Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavs hit the road Wednesday -- taking some time away from the court to visit a Children's Hospital in Cleveland ... and we're told the kids were PUMPED about the visit.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital confirms LeBron James, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova, Anderson Varejao and James Jones spent more than an hour hanging out with the kids and giving out cool Cavs swag.

"It's a big deal," one staffer told us ... "They come every year. They spend a lot of time in each room. They hang out and really make the kids happy."

"For that time they're here visiting, it's amazing what it does to their spirits and mood and how it impacts their time in the hospital."

A 19-year-old man says he was CHOKED by Cleveland Cavs star J.R. Smith ... and claims it was all because he made fun of Smith for getting traded out of New York.

The man behind the allegation is Justin Brown -- who claims he and some friends encountered Smith at a NY pizza joint around 4 AM on Nov. 13th.

In a complaint filed with the NYPD, Brown claims Smith refused to take a picture with his group and an altercation ensued.

As Smith walked away, Brown shouted to the NBA star -- "That's why New York kicked you out, yo!"

Brown claims Smith then slammed him against a wall and choked him with his hands.

Brown filed the report 3 days after the incident.

We spoke with cops who say Brown had no visible injuries at the time he filed the report.

It's the end of an era in the NBA ... 'cause Cavs star Iman Shumpert just ditched his signature Gumby-style high top cut ... for a brand new dreaded up man bun.

Shumpert was out in L.A. with his pop star girlfriend Teyana Taylor when we noticed that he didn't bring something with him on his trip to the coast ... his one-of-a-kind hair.

Check out the clip -- Iman ... who's just signed a $40 million dollar deal with Cleveland ... says he just wanted a change and that Teyana supports his new 'do 100%.

Bieber has one ... so does Jamie Foxx and Chris Brown -- but the guy who ignited the biggest sales boom of those new 2-wheeled scooters is Cavs star J.R. Smith ... TMZ Sports has learned.

It's called the PhunkeeDuck -- a foot-controlled motorized scooter -- and Smith was often seen zooming around on one during the NBA Finals ... watched by roughly 18.5 million people.

We spoke with PhunkeeDuck founder Max Waxman who tells us sales exploded thanks to the NBA Finals exposure ... "We did almost as many in sales as we had done in the prior 5 or 6 weeks."

And that's HUGE considering Bieber had been showing off his PhunkeeDuck to his 30 million Instagram followers and Foxx had brought his on "The Tonight Show."

"The exposure J.R. got us helped a tremendous amount. To have the whole NBA Finals audience see and talk about our product made a huge difference."

LeBron James was too damn ball hoggish during the NBA Finals -- and needed to share the rock with his teammates -- so says Metta World Peace.

The former NBA champ was out in Hollywood Tuesday night when we asked how he felt about the Golden State Warriors winning the whole thing in Cleveland.

Metta made it clear he thinks LeBron is amazing ... but says, "I wish that early in the series that he would've passed to his teammates and you know ... got them in a rhythm."

"I think he could've played better with his team."

She doesn't just identify as black ... Rachel Dolezal also identifies as a LeBron James fan!

Dolezal was walking through LaGuardia airport last night, where she touched down for her "Today" show interview -- when she was asked who she's got in the NBA Finals.

So, does liking LeBron make her more black? Or more white?

When Dwyane Wade hit the books at Harvard last week, he probably had an edge on his fellow classmates -- 'cause one of the topics was his BFF LeBron James ... TMZ Sports has learned.

FYI -- Wade took part in a 4-day course called "The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports" ... which required him to live on campus, eat at the student dining hall and basically study his ass off for 4 straight days.

We're told Wade didn't coast through the course -- several Harvard faculty members tell us D-Wade was very impressive and had one hell of a work ethic.

Wade and his classmates were required to brush up on case studies on several high profile people and sports teams ... including Beyonce, Real Madrid and LeBron.

NFL superstar Brandon Marshall took the course last year ... and came back to speak to the 51 students in the class this year -- and today, he told "TMZ Hollywood Sports" what it takes to make the grade.

It's no joke ... Marshall says the course is super tough and super competitive ... but he also told us the #1 thing athletes should take away from the class.

Pay attention.

You can't blame LeBron James for accidentally exposing himself while adjusting his wiener on national TV ... so says The Game who says it's hard to move well when your dong's in the wrong spot.

The rapper was out in L.A. last night when we asked about King James and his royal scepter ... and that's when Game explained why the pre-game penis shirt is absolutely imperative to an NBA star.

In fact, Game says he can relate ... "You ever try to go outside and live your life but your package ain't in the right place? You gotta get that thing to the left side, jiggle it, you know what I'm sayin?"

LeBron James didn't go balls out in Game 4 of the NBA Finals ... he went dong out instead.

Moments before tip off Thursday night, LeBron went to adjust himself below the waist ... and it just so happened to be at the same time an ABC camera moved in for a close-up.

James opened his shorts a little too much ... and boom -- LeBron's penis was introduced to roughly 18.5 MILLION viewers.

If you really wanna see it ... click here -- but WARNING, it's a penis.

