NBA

Isiah Thomas admits he's still "personally hurt" he was not asked to be a part of that legendary '92 Dream Team -- and it's obvious he thinks it's all because he didn't shake Michael Jordan's hand.

Remember, Thomas and his Pistons teammates infamously walked off the court after getting their asses kicked by the '91 Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conf. Finals without shaking hands.

Thomas, now 58, was not only villainized in the media for being a bad sport -- but Michael Jordan took the snub personally. They still don't get along.

The incident was featured in Sunday's new episode of "The Last Dance" ... and Monday morning, Thomas had more to add when he joined ESPN's "Get Up."

"Why I'm personally hurt is another reason why I'm here," Thomas said ... "Because being left off the Dream Team, that personally hurt me."

Thomas says he doesn't know why he was not selected -- but it's obvious he believes it's because he dissed Michael Jordan by not shaking his hand after that '91 series.

Thomas -- one of the best NBA players alive at the time -- says his resume should have made him a lock for the Dream Team, which is why he thinks the non-selection had nothing to do with his talent.

"If I'm not apart of the Dream Team because a lapse in emotion in terms of not shaking someone's hand ... if that's the reason why I didn't make the Dream Team, then I am more disappointed today than I was back then when I wasn't selected."

Thomas -- who had made the NBA All-Star team every year from '82 to '93 -- explained, "The only thing that's missing from my resume is not being on the Dream Team."

The man's got a point -- Thomas was one of the best players in the league at the time ... and had 2 NBA titles and was a 10-time All-Star at the time.

It's something Thomas has stressed for years ... he revealed in 2013 he felt disrespected by the Bulls, but would "absolutely" shake hands if he could do it all over again.

Shaquille O'Neal made a bigger than life gesture for a Louisiana family that tragically lost a child in a car accident -- covering the balance of his burial service.

Phil Conrad -- a retired chief deputy officer from the Lafayette City Marshal's Office -- tells TMZ Sports ... the ex-NBA big man recently shelled out a few thousand bucks to help pay for the remaining cost of a child's funeral, this after his family came up just a little short.

Here's what happened ... a car with an adult driver and four minors ran a stop sign, then crashed into a ditch and ultimately into a tree a couple weeks ago out in nearby Breaux Bridge, LA. The crash claimed the lives of two of the kids in the back seat, 12-year-old Trayvon Alexander and 11-year-old Keshon Batiste. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Conrad tells us Trayvon's family had insurance covering his burial in full, but young Keshon did not ... leaving his loved ones to start a GoFundMe. They still need around $4,000 to reach their goal. We're told Shaq -- who went to college in Louisiana -- caught wind of the story and hit up Phil to get downloaded on the situation.

Once Shaq heard what was needed to help Keshon's relatives, Conrad says he instantly acted ... wiring him the leftover balance immediately, and Conrad then delivered the cash to the Kinchen Funeral Home. We're told the two boys were laid to rest Saturday.

Ariana Grande, David Beckham, Kevin Durant and Aaron Rodgers have joined the All In Challenge to raise money for COVID-19 relief ... and their fans are responding in BIG numbers.

The pop star and trio of superstar athletes all got onboard in the last 24 hours with the fundraiser started by Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin. Ariana announced her fan experience Thursday ... offering dinner with her in L.A. and a hang out with her in the studio. David is hosting a 5 on 5 soccer game with VIP treatment at the new stadium where his Miami CF team will play.

Aaron is auctioning off a tour of historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay ... plus tickets to watch him in a Packers game. Bidding starts at $10k.

Kevin is offering up courtside seats to watch his Brooklyn Nets play, plus a sitdown dinner and a chance to take home his NCAA Player Of The Year Trophy.

The big-name additions are already making a huge difference ... fundraiser organizers tell us they've already raised more than $500,000 just today.

As we've reported ... tons of famous athletes and celebs -- including Drake, Kevin Hart, Justin Bieber, Meek Mill, Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest, Magic Johnson and Tom Brady are either raffling or auctioning off amazing packages ... and all the money is going to feed folks in need during the pandemic.

Good luck!!!

It doesn't happen often, but Kawhi Leonard has been defeated -- the NBA superstar just lost his copyright battle with Nike over the "Klaw" logo.

Remember, the LA Clippers guard -- a Nike athlete from 2011-2018 -- claimed he got a cease and desist in 2018 from Swoosh execs who said they owned the copyright to his "Claw Design" ... forbidding Leonard from using it elsewhere.

In his lawsuit, filed in the heart of the 2019 NBA playoffs, Kawhi claimed he came up with the design in college back in 2011 ... and since he created the logo, he should have the rights to it.

But, a judge just blocked Leonard's attempt on Wednesday ... ruling Nike's design is an "independent piece of intellectual property" put together by its team of designers and it is distinct from Leonard's early sketch of the idea ... meaning, KL doesn't own it. So, the judge dismissed KL's complaint.

Leonard's attorney Peter Ginsberg addressed the outcome on Wednesday, saying "Kawhi put his heart and soul into that design so we are obviously disappointed the judge ruled the logo belongs to Nike and not Kawhi," according to The Oregonian.

Joe Burrow torched the entire SEC ... and now the ex-LSU superstar says he can light up the NBA too ... saying he's confident he could drop 15 points in a real pro game!!!

Of course, Burrow was no one-sport athlete back in his high school days with the Athens Bulldogs in Ohio -- he was a damn good hooper as well.

