NBA

Wyclef Jean says Michael Jordan's $1 million donation to Hurricane Dorian relief is "100% a big deal" ... but tells TMZ Sports it's important to make sure that huge contribution isn't lining the wrong person's pockets.

The Haiti native knows what he's talking about -- his massively successful Yéle Haiti charity campaign raised more than $16 million for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, only to close down after an investigation determined a large portion of the funds were misused.

So, when we asked Wyclef about MJ's massive donation, the musician praises His Airness for the gesture ... but calls for organizers to not take advantage of people in need.

"The most important thing for me is that the money is really allocated right and we really don't use distractions, don't use people for patsies, don't distract the crowd, have them looking another way," Wyclef says.

"It constantly happens because another man's disaster is another man's gain."

Wyclef says he's praying for the Bahamas and hopes everyone does the right thing.

The "Dream Team" is the most DOMINANT squad ever assembled ... and you could own the game-worn jersey Magic Johnson donned as Team USA steamrolled their way to a gold medal in 1992 ... IF ya got a few hundred thousand bucks.

TMZ Sports has learned the historic jersey is hitting the SCP Auctions block on Wednesday ... and it's expected to rake in a ton of money.

The '92 Summer Olympic USA basketball team is legendary -- they're literally the GREATEST basketball team of all-time -- and featured HOF'ers Magic, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson.

The jersey on the auction block was worn by Magic -- the squads co-captain -- during the Dream Team's August 4, 1992 quarterfinal 115-77 blowout win against Puerto Rico.

Johnson scored 13 points, and had 7 assists.

SCP tells us they had the Champion-brand jersey -- which was previously in the possession of a private collector in Los Angeles -- authenticated using photo matching ... ensuring it was the actual jersey worn by MJ.

The number 15 jersey -- size 44 -- has a tag that reads "USA Basketball" and "designed and tailored exclusively for 1992 Summer Olympics Games."

The auction house says Team USA jerseys are super rare ... and they say Johnson's jersey is the first and only photo matched Dream Team jersey in existence.

So, a piece of sports history can be yours ... if you're bank account's big enough.

The auction goes from September 11 to the 28.

Good luck!!!

Michael Jordan is pledging $1 MILLION to hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas -- saying he's "devastated" after seeing the destruction the storm has caused.

"I am devastated to see the destruction that Hurricane Dorian has brought to the Bahamas, where I own property and visit frequently," MJ said.

"My heart goes out to everyone who is suffering and to those who have lost loved ones."

Jordan, through his rep, Estee Portnoy, adds ... "As the recovery and relief efforts continue, I will be tracking the situation closely and working to identify non-profit agencies where the funds will have the most impact."

"The Bahamian people are strong and resilient and I hope that my donation will be of help as they work to recover from this catastrophic storm."

So far, officials say at least 50 people are confirmed dead -- but THOUSANDS of people are still unaccounted for.

Tons of stars are opening their wallets to help out ... from Tyler Perry to Luke Walton, Buddy Hield, Ludacris and more.

Beloved Cleveland Cavaliers play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod died suddenly Monday night ... after reportedly suffering a heart attack. He was 67 years old.

McLeod had been calling Cavs games since 2006 alongside Austin Carr ... and was a fan favorite in Cleveland.

The team released a statement Tuesday morning, saying, "The entire Cavaliers organization mourns the loss of their great friend and teammate."

"Fred’s deep love for Cleveland and the Cavaliers was clearly evident in everything he did in and around the community and on-air during his more than 1,000 Cavalier game broadcasts."

One of Fred's most legendary calls came in 2016 when the Cavs won the NBA title against the Golden State Warriors to end the city's championship drought ... screaming, "Goodnight, Oakland. It's over! The 52-year drought is over!!"

"He was a true, heart-felt ambassador for the team, fans and entire greater Cleveland community," the team said.

McLeod was preparing for his 14th straight year as the Cavs announcer on Fox Sports Ohio.

LeBron James -- who is currently vacationing in Portofino with his family -- took a moment to share his condolences ... saying "Man WHAT!!!!??? OMG this is extremely sad. @CavsFredMcLeod May you rest in Paradise my friend! @BethHMcLeod my prayers sent up above to you and your family!! #RIPFred"

Kevin Love added ... "Shocked and saddened to hear about the loss of Fred McLeod. He was a student of the game."

