Basketball

It's been more than a year since Charles Oakley was arrested at the Knicks game ... but he's still pissed at owner James Dolan and SCOFFED at the idea of making peace with the guy.

We spotted Oak leaving the BTIG Charity Day in NYC and asked how he felt about David Fizdale taking over as head coach for his former team.,

"I hope he do a great job," Oakley said ... "[that's] all I can say!"

But when we turned the conversation to Dolan -- you can tell right away, Oak is still furious over the Feb. 2017 arrest.

"Why would you bury the hatchet with someone who dragged you out of the place?"

Of course, Oakley was arrested for getting physical with security who tried to remove him from MSG after a heated exchange with Dolan. It took an army of security to subdue Oakley.

The ex-Knicks star was charged with assault, harassment and criminal trespass, but later cut a deal with prosecutors and the case has been thrown out.

Zach Randolph is ALL ABOUT having a female head coach in the NBA -- especially after working with a female asst. coach on the Kings ... telling TMZ Sports it was one of best experiences of his career.

The entire NBA is buzzing about Becky Hammon -- an assistant with the Spurs who's in the running for the head coaching job in Milwaukee. If hired, she'd be the first female head coach in NBA history.

Enter Z-Bo who was out in ATL when he stopped to rave about Jenny Boucek ... an assistant player development coach with the Sacramento Kings.

"This was the first year we had a [female assistant coach]. This was my first year ever experiencing that and it was a great experience ... probably one of the best experiences."

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside isn't getting down or out of shape over his team's early playoff exit ... because he just gets to spend more time with his smoking hot girlfriend.

A totally ripped Whiteside and his lady, Ashly Ariza, were spotted at the beach in Miami Tuesday ... and both had no problem showing off their bods. Of course, Ashly's bikini highlighted her assets a little more.

Hassan's been the subject of trade rumors since the Heat got bounced from the playoffs early by the Sixers, but he doesn't seem to be sweating that either ... perhaps because he's still got $52 million left on his contract.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are taking their rekindled relationship to the next level ... with a daytime movie date.

The 2 were at a cinema a few miles outside Cleveland Tuesday afternoon, and looking very much like a couple again. Khloe and Tristan grabbed snacks together before the movie and were seen leaving in the same car afterward. No word on which flick they caught.

We broke the story ... Khloe's family is the opposite of thrilled about her getting back together with Tristan, but they're backing off pressuring her to dump him for good.

Roger Mason is changing course in his war against the BIG3 -- he just agreed to move his lawsuit against Ice Cube's basketball league out of a Delaware court and pursue his claims in arbitration ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Mason -- the former commissioner of the BIG3 -- had filed court docs claiming league execs used him as a scapegoat for their money woes. In the docs, Mason also accused BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz of making racist comments about black players and Qatari investors.

But, according to court records, Mason has agreed to drop his case in Delaware after both sides agreed it would be more efficient to fight it out in arbitration.

Obviously, this doesn't mean the war is over -- this just changes how Mason will fight it.

BIG3's attorney, Mark Geragos, is definitely considering this a victory -- saying, "We knew this was a cheap publicity stunt and pleased that BIG3 has been vindicated."

Mason's attorney Robert Wolf has also issued a statement saying, "BIG3’s own lawyers agreed with Mr. Mason that it would be more efficient to have all of his Delaware lawsuit claims added to Roger’s already pending New York arbitration against BIG3 and Jeff Kwatinetz for breach of contract and defamation."

"It is undisputed that Roger’s entire case remains intact and will continue to move ahead with full force. If Mark Geragos considers this a victory, BIG3 must be pretty desperate."

Khloe Kardashian's family is not happy she's getting back with Tristan Thompson -- and that's a major understatement -- but they're not going to lobby her to kick his ass to the curb.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe was spotted with TT at a Cleveland restaurant Friday having lunch with friends and then showed up at the Cavaliers' game Saturday to support her baby daddy.

Our Kardashian sources say Khloe's family is outraged he humiliated and betrayed her right before she gave birth to their daughter. We're told they WISH she'd remain civil with him for the sake of their daughter, but move on. That said, they have enormous respect for Khloe and think she's capable of making decisions for herself.

We're told the family is somewhat surprised by the turn of events, because not long ago it looked like she was done with Tristan ... and the family was down with that decision. She was staying in Cleveland because Tristan was on the road and the baby wasn't able to fly.

And this is interesting ... we're told the family privately feels they may never forgive Tristan, but they're not going to attempt to torpedo the relationship.

Thanksgiving should be interesting.

Kobe Bryant is showing all dads the key exercise to making a day at Disneyland into a core-strengthening, arm-building session ... THE PRINCESS LIFT.

Here's Mamba demonstrating the exercise at the Happiest Place On Earth this past weekend ... carrying his 1-year-old daughter, Bianka Bella, around ... with great technique.

BTW, it's working ... look at the size of Kobe's arms -- they are legitimately bursting out of his shirt and the veins are aggressive and frightening.

The horse that won the Kentucky Derby can be one of the greatest of ALL TIME ... so says trainer Bob Baffert, who just compared Justify to LeBron James!

Yes, LEBRON JAMES!!!

Justify beat everyone's ass at Churchill Downs this weekend -- racking up another Derby victory for Baffert, who many consider the greatest racehorse trainer EVER!

