NBA

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NBA player Isaiah Thomas thinks it's within the realm of possibility Floyd Mayweather's next opponent will be ... Steph Curry ... saying he "wouldn't put it past" Mayweather to pop up in pro basketball.

We got the Celtics star out in NYC and asked him about his buddy Floyd -- they hoop together -- and how his game stacks up to NBA caliber competition.

Thomas says, "He thinks he can play in the NBA ... I wouldn't put it past him."

Just a friend being overly nice? Probably. But remember, Isaiah said it ... not us.

The Cleveland Cavs just extended a VIP invitation to the new UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic -- an Ohio native who shouted out the NBA team after winning the belt at UFC 198 this past weekend.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Cavs who told us ... they saw the video of Stipe encouraging the Cavs to follow his lead and win the championship -- and they LOVED IT!

In fact, we're told the team reached out and invited him as their guest for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Miocic accepted -- obviously -- and we're told the team plans to honor him tonight for making Cleveland proud.

Congrats, champ!

Gary Payton wants to bring the NBA back to Seattle -- and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is ... telling TMZ Sports he absolutely wants to be an owner of an expansion team in the Emerald City.

The Hall of Famer was leaving Mastro's Steakhouse in Bev Hills when he told us Seattle "deserves" the NBA -- and put it on NBA commish Adam Silver to make it happen.

As for why GP's so passionate about Seattle -- "That's where I started my career, that's where I became a Hall of Famer."

We also asked Gary how he felt about his son, Gary Payton II, entering the NBA Draft -- and if he expects his kid to share the wealth when he starts making NBA dollars.

Sorry Dwight Howard, Kenny Smith doesn't believe you.

The Jet had a front row seat when Howard appeared on "Inside the NBA" and claimed Magic Johnson told him he'd NEVER make it to the NBA back when he was in 10th grade.

Magic completely denied the allegation ... and Kenny says it's not hard to pick a side.

"I think that as a 10th grader, he probably THOUGHT he heard something," Smith said ... saying there's NO WAY Johnson would ever dash a kid's NBA dreams.

But Smith says it's possible that someone planted the idea that Magic was against him as a way to motivate Dwight back in the day.

BTW, Smith also told us about his meeting with the Rockets about a potential head coaching gig.

File this under: TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS.

A new O'Neal is teaming up with Kobe Bryant to make basketball history ... Shaq's son Shareef ... who says Kobe offered to give him 1-on-1 training this summer ... and he accepted.

Yes, that Kobe Bryant ... the same one Shareef's father used to hate with a white hot passion.

Shareef dropped the news on us while leaving the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills ... saying he ran into Kobe at the All-Star Game in Toronto ... and the Mamba offered to be his hoops Obi-Wan.

"He was telling me I need to train with him ... I'm going to probably start training with him this summer."

The Shaq vs. Kobe beef -- one of the nastiest in sports history -- has cooled in recent years, with the two men gushing about each other in public. But still, didn't see this one coming!

Even though it's all good now ... when we asked Shareef if he'd try to bust Kobe's ass when they eventually play each other, shades of the old O'Neal/Bryant rivalry came back out.

"If we play 1-on-1 ... Imma try to win."

Shaquille O'Neal gave a huge shout-out to the emergency workers who evacuated 90,000 people from the massive fires in Fort McMurray, Canada -- and to show he meant business, he sang, "O Canada."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," Shaq said ..."You guys are the true heroes."

D'Angelo Russell says he's ready to move on from the infamous crime against bromanity back in March -- but tells TMZ Sports the ball is ultimately in Nick Young's court.

We got the Lakers #2 pick out in Kentucky this weekend -- and asked him straight up if he and Swaggy P will be cool next season ... after shooting that video that nearly cost Nick his fiancee.

"I don't know," Russell admitted ... "Only time will tell, right?"

There's more in the clip -- but it seems D'Angelo feels he's done all he can do to repair the friendship.

Dwyane Wade is finally getting some Canadian love ... after getting blasted for shooting hoops during the Canadian national anthem -- with Drake's favorite politician calling for people to chill out.

In case you didn't know ... Wade's been accused of disrespecting our neighbors to the North for not standing at attention during "O Canada" before the Game 3 playoff game against the Toronto Raptors.

Wade tried to explain himself ... claiming he has a pre-game layup ritual he does before the 'Star-Spangled Banner' -- and innocently forgot to account for the Canadian anthem this time around.

People got pissed -- including the mayor of Toronto who tweeted at Dwyane to "respect the anthem."

Now, another famous Canadian politician is weighing in ... Norm Kelly -- a city counselor in Toronto who's more commonly known as Drake's fave politician ... after he launched a Twitter attack on Meek Mill a while back.

So, how did Kelly feel about the Wade situation?

"I empathize with Wade," Kelly tells us.