"He loved the CAVS but even more so the fans...Fred worked his ass off for the city of Cleveland and the NBA. Praying and sending my best to his wife Beth and kids."

"The Cavaliers extend our deepest condolences to Fred’s entire family, including his wife Beth, mother Marilyn, sister Lynn, and his three children, Sean, Jenna, Molly and each of their families."

Anthony Davis might not be "Taco Tuesday" material ... 'cause the Lakers superstar is admitting LeBron James told him he's not FUN enough for his weekly ritual!!

The NBA 2K20 cover athlete was invited over to LBJ's L.A. mansion for the epic mealtime back in July ... joining in on the craze that's gone insanely viral. Seriously, the King's even trying to trademark the phrase, it's been THAT popular.

AD is finally giving some behind-the-scenes details on the experience in a Q&A with fans on Friday ... saying he wasn't up to snuff on LeBron's fun meter.

"I've been invited once ... he said I wasn't fun enough, so hopefully I get invited back soon and make you guys laugh. If you can, make sure you enjoy Taco Tuesday with LeBron!"

To prove his value to LeBron's prestigious dinner ... AD let out his own "TACOOOO TUEEESDAYYYY" impression ... and we gotta admit, dude seems like he's been practicing.

Obviously, not just ANYBODY gets invited to the table for Taco Tuesday ... and now we know why.

Add another shiny object to Jerry West's packed trophy case ... 'cause Donald Trump presented the Logo with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday.

POTUS invited the Hall of Famer to 1600 Penn to gift him the highest honor a civilian can receive ... praising West's basketball accomplishments on and off the court -- including helping the L.A. Clippers acquire Kawhi Leonard this past summer.

Trump also praised West's work away from the sport, saying "Jerry works harder than just about anybody I can imagine helping our nation's veterans."

"Jerry West is one extraordinary American."

West joins other huge sports stars like Michael Jordan, John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tiger Woods to receive the honor.

"I swear my name is going to look like a misprint on this list," West joked in the Oval Office.

Sacramento Kings star Buddy Hield has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for Hurricane Dorian relief -- and the first BIG check just came from his head coach, Luke Walton.

Hield -- a native of the Bahamas -- announced his campaign on Wednesday to help relief efforts in his home country. Dorian hasn't just wreaked havoc on buildings and homes, at least 20 people have been killed so far with numbers expected to rise.

Enter Hield, who's channeling JJ Watt ... and doing his best to get money to people in need.

Not only is the Kings hooper encouraging people to donate, he's contributed $100k of his own to get the ball rolling on the campaign.

"I personally know many people who still need rescuing, and there are thousands without medical help, power, food, or other basic necessities," Hield says. "Bahamians are a strong people, but they still need our help to get them through this."

"Together, our donations can help restore hope, life, and basic human needs to these battered areas."

Walton got involved to help out his player's cause on Wednesday ... making a $10,000 donation on the campaign page.

Hield's goal is to raise $1 million ... and has raised nearly $50k so far.

Lonzo Ball is admitting he KNEW his $500-per-pair Big Baller Brand ZO2 Prime sneakers were faulty -- and would explode on him during games -- but he continued to hawk 'em anyway.

"Those ZO2s I was playing in, they was not ready," Ball admitted on Josh Hart's 'LightHarted' Podcast.

Ball -- who was playing for the Lakers during the BBB shoe era -- says he would bring 4 pairs of the shoes to games because he knew they would break and he had to switch them out every quarter.

"If you literally had my shoes from those games, they just exploded, bro."

If you recall, BBB initially offered the ZO2 Prime shoes to the public for $500 a pair in 2017 -- but later announced they were scrapping the original design in favor of the ZO2 Prime Remix shoe, a completely different sneaker.

It seems obvious now why BBB made the change. Unclear if any of the faulty shoes were actually sent to customers.

When asked why he wore them -- even after he knew they were defective -- Ball explained, "Because they were my shoes, I had to debut 'em."

Ball says he actually HATED wearing the shoes and implied that his game suffered as a result.

"And, it's crazy," Ball says ... "Right when I switched my shoes, magically, I got good again."

Ball says he kept the secret about his crappy shoes to himself to protect the brand.

