NBA

For a guy who wasn't big on passing ... Kobe Bryant delivered a HUGE assist to a high school class in Indiana by bailing them out of their final history exam!!

Here's the deal ... Ben Davis H.S. senior, William Pate, got his U.S. Govt. teacher to agree to cancel the final exam if he get could Kobe to publicly acknowledge him on Twitter.

Sounds impossible, right? Wrong.

Kobe saw Ben's online plea -- and Tweeted at him saying, "Hope you have an A in this class."

The teacher held up his end of the bargain and gave the entire class a "Get Out of Finals Free" pass. As you can imagine, Pate's become a local hero.

The market for an 83-year-old racist billionaire is BOOMIN' -- just ask Donald Sterling who hit Beverly Hills this week with a brand new lady on his arm.

The disgraced former L.A. Clippers owner had a smile on his face and some pep in his step as he moseyed from shop to shop while holding hands with his mystery brunette.

No word on where dandy Don's WIFE was during the outing (yes, he's still technically married).

Donald has had no trouble finding ladies since the racist scandal back in 2014 that led to his ousting. He's been seen with hot women at all the L.A. hot spots ... except the Clippers games.

Magic Johnson will keep LaVar Ball in line while Lonzo is tearing it up in L.A. ... so says former Lakers coach Byron Scott who tells TMZ Sports Magic is too tough to fear the Balls.

It's the million dollar question right now ... is Lonzo's basketball artistry worth having to deal with LaVar every day? Scott said yes when we talked to him, and the reason he gave us was 6'9".

"If he's there at the #2 sport you gotta draft him. Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and Jeanie Buss are very strong minded people. I think they can handle Mr. Ball and his big ego."

Here's the thing, Scott ain't exactly a fan of LaVar, who he said is "sticking his foot in his mouth" when it comes to his son's playing career, but still thinks Lonzo's the best option for the Purple & Gold.

... unless the Celtics take him first.

Ex-Cleveland Cavs star Daniel "Boobie" Gibson says he was in a suicidal place after a series of personal issues around 2014 ... but writing music saved his life.

His ankle was messed up. His marriage was falling apart. And his grandmother died ... and Gibson said he got to a place where "being alive wasn't something I wanted anymore."

"I was just hit with a flurry of events," Gibson told Dime Magazine ... "Mentally, It just took away my ability to work out. I was suffering from depression and anxiety."

"Honestly, basketball was my sanctuary, but I couldn’t even do that ... I really got to the point where being alive wasn’t something I wanted anymore."

Gibson says he just "started writing" music ... "about how I felt, what I wanted to feel like, what I wanted to accomplish, and it all just kept me going."

"It -- along with my son -- basically saved my life."

Gibson says he's in a MUCH better place now and is even considering an NBA comeback. At the same time, his music career is blowing up ... he's working with big stars like Chris Brown & Wiz Khalifa.

Ben Simmons may be a quiet guy ... but his SISTER is firing shots at Lonzo and LaVar Ball.

Olivia Simmons is clearly fed up with the media circus surrounding the Big Baller Brand family ... and called upon her Philadelphia 76ers star brother to personally shut them up.

"I hope my brother dunks on Lonzo Ball so hard next year that his daddy runs on the court to help him up."

Yikes.

Guess this means Ben won't be wearing the ZO2s next season?

Shaq says the Lakers shouldn't let LaVar Ball scare them off from taking Lonzo Ball with their #2 pic ... 'cause despite the media circus that follows the Big Baller, his kid's game is "fabulous."

The Big Diesel hasn't always been the biggest fan of the Ball clan -- he publicly dissed the price of Lonzo's new shoe ... saying $495 was way too much for kids to pay.

That was then ... because O'Neal had nothing but kind words to say about Zo when we got him out in NYC, telling our guy he's not sure what the Lake Show will do with the pick, but Ball isn't a bad idea.

Could Lonzo Ball be a Boston Celtic??

It's possible ... because Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck tells TMZ Sports the team is definitely considering drafting the former UCLA stud with the #1 overall pick.

Grousbeck was leaving the NBA Draft lottery in NYC Thursday night when he told us he's fired up about securing the top spot -- "It seems like Celtic pride is going crazy right now!"

Wyc says the team hasn't made its mind up on who will be #1 -- but says they're looking about the 6 "really good guys" in the draft ... and bad news, LaVar -- that list includes Lonzo.

Of couse, LaVar has made it crystal clear he wants his son in the Purple and Gold ... but Wyc says Boston ain't exactly a bad place to end up either!

"We're a place that people would wanna come and play," Grousbeck says ... "We're doing well and room for improvement."

Magic Johnson tells TMZ Sports he's "very happy" with the L.A. Lakers locking up the #2 pick in the NBA Draft at Tuesday night's draft lottery ... but he's making it clear Lonzo Ball is NOT a lock.

