NBA

A seven-year-old boy should be having his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's, NOT Hooters ... but that's exactly what Dwight Howard's baby mama did for their son's 7th birthday.

"Basketball Wives" star Royce Reed, the boy's mother, posted the photo on her Instagram showing Braylon grinning from ear-to-ear ... and it probably wasn't because of the wings.

As TMZ first reported ... Howard is angling for full custody, while simultaneously being investigated for child abuse.

In court docs, Howard has accused Reed of exposing Braylon to sexual situations. Howard claims his son has witnessed Reed engage in sexual acts with her "numerous companions."

We're told Howard believes this photo is just the latest example of his son being exposed to sex.

A source close to Royce says her son's birthday party was at a Monkey Joe's bounce house earlier in the day -- with his classmates -- and she merely stopped at Hooters for food. The source also says Royce has never had any man in and out of her house, and has never exposed Braylon to sex.

LeBron James is 29. The guy dating his mother is 32 ... and apparently, the NBA star is totally cool with it.

In fact, LeBron posed for a pic with his mom's BF -- a rapper known as Da Real Lambo -- after the Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

Lambo has reportedly been dating Gloria James for about a year ... and he's already referring to her as his "wifey" on Instagram.

Clearly, Lambo loves the lifestyle ... posting pics in private jets, boats and expensive-looking resorts ... but it appears LeBron doesn't have a problem with it.

Dwyane Wade hosted a huge fashion event in Miami last night ... invited a bunch of his famous friends ... and even busted out a Ferrari ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

It was called "A Night On the RunWade" ... to benefit his Wade's World Foundation, which provides health and educational services in poor neighborhoods.

Wade was joined by his wife Gabrielle Union and teammates Chris Bosh, Shannon Brown and Mario Chalmers. Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning were also in the house.

So, Shaquille O'Neal stole a TMZ photog yesterday ... right off the street ... and it was hilarious.

The "hostage" was our guy Adam -- who was shooting Shaq out in NYC when the former NBA star decided he was just gonna take him ... as payback for Harvey not answering his call last week.

(For the record, Harvey disputes ducking Shaq's call ... though he doesn't really remember).

Shaq and his prisoner went all over the city together ... from "The View" to "Good Morning America" ... with Adam documenting his captivity every step of the way.

A few things we learned about Shaq during the crisis ...

-- He loves Maury Povich (and bets with his friends on the "Who's the Daddy" segments)
-- He's a huge "Ray Donovan" fan
-- He actually uses Icy Hot in real life

As for Adam ... no word if Shaq ever let him go. We haven't gotten around to calling him back yet.

Dave Chappelle is DEFENDING Donald Sterling ... claiming the disgraced former L.A. Clippers owner got screwed when his team was ripped away from him.

Chappelle opened up about the topic in an interview with GQ ... saying, "Ultimately, I don’t think he should have lost his team."

"I don’t like the idea that someone could record a secret conversation and that a person could lose their assets from that, even though I think what he said was awful."

Of course, Sterling was banned from the NBA for life -- and Commissioner Adam Silver said he did everything in his power to force a sale of the team in the wake of Sterling's racist comments.

Sterling fought the sale ... but eventually, a judge allowed Donald's wife Shelly to unload the team to Steve Ballmer for $2 BILLION.

Chappelle's opinion lines up with Bill Maher -- who also defended Sterling's right to free speech back in May ... and took serious heat over it.

The big question ... why would someone as influential as Chappelle wait so long to go public with such a strong point of view? Kinda too little, too late.

Dwight Howard is under criminal investigation for child abuse ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We've learned the Cobb County PD in Georgia now has an active criminal investigation into allegations he beat his 6-year-old son Braylon with a belt buckle.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the Dept. of Children and Families in Florida (DCF) determined there wasn't enough evidence of child abuse to go forward, but it turns out the incident occurred in Georgia. Howard admits he hit his kid with a belt, but says he didn't know it was wrong because he was hit as a kid.

Law enforcement tells us ... Georgia cops asked Florida for the file, but the DCF dragged its feet and did not cooperate. So it turned into a cold case until Monday, after Cobb County detectives saw the TMZ Sports story summarizing a doctor's findings that Howard committed child abuse.

A Georgia law enforcement source tells TMZ ... "People who were not so forthcoming before today [Monday] have been." The source adds detectives did several one-on-one interviews Monday and say the case "has now been raised to top of the list."

Howard's attorney tells TMZ ... Howard's baby mama Royce Reed is "shopping her baseless allegations" to Georgia authorities even though Florida's Dept. of Children and Families found her claims had "no merit."