So, when we saw the silver-haired horse god at LAX, we had to ask about his new superstar.

"Oh, he looks like LeBron," Baffert says ... "Big, powerful, athletic face. Very rare. VERY rare. He's a beast."

We asked if we could start putting Justify in the same conversation as American Pharoah -- who won the Triple Crown -- and Baffert told us it's not a crazy comparison.

"He's up there with him," Baffert said ... "outstanding horse."

Too Short thinks it's hilarious that Drake got an official warning from the NBA over his NSFW trash talk -- and says the Toronto Raptors would be better off if he never opened his mouth in the first place!

As we previously reported, Drake got scolded by the league after reportedly calling Kendrick Perkins a "f*cking p*ssy" during the Raptors vs. Cavs playoff game this week. Good times.

Now, Short says Drake's antics are actually HURTING the team he's trying to support.

"The Raptors are down 0-2 [in the series] ... it might be 1-1 or 2-0 Raptors if he wasn't sitting on the sidelines," Short says!

"He's motivating other teams!"

If you need a reminder that Lakers coach Luke Walton was once one of the best athletes on the planet ... we have video of him KILLING it at beach volleyball.

The video was posted by pro volleyball players the McKibbin Brothers, and shows Walton holding his own on a court with AVP pros Casey Patterson, Sean Rosenthal, Stafford Slick and Chase Budinger.

Walton is blockin', spikin', and settin' like one of the pros ... using his 6'8" frame to dominate out there on the sand, and we're being serious ... THE DUDE CAN REALLY PLAY.

Kevin Hart had a very serious scare while landing in Boston for the 76ers game -- when the tire on his private jet blew out as the plane touched down on the runway.

Miraculously, the pilot was able to safely land the plane despite the tire drama -- and emergency personnel rushed to the jet to help out upon landing.

"My first airplane scare on the runway," Hart said ... "We caught a flat as we touched down."

You can see the tire is almost all the way blown off. It's a miracle no one was hurt.

"Ya boy got angels on his back," Hart said ... "I got real-life angels on my back."

The NBA has warned Drake about using bad language at NBA games after the rapper reportedly called Cleveland Cavs star Kendrick Perkins a "f***ing p*ssy."

Drake had gotten into it with Perkins on the floor of the Cavs vs. Toronto Raptors game at the Air Canada Centre ... with one reporter claiming Drake essentially challenged the guy to a fight.

Now, the NBA has issued an official warning to Drake about "the use of bad language" ... this according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In fact, Woj says the NBA's exec V.P. of basketball operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe, spoke with Raptors president Masai Ujiri to help get the point across.

Talk about an overreaction -- James Harden reached out and smacked the crap out of a Jazz fan's cell phone Wednesday all over some harmless heckling ... and the cops were involved.

But get this ... despite the fact the fan was on the receiving end of the smack, the cops treated HIM like the bad guy and scolded him for talking trash at a basketball game.

So, what was the heckle that sent Harden over the edge?

"You're still the worst flopper in the NBA."

The fan was behind a barricade at the time of the incident and posed no physical threat to Harden. Still, the Houston Rockets star smacked the guy's phone anyway.

The fan was flabbergasted when cops chastised him -- even though he pointed out that HE was the one who was physically assaulted.

Eventually, the fan went back to his seat and promised not to stand behind the barricade for the rest of the game. No arrests were made.

Kobe Bryant is talking even MORE trash about his former Lakers teammate, Smush Parker -- saying crappy teammates like Smush forced him to score 81 points back in 2006.

Yeah, it's been more than 12 YEARS since Kobe went insane on the Toronto Raptors ... but he still can't pass up an opportunity to dunk all over Smush -- a guy he hated back in the day.

This time, Kobe was doing a Q&A at USC back on April 2, when he was asked a trivia question -- who was the Lakers 2nd leading scorer in that legendary game?

When he learned it was Smush ... Kobe pulled a face and fired off some shots.

"What did he have, 4?"

Smush actually dropped 13 that day ... but Kobe didn't care and continued the attack.

"Now you know why I had to score 81" ... suggesting his supporting cast was pure trash.

Julius Erving says he's not hurt by Kanye West's comments about slavery being a choice -- he's more hurt by comments that have come out of Donald Trump's White House.

We spotted the NBA Hall of Famer at Ronald Reagan airport in Virginia on Wednesday -- and with such an extensive background in civil rights activism, we had to ask about the Kanye West interview on "TMZ Live."

"He's entitled to his opinion," Erving said.

As for the impact of Kanye's statements on slavery, Erving explained -- "It doesn't hurt me personally because he's only one individual."

"It hurts more to hear things that are coming out of the White House."

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. appeared on 'Ellen' and revealed that his favorite player is Dwyane Wade ... so, guess who Ellen brought out onstage?!

BOOM! SHE BROUGHT OUT D-WADE!!!

The moment was incredible ... Wade told Shaw that he doesn't just consider him an "American hero" -- but he's also the perfect role model for his kids.

Shaw was clearly touched by Wade's words -- but it didn't stop there.

Wade asked Shaw what good he hopes can come from the terrible April 22 shooting in Nashville, TN -- and Shaw said he's now on a mission to bring awareness to mental health problems in the U.S.

Wade, again impressed, then brought out a special gift to help Shaw fulfill his mission.