Miami Heat

Apparently, MONSTER DUNK SKILLS run in the family ... 'cause LeBron James' kids just went HAM on their Nerf hoop ... and the rim-crushing highlight was all captured on video.

LeBron's sons -- 6-year-old Bryce and 9-year-old Bronny -- teamed for a crazy alley-oop style slam on Christmas morning ... and LeBron was so proud, he posted the footage online.

James even Instagram'd a message to L.A. Clippers stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul ... saying, "Bronny and Bryce gone hold down Lob City until y'all get back. Cool? It's like the both of y'all but we gone keep it in our room. Haha."

Fun Fact -- If 28-year-old LeBron can stay healthy enough to play in the league for 10 more years, he's got a shot at playing ALONGSIDE his son.

Every kiss begins with ... an engagement ring that costs MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE MAKE THEIR WHOLE FRICKIN' LIVES -- if you're Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, that is.

Dwyane popped the question Saturday night with an 8.5 carat cushion cut diamond ring (pictured below) made by go-to celeb jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills ... and TMZ has learned it goes for nearly 1 million bucks.

We're told Dwyane had been on the hunt for months for the stone of her dreams ... and his jeweler made 3 trips to Miami looking for the perfect jewel ... and third time was a charm.

Bravo.

LeBron James missed a huge opportunity -- when he mistakenly promoted his new line of shoes by covering a Lamborghini in the same design as his kicks.

Why? Because he should have made a SHOE car ... according to some crazy people.

Gabrielle Union is refusing to confirm if the beef between her BF Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant is real ... but she ain't exactly saying it's BS either.

Things have been heating up between Wade and Durant recently -- after Durant called Wade an overrated player who should no longer be on the NBA's top 10 list. He later said Wade needs to "pass the torch."

Wade responded with an Instagram post saying, "Note to self ... make [Durant] respect your place in history ... again."

Union was at LAX this weekend -- and while she tried to play down the feud as a one-time thing, it seems as if there's more to the story.

Here is a video of LeBron James flipping a monster truck tire, in an abandoned warehouse, while surrounded by flames and wearing giant gold chains ... and why, you ask? 'CAUSE IT'S BAD ASS.

Also, he was taping a scene for the new Miami Heat intro video (you know, the clip they play in the stadium during player intros).

Sure, LBJ was hamming it up for the cameras during the shoot, but the guy is an absolute beast.

As for D-Wade and Chris Bosh ... they shot intro scenes too. No fire, or tires, or gold chains ... just some smoke and dry ice.

Pays to be the king.

Michael Jordan says there's only one guy who would beat him in a game of 1-on-1 ... and it ain't LeBron James -- it's Kobe Bryant.

MJ made the statement in a video promoting the NBA 2K14 -- while talking about a bunch of NBA legends he would've liked to ball against in their prime, including Jerry West, D-Wade, Carmelo, Kobe, LeBron and more.

"I don't think I would lose," Jordan says ... adding, "other than to Kobe Bryant because he steals all of my moves."

MJ was later asked who was the better player -- Kobe or LBJ -- and explained, "In terms of dominance in the game of basketball at this stage, it's LeBron."

Miami Heat star Chris Andersen -- aka Birdman -- has been cleared in a criminal investigation allegedly involving an underage girl on the Internet ... a year after the Feds raided his Colorado home.

The Internet Crimes Against Children task force searched Andersen's home looking for some link between him and an underage girl in California, with whom Andersen had allegedly carried on an illicit relationship both online and in person. But it turns out, it was all an elaborate "catfishing" scheme.

According to police, Andersen was actually set up by a 29-year-old woman in rural Canada named Shelly Lynn Chartier -- who posed as a real girl in California while communicating with Andersen. In turn, Chartier then used Andersen's image to communicate with the actual girl in California.

The ruse was so convincing that the California girl -- who was of legal age -- flew out to Colorado to meet Andersen. The two made contact, but the relationship didn't progress from there.

That's when Chartier allegedly threatened Andersen with extortion, making claims the California girl was actually underage. Chartier was arrested in January. Andersen will NOT be charged with a crime.

A rep for the Miami Heat said, "We are not surprised this is the end result. We are happy for Chris and glad this unfortunate incident is behind him."

Pop quiz: LeBron James or temples built for kings -- which would you photograph? Yeah, LBJ wins every time ... at least in Rome.

Newlywed LeBron and his wife are honeymooning over in Rome and yesterday while he was busy taking pics in front of the Altare della Patria -- all the tourists were busy snapping pics of the NBA champ.

