NBA

"The Lakers are as good as LeBron's wig!"

That's a compliment!!! Courtesy of George Lopez!!!

The legendary comic is a hardcore Lakers fan -- and tells TMZ Sports he's super impressed with the way the team is playing this season. They're currently in 1st place in the Western Conference with an 8-2 record.

But, when we saw Lopez at LAX, he was still cautiously optimistic -- warning fans not to get too cocky this early in the season.

George also had a message for Skip Bayless, one of LeBron's biggest critics ... telling the FS1 star if Bron keeps up this pace, he might need to invest in a #23 jersey!

There's more ... Lopez explains why he thinks the Golden State Warriors are cursed this season -- and how some Chicano love can save the team!

Carmelo Anthony tells TMZ Sports he WILL be back in the NBA this season -- and he's even open to returning to the New York Knicks!

Everyone's been wondering about Melo's basketball future ever since he parted ways with the Houston Rockets back in January.

35-year-old Anthony has previously said he wants to get back in the league -- however, no one has pulled the trigger yet.

But, it sounds like Melo's got something cookin' ... because when we saw the 35-year-old leaving The Henry in L.A. on Wednesday night, he was VERY optimistic about his return.

"We're figuring it out," Melo told us ... noting that he was NOT in town to speak with the Lakers or the Clippers.

When we pushed back and asked if he'll be on a roster this season, Melo told us ... "For sure. 2000%."

There are reports the Knicks could be interested in Anthony -- interesting considering the way things ended back in 2017 -- but Melo says he's down to return.

"We open man. We open to every opportunity."

In fact, Melo even defended Knicks head coach David Fizdale ... saying the team's lowly 2-9 record isn't all his fault ... "It's a lot of things that goes into that."

Joe Johnson's not giving up on a possible return to the NBA -- telling TMZ Sports he's still training his ass off in case he gets that call.

The 38-year-old stud had a stint with the Pistons earlier this year after BALLING OUT in Ice Cube's BIG3 league ... but Detroit waived him back in October.

The question now ... will Johnson get another shot in the NBA, go back to the BIG3 ... or hang 'em up for good?

Right now, Johnson says he's not rushing to make any decisions -- but he's keeping his body ready in case he gets another opportunity with an NBA team.

In the meantime, Johnson says his focus is on enjoying life and living in the moment -- not worrying about his career.

It's easy for Joe to be so carefree about everything -- considering he's made more than $215 MILLION during his NBA career!!!

Here's LeBron James going out of his way to show love to NFL star Kyler Murray at the Lakers game on Tuesday ... it's a cool moment.

But, there's another issue with this clip ... did LeBron ignore L.A. Dodgers star Cody Bellinger, who was sitting right next to the QB?!

SAY IT AIN'T SO BRON!!!

Here's the deal ... King James went over to the expensive seats at Talking Stick Resort Arena with about 25 seconds left in the 4th quarter to dap up Murray, the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

FYI, Murray and LeBron have been friends for a while -- in fact, Kyler has a deal with Bron's Uninterrupted media company ... and rocked the logo inside of his suit jacket on Draft night.

But, during the broadcast, we DIDN'T see LeBron show love to Cody ... who was sitting right next to Kyler!!!

Look, doesn't mean Bron didn't chop it up with Cody before or after the game (or maybe LBJ just didn't recognize Cody in a backward hat).

Bron definitely SHOULD know Bellinger ... he shouted out the MLB star for wearing his Lakers jersey for a Taco Tuesday-themed Halloween costume this year!

But hey, at least Cody's killin' it off the diamond ... he and his smokin' GF, Sabrina, seem to be happily in love.

Corey Maggette says the Clippers are doing a "phenomenal job" by giving Kawhi Leonard load management days ... saying if he had those when he was playing, they could've saved his career!

L.A. coach Doc Rivers has been under fire this month after he's given his superstar days off to prevent possible injuries down the road ... but Maggette says all that criticism is BS.

