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Magic Johnson is strongly refuting an ESPN report that he bullied Lakers staffers during his time as an exec with the organization -- saying, "it never happened."

Just hours after ESPN published the bombshell report, Magic appeared on SportsCenter to address it, explaining that if the allegations were true, he would've been called into Jeanie Buss' office to deal with the incidents.

"Do you think Jeanie Buss would allow me to abuse the employees?" Magic said. "If that was the case, she would've called me in."

Instead, Johnson says he was never informed about such issues and believes the allegations in the report are not based in reality.

"I'm a person who brings everybody together, uplifting employees. I never abused an employee and I never will. That's not what I'm about."

As we previously reported, the ESPN article cites multiple unnamed Lakers staffers who claim Magic would berate employees and essentially created a hostile work environment

Word of advice for people who wanna show up at Logan Paul's house unannounced to try and pick a fight -- DON'T -- that is, unless you wanna get knocked the hell out.

Here's what went down-- Logan claims an Ivan Drago look-alike (YouTuber ViktorCrazy) posted up outside his L.A. mansion for HOURS on Sunday to get Paul to take an impromptu boxing match.

A hungover Paul -- who just so happens to have a full-sized boxing ring in his backyard -- took on the challenge ... only after each guy signed off on all the paperwork -- "if you die, you die" (get it?).

Both dudes touched mitts ... and shortly after, Paul sent him to the canvas with a couple vicious shots. Somehow, Fake Drago lasted through the 1st ... but LP knocked him out with a left hook in the 2nd round.

After the match, Paul -- who insists the whole thing was not fake -- put his sights on his original nemesis in his victory speech ... and then called out any other influencer who wants smoke.

"KSI, I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you, KSI!!" Paul says, "Any YouTuber who thinks they wanna step up after I beat KSI's ass, better start training now, son. It's going to be lethal. I'mma be ruthless!!"

Of course, the first Logan Paul vs. KSI superfight ended in a draw in Manchester last August ... and the 2nd fight was supposed to happen this month.

Logan's kept himself busy by getting in slapping matches with massive dudes ... but here's hoping we still get that rematch.

Well, THAT didn't take long!!

Less than 24 hours after LeBron James lifted his social media ban on his oldest son ... Bronny James has 1 MILLION followers on Instagram.

The 14-year-old heir to the throne was welcomed to IG with a big shout-out from his daddy Monday afternoon ... as well as a warning shot to all trolls:

"Told him 3 years ago the summer of 2019 I’d let you him get one," Bron said. "Damn time flies! Hahaha! Anyways let’s get Bronny! P.S. Keep y’all hating asses off his comments or we pulling up‼️‼️"

Naturally, Draymond Green was one of the first "hating asses" to hit Bronny's comment section, playfully going after the teen hooper with a "Im at your f**king neck this summer G!!! All gas"

Other notable followers include Mike Trout, Odell Beckham, LaMelo Ball, RJ Barrett, Trae Young and Maverick Carter.

10:35 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained the mug shot from Herrera's arrest.

We've also obtained court docs from the incident ... which say Herrera's girlfriend was found with "hand print markings to her neck area and small scratches to her arms."

Odubel is due in court to face the charge in June on the same day the Phils are scheduled to play the Nationals in D.C.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera was arrested Monday night after cops say he roughed up his 20-year-old girlfriend during an altercation in an Atlantic City casino.

According to the Atlantic City Police Department, Herrera and his GF got into a dispute at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino during the Phillies' off day Monday.

Cops were called to the scene ... and when they saw the woman, they said she had visible injuries on her arm and neck.

Cops say they found 27-year-old Herrera in his hotel room after the incident ... and arrested him on the charge of simple assault.

Herrera -- who's batting just .222 with 1 home run for the Phils this season -- was released from custody shortly after and will be required to return for a court date in the future.

For their part ... Major League Baseball says it's placed Herrera on administrative leave in wake of the arrest.

"This morning we were made aware of an alleged incident involving Odúbel Herrera," the Phillies said in a statement ... "Upon receiving this information, we immediately reported the incident to Major League Baseball, which has informed us that Herrera has been placed on Administrative Leave."

"The Phillies take any domestic violence accusation seriously, and strongly support the Joint Domestic Violence Policy agreed upon by MLB and the MLBPA."

