NBA

You can finally share DNA with Kevin Durant ... if the price is right ... because the NBA superstar's actual USED straw has hit the auction block ... for real.

In fact, the straw is the REAL piece of plastic KD sucked from during a SONIC fast food commercial the NBA star shot back in March, when he was promoting the Kevin Durant Signature Slush.

The straw also comes with a certificate of authenticity personally signed by KD that reads, "This is the actual straw from the Candy Slush that Kevin Durant (KD) had on the set of a SONIC commercial shot on March 26, 2015."

There's more ... Sonic is also auctioning off the ACTUAL candy from KD's slush ... which also come with a C.O.A.

Don't worry, it's not some cheap stunt to make a few extra bucks -- the auction benefits the Limeades for Learning program ... which raises money for educational programs across the country.

Former NBA player Earl Watson is pulling a Rodney Dangerfield ... going back to school -- there's only one problem, being a student SUCKS when it comes to your bank account.

Watson -- who spent 13 seasons in the NBA -- revealed his college status in new legal docs filed in his custody war with his ex, actress Jennifer Freeman ... who famously starred as Claire Kyle on "My Wife and Kids."

Long story short ... Watson claims Freeman wants him to fly out to L.A. for the summers to spend time with their daughter, even though he doesn't live in L.A. anymore.

Watson says he's got a job (assistant coach on an NBA D-League team) and he's going back to school to get his bachelor's degree ... so he's not exactly free to fly across the country.

Plus, Watson says his paychecks are WAYYY smaller now compared to what he was making in the NBA ... plus, school ain't cheap ... and he needs to watch his budget these days.

His solution? He wants a different custody arrangement ... one that's more flexible with his job, location and financial situation.

And speaking of going back to school ... anyone remember the Triple Lindy?

Classic.

You can't blame LeBron James for accidentally exposing himself while adjusting his wiener on national TV ... so says The Game who says it's hard to move well when your dong's in the wrong spot.

The rapper was out in L.A. last night when we asked about King James and his royal scepter ... and that's when Game explained why the pre-game penis shirt is absolutely imperative to an NBA star.

In fact, Game says he can relate ... "You ever try to go outside and live your life but your package ain't in the right place? You gotta get that thing to the left side, jiggle it, you know what I'm sayin?"

LeBron James didn't go balls out in Game 4 of the NBA Finals ... he went dong out instead.

Moments before tip off Thursday night, LeBron went to adjust himself below the waist ... and it just so happened to be at the same time an ABC camera moved in for a close-up.

James opened his shorts a little too much ... and boom -- LeBron's penis was introduced to roughly 18.5 MILLION viewers.

If you really wanna see it ... click here -- but WARNING, it's a penis.

Here's another reason it's good to be 6-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen ...

Not only is his wife former "Real Housewives Of Miami" star Larsa Pippen STUPID hot ... but so are all of her friends, and guess what!? Scottie gets to take the whole bunch on vacation!

The crew all went down to the Dominican Republic recently to soak up some sun (there's none of that in Miami, right?) and we gotta say ... Scottie looks right at home with his new starting five.

Shaquille O'Neal -- one of the most beloved people in all of pro sports -- says he's got a lot in common with Kanye West ... saying they're "underrated" and people think they're both evil.

It's all part of a Happy Birthday rap freestyle Shaq made for Kanye's big birthday bash at Staples Center earlier this week ... the video was played on the big screen since Shaq couldn't be there in person.

One of the more interesting lyrics ...

"Kanye ... me and you the same people ... we underrated, they treat us like we evil."

Check out the clip ... it's fun to watch ... but it's not his best work. His greatest freestyle took place in 2008 ...

He's pushin' 50 ... but Tim Hardaway says there's no way in hell his 23-year-old NBA son could cross him over -- telling TMZ Sports he still dominates his kid when it comes to handlin' the rock.

In fact, Hardaway says he's still the GREATEST OF ALL TIME when it comes to pulling off the move that he basically invented during his NBA career.

Oh, and since Tim Sr.'s also a coach with the Pistons ... and his son plays for the Knicks ... we had to ask if he roots AGAINST his own flesh and blood when they face off on the court.

But the big question ... who wins when Tim Sr. takes on Tim Jr. in a Hardaway family 1-on-1 session? Check out the clip.

The crush between Jahlil Okafor and Los Angeles is a full on love affair now ... 'cause sources within the Lakers organization tell TMZ Sports Jahlil MURDERED his private workout with the team today.

We spoke with a high ranking source in the Lakers organization who tells us the team put Jahlil through an up close and personal workout this morning -- just like they did with Kobe back in '96 -- and the 19-year-old was nothing short of spectacular.

"Just off what we saw out of today’s workouts, Jahlil has the potential to not just be one of the best big men in the league but one of the best to put on a Lakers jersey."

In fact ... we're told that the team is so enamored with Okafor that they plan to have reps spend the entire day with him ... culminating with a wine and dine sesh at a fancy L.A. restaurant later tonight.

$10,000 per month is WAYYY TOO LOW for child support when it comes to Dwight Howard ... this according to one of his baby mamas who says Dwight has been screwing her out of serious dough and now she wants to collect.

The Houston Rockets star is being sued in Florida ... by a woman who claims she and Dwight struck a private deal back in 2013 that required him to fork over $10k per month in child support.

But according to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman (Tiffany) says Howard hasn't lived up to his end of the bargain ... and since January, has only paid her HALF of what he owes.

Tiffany says the financial slight has forced her to reconsider their arrangement ... and since he makes more than $27 MILLION per year in salary and endorsements, she wants a bigger slice of the pie.

