Golden State Warriors

We all knew Steph Curry's clutch under pressure ... but the dude just took it to a whole 'nother level ... getting behind the needle and inkin' up his own personal tattoo artist!!

The Golden State Warriors superstar met up with the guy behind his body art -- Zebra Tattoo artist Nino Lapid -- on Monday night ... giving him one hell of a birthday present ...

A PERMANENT AUTOGRAPH ON HIS LEG!!!

Lapid is the same guy commissioned for a private tat sesh for the Curry fam after the Warriors beat up on the Cavs last year ... so they're a really tight group.

It's not every day you get tatted by a 2-time NBA MVP ... but that's not all that went down last night -- Steph's wife, Ayesha, and teammate Damion Lee got in on the fun too!!

Luckily for Nino ... it looks like Steph's hand was as steady as his shot.

Draymond Green says his heated argument with Kevin Durant -- one in which he repeatedly called K.D. a "b*tch" -- is only gonna make the Warriors better ... saying, "Good luck with us now!"

ICYMI ... the Golden State stars got into it at the end of a loss to the Clippers on Monday -- with Durant upset at Green in the huddle for a late-game turnover.

Green fired back harshly ... callin' Durant a "b*tch" multiple times -- and reportedly even letting the argument spill into the post-game locker room.

Green was eventually suspended one game -- and fined $120,000 -- for the altercation ... but told reporters Thursday the fight ain't gonna end the Warriors' dynasty.

"If this only makes Kevin, myself and the rest of my teammates stronger, that's what it's going to do," Green says.

In fact ... Draymond promised an EVEN BETTER version of the Dubs now.

"If you think you saw something before, good luck with us now. We not going to crumble off of an argument. We going to move forward."

That might be true for THIS season ... but Klay Thompson AND K.D. are free agents this summer -- and even Draymond couldn't guarantee their future with the team after that.

Too Short ain't exactly throwing Jon Gruden a vote of confidence ... telling TMZ Sports he's legit torn over the way the Raiders head coach is dismantling his favorite team.

We got the legendary Bay Area rapper leaving Sirius in NYC on Tuesday ... and he made it clear right away -- he ain't pleased with what's going down in Oakland.

"I'm really mad about 1-5," he says as he showed off all the silver and black he wore ... "I'm pissed about that."

Short's biggest problem with the team? Gruden ... 'cause Short says he's got some serious mixed feelings over Chuckie's first season back as Raiders head man.

"I'm just like everybody else, I'm mixed in between trading away all our players and bringing in the coach that beat us in the Super Bowl ... it's just we all got mixed emotions right now."

Short says it's gotten so bad for him ... he's legit on the verge of tears!!!!

But ... he does have one saving grace that he says makes him feel better ... "the Warriors, man!!"

Won't be hard for the Warriors to remember trouncing LeBron James the last two years ... 'cause they just got diamond, gold and sapphire bling to make sure they NEVER forget it!!!

Golden State unveiled its 2018 NBA Championship Rings on opening night Tuesday -- and the ice is FULL of reminders of how they overthrew the King ... two years in a row.

"Bristle texture" signifying the 4-0 sweep in the 2018 Finals? Check.

Two gold-and-diamond Larry O'Brien trophies for the back-to-back wins over the Cavs? They're there.

A "Back 2 Back" slogan engraved in the gold? Yup.

OH ... and the freakin' top IS REVERSIBLE -- because, ya know, back-to-back over Cleveland and all that.

As for the practicality of that whole unscrewing top thing ... not everyone was a fan -- Shaq said on air, "Why would you want your ring to open up???"

Ex-NBA star Steve Kerr vs. 67-year-old NFL coach Pete Carroll in a basketball shootout ... WHO YA GOT?!?!

If you took the Golden State Warriors head man -- you'd be wrong ... we think.

The Dubs are up in Seattle for a preseason tilt with Sacramento Friday, but they popped by 'Hawks practice beforehand (we're told Kerr and Carroll are long-time bros).

Turns out ... there's a basketball hoop in the Seattle team meeting room -- so, of course, a shootout went down.

Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Tyler Lockett all got buckets ... but then it was time for the main event -- Carroll vs. Kerr.