9:32 AM PT -- We spoke with Odom on the way out of "The View" and asked him why he thinks Hof tried to kill him. Odom says he's still trying to find the answers.

9:03 AM PT -- Lamar Odom claims the late owner of the Nevada brothel where he OD'd in 2015 tried to kill him ... and Odom says his legal team already has proof to back up his claim.

Odom just appeared on "The View" where he said Dennis Hof -- who owned the Love Ranch -- "tried to kill me."

Long story short ... Odom is adamant he did not intentionally consume any drugs -- including cocaine -- on the day of his overdose and he believes Hof (or someone working for Hof) poisoned him.

"Dennis Hof, I don't know what he had against me but I didn't do drugs that night," Odom said.

"I don't know what he had against me ... he tried to kill me."

Odom says his attorney has already investigated the allegation and found workers at the brothel who back up his claim.

Hof died in October 2018 -- but in 2016, he told TMZ Sports he was a fan of Odom and invited him back to the Love Ranch for the VIP treatment.

We've reached out to Hof's reps regarding Odom's attempted murder claim -- but so far, no comment.

As we previously reported, police who investigated the 2015 overdose say prostitutes at the Love Ranch told them they had heard Odom snorting substances before the OD and had a "vague knowledge of him using illegal narcotics."

Investigators later confirmed the presence of cocaine in Odom's system -- but clearly, Odom says he did NOT knowingly take drugs that night.

Lamar Odom says he believes his wild life story is fit for the big screen -- and he's already had talks about turning his new autobiography into a movie.

Odom was arriving to "The View" in New York on Tuesday to promote his new book, "Darkness to Light" -- in which he talks about everything from drug addiction to sex addiction to his failed marriage with Khloe Kardashian.

Odom says he's already spoken with people about turning his story into a movie but didn't say who those talks were with.

He's not wrong ... Odom went from being an NBA superstar to a reality star before hitting rock bottom ... when he overdosed at a Nevada brothel in 2015.

Odom suffered several strokes and heart attacks and doctors didn't think he'd fully recover.

But, Odom beat the odds and now he's getting ready to play professional basketball again with the BIG3 league.

It's an amazing story ... and it seems like it's only a matter of time before it gets the full-length feature film treatment.

Reason #2361230 why it's great to be LeBron James?? Flexin' on your superstar friends with the hottest shoes on the market ... before they even hit the market.

Nike's billion-dollar man hosted some of his closest NBA-star friends, like Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Tristan Thompson at his L.A. home for a Memorial Day Weekend bash ... and naturally, had to show off one time.

The bright green shoes on his feet in the pic above are the Nike Fear of God 1's in the Frosted Spruce colorway ... and they don't come out 'til this weekend -- but somehow, Bron got the hookup.

When they're available to the non-superstar public, they'll retail at $350, but good luck trying to get them for that price. They're expected to go for AT LEAST $1,000 on the secondary market.

FYI -- the original Nike FOG 1 colorway sold out within seconds when they went on sale late last year ... and these are expected to go just as fast.

As for the bro sesh ... it had everything you could ask for -- vibing to Nipsey Hussle, drinking adult beverages, smokin' cigars and watching "The Godfather" on repeat.

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz still gets goosebumps when he sees other great athletes ... in fact, he TOTALLY fanboy'd when he saw Tiger Woods -- and it was all caught on video.

Tiger was hosting his annual Tiger Jam charity poker tournament at the MGM Grand in Vegas over the weekend ... when Tito started chatting up the golf legend.

At one point, Ortiz whipped out 2 passes from the 2019 Masters tournament -- which Tiger famously won -- and asked him to sign.

Tiger obliged and even posed for pics with Ortiz.

Afterward, Tito explained the connection ... saying he made his UFC debut in Augusta back in 1997, the same year Tiger won the Masters for the first time.

Tito also says he went back to Georgia in April and watched Tiger win again -- and clearly feels a connection with the guy.

FYI, Tito is 44 and Tiger is 43.

9:17 AM PT -- Jeff is apparently very supportive of MacKenzie's pledge, saying, "MacKenzie is going to be amazing and thoughtful and effective at philanthropy, and I'm proud of her. Her letter is so beautiful. Go get 'em MacKenzie."

MacKenzie Bezos is taking her half of her nearly $37 billion divorce settlement with Jeff Bezos, and giving it all away ... to charity.