The former Clippers star -- who was out in L.A. this week with fellow ex-NBA stud Cuttino Mobley -- told us he absolutely LOVES the idea of load management days.

"I retired because of major knee injuries," Magette says. "So, I wish they would have had a position where, from me and Cuttino's perspective, that we had a chance to rest and get our bodies back to 100 percent."

In fact, Cuttino says if he was given days off similar to Kawhi ... his body might feel a hell of a lot better now than it currently does.

"Listen, if it were happening when we were playing, I wouldn't have so many aches and pains as we do now," Mobley says.

Of course, NBA fans don't really love the move ... it's led to some of the biggest stars sitting out of some of the biggest regular season games.

But, Mobley and Maggette's response to that??? Too bad!!!

"There's a lot of older guys that are walking around right now that can't really walk because they've been forced to play in their mind," Cuttino says.

The NY Knicks fan who started a "Fire James Dolan" chant at Madison Square Garden on Sunday was confronted by security, but we're told he was NOT ejected.

The chant broke out as the Knicks were getting crushed by the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers  -- and as everyone knows, owner James Dolan doesn't like being heckled.

In the past, he's thrown out and banned fans who have directed similar taunts his way.

The man claiming to be the heckler is Andrew J. Padilla -- who went to social media tell his side of the story.

"6 security guards just took me out my seat at Madison Square Garden for chanting 'fire Dolan,'" Padilla said.

"I was escorted to the basement where they told me I could go back so long as I followed the 'code of conduct' ... Aka Not chanting #FireDolan."

"I chose to leave and spend my money somewhere else."

There are reports Padilla was ejected from MSG and subsequently banned from coming back -- but our MSG sources are adamant that's just not true.

As one source put it, "No one was ejected last night from MSG for any reason."

TMZ Sports has previously posted video of Dolan personally ejecting hecklers in the past -- including an incident from March 2019.

Dolan also famously had a sideline altercation with Charles Oakley that led to the Knicks legend being banned from MSG for a year.

The Miami Heat has suspended Dion Waiters without pay after he reportedly overdosed on weed edibles ahead of a crucial game against the Lakers this week.

The team made the announcement Sunday in a statement, saying they were disappointed in their star guard's actions this season ... including the "very scary situation" from Thursday night, adding they were grateful that the outcome wasn't worse.

They went on, "There have been a number of instances this season in which Dion has engaged in conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, he will be suspended without pay for 10 games, including the Lakers game last Friday, and will be eligible to return" Nov. 29.

The Heat continued ...  "We are proud of how our players have started the season. We expect all of our players, including Dion, to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards, and to show professionalism and respect for their teammates, the team, the fans and the NBA community." The Heat lost Friday's game, BTW ... they're 6-3 now.

In case you hadn't heard, Dion had a medical emergency while flying from Phoenix to L.A. on Thursday with the rest of his teammates. He was found unconscious when the plane landed, and when he was finally woken up ... he reportedly had a seizure.

According to ESPN, Waiters had consumed edible gummies that were infused with THC.

Adding insult to injury, he had already been suspended for several games prior to this latest disciplinary action. According to reports, he got into it with head coach Erik Spoelstra.

This latest suspension could hurt Waiters more than he might realize ... affecting his bottom line. He's reportedly gonna miss out on a $1.2 million bonus written into his contract if he missed 9 more games than he already had. He signed a $52M contract extension in 2017.

It's been 11 years since Dwight Howard won the NBA Dunk Contest with that insane Superman slam ... and now DH says he's given serious thought to doing it AGAIN!!!

"I thought about it. I'm getting my legs back. I feel young again," 33-year-old Howard told us outside The Window burger joint in Venice.

When we asked if entering the 2020 contest was a real possibility, Howard wouldn't commit ... instead telling us his main focus this season in winning an NBA title with the Lakers.

"I have thought about it, but winning the championship is the most important thing. I have all the individual accolades but I don't have the trophy so hopefully, we can win this title this year, which I believe we can."

