NBA

Ex-NBA player Ben Gordon was arrested in L.A. on Thursday morning after allegedly freaking out at his apartment complex and pulling multiple fire alarms ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We're told 34-year-old Gordon -- who played for the Bulls, Pistons and Bobcats -- was apparently locked out of his apartment and went into meltdown mode ... pulling fire alarms inside the building.

LAPD and L.A. City Fire responded -- but there was no fire. Instead, they found Gordon and arrested him for falsely activating a fire alarm, a misdemeanor.

He's been taken into custody.

Here's video of Hassan Whiteside that's gonna make you all gooey with the fuzziness inside ... the Miami Heat star surprising his mom in the most awesome way ... WITH A BRAND NEW HOUSE!

Whiteside pulled off a pretty elaborate ruse on his mother ... pretending they were just showing up to the 6 bedroom home in Charlotte, North Carolina for a viewing, then springing the keys on her at the end.

Mom's reaction? Priceless.

She busts out a little dance in celebration while another member of Whiteside's family literally flips -- (watch the video, she actually flips with excitement).

Dave Bautista is really, really, REALLY mad at whoever spray painted the n-word at LeBron James' L.A. home ... blasting the racist perpetrator as the "scum of the Earth."

In fact, the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" star was getting angry even talking about it with TMZ Sports -- and took a breath to calm down.

TMZ Sports broke the story, LAPD units responded to Bron's home around 7 AM on Wednesday. No arrests have been made so far.

Charles Barkley is going to bat for his old friend, Tiger Woods -- saying people like Jack Nicklaus who say Tiger needs help don't REALLY know what they're talking about.

Barkley appeared on 97.5 FM The Fanatic Philadelphia on Wednesday and was asked for his thoughts on Tiger's DUI. He's clearly upset with people assuming Tiger has a serious substance abuse issue.

"Even Jack Nicklaus, somebody I really respect, talking about, 'Tiger really needs help.' Well he don't KNOW that. We don't know if Tiger has a drug problem."

Barkley added, "He just had a bad reaction [to prescription medication]. He wasn't out there drinking and driving."

Barkley says the "haters" are "in heaven right now because they get a chance to dump on the guy."

Barkley and Tiger were very close friends before 2009 -- and would regularly hit Vegas together. But Tiger cut him off after his marriage fell apart.

Jerry West insists he knows NOTHING about the Clippers reportedly trying to steal him away from the Golden State Warriors ... but watch the video -- and pay attention to that smirk!

West is currently an executive board member for the Warriors -- but ESPN's Marc Stein reported the Clippers are actively courting him to L.A.

So, when we saw West in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, we had to ask him straight-up -- what's the deal?!

In an obvious response to the intense hate he got for baring his gross feet on TV, Shaquille O'Neal took a trip to the nail shop ... and got a full monster foot makeover.

It was kinda like that scene from "Dumb and Dumber" at first (see below) -- but Shaq decided to end his session with a layer of sparkly toenail polish.

No word on how much he paid the woman for the foot job ... but it wasn't enough!!!

LeBron James says the racist vandalism at his Brentwood home proves one thing -- no matter how much money or fame he has, "Being black in America is tough."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... someone spray painted the n-word across the front gate of Bron's $20 million estate. Cops are hunting for the perpetrator.

LeBron spoke about the incident Wednesday afternoon at a media event for the NBA Finals -- saying his family is safe ... and that's the most important thing.

He also said the incident proves that "racism will always be a part of the world and a part of America."

LeBron also referenced Emmett Till -- the 14-year-old black kid who was brutally beaten to death by racist white people after they accused him of whistling at a white woman.

"I think back to Emmett Till’s mom actually. It’s one of the first things I thought of. The reason she had an open casket was because she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime and being black in America."

James Harden literally went head over heels for Travis Scott's new music video ... teaming up to star in the Houston rapper's visuals for his hit single, "Way Back."

FYI -- the 5-time All Star and Travis are tight ... and were even seen turnin' up together after the Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs.

It's only fitting La Flame enlisted the Beard as the focus for the self-directed vid ... given the hook's lyrics, "James Harden with the range on me n***a way back."

Harden shows off that range by playing 1-on-1 with himself and hanging upside down midair while Travis plays video games in the background.

It's weird ... but in a good way.

An L.A. home owned by LeBron James was the target of a hate crime -- someone spray painted the n-word on the front gate and detectives are now investigating, cops tell TMZ Sports.

