywood Hulk Hogan went on to defeat Malone and Diamond Dallas Page in a tag-team match.

The situation was featured on the ESPN docuseries, "Last Dance" -- which also touched on the time Rodman skipped out in a Bulls practice between Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals to appear live on WCW Nitro.

"I certainly didn't expect Dennis to skip practice and participate in Nitro," Bischoff says ... "That decision was all Dennis."

Horace Grant is going scorched-earth on Michael Jordan -- claiming 'Last Dance' was filled with "lies" to make MJ look good ... when in reality, Jordan is nothing but a "snitch."

Yeah, man, Horace is PISSED!!

Of course, Horace participated in the ESPN docuseries -- most memorably to deny he leaked sensitive information about MJ to Bulls reporter Sam Smith back in the day.

Bottom line -- it became abundantly clear the two men don't like each other ... and haven't gotten along in years despite winning 3 NBA championships together.

Fast-forward to Tuesday when Grant appeared on the "Kap and Co" radio show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago and was asked straight-up if he was the Sam Smith leak.

"It is a downright, outright, completely lie," Grant said ... "Lie, lie, lie."

"If MJ had a grudge with me, let's settle this like men ... Let's talk about it. Or we can settle it another way. But yet and still, he goes out and puts this lie out that I was the source behind [the Sam Smith book Jordan Rules]."

Grant strongly believes MJ still holds a grudge against him -- "And, I think he proved that during this so-called documentary."

"When if you say something about [Jordan], he's going to cut you off, he's going to try to destroy your character."

That's when Grant brought up Charles Barkley -- and how MJ cut off their decades-long friendship after Sir Chuck criticized his management of the Charlotte Bobcats on TV.

"Charles Barkley, they've been friends for over 20, 30 years ... and he said something about Michael's management with the Charlotte Bobcats or the Charlotte Hornets, and then they haven't spoken since then."

"And, my point is, he said that I was the snitch, but yet and still after 35 years he brings up his rookie year going into one of his teammates' rooms and seeing coke, and weed and women. My point is: Why the hell did he want to bring that up? What's that got to do with anything? I mean, if you want to call somebody a snitch, that's a damn snitch right there."

Grant then criticized the docuseries as a whole -- acknowledging it was entertaining but says 90% of it was "B.S."

"It wasn't real -- because a lot of things [Jordan] said to some of his teammates, that his teammates went back at him. But, all of that was kind of edited out of the documentary, if you want to call it a documentary."