NBA

Javaris Crittenton is dead to Gilbert Arenas.

Agent Zero was out in L.A. last night ... when we asked if he would ever consider visiting his x-NBA teammate in prison, where he'll be spend the next 23 years for killing a woman in 2011.

FYI -- the two made headlines together back in 2009 ... when they pulled guns on each other in the Washington Wizards locker room.

But Arenas tells TMZ Sports he's erased Javaris from his memory -- saying there's no chance he'll visit the guy because ... "Why would I need to be reminded of prison for? I've seen 'Locked Up,' it's not a nice place."

We also asked Arenas about his fireworks arrest in 2013 -- and if he still plans to light up the sky on July 4th, 2015 ... despite the fact he's on probation.

ATL Hawks forward Thabo Sefalosha hasn't been able to attend a SINGLE playoff game due to the injuries he suffered during an altercation with the NYPD and he's "devastated" ... sources tell TMZ Sports.

As we previously reported, Sefalosha claims he broke his right fibula and sustained ligament damage as cops tried to take him into custody following a stabbing outside of a nightclub last month.

Thabo underwent surgery ... and sources tell us he's basically been relegated to his home to rest and recover ever since .... while his teammates have been tearing it up in the NBA playoffs.

"It's killing him that he's not in the playoffs," one source close to Thabo tells us ... "He'd much rather be competing with his team."

Meantime, Sefalosha is still facing criminal charges from the night of the arrest -- obstruction of a police officer and disorderly conduct -- though we're told he's still fighting the case ... and expects to be vindicated.

B.B. King might be gone, but the Memphis Grizzlies are making sure he's not forgotten ... taking time out to remember the music titan before tonight's HUGE playoff game ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke to the Grizzlies reps who tell us ... before the team takes on Golden State in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals tonight ... they'll honor the hometown hero who passed Thursday at age 89.

The team didn't wanna give away too many specifics about how they're planning to honor King -- but are hoping fans of both basketball and music enjoy the huge surprise they have in store.

R.I.P. B.B.

It's being hailed as one of the biggest implosions in the history of the NBA playoffs ... but Allen Iverson says the Clippers did NOT choke Thursday night ... they just lost.

The Clips were up 19 points on the Houston Rockets in Game 6 ... only to blow the lead and lose the game by 12 ... a 31 point swing. It was bad.

But when we saw A.I. in NYC a few minutes ago and asked if he's ever seen a worse choke job, he told us the Clips don't need the Heimlich ... 'cause it wasn't a choke job. Sometimes you just lose.

We also joked with A.I. about his legendary "practice" rant ... he laughed. It's funny.

Talkin' 'bout practice.

Without Tom Brokaw, Allen Iverson would NOT have become the NBA superstar he turned out to be ... and A.I. knows it.

Iverson appeared on "CBS This Morning" and gave credit to the legendary newsman for helping him out ... when he was facing 15 years in prison for allegedly hitting a white woman at a bowling alley during a brawl.

It all went down in 1993 when Iverson was 18-years-old ... he was actually convicted and served 4 months in prison.

Brokaw featured Iverson's story on the news and pointed out the injustice ... that a teen with no prior criminal record had been hit with SUCH a harsh punishment.

Larry Bird wasn't just talented when it came to talking crap ... HE'S THE BEST EVER ... so claims Kenny "The Jet" Smith ... who says Bird's trash talk game was even better than Michael Jordan's.

Bird's verbal skills on the court are legendary -- 'cause he wouldn't just insult you, he'd get inside your head and DESTROY YOU.

Smith says the best part was that Bird ALWAYS backed up his smack talk.

But Smith's best single crap talk story doesn't involve Bird ... it came from a fan ... and Thursday in L.A. he recounted the whole thing -- and it's hilarious!!!

**Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking ... we've now reached 10,000 feet ... you're now free to PARTY YOUR FACES OFF!!!!**

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers wasted no time throwing a dance party on the team's private jet Thursday night ... celebrating their blowout win over the Bulls and moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

J.R. Smith shot footage of Bron gettin' down to The Dream's "That's My S**t" ... while teammates slugged beers and basked in the win.

Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the (gigantic) tree ... cause Shaquille O'Neal's 15-year-old son, Shareef, is going to be the family's next HUGE NBA star ... so says his AAU coach.

TMZ Sports spoke with Mike Law, who coached Shareef on the California Supreme AAU squad, and he tells us he expects the little O'Neal to be every bit as good as his legendary father.

"One day people will be talking about Shareef the same way they talk about his dad ... he's that gifted."

Shareef has been getting MAJOR buzz since a new mixtape of the 6'8" phenom dominating some Cali competition was released earlier this week ... getting 2 million YouTube views in just three days.

In fact ... Shareef has already garnered some interest from major colleges like USC, which offered him a scholarship earlier today. Law says it's the work ethic and guidance he got from his famous dad that puts him over the top.

"Most kids of superstars just think it's handed to them, but Shareef worked to get better. Shaq doesn't want us to show him any favoritism ... even though he's good enough to play up a level."

4 NBA Championships, 3 Finals MVP's and 15 All-Star games is a lot to live up to ... but if he can just stay on his feet, he's beating his old man right now.