For the record ... DCF found the allegations credible, but concluded they did not meet the standard of proof required for formal action.

The attorney says he's confident Georgia will reach the same conclusion because "The truth is on our side."

The disabled man who made headlines after releasing a video showing the harassment he endured on the streets of Toronto just spoke with "TMZ Hollywood Sports" about the V.I.P. treatment he received courtesy of NBA star Greivis Vasquez ... and it's a pretty cool story.

As we previously reported, Vasquez reached out to Andre Arruda after seeing the video online ... and invited him to a Raptors game over the weekend.

Now, Arruda -- an actor/comic -- is talking about the experience with "TMZ Hollywood Sports" ... telling us why he thought the whole thing was a joke at first ... but then found himself sitting courtside.

Arruda also says the guys plan to keep in touch.

Make sure to check out the entire interview on Reelz tonight at 8 PM ET ... 5 PM PT!!

Dwight Howard was cleared of child abuse in Florida ... but now we know the doctor who examined his child determined the boy was hit with a belt buckle, struck with excessive force and was the victim of abuse.

As TMZ Sports previously reported ... Howard was investigated in Florida for hitting 6-year-old Braylon with a belt. Howard admitted to authorities he hit the kid but says he didn't know it was wrong because that's how he grew up.

TMZ Sports has obtained documents from the Dept. of Children and Families (DCF), summarizing the findings of the doctor who examined Braylon. It says, "Dr. Kesler noted Braylon to have a linear bruise and patterned abrasions consistent with the history given by Braylon of being struck with a belt numerous times by his father."

The report goes on to say the injuries were "consistent with Braylon being struck with the buckle end of the belt ... with excessive force, resulting in soft tissue injuries such as bruising and abrasions."

And the report indicates Dr. Kesler found the injuries lasted longer than 24 hours and were "consistent with a medical diagnosis of physical abuse."

And the doctor recommended that Howard participate in parenting classes and use methods other than corporal punishment to discipline his son.

DCF concluded the child abuse allegations were "not substantiated," but in Florida that means there is "credible evidence" of child abuse, but not enough to warrant action. What's curious is why the doctor's findings weren't enough.

Howard's rep tells TMZ, "The Florida Dept. of Children and Families thoroughly examined all of the evidence and determined that there was insufficient evidence of child abuse," adding the case has been closed in Florida. It appears this is the first time Howard's people have acknowledged some evidence of child abuse, although they insist there was no child abuse.

Howard's people are lashing out at baby mama Royce Reed, saying, "It is appalling to see a mother use her son as a pawn against his father in an attempt to extract money, which is what is happening in this case."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be PROUD of LeBron James ... so says Jesse Jackson who tells TMZ Sports LeBron's work off the court makes him "great."

Rev. Jackson was leaving Boa Steakhouse on the Sunset Strip this weekend when we asked about a recent interview Jackson gave to the Northeast Ohio Media Group ... in which he praised LeBron for all he's done for the city of Cleveland

"His work in the community beyond the court makes him very great," Jackson said ... "Dr. King would be proud of that."

Jackson notes that LeBron has helped to lift up the housing projects ... he built a playground for the kids ... and made the poor feel better about themselves.

The star of a viral video that featured a disabled man being mocked on the street by dozens of people was contacted by an NBA star over the weekend and given the VIP treatment ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We've learned Toronto Raptors star Greivis Vasquez saw the video posted by Andre Arruda -- a Toronto comic who suffers from Morquio syndrome ... often associated with Dwarfism.

In his video (by Key Fork TV), Arruda shows how he's taunted, mocked and stared at on a regular basis because of his physical appearance ... and his story is starting to blow up in the Canadian media.

Enter Vasquez ... who was so moved by the story, he reached out to Arruda's camp over the weekend and invited him to the Raptors game on Saturday night.

Not only did he hook Arruda up with courtside tickets, he got him pregame and postgame passes and took photos with him on the court.

We spoke to Vasquez's rep, who tells us the NBA star simply "wanted to put a smile on Arruda's face."

Mission accomplished.

Former NBA star Joe Smith claims his ex-girlfriend, "Love & Hip Hollywood" star Moniece Slaughter, bilked him out of a ton of money ... and he's pissed that cops have done nothing about it.

According to a report filed with the Manhattan Beach Police Department, Smith claims that between October 2011 and March 2012, nine checks were written from his checkbook to a Timothy Clayton Carr ... totaling $109,000.

Smith told police he did not write the checks and does not know a man by that name.

