NBA

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!

Charles Oakley says he will NOT definitively label James Dolan as a racist because he's never personally seen him do racist things ... but says he's heard rumblings "over and over."

Oakley says he's "heard stuff" about Dolan over the years -- but when TMZ Sports asked him bluntly if he thinks Dolan is a racist Oakley said, "I don't know because I don't know him. I never met him like that."

"You hear all that stuff but I don't know. I can't say yet ... If it is, it'll come out. But right now, we're still waiting to see."

Oakley also says he's NOT accepting Dolan's proposed truce saying he's still injured -- physically and emotionally -- after the big incident at Madison Square Garden.

Charles Oakley just compared Knicks owner James Dolan to disgraced ex-Clippers owner Donald Sterling -- but stopped short of calling him a full-blown racist.

Oakley was asked about Draymond Green's claim that Dolan has a "slave master mentality" -- and while Charles wouldn't definitely agree with the term ... he didn't say Green was wrong either.

Oakley sounded off on "SI Now" and said he predicts the Knicks "will end up the same way as the Clippers" -- clearly insinuating that Dolan will be run out of town a la Sterling.

When pressed if he thought Dolan was a racist, Oakley said, "He's on the level."

Of course, TMZ Sports broke the infamous audio of Sterling telling V. Stiviano not to bring black people to Clippers games ... even Magic Johnson.

He was subsequently banned from the NBA for life.

Comparing Steph Curry to UCLA star Lonzo Ball is insulting ... to Lonzo anyway ... that's according to Ball's dad, LaVar, who says his son is going to be BETTER THAN CURRY ... the 2 time NBA MVP.

A lot of NBA analysts say Lonzo's ability to shoot from deep, pass and finish make him a 6'6" version of Curry, but when TMZ Sports talked to the eldest Ball he shot the comparisons down.

"You can't compare my boy to anyone," ... adding, "He's gonna be better than Steph Curry in the NBA!"

Just as a reminder ... Curry has won the last two NBA MVP's and is currently averaging nearly 25 points and 6 assists in the toughest basketball league on the face of the planet.

Listen, we'd doubt Mr. Ball, but he's got one son who's scored 72 points in a high school game, another who's scored 92, and one who just might be the best player in college basketball.

So, it's obvious he knows something we don't.

Stop giving the credit to Michael Jordan -- the real hero in the Charles Oakley, Knicks truce is NBA Commish Adam Silver ... so says Kenny Smith.

In fact, Smith says Silver was nothing short of spectacular in his handling of NBA messes since the first day he took the job ... just look at Donald Sterling.

Jason Collins says it's "great" that the NBA moved the 2017 All-Star game from North Carolina to New Orleans over a controversial transgender bathroom law ... and states Adam Silver did the right thing.

The NBA had previously said the state's HB2 law -- which requires transgender people to use the bathroom corresponding to the sex they were born as -- created a climate that didn't fit with league values.

The league moved the game to New Orleans with the hope of moving it back to North Carolina in 2019 "provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter."

Still, Collins -- the NBA's first openly gay player -- says he's proud of the league for taking a stand.

THE BAN IS OVER!!

Charles Oakley is NO LONGER persona non grata at Madison Square Garden following a peace summit with Knicks owner, James Dolan, on Monday.

Oakley was blacklisted from the arena after he was arrested last Wednesday for getting physical with security.

A PR war ensued and things seemed to be spiraling out of control until Oakley agreed to meet with Dolan in a session moderated by Michael Jordan.

Charles Oakley's beef with the Knicks looks like it might be squashed ... thanks to Michael Jordan ... who was part of a meeting between Oak, James Dolan and the NBA commish.

Oakley, J.D. and the NBA honcho met face-to-face today in NYC ... while Jordan called into the sit-down.

Adam Silver addressed the high-level meeting in a statement ... saying, "In an effort to find a path forward, New York Knicks owner Jim Dolan, Charles Oakley, and I met today at the league office, along with Michael Jordan, who participated by phone."

“Both Mr. Oakley and Mr. Dolan were apologetic about the incident and subsequent comments, their negative impact on the Knicks organization and the NBA. Mr. Dolan expressed his hope that Mr. Oakley would return to MSG as his guest in the near future."

Last week, Dolan announced Oakley was banned from MSG ... though it looks like the ban might already be lifted.

Magic Johnson is putting his money where his mouth is ... telling TMZ Sports he will NO LONGER stay at Trump Hotels.

The NBA legend has been a regular at Trump Hotels for years -- especially in New York. But, when we saw him out earlier Monday, he was at ANOTHER high-end NYC spot.