MacKenzie announced on Tuesday morning she was signing The Giving Pledge ... vowing to donate at least $17 billion. She became the 3rd richest woman in the world when she and the Amazon founder made their divorce official less than 2 months ago -- so she wasted almost no time deciding what to do with her fortune.

Her decision to join the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in signing The Giving Pledge -- aside from being incredibly generous -- also puts her ex-husband in a conspicuous position.

Jeff had been widely criticized, as recently as last year, for not signing the Pledge. He's the only billionaire among the top 5 richest Americans to NOT sign it. MacKenzie signing so quickly after the divorce makes it seem like, she wanted to all along.

BTW, Buffet has already pledged more than $45 billion, and Melinda and Bill are forking over $46 bil.

As you know, MacKenzie and Jeff announced their split back in January, when Jeff went public about his relationship with TV host Lauren Sanchez. The divorce was hammered out in record time -- considering they were divvying up the world's largest fortune -- and in April they reached the settlement.

In her letter, MacKenzie wrote, "My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”

The "I won't wait" ... sure seems like a message to someone whose name might rhyme with Schmeff Schmezos.

5/24 -- Drake is surely not one to let a diss go unnoticed, the rapper responded to Edens' T-shirt with a social media shout-out.

The "Nice for What" rapper changed his Instagram profile picture to a photo of the model and wrote on his story, "All is fair in war and war and trust me I'll still get you tickets to ovo fest."

The Milwaukee Bucks are firing back at Drake in the most awesome way — hitting him where it hurts ... Pusha T.

Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks owner, Wes Edens, is sitting courtside with Aaron Rogers for game 5 ... and she’s wearing a freakin' Pusha T shirt.

Of course, Drake and Push bad MASSIVE BEEF last year ... with each hip-hop star dropping super personal diss tracks about the other.

It got heated.

So, why the shot at Drake?

Remember, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were PISSED at Drizzy after game 4 in Toronto — where the Raptors ambassador roamed the sideline, taunted MIL’s players.

Bucks coach, Mike Budenholzer, was hot at Drake’s antics ... saying, "There's certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors.”

Now that the series is back in Milwaukee ... Mallory — a model — fires back with King Push.

This is The Story of Giannis.

"How often have you suffered because of your last name?"

That's one of Tom Hanks' first-ever questions to Andrew Luck ... straight-up wondering how much the Indianapolis Colts QB has been made fun of in his life.

Don't worry ... Luck played off the awkward question well -- "It goes both ways!" -- and the two had a pretty fun first encounter Wednesday nonetheless.

Hanks and Luck were together for an event at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis ... when Hanks revealed he's a big Luck fan -- telling the QB, "I love watching you play."

The two talked for a while ... discussing everything from Indianapolis, to social media to dealing with haters. Tom was a co-host on NBC's 'Today' Thursday ... a special spotlighting Elizabeth Dole's Hidden Heroes' campaign.

They even posed for a pic too ... and the caption the Colts wrote for it couldn't have been more perfect -- "Andy and Woody."

Life lesson ... text is text, and DM is DM.

Chris Broussard just learned this lesson HARD, courtesy of comments he made about his relationship with NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

This all started when Chris went on FS1's 'Undisputed' and suggested the Warriors playing well in Durant's absence was a "nightmare" for KD ... prompting Durant to clap back on Twitter.

So, Broussard went back on FS1 and discussed his relationship with KD -- saying he and Durant "text" all the time about a variety of topics ... some good, some bad.

Stay with us here ...

That prompted Durant to return to Twitter and let the world know he's NEVER texted with Broussard, and doesn't even have his phone number.

Soooooo ... who's lying?

Well, no one according to Chris ... who just made a video saying he does talk to Durant often, but when he said "text" he was referring to DMs on Instagram and Twitter.

So, he's never texted KD. But, he has texted KD -- explaining that he doesn't really see a difference between text and DM because a private convo is a private convo.

It's a fair point but fact of the matter is ... it's not the same.

Just to help everyone out ... here's the hierarchy of communication so everyone can navigate these newfangled technology streets:

1. Actual phone convo

2. Text

3. DM

4. Comments (back and forth)

5. Mere social media follow

Here's the best Rookie of the Year trophy ever ... Quavo hooked up NBA star Trae Young with a custom diamond chain for his huge 1st season in the league -- and the bling is awesome!!!

