Cleveland Cavaliers

Could an NBA team made up of the best former Kentucky players be able to beat the defending world champion Cleveland Cavaliers to win a ring?

"F*****' RIGHT!"

DeMarcus Cousins CLEARLY agrees with John Calipari ... who said this week that a team of Boogie, Karl-Anthony Towns, John Wall, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis would be able to win an NBA title.

Looks like Kevin Love is off to a great post-surgery recovery on his left knee ... because the Cleveland Cavs star was already walking around the streets of NYC last night and TMZ Sports has the video.

Love underwent arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday in NYC where a doctor removed loose bodies from the knee. He's expected to be out around 6 weeks.

But Wednesday night, he was already moving pretty well on his way out of a Ralph Lauren fashion show with his girlfriend, Kate Bock.

It's great news for Cavs fans and Polo fans ... 'cause the collection looked dope!

Who's got the balls to talk trash to LeBron James???? (besides Charles Barkley) ... how about the GREATEST competitor in the history of "The Challenge!!!"

TMZ Sports spoke with 'Challenge' legend Johnny Bananas ... who's DOMINATED on the MTV show for years ... and he strongly believes LeBron wouldn't stand a chance in his world.

FYI, "The Challenge" is a bunch of hot dudes and chicks who party their faces off and sometimes bang each other at night ... and then go to war in grueling physical competitions during the day. New season premieres tonight.

It's crazy ... these people are legit athletes.

So, we asked Johnny how a world-class physical specimen like LeBron would hold up. He ain't too confident in the King.

J.R. Smith's miracle continues ... the NBA star finally got to hold his preemie daughter (born after only 21 weeks) ... and says it's one of the greatest days of his life.

As we previously reported, Smith's wife gave birth to baby Dakota in early January almost 5 months before her due date. Dakota only weighed 1 pound at birth.

Now, more than a month later ... Dakota is still fighting and doctors determined she's strong enough to allow her parents to hold her in the NICU.

Smith posted a photo of their first "skin to skin" session. Smith wrote, "Today is one of the greatest days of my life. Today I get to hold my youngest for the first time! GOD is GREAT! #DakotaStrong."

J.R.'s entire family has been by Dakota's side at the hospital -- even reading to her as she continues to battle.

LeBron James WENT OFF on Charles Barkley last night ... blasting the NBA legend as a "hater" with a violent, sketchy and downright shameful past.

James was speaking with ESPN after the Cavs lost to the Mavs on Monday and was asked about Barkley's recent criticism of his leadership.

"He's a hater," LeBron said ... "What makes what he says credible? Because he's on TV?"

Then he REALLY went in.

"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James said.

"I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying."

"All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that."

LeBron James just took a shot at Donald Trump.

The NBA superstar was talking to the media about the NBA All-Star rosters and was asked his thought about some players turning in "goofy" ballots as a joke.

His response ... "There's always goofy votes. Donald Trump is our president."

LeBron James has previously said he's undecided about going to a Trump White House if the Cavs win the NBA title ... saying, "We’ll have to cross that road, I guess. We’ll see. I would love to have to cross that road."

LeBron James ate like true king with prime meats on the menu to celebrate his 32nd birthday.

The Chosen One hit up Fahrenheit Friday night -- the night of his birthday -- in Charlotte with a bunch of his teammates ... including Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.

We're told he rolled in around 8:30 PM and the group sat in a private room ... where they ordered $3k worth of food and drinks. LeBron specially requested a blackened salmon salad while the rest of the ballers feasted on 60-day aged NY steaks and lobster tails.

They washed it down with some Hennessy and Moscow Mules before the big dessert -- chocolate and vanilla bean cake ... delivered by Chef Rocco Whalen himself.

So, why Charlotte? The Cavs play the Hornets tonight.

Memphis Grizzlies fans were PISSED when the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to sit their Big 3 earlier this week ... and Krayzie Bone doesn't blame 'em one bit.

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love took the night off in the Cavs' 93-85 loss to the Grizz ... and the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member is siding with the fans on this one, despite his love for The Land.

K.B. shares the reception he'd get if he tried to pull the same thing at one of his concerts ... and he's definitely got a point.

Iman Shumpert says he would boycott Donald Trump's White House if the Cavs repeat as NBA champs and are invited back to 1600 Pennsylvania.

The Cavs star was speaking with Complex when he was asked if he would boycott Yeezys after Kanye West expressed support for the President-elect.

"I understand people’s stance on Trump. I can’t get caught up in the racial, sexist bulls**t he’s got going on. That’s his personal thing, ya dig."

He added, "I do think he’s crazy -- straight up."

Complex followed up with the White House question:

Complex: "Will you go to Trump’s White House if the Cavs win the championship again this year?

Iman: "I’m not going to the White House."

Despite having a pretty rough week, Michelle Obama found some time to smile and goof around with LeBron and the rest of the Cavs on Thursday ... pulling off a Mannequin Challenge at the White House!

The Cavs were at 1600 Penn. to be honored by Obama for winning the NBA championship -- and decided to get in on the social media craze while there.

President Obama just got to flex his comedy skills one last time ... welcoming the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers to the White House.

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the squad were honored by POTUS on the lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave ... and the prez was funny!!

Topics Obama didn't touch? Donald Trump. Khloe Kardashian. Everything else was fair game ... including busting on J.R. Smith for not wearing a shirt after the Cavs won the title.

B.O. also discusses "MacGyver" Iman Shumpert for delivering his baby with the help of a pair of headphones.

Check out the clip, and congrats champs!

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their annual Halloween party Sunday night ... and it was nothing short of epic ... with several HUGE talking points that need to be addressed:

The Cleveland Cavaliers got their NBA Championship rings Tuesday night (6.5 karats, 400 diamonds) -- and you can bet your sweet ass Khloe Kardashian was there to inspect the goods!

Khloe was Tristan Thompson's VIP guest (duh) -- and immediately played "Mine's bigger than yours" with her finger jewelry.

Just because Kim's no longer flossin' on social media doesn't mean Khloe has to follow suit, right?

By the way, the Cavs won -- crushing the Knicks 117 to 88.

#GoodLuckCharm

LeBron James was FIRED UP when the Cleveland Indians won the ALCS -- and so was the rest of the local bar he was watching the game at ... and the whole celebration was captured on video.

Bron hit up Townhall in Cleveland with J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson to watch game 5 of the ALCS -- and sat right in the mix with a bunch of the locals.

When the Indians sealed the deal, the place exploded ... and now LeBron knows what it's like to watch another team from The Land dominate.

Cleveland Cavs star Iman Shumpert has been hit with charges stemming from his arrest last month in Georgia ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the 26-year-old guard was pulled over outside of Atlanta on August 10th for a lane change violation.

Police say they did a field sobriety test and determined Shumpert was high. Cops also found a mason jar of marijuana in the car.

According to court records, obtained by TMZ Sports, Shumpert was charged with DUI (drugs), marijuana possession (less than an ounce) and failure to maintain lane -- all misdemeanors. He was also hit with a few traffic citations.

Coach Allen Iverson???

Maybe ... 'cause his buddy, Tyronn Lue -- coach of the world champion Cleveland Cavs has invited his old nemesis to join his bench.

In case you missed it, Iverson gave Lue a big shout-out during his Hall of Fame induction speech this weekend ... and said they became good friends after the legendary "step-over" at the 2001 NBA Finals.

Iverson also mentioned in his speech that point guards seem to become the best NBA coaches -- and since A.I. played some P.G., we asked Lue if "The Answer" was a candidate for a job.

Lue and Iverson on the sideline together? Please get matching hairdos.