When we asked if he was done with Trump Hotels -- he confirmed he's making the switch.

Johnson not only voted for Hillary Clinton but has come out STRONG against Trump ever since he was elected. Just last month, he said Trump needs to stop "acting like a dictator."

Oh, and good news for Charles Oakley -- Magic says he's definitely welcome at the Lakers games, despite the fact he's been banned from MSG.

Nick Young has been ordered to pay his ex-manager more than $700,000 after doing the exact WRONG THING one should do when being sued.

Long story short ... the NBA star was sued by Andre Chevalier who claims Nick failed to pay him his 2% commission for his role in securing his fat NBA salary and lucrative endorsement deals.

Nick was served with the papers but never responded, and failed to appear in court to fight the case.

So the judge -- sick of waiting around -- entered a default judgment in favor of Andre in the amount of $722,558.

Good for that guy, right?

Of course, Nick can still try to fight the case -- but it's definitely an uphill battle.

Kevin Durant will face hatred of LEGENDARY PROPORTIONS when he returns to OKC to face his old team Saturday night ... with Kenny Smith saying the crowd is going to destroy him!

It's KD's first time playing in OKC since defecting for the Golden State Warriors -- and Smith says there's NO CHANCE the fans are gonna let him off the hook easy.

Kenny says it's gonna be even worse than when LeBron returned to Cleveland after taking his talents to Miami.

How'd Shaq's freestyle shot at Charles Barkley go over in the rap community? Twista says he LOVED it.

The world's fastest rapper joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) -- and reviewed Shaq's performance with Kevin Garnett and Big Tigger on the "Area 21" show.

Turns out, Twista and Shaq have actually rapped on track TOGETHER in the past -- and he says the Diesel is the real deal.

Ex-NY Knicks player Chris Smith -- the younger brother of J.R. Smith -- has taken Charles Oakley's side in the NBA legend's war with the team ... releasing an "I'm With Oakley" shirt.

Chris is a co-owner of New Generation Management (along with Daniel Hazan) -- the same company that did the famous J.R. Smith tattoo shirt.

TMZ Sports has obtained witness statements in the Charles Oakley incident at MSG -- in which Knicks staffers claimed Oakley went on a verbal tear trashing white people, cops and Jimmy Dolan after things got physical with security.

According to the documents, one security guard told MSG investigators Oakley was talking to fans before the incident when he saw security looking at him.

The security guard says Oakley said, "You got all these f**king security here looking at me, I don't know what the f**k they're looking at, but they're getting on my f**king nerves."

The witness says Oakley then called a security officer named Kori a "rat bastard" who was always "sucking on [Knicks owner] Dolan's d**k."

That's when the physical altercation went down.

A manager told investigators when things went to the tunnel after the public exchange, Phil Jackson was there. Oakley allegedly said, "You didn't want to listen to me before so don't talk to me now."

And then Oakley allegedly got racial, saying, "All you whites over there get your story straight, why don't you have some brothers over there with you? F**k all you white boys."

The manager also says Oakley shouted, "F**k you police, I used to respect you but now I don't have no respect for you motherf**kers."

The manager says Oakley was told that Michael Jordan was on the phone and wanted to speak to him -- but Oakley refused, "I don’t want to speak to Mike, he’s my brother, this has nothing to do with him, I want to talk to Dolan."

The manager says Oakley continued to say that they all "just suck Dolan’s d**k."

The statements in the witness report are all from MSG and Knicks employees.

Charles Oakley's wife tells TMZ Sports the NBA star does NOT have a drinking problem -- and any suggestion he does is pure garbage.

We spoke with Angela Reed Oakley who says she and her husband are upset with the Knicks suggesting he needs to "get help" following the incident at MSG on Wednesday night.

"He doesn't have a drinking problem. It would've come out a long time ago if he did."

Charles admitted he was drinking before the game -- but scoffed at the suggestion alcohol had anything to do with the altercation during the Knicks game.

Angela took it a step further, saying, "He does not need medical help and he does not need a psychiatric evaluation. He was just showing the same passion he did when he was a player."

Oakley says her husband appreciates the support fans and players have shown since the incident ... "He's in awe of the love he's received."

Charles Oakley says he DID drink alcohol before things exploded at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night ... but insists he was not drinking INSIDE the arena.

The Knicks legend sat down with FOX 5 in NYC and told the reporter before the interview that he believed the team was trying to portray him as a guy who was drunk and out of control at the time of the incident.

The reporter followed up on the claim when the camera was rolling ... and Oakley admitted to having "a couple drinks" before the game.