"I played hockey, baseball, football ... I understand the rituals athletes go through, especially before a playoff game. I don’t think he intended to be disrespectful."

"He should’ve just been more aware. I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of what he did. He’s smart. He’s aware. He’ll know next time."

Kelly says the bigger issue is that Canada is finally sticking up for itself on the world stage -- and refuses to be a punchline anymore!

"Why did Toronto react like they did? It’s because Canada is starting to flex their muscles. We’ve been the junior partner in North America for a long time. Now, there are people coming from around the world to enjoy Toronto’s way of living. The last Prime Minister was more involved militarily. We’re like the small kid on the block who suddenly has muscles."

Seems Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler has made an off-season acquisition of his own ... 'cause he was out on a lunch date with "Pretty Little Liars" star Shay Mitchell -- and we're told the two are together.

Butler and Mitchell had lunch together at Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills on Saturday -- and TMZ Sports has video of the two smiling and laughing together after the meal.

Sources extremely close to the couple tell us it wasn't just a one-off lunch thing -- the two are dating ... but it's pretty fresh, so they're keeping things on the DL.

Later that night, Butler was out at dinner without Shay -- and was playing it coy when we asked about the relationship ... but you can tell.

We also asked if there was ever a chance of him playing for the Lakers -- but Butler made it clear he's a Bulls man.

At least for now.

Good news for LeBron James ... he's got Magic Johnson's vote of confidence when it comes to taking over the 'Space Jam' franchise -- with Magic saying he thinks he can be BETTER than MJ.

Johnson was leaving a fancy brunch at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills (where he took his own mother out in a ridiculousy awesome ride) when we asked him about Bron's new movie gig.

Magic says LBJ's got big shoes to fill, but he's confident James can hang with the original.

LeBron James might have familiar company on the set of "Space Jam 2" ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned producers have already reached out to Cavs star J.R. Smith for a role in the flick.

If Lamar Odom was expecting special red carpet treatment when he makes his return to hoops at L.A.'s legendary Drew League -- he's wrong. People will be GUNNING to crush him on the court.

Don't believe us? Just ask "One Tree Hill" star Antwon Tanner -- an ex-college hoops player who's been a regular at The Drew for 20 YEARS!!!

As we previously reported, Odom's been offered a spot on a Drew squad -- and it would be the PERFECT opportunity to show NBA teams he can still ball at a pro level ... considering a bunch of NBA players often play in the league.

So, the question ... would people go easy on Odom considering he ALMOST DIED SIX MONTHS AGO?

Tanner says it's exactly the opposite ... Odom would actually be a HUGE target.

Kobe Bryant might wanna think twice about the whole retirement thing ... 'cause Diamond Dallas Page says his yoga plan might be able to extend his career -- just like he did for WWE legend Chris Jericho!

Page just got off a plane from Australia when he told us he'd LOOOOVE to get Kobe into his trademark "DDP Yoga" program ... specifically created for athletes who suffered injuries from high impact sports.

DDP says it's worked for wrestlers ... so, why not give it a shot with an NBA player?

BONUS -- to prove how damn limber he is, 60-year-old Page also pulls his leg over his head in the middle of the airport!!!

We all know ... the most important person in Kevin Durant's life is his mom -- THE REAL MVP -- so, when we saw her out in NYC Wednesday morning, we had to ask ... where should he play next season??

Of course, KD's future is a huge topic right now -- especially after Magic Johnson came out this week and said the Lakers need to go after him in a big way!

Check out the clip ... Wanda Pratt is absolutely awesome (which is probably why they're making a movie about her) -- and also reveals the best Mother's Day gift she ever got from her NBA son.

We also asked her who the real MVP is this season -- you're gonna love her answer.

Ex-NBA player Rick Brunson is being sued over an alleged violent sexual incident with an Illinois masseuse ... despite the fact he was found not guilty last year, TMZ Sports has learned.

Brunson's case made headlines in 2014 when he was arrested for sexual assault and other charges ... after a masseuse claimed he tried to force her to perform oral sex at the end of a massage.

Long story short ... the woman claimed Brunson pulled down her shirt, grabbed her boobs and tried to force her head into his crotch.

Brunson maintained his innocence -- and was eventually found not guilty on all charges.

Now, the masseuse has taken her case to civil court ... where she's demanding more than $50,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery and gender violence.

Heads up ... there's a lot of genital talk in this video ...

John Salley has some "pointers" for Usher about how to take a world class ... Internet-breaking ... truly inspiring and memorable ... picture of your penis.

Usher "inadvertently" showed his little guy on Snapchat Thursday ... posting a nude snap with a smiley face covering his happy place ... but leaving a little bit left over to say hi.

We asked John about this man-sized malfunction when we got him out at LAX -- 'cause he's sorta like an expert -- and he gives us the lowdown on proper penis pic etiquette.

Take notes, fellas ...