The kid is currently 4 years old ... and Tiffany says she needs the cash to put the child in expensive private schools, pay for extracurricular activities and fund social activities like birthday parties and sleepovers that will help the kid make friends.

Tiffany also says ... since the child has a famous father, she'll need extra cash for therapy to "deal with the unique issues involved in being the child of a celebrity."

It's hard to shop for clothes when you're 7'2" tall ... just ask Dikembe Mutombo -- who tells TMZ Sports it's too hard to find threads that fit on the rack, so he gets everything custom made!

Problem is ... bespoke suits don't run cheap -- and according to Mutombo, a good quality outfit usually runs between $1,500 and $2,000-a-pop!!!

It's a good thing Dikembe (reportedly) made about $143 MILLION during his career.

We also asked D.M. about his sleeping situation when he's on the road -- how does he find a bed that can fit a 7-footer?!?

Seems he has better luck at hotels than he does at rental car spots ...

He is playing OUT OF HIS MIND ... and now Cleveland Cavaliers star Matthew Dellavedova is getting props from the Australian ambassador's office.

TMZ Sports spoke to a spokesperson for Kim Beazley, the Aussie ambassador to the U.S., who tells us the entire country is pumped up and proud of the Australian-born star.

"The ambassador is very engaged in this series," the rep tells us ... "He's watching it very closely. We all are. We're so excited."

We're told the entire office feels Matt's performance has been incredibly inspiring -- "He shows people you don't have to be 6'8" to be a great player."

But the office isn't "All In" for the Cavs ... because there's another huge Aussie star playing on the Warriors, Andrew Bogut.

Good news Lakers fans ... potential 2nd pick Jahlil Okafor looks right at home in the SoCal sun ... chillin' with his college teammates at an upscale L.A. rooftop party this past weekend.

Jahlil, along with fellow Dukies Tyus Jones, Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones hit up the rooftop pool of the very swanky SLS hotel in Beverly Hills this past Saturday, partying with celebrities like Too Short, and Charlamagne Tha God.

We're told the crew had some lovely ladies in their cabana, but there was no drinking and the guys mostly just chilled out and kicked back while things got crazy at the pool.

As for Jahlil, he has a workout this week with the Lakers ... but let's face it, the team could use all five guys.

Dwight Howard is putting his Superman alter ego on ice for a while and re-emerging as ANOTHER comic book bad ass, THE FLASH ... and he's starting the re-branding process with a new car.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Houston Rockets star has commissioned some heavy duty Flash-themed work on his 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with the guys at 713 Motoring in Houston.

We spoke with the owner, Ash, who tells us D12 has always been known to "superhero" his cars and usually went with a Superman theme.

"But when he came to the Rockets, he wanted a change ... he said he no longer wanted to be called Superman, he is now Flash out here in Houston."

Ash says the project will run around $65k -- and included everything from a custom paint job ... to a pimped out steering wheel ... and custom Flash logos on the wheels, hood, seats and gas cap.

LeBron James is a 1-man stimulus package in Cleveland -- with several businesses around the Cavs arena telling TMZ Sports they've been CRUSHING IT during the playoffs ... and they're all crediting #23.

Don't forget, the Cavs didn't make the playoffs once during the 4 years LeBron was in Miami -- which means 4 years of low foot traffic for the restaurants and stores near Quicken Loans Arena.

But with this year's run, Cleveland has already hosted an additional 7 playoff games (with more to come) ... and the 8 establishments we spoke with say the extra business has been HUGE.

Here's what a few of the owners and managers told us.

"Every business owner, hotel, restaurant, grocery store owner ... anyone who owns a business in downtown Cleveland should be kissing [LeBron's] ass, including me."
-Owner, Zocala Mexican Grill

"It's certainly a nice bonus for local businesses and we are happy to have LeBron back here. On the day of home playoff games, I'd say business increases by more than 40 percent."
-Manager, The Greenhouse Tavern

"We just opened in the beginning of the year. One of the reasons we came to downtown Cleveland is because of the downtown boom, and a lot of that's LeBron James being back in Cleveland."
-Owner, A Bar + Kitchen

Nia Long might NEVER want the San Antonio Spurs to win another ring ... telling TMZ Sports she sometimes roots for her fiance's team to lose in the postseason ... so he can come home.

Nia's fiance' is former Spurs stud -- and current assistant coach -- Ime Udoka and when we got the two out on date night earlier this week we had to ask if she was secretly excited when the Spurs got knocked out of the NBA playoffs.

Check out the clip -- Nia keeps it all the way real -- maybe too real for Spurs fans -- before dialing it back a little so she's actually allowed back in south Texas.

A former NFL lineman has a STERN WARNING for Kyrie Irving ... don't let the doctors pressure you into coming back early ... or you could wind up with an OBLITERATED KNEE!!!!

The man behind the warning is LeCharles Bentley ... a former 2-time Pro Bowler who played for the Cleveland Browns ... who suffered a pretty major knee injury of his own during his playing days.

As for Kyrie -- the Cavs said he'd been suffering from a "bad case of tendonitis" over the past few weeks and wanted him to play last night. Kyrie's father had reportedly been pushing for Irving to take it easy.

Enter Bentley ... who added his perspective on social media after the game:

"So the doc tells Kyrie it's 'just tendonitis' ... Yea, I tore my patella from having 'just tendonitis'. I tried to 'tough it out'... ."

He then posted a picture of what his knee looks like now -- and said, "Oh, 'it just tendonitis'... I'm out, about to go 'tough out' this leg workout. Could be worse! #Blessed."

Bottom line -- Bentley says, "Athletes better listen to their bodies, not Twitter & Docs."