"Welcome to the A," the rap star told Young as he presented the jewelry.

Trae killed it for the Atlanta Hawks this year ... averaging 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game in 81 starts -- and to show his thanks, Migos' Atlanta superfan got him some ice.

The chain -- made by famous ATL jeweler Wafi -- is pretty epic ... it features a huge basketball pendant surrounded by dripping diamonds with the nickname "Ice Trae" on it.

The Hawks PG clearly loved the gift ... writing on Quavo's social media page, "YESSSSSSSSIR Much Love My Brotha!!!"

Of course, Trae ain't officially the NBA's Rookie of the Year ... the award won't be announced until the league has its end-of-season ceremony next month.

In fact, Trae ain't even the favorite to land the honor ... Dallas Mavericks PG Luka Doncic is expected to take home the hardware.

There's A LOT of money in this photo ...

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo traded the pitch for the pit on Thursday ... rolling over to the Monaco Grand Prix to hang with Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton had just wrapped up his opening practice session for the race -- he turned in the fastest practice time -- when he went back to the Team Mercedes-Benz garage to chat up CR7.

Of course, Ronaldo got the ultimate VIP treatment -- getting a full tour of the track and pit lane with his son by his side the entire time. CR7's girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, was also on hand in Monaco, just two days after slaying at the Cannes Film Festival.

It was interesting to see Hamilton -- considering he'd backed out of media obligations on Wednesday in the wake of the death of Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda.

FYI, Hamilton is the highest earning F1 driver of all time -- with a reported $489 MILLION in career race earnings!!

Ronaldo's got bank too -- he reportedly made more than $108 MILLION in 2018 ... and continues to chart as one of the most bankable celebrities on the planet.

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly wrapped up their investigation into that Kristaps Porzingis fight in Latvia ... and concluded he was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

TMZ Sports posted video showing the 7'3" superstar bloodied and pissed off on May 12 outside of a bar in his home country, after apparently being jumped.

Our sources told us the attackers were a bunch of Russians who were pissed off that Porzingis had been traded from the Knicks to Dallas.

There were reports that Porzingis may have suffered a broken hand in the melee -- but the Dallas Morning News says they spoke with a team source who says that's not true and his hands are fine.

DMN is also reporting that team officials spoke "at length" with Porzingis who insisted he was truly an innocent victim who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time ... and the team is buying his story.

Of course, the NBA could step in and punish Porzingis -- so he's not out of the woods -- but this definitely bodes well for him.

Sage Northcutt is on the mend ... and he's giving a positive update on his health after undergoing surgery on facial fractures he suffered when he got his ass knocked out in his ONE Championship debut.

The ex-UFC posted this picture from his hospital bed in Singapore on Wednesday night ... thanking all his fans for their prayers and letting everyone know he's recovering and getting better, day by day.

Sage looks to be in good spirits, given the circumstances ... he's giving two big thumbs up, and doing his best to smile -- which has gotta be difficult when you have surgery to fix 8 FRACTURES!!!

Check out that shiner under Sage's left eye ... that's gonna last a while.

As you know ... Sage's debut was a disaster. The 23-year-old got his face punched out by Cosmo Alexandre, crumbling to the canvas with a thunderous face plant 29 seconds into the match.

Sage went under the knife over the weekend ... and his coach, Urijah Faber, told us the fighter's injuries were way worse than originally thought because Sage also shattered his cheek into 30 different pieces.

NFL star Chris Long -- who just retired over the weekend -- is crediting weed for helping him last 11 seasons in the league ... saying regular marijuana use got him through the pain and stress during his career.

“I certainly enjoyed my fair share on a regular basis through my career,” Long told "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday.

“If not for that, I’m not as capable of coping with the stresses of the day-to-day NFL life.”

We know what you're thinking ... how did Long successfully evade the NFL's rigorous drug testing program for all those years? It's actually pretty simple.

"The league, speaking plainly, knows damn well what they're doing. Testing players once a year for 'street drugs,' which is a terrible classification for marijuana, is kinda silly because players know when the test is. We can stop."

During that period away from weed, Long says players turn to more dangerous alternatives like pills and alcohol to deal with pain and stress ... and he's hoping the league eases up on testing to help.

“We should be headed to a place where we allow players to use what I wouldn’t even call drugs. It’s far less dangerous than players guzzling a fifth of alcohol and going out after a game.”