At only 6'8" ... King James towers over the nearly 100-year-old monument to King Victor Emmanuel II (yes, we looked it up.)

For his part ... LBJ was clearly impressed by the landmark. So much so, he busted out some dance moves. Go 'Bron! Go 'Bron!!

LeBron James has a third ring to add to his collection -- his wedding ring -- and Sunday morning, he was proudly sporting his new hardware as he emerged from his SoCal hotel with his brand new wife.

LBJ and his bride Savannah Brinson were spotted leaving the Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego ... looking surprisingly well-rested considering the bash of the century that went down the night before.

As we previously reported, Jay Z and Beyonce performed at the shindig -- which was attended by 200 guests, including Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Lebron James tied the knot in California last night -- and instead of some crappy band "We Are Family" -- playing at the reception ... they got JAY Z and BEYONCE!!!!

The Miami Heat forward and his fiancee Savannah Brinson made things official during a ceremony in San Diego at the Grand Del Mar Hotel ... after dating 12 years.

According to reports -- the 28-year-old basketball player was joined by teammate Dwyane Wade and his girlfriend Gabrielle Union ... Chris Bosh and wife Adrienne ... as well as Jay Z and Beyonce, who performed "Crazy in Love" at the reception.

... and you thought the picture booth at your wedding was cool.

The Miami-Dade Police Dept. is pooh-poohing criticism that it crossed the thin blue line last Friday by giving LeBron James a police escort to the Jay Z concert.

As we reported ... Jay Z had announced he would not start the show until LeBron arrived.

It's nice to be famous, right?

High school marching bands are NOT to be trifled with -- just ask one Chicago woman, who claims she was attending a charity event for Dwyane Wade's foundation last year ... and took a beating to the head with a bass drum mallet.

Andrea Alexander filed the lawsuit against Wade's World (EXCELLENT!) claiming she had an aisle seat at the foundation's "Chicago Has Talent" event last year when a high school marching band blared and crashed its way past her.

Alexander claims the aisles were so narrow, one of the band's bass drummers whacked her in the head with his bass drum mallet ... causing her "severe and permanent injuries."

Alexander says its Dwyane's foundation's fault for negligently allowing the band to play in the narrow aisles ... and she wants at least $50,000 to make up for her pain and suffering.

The Miami-Dade Police Department tells TMZ, its officers BROKE PROTOCOL to give LeBron James special treatment ... by helping the NBA star skip traffic in order to get to a Jay Z concert.

As we reported, Miami-Dade PD initially denied involvement in the police escort -- blatant favoritism -- but a rep for the department now tells us its officers were the ones who accompanied LeBron to the Jay Z show.

The rep says LeBron was stuck in standstill traffic at 191st street Friday night and its officers escorted him to the Sun Life Stadium on 199th street ... a total of 8 blocks. You can see the route they took below.

The rep tells us, "This should not have happened." The rep says the department is still looking into which officers were involved and will determine what punishment, if any, is appropriate.

LeBron James has police departments all over South Florida throwing up their hands ... disavowing any involvement with the police escort LBJ got to a concert -- but TMZ has learned Miami-Dade PD is now officially investigating the matter.

TMZ spoke with four police agencies -- Miami City PD, Miami Gardens PD, Florida Highway Patrol, and Miami-Dade PD -- and all stated on the record that it was not one of their cruisers leading LBJ to the Jay Z/Justin Timberlake show on Friday night.

LeBron posted an Instagram video of himself riding behind the police car with its strobe lights flashing as they drove down the wrong side of the road.

However, several law enforcement sources kept pointing us back to Miami-Dade PD, claiming that would be the agency with jurisdiction at Sun Life Stadium, where the concert was held.

While Miami-Dade initially denied involvement ... an officer with the agency now tells us they are "investigating" because LBJ's escort would've been a break from protocol.

LeBron James is too damn famous to sit in traffic like a regular person ... so he used a police escort to get him where he needed to go -- which happened to be a Jay Z / Justin Timberlake concert.

The Miami Heat star posted a video of the detour on Instagram Friday night. As it plays you can see LeBron following a cop car with blinking lights down the wrong side of a street in Miami ... successfully bypassing the massive traffic jam to his right.

He added the caption "They treat us so well. Needed it cause traffic was nuts!!"

Let's have some fun with math -- if Kevin Hart is 5'4" ... without heels ... how tall is LeBron James when he's slouching?

For some perspective: here's a short list of other celebs who are 5'4" ... Britney Spears, Björk, Tina Turner, Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, Pink, Fergie, Shania Twain, and Harvey Levin (standing on a box).