NBA

Charles Oakley might not want to return to MSG after his beef with James Dolan, but that won't keep him from watching his Knicks ... sitting courtside as New York visited the Cavs Thursday night.

Oak -- a Cleveland native -- was invited to sit next to Dan Gilbert to have an up-close look at LeBron James and the defending world champs beat up on the struggling Knicks.

Oakley was temporarily banned from the Garden after getting ejected and arrested at the February 8 Knicks game. Dolan later lifted the ban, but Oak says he's not ready to return to the arena.

The Land has continued to show support for the former NBAer ... from making t-shirts to LBJ telling reporters, "Oakley for president."

Shaq's playful beef with NBA player JaVale McGee just went NUCLEAR ... with the two men vowing to fight each other ON SIGHT after a series of menacing and threatening tweets.

McGee's been a target of Shaq's 'Shaqtin' A Fool' segment on "Inside The NBA" for years, and apparently had enough when the broadcast devoted a whole segment to his on court screw-ups Thursday night.

JaVale took to Twitter and blasted O'Neal, asking Shaq to kindly get his umm, peanut emojis out of his mouth ... you get the meaning, right?

Shaq wasted no time firing back ... leveling a direct physical threat at the Warriors big man that had ZERO of O'Neal's trademark levity.

"@JaValeMcGee34 don't be acting like u a g I'll smack the s**t out yo bum ass u da one that be looking stupid with your dumb ass #bumass."

Shaq then doubled down, making the threat a promise saying, "we gonna see how tough you are when I see yo ass."

McGee and O'Neal's rift has threatened to get serious before, including a time JaVale called Shaq a "coon" -- a terrible racially charged insult to a black man -- on LIVE TV ... but it's clear that things have now gotten outta hand.

Neil deGrasse Tyson has a message for Kyrie Irving ... KEEP YOUR DUMB FLAT EARTH BS OUTTA SCIENCE ... saying the world would be a better place if Irving sticks to the court.

Irving caused a stir earlier this week when he appeared on a podcast and said -- completely seriously -- that the earth is flat. That's right kids, your favorite point guard is a flat earther.

We talked to Tyson, one of the smartest men on earth, and he told us he has zero problem with Irving's outrageous claim, as long as Kyrie never does anything remotely having to do with scientific thought.

Chandler Parsons is NOT in an official relationship with reality star Savannah Chrisley, despite reports to the contrary -- they're just "good friends."

Here's the deal ... people went crazy after the "Chrisley Knows Best" star appeared on "Access Hollywood Live" on Thursday and talked about Chandler when asked about her "new boy."

Her father -- who also appeared on the show -- said he's met (and likes) Chandler but expressed concern about his daughter dating an NBA player.

Well, dad ... don't worry.

Sources close to the NBA star tell us they've definitely hung out -- but they ain't exactly boyfriend/girlfriend.

"Savannah and Chandler are just close friends," one extremely connected source tells us.

Bad news for Kevin Durant ... he's NOT banging Amber Rose, that's according to Amber ... who says the hookup the whole internet is talking about never happened.

There were reports Amber and Kevin had hit up The Nice Guy together on Tuesday night, and a potential romance -- and maybe even a brand new power couple -- was brewing.

But, when we got Amber (who's really, really attractive) out in L.A. Wednesday night, she smashed rumors that she's smashing the NBA All-Star, saying they just happened to be at the same restaurant.

Hear that? It's the rest of the NBA breathing a sigh of relief.

If we told you Kevin Durant got straight balled up by "Chappelle's Show" star Donnell Rawlings there's no way you'd believe us right? We didn't think so ...

Turns out it TOTALLY happened ... and Donnell not only told the tale to TMZ Sports when we got him out at the Hollywood Improv Tuesday night -- he also provided VIDEO EVIDENCE!

It went down at a charity game in DC a few years back when Rawlings stole the ball from KD, then pushed the rock hard up the court to drain a smooth three.

Almost as dope as the moment itself? Donnell says he ran into Durant during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans and brought it up to him, and KD totally remembered.

Check it out below ... sorry we ever doubted you, Donnell.

Cookie Johnson says her husband's new job with the Lakers is a "natural fit" -- saying Magic Johnson's always bled Purple & Gold ... and she's confident he can bring the team back to greatness!

"He's a Laker through and through," Cookie told us on the way out of Barneys in Beverly Hills ... "I love it."

We also asked the big question on everyone''s mind -- should Magic bring Kobe Bryant back into the fold?

"If it's a good fit, I think so ... if it's a good fit."

Byron Scott is expecting BIG things from the Lakers now that his friend, Magic Johnson, is running things -- telling TMZ Sports the Lake Show will be right back on top of the league in less than 5 years.