The Sacramento Kings made a tremendous mistake getting rid of DeMarcus Cousins and it's gonna take 'em a long time to recover ... so says the team's former owner Gavin Maloof.

Maloof -- who co-owned the Kings with his brothers until 2013 -- was in L.A. with his GF, Katherine, when we asked if he would have pulled the trigger to ship Boogie to New Orleans if he was still in charge.

"No. No way ... No way ... No way."

Maloof said time will tell if the team made the right call -- but points out they "didn't get much in return" for Cousins and predicts, "It's gonna take 'em a long time to rebuild."

There's more ... Maloof has moved on to owning another pro sports team -- the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the new NHL expansion team.

He's pumped about sharing the town with the Raiders but explains why moving an NBA team to Sin City would be a mistake.

Russell Westbrook had a pretty exciting Tuesday -- his wife, Nina, gave birth to their son!!!

The NBA star also revealed his kid's name -- Noah Russell Westbrook.

Interesting choice considering Russell is technically Russell Westbrook III -- and while he chose not to make his son Russell Westbrook IV ... he went with a very similar choice.

It's Russell and Nina's first kid. They were married in 2015 after being college sweethearts at UCLA, where they both played basketball.

A Washington Wizards fan socked a Boston Celtics fan in the face at the TD Garden during Game 7 -- dropping the dude into the seats ... while nearby fans cheered them on.

Unclear what started the fight, but the man in the John Wall jersey reached back and clocked the dude -- while the victim was still clutching his cell phone.

Another Celtics fan tried to jump in and help out his fallen comrade ... but the damage was already done.

We spoke with cops who say no one was arrested at TD Garden on Monday.

Meantime, we got a photo of the aftermath ... it was bloody.

Carmelo Anthony is getting some heavy duty backup in his nasty feud with Phil Jackson ... an ex-Knicks head coach who says he LOVED coaching 'Melo and says he's been "great" for the franchise.

Phil's been criticizing Anthony since he was hired as the Knicks President -- and made it clear he wants to trade Melo out of NYC as soon as possible.

We got former Knicks coach Mike Woodson -- who was fired by Phil back in '14 -- and asked what he thought of the Melo/Jackson feud ... and Mike took a side.

"I love Carmelo Anthony, that's all I'm gonna say," Woodson told us ... adding, "He was great for me."

Seems clear Woodson -- now an assistant with the Clippers -- is riding with his 'Melo, and why not? The two men were 109-79 together and made the playoffs twice, something the Knicks haven't done since.

And when we say "since" ... we mean since Phil Jackson was hired.

Kobe Bryant is about to have a new apprentice ... Paul George.

The Indiana Pacers star appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and said he's gearing up to train with Kobe during the off-season -- "I plan on working out with him and pick his brain a little bit."

Kobe's sessions are legendary -- George says he's already training just so he can survive Mamba's workout.

George doesn't become a free agent until after next season -- but Kimmel put the court press on him to join the Lakers ... even busting out a Magic Johnson clip to help sway the guy.

LaVar Ball just got dunked on by Dennis Rodman ... who had a very simple, yet aggressive message for the Big Baller Brand honcho when we got him out in L.A.

"YOU SUCK!"

Why does Ball suck? According to Dennis, it's 'cause he won't get outta the way and let his superstar son, Lonzo, just play basketball, like Rodman's done for his athletic progeny.

Of course Ball's heard this before ... some have accused LaVar of being all about himself and not about his kids, which interestingly enough seems to be the one thing the Worm doesn't agree with.

"Good man, good father, great provider, love him ... just let your kids play man."

Hope the Harlem Globetrotters are watching!!!

Shaquille O'Neal channeled his inner Steph Curry during a recent game of H.O.R.S.E. with his family -- drilling a long-distance shot from OVER HIS OWN HOUSE ... and thankfully, there's video evidence.

O'Neal was out with 4 of his kids -- Me'arah, Mimi, Shaqir and Shareef (they're calling themselves the "true and humble family of Big Baller Brand") ... and they all can shoot!!

Especially Big Shaq ... who whiffed the first shot -- but came back strong with the second!

Ex-Louisville star Kevin Ware says breaking his leg at the height of his college career "sucked for me" -- and says he's 100% confident he'd be in the NBA if not for that terrible moment.

24-year-old Ware is currently playing overseas and believes he still has the talent and drive to make it to the league ... but says he knows that fateful moment changed the trajectory of his career.

The moment made international headlines -- when Ware gruesomely snapped his right leg through the skin while Louisville was playing Duke in the Elite 8 ... a game watched by millions.

Ware says he believes everything happens for a reason -- but his dream is to play with the best in world and he's asking for NBA teams to give him a shot.