Things eventually went south with the Big Baller Brand -- with Lonzo's manager later telling customers to throw their shoes in the trash ... and Lonzo himself eventually covered up the BBB tattoo he had on his arm.

Still, LaVar Ball claims the brand is still alive and he's looking to relaunch at some point in the future.

Ever seen a black mamba go backwards????

Now ya have ... 'cause Kobe Bryant just backpedaled completely on his stance that he would've won a ton of rings if Shaq wasn't so damn lazy, saying, "I kinda said that tongue-in-cheek!"

Of course, Kobe poked fun at Shaq in an interview with Patrick Bet-David last month, saying he would've had 12 championships if the big man had worked harder ... and doubled down by claiming he tells that to Shaq all the time!

Shaq quickly fired back on social media, saying Kobe would've had those rings if he had just passed more!!!

The two squashed the beef publicly minutes later ... and when Kobe went on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' this week, he explained it's because he was actually PRAISING Shaq with the comments!

"Here's the thing, it was really a compliment," Kobe said. "People missed the whole first half of that in which I said he was the most dominant player I've ever seen and I felt like he could've been the greatest of all time."

"So, people kind of missed that part of it -- they caught onto the lazy part. But, that was like, I kinda said that tongue-in-cheek! We weren't going to win 12 rings!"

Kobe said he actually had to text the Big Diesel after the comments went viral, saying, "No hard feelings, I still got love for you!"

Bryant says he even followed that text up by buttering up to Shaq -- saying he can't wait to watch Shareef O'Neal ball at UCLA this year.

LeBron James should pick up the phone RIGHT NOW and get his best friend, Carmelo Anthony, on the Lakers ... so says Rip Hamilton, who tells TMZ Sports Melo would be a "good piece" for L.A.

Y'all know the situation by now ... Anthony has been trying to get back in the NBA since he was released in November. It's been one of the hottest topics of the off-season.

There have been a lot of people -- most notably Royce White -- furious over the fact King James hasn't made some calls to get Melo in Purple & Gold ... and Rip says it's time LBJ pick up the phone.

"I think he should be in the league right now," Rip told us outside Nightingale in L.A. on Sunday ... saying Bron should "absolutely, 1000%" hit up Melo.

"I think it's still a possibility it could happen. They were talking about it for a long time. And, when you think about what the Lakers have right now, and then Melo's a guy that can really be helpful playing with LeBron and knowing [Anthony Davis'] game and stuff like that."

"And, he's a vet, and he's a guy that can close the game, so it would be a good piece for the Lakers."

Things have been picking up steam for Anthony lately, though .. with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant pushing to get him to the Brooklyn Nets ... and Melo told us he'd love to join them in BK.

The L.A. home of Lakers center JaVale McGee was burglarized over the weekend -- with scumbags stealing everything from cash to an NBA Championship ring, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... McGee only discovered the burglary Tuesday, but surveillance footage shows the incident took place on Saturday.

We're told the thieves stole TWO safes from the home which contained at least $200k in cash and jewelry -- including one of the two rings McGee won during his stint with the Golden State Warriors. Unclear which ring was taken.

McGee is also missing the celebratory goggles he used in the locker room for the champagne celebration after winning one of those titles.

McGee won a 'chip with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 -- before signing with the Lakers in July 2018.

We're told cops have been reviewing the surveillance video -- but so far, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified. They're working on it though.

As you probably know, McGee has a pretty solid surveillance system in his home -- it recently captured the NBA star fighting with a giant bug in his driveway.

Unfortunately, celebrities (and athletes in particular) have become targets for burglars in the L.A. area -- with stars like Yasiel Puig and L.A. Rams WR Robert Woods having been victimized.

Phoenix Suns star Kelly Oubre is vouching for Dwight Howard -- telling TMZ Sports the guy was a good teammate during their time in Washington ... despite being a "little distant."

23-year-old Oubre kept it 100 when we spoke with him at LAX -- describing Howard as a "psychological dude" who was "very down to earth" ... and NEVER a distraction.

As for being "distant," Oubre notes Howard was dealing with an injury -- so he understood why Dwight wasn't 100% engaged with the team.

There have been reports over the years that Dwight rubbed previous teammates the wrong way -- and people are concerned about how he'll do with the Lakers, but Kelly doesn't seem worried at all.