Unclear exactly how it all went down ... but it looks like it came down to a final Carroll shot -- that cornerback Shaquill Griffin conveniently cut out before the ball went in.

If you're asking Griffin ... he swears Carroll made the bucket -- "He made the shot !! Seahawks win !!"

Guess we'll have to take his word for it ... after all, Seattle doesn't get to see much hoops success these days.

UPDATE 8/26 -- TMZ Sports has obtained new video of the Nick Young arrest in which the NBA star is screaming, "Am I resisting?!"

During the footage, Young is being taken into custody for refusing to cooperate with officers during a routine traffic stop late Friday night.

You can hear Young screaming out to nearby witnesses -- clearly upset. The witnesses don't seem to care with one man telling cops, "shoot him."

Ultimately, cops ignored the cries from both Young and the witnesses and put the NBA Star in their squad car. He was taken to a nearby station where he was booked.

So far, Young has yet to comment publicly on the incident.

NBA star Nick Young -- aka Swaggy P -- was arrested in Hollywood late Friday night after an incident during a traffic stop with police ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the former Golden State Warriors star was pulled over just before midnight for a routine traffic violation when something went wrong.

We're told the 33-year-old refused to cooperate with the officers on scene, and so he was arrested for obstruction of justice.

One witness tells us ... cops took Young out of his vehicle and ordered him up against a wall where he was handcuffed and taken into custody.

He was taken to a nearby station where he was booked. We're told Young's vehicle was impounded.

Unclear if he had any passengers inside.

It's not Young's first issue with cops -- back in 2016, he was cited for bumping his music too loud while driving his car in Hollywood. At the time, Young claimed one of the officers heckled him about the Lakers having a crappy record.

Young is a pretty famous dude outside NBA circles -- remember, he dated Iggy Azalea back in the day ... but she broke up with him when he knocked up his ex behind Iggy's back.

No one is more plugged in to the NBA scene than Matt Barnes -- so, naturally, he's got all the inside scoop on the Draymond Green vs. Tristan Thompson incident and he's finally talking about it.

Barnes appeared on "Lunchtime with Roggin and Rodney" on AM 570 LA Sports and told the guys he's already spoken with his ex-Warriors teammate, Draymond, about the altercation and says the media got it all wrong.

"He was never actually hit and he actually tried to make peace through people that wanted him to squash it," Barnes says.

It had been reported that Tristan sucker punched Draymond when they met up at an ESPYs after-party at Delilah nightclub ... but Barnes says that's simply not true.

TMZ Sports had spoken to multiple witnesses who told us the guys actually made peace afterward and are on much better terms now.

Multiple witnesses tell TMZ Sports ... Draymond Green and Tristan Thompson cooled off and actually dapped each other up after a heated altercation at an ESPYs after-party.

We spoke with multiple people who were inside Delilah nightclub on July 18 when Draymond and Tristan came face to face.

Everyone we spoke to says it did not appear Tristan actually punched Draymond -- but he did make an aggressive gesture toward him.

LeBron and Kevin Durant did intervene and diffused the situation.

We're told when things cooled off ... Draymond and Tristan talked things out and actually made peace. At one point, our sources say they shook hands and the night went on without any more drama.

Before Draymond Green's alleged violent confrontation with Tristan Thompson ... the NBA star was partying with LeBron James and Kevin Durant and witnesses say he was in a great mood.

There are reports Draymond and his crew went from LeBron's Uninterrupted party at The Highlight Room to Delilah nightclub ... where Green approached Thompson and was struck in the face by the NBA star.

Some reports say Draymond was trying to apologize to Tristan for disrespecting him after the NBA Finals -- but TT was having nothing of it and had to be restrained.

Witnesses who saw Draymond and LeBron at The Highlight Room say the guys were hanging out and enjoying the evening ... no static, no tension.

We got video of Draymond and LeBron having a conversation before leaving for the next spot with KD -- but unclear what they were talking about.

Nick Young thinks Patrick Beverley must've been on the sauce when he declared the Clippers to be the best team in the NBA ... asking TMZ Sports, "He was drunk that night or something?"