In June 2012, police were able to get a hold of Carr, who told them he was a friend of Slaughter and that he was cashing the checks for her as a favor because she didn't have a bank account. Carr told cops he was unaware the checks were stolen or that anything was wrong until Smith canceled the last check.

Carr also told police Slaughter had agreed to pay him back for the canceled check, but it when it came time to meet up ... she disappeared.

But Slaughter told police an entirely different story. According to the report, Slaughter claims Smith knew all about the checks and signed them personally. She claims Smith only canceled the last check because the pair broke up.

After talking to Slaughter, police went back to Smith and explained her story. His response ... "She's crazy."

Smith has told police he wants to press charges, but nearly 2.5 years later ... nothing has come of it. He tells TMZ Sports he's frustrated the case remains unresolved and feels police have been giving him the runaround.

9:15 AM PT -- We now have confirmation that the Florida Dept. of Children and Families closed the investigation, concluding, "The investigation is being closed with no substantiated findings of physical injuries." The report also states Howard was interviewed by authorities.

7:25 AM PT -- Royce Reed posted a statement on Instagram saying, "The case is not closed and he is/was not cleared! The investigation is still open as he refuses to speak to the police. So whoever these reps are that are trying to slander me, just know the gloves are off and I'm not the one to play with when it comes to my son. That is all."

Dwight Howard was under investigation for child abuse and gave precisely the same excuse Adrian Peterson used, but it appears in this case authorities found Howard did not break the law.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... Howard's baby mama Royce Reed went to Children's Services in the Orlando, FL area in August and complained he had whipped their 6-year-old son Braylon with a belt, leaving bruises and abrasions on his leg.

We're told the case worker sent the former "Basketball Wives" cast member to a nearby medical facility to evaluate the boy and document the injuries.

Authorities interviewed Howard and he confessed to the belting, but said he didn't realize there was anything wrong with it because he was disciplined the same way as a kid. Howard's lawyer filed legal docs claiming he never caused marks, bruises, welts or injuries requiring medical treatment.

Sources connected to Howard tell TMZ ... Children's Services closed out the case after determining the injuries depicted in the photos were not caused by a belting. In other words ... whatever Howard did was not that serious.

And there's this twist ... Howard filed legal docs Wednesday and he's gunning for full custody, claiming Reed is a shockingly unfit mother who gives the kid psychotropic drugs just so she can have a "chemical babysitter."

Howard's rep tells TMZ, authorities found the allegations "frivolous," adding, "It's no coincidence that these false allegations were 'leaked' on the heels of Dwight filing for major custody of his son."

Well ... this is awkward.

Shelly Sterling just praised the new owner of the L.A. Clippers ... while standing right next to the disgraced old one -- and TMZ Sports has the footage.

It all went down in Beverly Hills ... where Shelly and Donald Sterling were hanging out together ... despite the fact they ripped each other apart in court earlier this year.

Oh, and remember when Donald claimed Shelly basically stole the team from him?? Yeah.

Anyway, she didn't let the presence of her racist old husband keep her from giving props to Steve Ballmer -- who she says is doing a great job running her old team.

Blake Griffin is finally talking about the pimp slap he allegedly delivered at a Vegas nightclub -- saying he's very confident he will be exonerated.

The L.A. Clippers star spoke with reporters before practice Thursday -- saying, "I'm really not allowed to speak on [the case] ... but I'm very confident in the situation, so once I can [speak on it], I will."

Kris Humphries is still being harassed over his 72-day marriage to Kim Kardashian ... with an entire section of Toronto Raptors fans starting a "Kanye" chant to troll him during a recent NBA game.

TMZ Sports has the footage showing Humphries at the free throw line during Friday's Wizards vs. Raptors game in Toronto.

The chant worked. Humphries missed the shot ... and the crowd went insane.

It's not the first time Kris has been trolled about the marriage -- in fact, Kanye himself took a shot at Kris right when he started dating Kim ... rapping that Kris was lucky Yeezy's pal Jay Z didn't drop him from the team he was on at the time.

For the record, it's been THREE YEARS since Kris and Kim broke up.

Doc Rivers says he has NO PROBLEM with Kobe Bryant breaking the record for most missed shots in NBA history ... telling TMZ Sports, "The only way you can make 'em, you gotta take 'em."

FYI -- Kobe broke the record earlier this week ... passing Celtics legend John Havlicek, who missed 13,147 shots during his career.

But the L.A. Clippers honcho says it's not necessarily a bad record to have -- in fact, Rivers says he WISHES he had a title like that under his belt.