We also spoke with Kelly about the bigger issue in his life -- are thing getting serious with insanely hot supermodel Jasmine Sanders, one of the top bikini models on the planet?!

Remember, the two were spotted holding hands on their way out of an L.A. nightclub back in August -- and it APPEARED like a brand new supercouple was on the scene!

But, Oubre tells us they're NOT exclusive ... explaining they're good friends and she's a great person, but he's just not ready to settle down with ANYONE yet!

"Man, I'm 23 ... ya feel me?! I got a long life to live!"

You do you, bro ... but good lord. Jasmine Sanders is RIDICULOUS HOT!!!!

Carmelo Anthony is all in on joining forces with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn ... telling TMZ Sports he considers the 2 NBA superstars "family" ... and teaming up would be "bigger than basketball."

The 10-time All-Star has been jobless since November ... but has publicly made it clear he's NOT ready to ride off into the sunset just yet.

KD and Uncle Drew don't want that to happen either, with the new Nets ballers reportedly "pushing" for the team to sign the 35-year-old free agent.

We spoke with Melo out in NYC on Saturday night about being recruited by the pair of NBA champs ... and he seems more than ready to team up.

"That's family," Melo said. "So, that's bigger than basketball. If something happens, something's gonna happen."

Anthony also has a message for everybody campaigning to get him back in the league ... and says he's ready to get to work.

Charles Oakley says he's still persona non grata at Madison Square Garden ... telling TMZ Sports he feels "blackballed" by James Dolan ... and he wants the commissioner to get involved.

The Knicks legend was infamously dragged out of MSG and arrested for getting physical with security after an altercation with Dolan at a game in Feb. 2017.

Oak still has hard feelings about how it all went down ... and tells us he wishes the league would've had his back in his fight against Dolan.

"It's been 2 years plus. The league hasn't done nothing to him about it," Oakley says. "Take a stand. They take a stand for everything else. [Colin] Kaepernick took a stand in the NFL. I'll probably take a stand in the NBA."

Even after all this time, Oak says he can't figure out exactly WHY Dolan doesn't like him ... "They just don't like me. For what reason, I don't know."

Oakley says he wants Adam Silver to get involved and make things right ... because "the problem hasn't been solved yet."

L.A. is Dwight Howard's final shot at returning to NBA dominance and he knows it ... so says Matt Barnes, who tells TMZ Sports it's "time to put the bullsh*t to the side" and get back to business.

Of course, it's been over 6 years since Howard's disastrous first stint with the Lakers ... and the guy's career has never been the same.

So, when we spoke with Barnes -- who played with Howard on the Magic in 2009 and 2010 -- about the reunion in L.A. ... he says it could be a new spark in Dwight's career.

"I think he realizes it's his last chance and really need to put all the bullsh*t to the side and just go out there and play basketball," Barnes says.

For his part, Howard says that's exactly what he's trying to do -- even attempting to shut down a beef with Shaquille O'Neal because he wants to focus on basketball.

Of course, Dwight has been considered a disruption in the locker room for most of his career. We asked Barnes if that was a fair rap.

DeMarcus Cousins is facing a major obstacle in his domestic violence case -- he just underwent knee surgery and is unable to fly to Alabama to turn himself into police, TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the Mobile Police Dept. confirmed a warrant was issued for the NBA star's arrest stemming from a threatening phone call Cousins allegedly made to the mother of his child.

We're told Cousins wants to cooperate with law enforcement but the issue is that he just underwent surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee on Wednesday and he's not cleared to fly yet.

It's unclear where the procedure took place, but we're told it was definitely NOT in Alabama. Most doctors recommend not flying for days (and sometimes weeks) after an ACL surgery because of the risks of clotting.

Cousins is facing a 3rd-degree misdemeanor for harassing communications which carries a sentence of up to 1 year behind bars.

We're told Cousins plans on reaching out to law enforcement to come up with a reasonable solution so he doesn't get in trouble.

Cousins tore his ACL during a workout in Las Vegas just weeks after he signed a new contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

We broke the story ... Boogie's baby mama Christy West claims Cousins threatened to "put a bullet in your f**king head" when she declined his request to let their 7-year-old child attend his wedding in Atlanta.