Here's what we know ... multiple LAPD units and a neighborhood patrol vehicle responded to the home early Wednesday morning. We're told the word was scrawled on the outer gate.

We're told investigators are looking for security footage from neighbors which may show the perpetrator.

Records show LeBron bought the house back in 2015 but it does not appear he lives there on any regular basis.

The graffiti has since been covered up.

We're told LeBron was not at the home at the time of the incident -- he's presumably in the Bay Area gearing up for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which starts Thursday.

Carmelo and La La Anthony are in a limbo stage of their relationship ... but they're perfectly fine with that.

Sources close to the ex-couple tell TMZ ... neither one is in any hurry to file divorce papers because they're happy with the way things are right now. We're told they're definitely not getting back together, but are working together to be there for their 10-year-old son.

As our source puts the situation ... "Divorce isn't on the horizon."

When we last saw them together, Melo and La La were co-parenting on Mother's Day ... dinner and fro-yo style.

Get the ice ready, 'cause the Lakers' new strength and conditioning director, Gunnar Peterson, says he ain't playing around when it comes to getting the squad in championship shape.

Peterson -- who trained the Kardashians, Magic Johnson and some of the biggest stars in the world -- tells TMZ Sports he plans on making an immediate impact with his customized gym plan.

"The new Lakers will be very different from what people are expecting."

He also has BIG hopes for Lakers star Brandon Ingram -- saying he's followed BG's career from Duke and claims the guy is a "special athlete."

"I'm gonna make sure he upholds the standard that I know he's capable of."

Pat Riley wishes nothing but the best for LeBron James in his 7th straight NBA Finals appearance ... but he doesn't want us to forget Magic Johnson's number.

We got Pat Saturday in Malibu, where we asked if he was wishing LeBron luck for the NBA Finals.

Even though Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber doesn't want him to answer ... Pat -- who LeBron left in Miami to rejoin the Cavs -- breaks it down with half shade and half well-wishing.

Post Malone has an idea of which NBA stars could hop on a "White Iverson" remix ... but Kobe Bryant ain't one of 'em.

We got Post Saturday night outside of Catch, and asked how hanging out with the inspiration behind his hit record went this weekend. Post says Allen Iverson's already thinking remix.

Sounds like A.I. knows who he'd like to see rap on it ... but Post has his own thoughts -- he's thinking an NBA rapper can jump on, seeing how some of them can spit a little.

He lists off a few guys -- but the takeaway here is Post's opinion of Kobe's MC skills ... hint, it ain't good.

Sorry, Mamba.

Lamar Odom was removed from a strip club in the San Fernando Valley early Sunday AM, after he cut in line to enter ... this according to an eyewitness who shot the video.

Lamar and 2 women showed up at around 3:30 AM to Red Tie Gentleman's Club in Van Nuys, and the eyewitness says Lamar wasn't keen on waiting in the line ... so he and the woman side skirted the queue. The eyewitness says security corralled them and escorted them out.

Doc Rivers has a message for Clipper fans freaking out about their point guard heading to San Antonio ... telling TMZ Sports if he has his way (which he does), Chris Paul ain't going ANYWHERE.

Multiple outlets have reported there's mutual interest between the Spurs and Paul, with San Antonio wanting a new point guard (sorry, Tony Parker) and CP3 wanting to play for a contender (sorry, Clippers).

So when we got Rivers out at Madeo we had to ask about Paul's future with the team, being that Doc is the Clippers prez, and the only guy who can make the trade happen.

And according to Doc ... it ain't happening ... 'cause he told our guy Paul is 'absolutely' staying with the Clippers, and he seemed pretty concrete on it.

NBA star Enes Kanter is reportedly a wanted man in Turkey -- where government officials have accused him of being a member of an anti-government "terror group."

But Kanter doesn't appear to be worried -- and is reportedly mocking his accusers.

The Turkish media outlet Daily Sabah is reporting that an arrest warrant has been issued in Turkey for the OKC Thunder star's arrest.

DS says officials believe Kanter is a member of an "armed terrorist organization" -- though the exact group is not mentioned by name.

However, most people believe the issue stems from Kanter's support for an exiled Muslim leader named Fethullah Gulen -- who, like Kanter, has been very critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kanter reportedly commented on the Daily Sabah's story by mocking the situation and taunting the government. Here's the tweet translated from Turkish:

"You cannot catch me. Hahaha. Don't waste your energy ... I am already going to come to [Turkey] to spit on all of your ugly, hate-filled faces."