Basketball

Seems there's only one way Shaunie O'Neal would attend Gloria Govan & Derek Fisher's wedding ... OVER HER DEAD BODY ... telling TMZ Sports that's one party she ain't down for.

Derek & Shaq won 3 rings together as Lakers and were tight bros, so one might assume Shaunie could possibly want to attend the nuptials.

Hell no. We got Shaunie at LAX and asked her if she plans on attending, and if the words out of her mouth didn't tell the whole story, the look on her face CLEARLY did.

"No, I don't so. No, I don't think I'll be going to that."

If you didn't know, the ladies have deep issues, stemming from Shaunie's belief that Gloria's sister, Laura, was messing around with Shaq while Shaunie was married to the Diesel.

It led to a HUGE blowup on a past episode of 'Basketball Wives' where Shaunie confronted Gloria ... and it's clear the whole thing isn't water under the bridge.

Jordan Clarkson's a Cleveland guy now ... but the dude just can't shake his old stompin' grounds, 'cause the ex-Laker just dropped $3.2 MILLION on a brand new L.A. home!!

The Cavs baller is currently in the NBA Finals ... but once the offseason hits, he'll be able to enjoy his 5 bedroom, 8 bathroom pad in Woodland Hills listed by Gabriel Ostrow.

Clarkson will have plenty to do ... his home's complete with a chef's kitchen, wine closet, dope home theater, saltwater pool and spa and a BBQ center.

LaVar Ball has weighed in on the NFL's national anthem policy -- and it's not exactly what you'd expect.

"It's their league. If you don't want to do it, get out their league."

Don't get it twisted, Ball says he thinks the NFL has gone too far in requiring players on the field to stand ... but says the NFL has the right to create and enforce their own policies.

"That's why I got my own league," Ball tells TMZ Sports ... "Do what I want."

Ball is referring to his new junior basketball league, the JBA -- which he plans on running himself.

So, what's LaVar's policy on the national anthem going to be in his league?

All eyez are on Matt Barnes' right hand ... 'cause the ex-NBA baller just got the most insane Tupac tattoo!!

The artwork is crazy real ... and the story of how Barnes got it is even more wild.

The former Laker -- who's tatted all over -- was lookin' for a 'Pac piece ... and after seeing a Kobe Bryant tattoo that artist Steve Butcher did ... he hit him up on social media and locked down an appointment.

The dopest realistic tattoo artist we've ever seen flew all the way to L.A. (he's from New Zealand) to ink Matt's hand ... and he says the ex-hooper couldn't have been cooler!

The tat took about five hours to complete -- and we're saying, job well done.

BTW ... Butcher says Matt was the first NBA player he's tatted ... but he probably won't be the last. DeAndre Jordan's already told him he's interested in getting a piece done as well!!

Earnest Byner knows what it's like to make a major mistake with the game on the line (remember the '87 AFC Championship?) ... so, he's got some advice for J.R. Smith.

Byner is a legend in his own right -- he's a 2-time Pro Bowler and won Super Bowls as a player and a coach.

But back in 1988, he fumbled on the 2-yard line with time winding down costing the Cleveland Browns a shot at the Super Bowl. It's been ranked as one of the biggest in-game mistakes in NFL history.

The good news ... Byner didn't let the play define him and went on to have a great career.

Ex-NBA player Jordan Hamilton straight-up SPIT on an opponent during an Israeli Premier League game this week ... and it's all on video.

It went down Friday when Jordan's Hapoel Holon squad took on Hapoel Eilat.

It's unclear why ... but Hamilton -- the Dallas Mavericks' first-round pick in 2011 -- hocks a nasty-ass loogie and sprays it all over the back of Amit Simhon's head.

Simhon tries to tell the refs on Jordan ... but he's only given a tech -- no ejection!!

Simhon got the last laugh in the whole drama -- his team won AND he was the game's leading scorer with 29 points.

The refs screwed up the Cavs-Warriors game so bad last night, the league should allow the teams to replay the final 60 seconds of the game ... seriously -- according to former NBA ref Tim Donaghy.

Here's the deal ... Donaghy was an NBA official for 13 years before he was sent to prison for gambling on games -- but knows the rulebook inside and out.

In fact, he even cites a REAL situation when the NBA acknowledged it screwed up a ruling -- and had the teams reunite to replay the end of a game nearly 4 months later (Hawks vs. Heat 2007).

In this case, Donaghy is honing in on that late 4th quarter foul involving Kevin Durant and LeBron James -- when two refs disagreed on who was at fault ... was it a charge or a block.

Donaghy says instead of going to the replay monitor and changing the call to favor the Warriors, it should have been ruled a jump ball.

Good signs from Jesse Jackson ... he's not letting his Parkinson's diagnosis stop him from attending massive public events like the NBA Finals!

The Reverend was front and center for Game 1 of the Cavs vs. Warriors series in the Bay Area on Thursday flashing a big old smile.

76-year-old Jackson was diagnosed back in 2017 and said, "recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful."

He also noted that he "must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease's progression."

But, the NBA Finals are clearly the exception!

Charles Oakley says it wasn't just the last play of regulation that J.R. Smith screwed up Thursday night -- he also made a crucial mistake in the 1st half that cost his team 3 points ... and maybe the game.