A male member of Floyd Mayweather's entourage was involved in an altercation with a woman at the Golden State Warriors playoff game last night ... after the woman allegedly struck him with a "Thunder Stick" ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources connected to the Golden State Warriors confirm there was a "mini-altercation" that took place between the two involving one of those inflatable noisemakers that fans bang together during a game.

Before the incident, Mayweather had been booed loudly at the stadium when they showed him on the jumbotron ... and we're told at least one person continued to jeer even after Floyd was off the screen.

Multiple witnesses who were at the Oracle Arena tell us the woman was heckling Floyd and his crew -- but things escalated when she used one of her "Thunder Sticks" on a member of The Money Team.

People in Floyd's camp insist the entourage member did NOT react physically to the incident ... and never hit the woman -- but he was VERY upset.

We spoke with a rep for the Oakland Police Department who tells us, "We do have record of an incident that occurred at about 9:45 PM at the Oracle Arena regarding a mutual combat battery which occurred between a man and a woman."

"Neither party wished to press charges against the other, nobody was arrested and no injuries were sustained."

'Coach' and 'The Chin' weren't enough ... so now Bill Cowher can also go by 'Grandpa' -- his daughter Lindsay and her husband, Lakers forward Ryan Kelly, just had their first baby.

The baby ... Nile Jeremiah Kelly was born last night, and he's a big boy ... 8.8 lbs. and 22 in. long.

It's not known if Coach Cowher was actually at the hospital when Lindsay popped, but the ex-Steelers coach took a hands on approach with Lindsay's dating life ... at least according to his son-in-law, Ryan.

So, now that they have a baby boy ... the question: Dad is in the NBA, grandpa's an NFL coaching legend -- do you play football or basketball?

Dell Demps can CALL OFF THE SEARCH for the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans -- because Louisiana congressman Cedric Richmond says HE'S the man for the job ... seriously!

Richmond (D-LA) was leaving Capitol Hill ... when he told us why he's the perfect candidate ... after all, he's got plenty of experience as a volunteer hoops coach back home in the Big Easy.

Plus, he says he could DEFINITELY build a winning team around Anthony Davis.

And if that's not enough, Richmond already has the support of ANOTHER congressman ... Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) ... who was a real deal college basketball star at Purdue!

In fact, Clawson tells us Richmond can PLAY -- saying he's "among the two REAL basketball players in the House."

Kobe Bryant continues to haunt Dwight Howard ... at least judging by video of a heckler who used The Mamba to taunt D12 after he was ejected from a playoff game ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Moments after Howard was (mercifully?) booted from Sunday night's beatdown at the hands of the Clippers ... Dwight got to hear a familiar Staples Center yell as he exited through the tunnel.

"Kobe!"

You can see Howard look back at the heckler ... he doesn't seem happy.

Now for some backstory ... Dwight and Kobe have HATED each other ever since their disaster season together back in 2013 ... with Kobe publicly chiding him as "soft."

No one likes a coach who talks out of his or her ass ... in fact, pro athletes have A LOT more respect for a boss who's been in the trenches themselves ... so says NFL great Tony Gonzalez.

The future Hall of Famer was leaving the Clippers game Sunday night when the topic turned to Clippers honcho Doc Rivers ... who spent 13 seasons in the NBA before taking charge of the clipboard.

"Any time you got a guy who used to play in the league coaching players, you can tell how much [the players] respect him."

Ya can't play basketball forever ... and Roy Hibbert knows it ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to work in Hollywood after his NBA career -- and says his dream job would be to appear on "Tosh.0."

The Indiana Pacers star has already gotten his feet wet -- appearing on a few episodes of "Parks and Recreation" over the years.

But now, Hibbert says he's moving to L.A. for the summer -- and might take some voice acting classes to help him better his chances of getting a V/O job when he hangs up his sneakers.

As for "Tosh.0" ... Hibbert says he'd be open to doing ANYTHING to appear on the show with Daniel Tosh (one of his favorite comedians) ... if Tosh is into the idea.

Good news for Clippers fans ... Austin Rivers says he wants to STAY in Lob City next season -- even if other teams come at him with GIANT contracts.

After Rivers tore up the Staples Center on Friday, the coach's son hit up Craig's in West Hollywood for a celebratory meal with his girlfriend Brittany Hotard ... clearly in a GREAT mood!

Gilbert Arenas has told the judge ... he DEFINITELY took back the $1 MILLION engagement ring he gave to his estranged wife Laura Govan in 2008 ... but he sure as hell didn't sell it behind her back.

The NBA star just filed new court docs in his legal war with Govan (the mother of his 4 kids) ... admitting they're on terrible terms ever since they broke up in 2014.

In fact, Arenas ADMITS he kicked her ass out of their L.A. mansion following the split ... and says he doesn't think he could EVER live with her again.

As for the ring, which Govan claimed he "forcefully" took from her and sold for cash in previous legal docs -- Arenas says it's only partly true.

In court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Gilbert admits he took the ring and refused to give it back ... but says he NEVER tried to sell it. Instead, he says it's still in his possession.

Gilbert doesn't say much more about the split ... however, he does cop to treating Laura like a queen when they were together.

For example, Arenas says he once threw Laura a lavish and expensive 3 day birthday bash ... and on another occasion, rented a chopper to fly Laura and her mom to Santa Barbara for lunch at a winery.