There's A LOT more with Dwight ... including why he thinks his second stint with the Lakers is going so much better than his first time in L.A. back in 2012.

"We're all healthy," Howard said. "We all have one goal and one mission and the Most High has really blessed us."

Howard says the Lakers locker room is solid this season -- the guys support each other on and off the court ... and he still can't really believe he's teammates with LeBron James!

"LeBron has been amazing. I can't believe we're on the same team."

Drake + Weed = GREAT FOR EVERYONE!!!

... So says Al Harrington, the former NBA player turned marijuana mogul who tells TMZ Sports a superstar like Drake is HUGE for the entire pot community.

As we previously reported, Drake is launching the More Life Growth Company ... hoping to cash in on the crop craze by selling everything from vapes to pipes, rolling papers, hookahs and more.

Harrington has been in the weed game for a while -- he created Viola Extracts Inc. after retiring from the NBA and it's been growing like crazy.

Now, with Drake entering the space ... we asked Al if he viewed Drake as a competitor or an ally.

"I hope he win, bro! I need him to win because then I'll win," Harrington said.

Harrington says Drake's foray into the ganja biz is "amazing ... a huge announcement for the industry."

Oh, and Al says if Drake wants to team up and collaborate on a product ... HIT HIM UP!!!

LeBron James says Deion Sanders would be the PERFECT hire for the Florida State head coaching gig ... saying, "it would be so dope" to get Prime Time on the sidelines.

Of course, FSU just paid Willie Taggart around $18 million to NOT coach their team after starting 9-12 in his first 2 seasons ... and there have been rumblings Deion could be his replacement.

Enter King James ... who's calling for the Seminoles to pull the trigger and pick up Prime to be the next head coach at Florida State.

"Man it would be so dope and just seems PERFECT for Prime Time @DeionSanders to be the HC of FSU! I mean right??"

"One thing about it he would get in any household on the planet to talk with a kid/parent/s. #ItsTimeforPrime"

FYI -- Bron is an Ohio State guy through and through ... but also grew up a Dallas Cowboys backer, which could be one of the reasons he's so high on Prime.

Sanders has spoken out about people like Miami legend Uncle Luke calling for him to take the gig ... and it doesn't sound like he's against it.

Shaq ... WE SAW WHAT YOU DID!!!

Charles Barkley was TRYING to do his usual thing of making fun of the larger female population in San Antonio during Thursday's "Inside the NBA" ... but it was Shaq who had the last laugh.

While Barkley was doing his best impression of big people stuffing their faces with churros, O'Neal realized the motion resembled oral sex ... and decided to mess with Chuck.

"Do it slower, Chuck! Do it slower," Shaq said while cracking up!

By the way, it doesn't seem like Charles ever caught on to what Shaq was doing -- which made it even funnier.

But, Kenny "The Jet" Smith saw what was happening -- and finally grabbed Barkley's arm so he couldn't do it again.

Doc Rivers' contradicting comments on Kawhi Leonard's health status just cost the L.A. Clippers a big chunk of change ... 'cause the NBA has fined the team $50k.

The Klaw has been at the center of controversy after the NBA superstar missed 2 huge nationally televised games so far this season due to an apparent knee injury that some folks were skeptical about.

The NBA has a rule against healthy scratches during nationally televised games ... but the league agreed that Kawhi was hurt and allowed him to sit out the Clips' match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

So, when Rivers was asked about Leonard's health after the game, he said Kawhi was actually just fine and wanted some rest.

The league didn't like that one bit ... hitting the Clippers with a $50k fine on Thursday.

“The NBA has fined the Clippers $50,000 for statements, including by head coach Doc Rivers, that were inconsistent with Leonard's health status," the league said in a statement.

To be clear -- the Association is saying Leonard actually IS injured ... making it okay for him to sit out against the Bucks.

The reason Doc's comments were such a big issue is that "load management" has fans getting pissed -- game attendees pay big bucks to see the superstars like Kawhi hoop ... and players sitting out to get some rest doesn't sit well with the customers.