Oak was pretty upset with Smith's decision to go for a steal instead of playing shutdown defense on Steph Curry in the final seconds of the 1st half.

Smith missed the interception and Steph bombed a 3 ... Oakley says that was a major momentum change.

"Why are you going for a steal on the best shooter in the game?!"

Oakley says he hopes the Cavs can recover and bounce back strong in Game 2.

Kevin Durant will never have to fly coach again ... 'cause the NBA superstar's riding on the OUTSIDE of this plane from now on!!

The Golden State Warriors baller got a massive 560 square foot decal on the side of a plane as part of his partnership with Alaska Airlines aircraft ... complete with an insane 50-foot wingspan!!

A rep for the airline says the Durant decal is made of 34 pieces and took more than 144 hours to install on the 737-900ER aircraft.

Durant's been partnering with Alaska Airlines since September 2017 ... and serves as the "Advisor to the CEO" ... which apparently means the dude gets to put his face on a plane.

Kendall Jenner's date night with Ben Simmons seemed to go well ... because it ended at a fancy Beverly Hills hotel -- together!

After a dinner date at The Nice Guy, the two rolled over to Hyde Nightclub where they partied together until around 2:10 AM ... and then ultimately ended up at the Waldorf Astoria.

Ben helped Kendall bring in her bag from the car -- and you can probably guess how the rest of the night went from there.

Doesn't seem to be a one-night stand sorta thing ... the two have reportedly been dating for weeks -- and we know they already had a dinner date on Monday night.

Meanwhile, Ben's ex-GF, Tinashe, is also moving on ... she hit a nearby club where NBA star Donovan Mitchell happened to be partying too.

Jalen Rose was talking out his ass when he claimed the Brooklyn Nets aren't text buddies in the offseason ... at least, that's the takeaway after hearing from Allen Crabbe and Jeremy Lin.

Rose made the comments on 'Get Up' -- saying teams that aren't winning don't REALLY have fun with each other. He pointed to the Nets and said:

"I promise you, the Nets. OK. They play right here in Brooklyn. Those players are not exchanging texts with each other this offseason."

So, when we saw Crabbe in Bev Hills hours after the show ... we asked if Rose's theory was true.

"I don't know where he got that from," Crabbe tells TMZ Sports ... "I feel like our team's pretty cool. We all hang out together."

Crabbe ain't the only Net who says Rose is wrong ...

Jeremy Lin weighed in saying ... "Hmm Jalen much respect to you but no idea where this came from lol. I just had the whole team over for a fat bbq last week."

LaMelo Ball just changed his image in a big way -- losing his signature shaggy hairstyle ... and replacing it with some killer waves!

There had been rumors LaMelo axed his Odell Beckham-style hairdo after he came back from Lithuania ... but now he's confirmed the change -- posting the pics on Instagram.

Looks like 'Melo's hair inspiration could be his own brother, Lonzo ... who has a similar wavy cut of his own.

It's a bizarre move for 'Melo, considering the hair was part of his signature look -- and helped him stand out from the rest of his family.

Good news, Houston Rockets fans -- you may have lost Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, but all early signs point to your star PG Chris Paul returning next season ... including the fact he's selling his L.A.-area home.

CP3, who's set to be a free agent next season, put his Calabasas property on the market just months after buying a massive mega-mansion in Texas about 30 miles from where the Rockets play ... and he's asking for a cool $11.5 million.

The Calabasas pad -- which Paul bought in 2015 for nearly $9 mil -- is more than 11,000 sq. ft. with 6 beds and 8 baths ... featuring a master bedroom with a private courtyard, a chef's kitchen with a pizza oven, a refrigerated wine closet and a home theater.

The ballin' grounds boast a pool & spa, fountain, waterfall, fire pit, BBQ island ... and a full-size outdoor basketball court. Oh, and Khloe Kardashian is the next-door neighbor.

Dikembe Mutombo says he's gonna show the world just how honored he is to receive the Craig Sager Strong Award ... by actually wearing the crazy Craig Sager-inspired jacket given to the winner.

It was just announced that Mutombo would be the recipient of the 2018 award ... which is given to individuals who display courage, compassion and grace to their fellow man.

We got Mutombo at LAX and asked if he planned to actually wear the jacket, which is a replica of the crazy multicolored joints Sager liked to rock when he was a reporter (NBA coach Monty Williams won last year), and Dikembe said YES.

"I already bought the shoes to go with it!"

BTW ... if you thought Dikembe was done being a real-life superhero, he's not -- telling our guy he's planning on building a school in the Congo to honor the memory of his father, in addition to the hospital he's built for his mother.

Yeah, do more.

If you thought LiAngelo Ball's dunk sesh at the Lakers practice facility was impressive ... wait 'til you see Zion Williamson's "hold my drink" response Tuesday.

The Duke commit -- clearly reacting to 'Gelo 'cause of the "dead legs" caption he shared -- nearly took down a rim trying to top the middle Ball brother's performance.

The first dunk: A self-lob, behind-the-back jam.

The second dunk: Another self-lob, left-handed hammer.

'Gelo's clearly got ups ... but yeah, we're givin' Zion the nod here.