Remember, earlier this month, Beverley proudly told us he REALLY believes his new Clip squad is better than the Lakers and the Warriors ... and are real contenders to win the NBA title.

So, when we saw Swaggy -- who plays for the Warriors -- leaving Craig's in West Hollywood Sunday night ... we had to ask for his thoughts. His reaction says it all.

Steph Curry can't even let his guard down in the offseason ... 'cause the dude's getting challenged WHEREVER he goes -- even on the golf course!!

Curry was participating in the practice round at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe on Thursday ... when his own caddie grabbed a basketball and put the NBA superstar in a blender!!

Curry's reaction is hilarious ... the dude even reenacts his infamous mouthpiece toss from the 2016 NBA Finals!!

(Obviously, Curry was in on the joke ... but, it's still really funny)

BTW -- there's a TON of athletes competing in the tourney Friday -- from Sean Payton to Jared Goff to Vince Carter. But, they didn't get crossed up by their caddies.

It wasn't all L's for Curry ... he did win the Korbel champagne poppin' contest!

Klay Thompson was PISSED after his friend got fouled hard in a pickup game in China -- with the NBA star cussing out one of the players and nearly coming to blows.

What set Klay off was when Klay's pal drove to the hoop and an opposing player took out his legs in midair -- causing the guys to come crashing down HARD on the floor.

Klay's pal was rightfully furious -- and that's when Thompson stormed onto the court to get in the other dude's face.

"Come on, man. That's bullsh*t," Thompson says.

"If you want to fight him, then fight his ass -- don't undercut him. F*ckin' bullsh*t. That's bullsh*t, man. Bullsh*t. You don't do that bullsh*t."

"That's how you f*ckin' ruin somebody's career, god damnit. You don't do that. You don't do that sh*t."

Klay Thompson took a break from celebrating his Warriors championship in China this week to get his ass whooped in Pop-A-Shot ... BY A BALLER-ASS LITTLE GIRL!!

The video is incredible ... a kid half of Klay's size hits shot after shot after shot -- while one of the NBA's greatest all-time shooters throws up bricks.

Unclear what the final score was ... but, at one point, it was 100 to 38.

Klay's college teammate at Wazzu appropriately captioned the video, "this girl is legend."

Victor Oladipo's got the key for LeBron James to beat the Golden State Warriors next year ... and it only requires one thing from the King -- join the Pacers!!

We got the Indiana star leaving TAO on Monday night -- fresh off winning Most Improved Player at the NBA Awards -- and he told us all his squad needs in order to win a ring is a little LBJ.

Then, he gave us his best pitch to the NBA's top player.

"If you want to win, come to Indy!!"

Remember ... LeBron's been the reason the Pacers haven't advanced in the Eastern Conference Playoffs two years in a row -- so the move kills two birds with one stone for Oladipo.

How much dough would you cough up to own a piece of the biggest boneheaded play of 2018??

For one fan, the magic number is a whoppin' $23,548!! ... 'cause that's what J.R. Smith's NBA Finals Game 1 jersey sold for Thursday night ... TMZ Sports has learned.

ICYMI -- the bidding started at $620 ... but things started heating up on the final day of bidding, with the number reaching around $11k ... then DOUBLING before the auction closed.

To put things in perspective, LeBron James' Game 1 threads -- which he wore during his historic 51-point performance -- fetched $100,322 ... but that was probably bought for different reasons.

Nick Young's thrilled marijuana is becoming legal across the country ... but he's already onto the next issue -- COKE!!!

"I want people to pass cocaine," the NBA star told TMZ Sports outside 1 OAK on Tuesday night ... "Everybody needs to do cocaine!"

For the record, cocaine isn't illegal everywhere -- did you know blow is sorta legal in Colombia where people can possess 1 gram or less? There's similar laws in the Czech Republic and Uruguay.

And, there's been a real argument that legalizing all drugs could actually benefit the society.

Aside from the booger sugar convo, we also spoke with Swaggy about LeBron James, the Warriors and how he's blinging out his brand new NBA Championship ring!

Also ... kids, don't do drugs.

11:30 AM PT -- Swaggy P just issued a statement saying CHILLAX -- he was just kidding around.