Scott not only coached the Lakers from 2014 to 2016 ... but he also won multiple championships with Magic during his first 10 years playing for the Lakers.

Byron and Magic are still close -- in fact, Magic wrote the foreword for his new book, 'Slam-Dunk Success.'

Which is why we also asked if Magic offered him a job with the organization -- would he take it?

Rick Fox is fired up for the new Magic Johnson era with the Lakers -- and says the only thing that could be cooler is if Kobe Bryant signed on, too!!

Fox says he was on the set of the OWN Network show, "Greenleaf," when he heard the news about his former team and says Magic is the PERFECT guy for the job.

"Success is pretty much Magic's middle name!"

MASSIVE SHAKE-UP with the L.A. Lakers ... Jeanie Buss just FIRED General Manager Mitch Kupchak and booted her brother, Jim Buss, from his role as Exec. Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Magic Johnson is the new President of Basketball Operations.

YOU HEAR THAT? MAGIC JOHNSON IS CALLING THE SHOTS!!!!

Jeanie -- the Governor of the Lakers -- explains, "Today I took a series of actions I believe will return the Lakers to the heights Dr. Jerry Buss demanded and our fans rightly expect."

"Effective immediately, Earvin Johnson will be in charge of all basketball operations and will report directly to me. Our search for a new General Manager to work with Earvin and Coach Luke Walton is well underway and we hope to announce a new General Manager in short order."

DeMarcus Cousins fought back tears as he delivered an emotional goodbye message to Sacramento last night ... just 1 day after he was traded to New Orleans.

"My love for this city will never change," Cousins said at a going-away dinner in Sacramento on Monday.

"Even though I’m gone it’ll still be the same. I’m still looking out for these kids. Every family in this city matters to me."

"Every soul in this city matters to me. Everything’s the same. I’m just not in a Kings uniform anymore, which is OK because the love is still here."

Cousins played for the Sacramento Kings for 7 seasons before being traded to the Pelicans on Sunday.

Pop Quiz -- Guess who owns the rights to LonzoBall.com???

Answer -- It ain't Lonzo Ball.

Turns out, the site was snatched up by a huge basketball fan named Jeremy back in 2013 ... in the hopes the kid would blow up one day.

Now, Jeremy's prediction has come true -- and it puts him in a very precarious position.

Obviously, Ball -- who some say could be the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft -- would want that domain to launch his official website.

Dwyane Wade wasn't an All-Star this season ... but that didn't stop him from livin' it up like one with his old teammate, Chris Bosh, and their wives on a boat trip in Miami!!

The Bulls star didn't make the team for the first time in 12 seasons, but it clearly doesn't look like he had a case of FOMO ... especially with his gorgeous wife, Gabrielle Union, showing off her killer bikini bod.

Bosh also got the All-Star treatment with a foot rub from an on-board masseuse.

Meanwhile, LeBron James -- the last member of the Big 3 -- had 23 points in 19 minutes in Sunday's game for the East.

If you think 6'11" Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is a problem in the NBA, you ain't seen nothing yet ... 'cause Giannis says his 15-year-old brother, Alex, is gonna be even better.

We got BOTH Antetokounmpo brothers in New Orleans for the All-Star game and asked the older version flat-out ... is young Alex -- who's currently a high school player -- gonna be better?

The Greek Freak didn't hesitate to say the kid (who's already 6'3") is gonna take his game to levels big bro hasn't reached yet.

BTW -- if that's not enough, there's a THIRD brother, Kostas, a 6'10" 18-YEAR-OLD ... who's currently playing ball at Dayton.

We only have one question ... WHAT ARE THEY FEEDING THESE KIDS???

Allen Iverson says it's his DREAM to ball on the same team as Kobe Bryant -- and says he HOPES the Mamba will consider coming out of retirement to join his 3-on-3 team.

The Answer was out in New Orleans enjoying NBA All-Star Weekend -- when we asked about his highly anticipated debut as a player/coach in Ice Cube's 3-on-3 league.

That's when he told us he'd LOVE to get a squad with his 2001 NBA Finals opponents Kobe and Shaq -- but knows the chances of that actually happening are slim to none.

Khloe Kardashian's got Tristan Thompson's back AND his front ... she's now rocking his favorite gear, and further proving she always pledges allegiance to her man.

The couple hit up a theme park while on vacay in Ocho Rios, Jamaica ... and as you can see, Khloe gives Nike prime real estate. She's also pimping the Swoosh with her kicks.

Tristan's peeps at Nike gotta love seeing this ... since Khloe's got a much wider audience than her NBA bf -- she's got more than 60 million followers on Instagram to his 1.3 mil. You gotta wonder if Tristan's agent will try to squeeze some dough out of Nike.

We've seen it before ... Khloe rocked Adidas when she was with James Harden.