He is playing OUT OF HIS MIND ... and now Cleveland Cavaliers star Matthew Dellavedova is getting props from the Australian ambassador's office.

TMZ Sports spoke to a spokesperson for Kim Beazley, the Aussie ambassador to the U.S., who tells us the entire country is pumped up and proud of the Australian-born star.

"The ambassador is very engaged in this series," the rep tells us ... "He's watching it very closely. We all are. We're so excited."

We're told the entire office feels Matt's performance has been incredibly inspiring -- "He shows people you don't have to be 6'8" to be a great player."

But the office isn't "All In" for the Cavs ... because there's another huge Aussie star playing on the Warriors, Andrew Bogut.

LeBron James is a 1-man stimulus package in Cleveland -- with several businesses around the Cavs arena telling TMZ Sports they've been CRUSHING IT during the playoffs ... and they're all crediting #23.

Don't forget, the Cavs didn't make the playoffs once during the 4 years LeBron was in Miami -- which means 4 years of low foot traffic for the restaurants and stores near Quicken Loans Arena.

But with this year's run, Cleveland has already hosted an additional 7 playoff games (with more to come) ... and the 8 establishments we spoke with say the extra business has been HUGE.

Here's what a few of the owners and managers told us.

"Every business owner, hotel, restaurant, grocery store owner ... anyone who owns a business in downtown Cleveland should be kissing [LeBron's] ass, including me."
-Owner, Zocala Mexican Grill

"It's certainly a nice bonus for local businesses and we are happy to have LeBron back here. On the day of home playoff games, I'd say business increases by more than 40 percent."
-Manager, The Greenhouse Tavern

"We just opened in the beginning of the year. One of the reasons we came to downtown Cleveland is because of the downtown boom, and a lot of that's LeBron James being back in Cleveland."
-Owner, A Bar + Kitchen

A former NFL lineman has a STERN WARNING for Kyrie Irving ... don't let the doctors pressure you into coming back early ... or you could wind up with an OBLITERATED KNEE!!!!

The man behind the warning is LeCharles Bentley ... a former 2-time Pro Bowler who played for the Cleveland Browns ... who suffered a pretty major knee injury of his own during his playing days.

As for Kyrie -- the Cavs said he'd been suffering from a "bad case of tendonitis" over the past few weeks and wanted him to play last night. Kyrie's father had reportedly been pushing for Irving to take it easy.

Enter Bentley ... who added his perspective on social media after the game:

"So the doc tells Kyrie it's 'just tendonitis' ... Yea, I tore my patella from having 'just tendonitis'. I tried to 'tough it out'... ."

He then posted a picture of what his knee looks like now -- and said, "Oh, 'it just tendonitis'... I'm out, about to go 'tough out' this leg workout. Could be worse! #Blessed."

Bottom line -- Bentley says, "Athletes better listen to their bodies, not Twitter & Docs."

Game respects game ... at least when it comes to LeBron James ... who was so impressed with the kid who won the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee -- that he just sent him a whole bunch of awesome Cavs swag ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The kid who popped up on LeBron's radar -- Gokul Venkatachalam -- is a HUGE Cavaliers fan who rocked a LeBron #23 jersey underneath his button down shirt ... while dominating the spelling bee.

A rep for the Cavs tells us LeBron and the team were so impressed by the performance ... they hooked Gokul up with a pair of Nike Lebron XII's ... inscribed with a personal message from King James ... plus a bunch of team apparel.

We spoke to Gokul, who hasn't yet received the swag ... but says he is "pumped" that LeBron and the team recognized his accomplishment.

Pretty cool, right?

LeBron James won't be "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" anytime soon ... 'cause the star of the '90's sitcom Mark Curry tells TMZ Sports the KING has NO CHANCE against his Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Mark was at LAX when we asked the Oakland native if he's scared his hometown Warriors' championship run is in peril now that they're matched up with the Cavs -- and LeBron -- in the NBA Finals.

Check out the clip -- not only is Mark not afraid of LeBron ... he's straight up CALLING HIM OUT ... saying that Steph Curry and the boys from the Bay are gonna smack the crown right off Bronny's head (basketball wise).

President Obama just took a stand on the NBA Finals ... saying there's no way J.R. Smith has a chance to outshoot Steph Curry ... despite the fact Smith has been ON FIRE in the playoffs.

Obama went to Twitter to answer some questions ... when someone wrote:

"Can JR Smith out shoot Steph Curry and lead the Cavs to a championship?"

Obama's response -- "jr smith having a great season but the heart of the Cavs is Lebron. And no one can outshoot Curry - maybe Korver if wide open."

So far, no response from Smith ... but we're guessing it's coming.

Lil B is DOUBLING DOWN on his threat to curse LeBron James ... claiming the King is in "big, big trouble" for stealing B's famous dance move.

Lil B appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" today (from an undisclosed location) and told us he appreciates Iman Shumpert's olive branch ... but the Cavs aren't off the hook yet.

As we previously reported, B's upset the team used his famous "cookin' dance" in a post-game celebration last night ... and didn't give him the proper credit.

Now, B's got demands if the team wants to escape the curse before the NBA Finals.