How great does he think he was?? The 23-year-old says his stroke is so automatic, he could post up in his sweet spot and make it rain all night.

"I could spot up in the corner and get 12 to 15, make a couple 3s," Burrow told Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks.

Now, the question to Burrow was how many points could he score if he had an entire month to prepare for the game ... but given the dude's confidence, he probably doesn't think he'd need it.

"You gotta put me on a team with LeBron or Chris Paul or someone and I can just spot up in the corner and let them go to work, kick it to me."

Remember, we got a glimpse of Burrow's J back in December ... he hit a clutch shot against Oklahoma in a shooting challenge before their College Football Playoff matchup!!

As for the other side of the ball, it's a totally different story ... Burrow admits he'd be a huge liability on defense (guess he can't do EVERYTHING).

L.A. Lakers guard Dion Waiters is coming clean about his infamous weed edible panic attack on the Heat team plane in 2019 ... admitting it really happened, but adamantly denying he had a seizure.

Remember, Waiters reportedly took a THC-infused edible and fell asleep on the team's flight from Phoenix to L.A. back in November ... and freaked out when he woke up.

Waiters required medical attention at a hospital once the plane landed in L.A. ... and had to miss the Heat's game against the Lakers later that night.

The 28-year-old expanded on what really went down on that flight in The Players' Tribune Monday ... saying, "It's on me."

"I own that. It was idiotic on my behalf — point-blank, period," Waiters says. "What’s crazy is, my whole life I been a leader. I’m not a follower. Pat (Riley) knows me. He knows I don’t do drugs."

Waiters points out his struggles with depression and anxiety ... and says he wasn't in a good place when the incident went down.

"But sometimes when you’re going through dark times, you can fall trap to things you’d never do in your right mind."

Waiters says the reports got blown way out of proportion ... and is denying he ever had a seizure.

"Ask the doctors. Ask my Heat teammates. They can speak on it. For that b.s. to come out, it ain’t right."

Waiters was suspended 10 games due to the incident ... and was later traded to the Grizzlies. He was released 3 days later and signed with the L.A. Lakers.

The new Michael Jordan documentary has a funny way of describing kiiinda important people in U.S. history -- like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton -- but hey ... they aren't wrong.

On Sunday, ESPN aired the first two episodes of "The Last Dance" -- and while they were talking about MJ's early years at UNC and eventually with the Bulls ... they brought in former Presidents Obama and Clinton.

Funny enough, the producers didn't seem interested in highlighting either guy's political career ... referring to Bubba as "Bill Clinton, Former Arkansas Governor" and Barry as "Former Chicago Resident." Disrespectful? Eh, maybe. Hilarious??? Abso-freakin'-lutely!

Here's the thing ... the odd title choices aren't incorrect. Yes, Bill was the governor of AR once upon a time before he made a run at the White House in the early '90s -- and he WAS discussing Scottie Pippen's days at the University of Central Arkansas.

And sure, Barack, the former U.S. Senator and Prez WAS talking about what Chi-Town was like when MJ first arrived.

Ex-NBAer Aaron Brooks is admitting he was COMPLETELY wrong about his teammate LaMelo Ball ... saying his time with the phenom was nothing but positive.

TMZ Sports spoke with Brooks about playing with the youngest Ball bro on the Australian NBL's Illawarra Hawks ... and the ex-Houston Rockets star says he was against the idea at first.

"For me, when I found out that he was gonna be there, I was like, 'look, I don't wanna go through that,'" Brooks says.

"I come from the old school of being with Dikembe Mutombo, Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming ... and now I'm playing with an 18-year-old Kardashian kid."

But, don't get it twisted -- Brooks says his preconceived notions immediately diminished when he actually met Melo ... who quickly won over all his teammates.

"At 18, when I say there's guys who got drafted in Houston and they was rookies and was 21 and had less accolades than him and they were bigger a**holes, for him to be the way he was surprising to me."

Brooks praises Melo's work ethic, saying whenever they needed to put in extra time, he was down without hesitation.

As for Melo's NBA future, Brooks says the young hooper still has a lot to learn ... but there's no doubt in his mind Ball will be great.

BONUS -- we also asked Brooks about the rumors Ball is looking to buy the Hawks ... and he says it's a GREAT idea.

The families of four of the victims who perished in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, have filed wrongful death lawsuits themselves -- this after Vanessa Bryant has already gone after the chopper company in court.

The surviving members of the Altobelli family and Mauser family -- the remaining two Altobelli children and Christina Mauser's husband, her son and 2 daughters, respectively -- claim the Island Express's negligence was reason for the death of their loved ones.

In both suits -- obtained by TMZ -- the surviving family members claim Island Express negligently and carelessly breached its duty to own, lease, manage, maintain, control, entrust, charter and operate the helicopter in question in a reasonable manner.

They claim as a direct result of this negligent behavior by the company, their loved ones died in the crash -- which has caused an insurmountable amount of anguish on every level -- physical, emotional, mental and otherwise ... for which the families want damages, both over their own turmoil, but also for what their loved ones could have earned themselves if they had survived the crash and continued to work.

As Vanessa Bryant's wrongful death lawsuit ... when we looked into it appeared Island Express might very well go bankrupt because her damages are so enormous. Their insurance policy will only cover so much.

Shaquille O'Neal says he's still so emotional about the death of Kobe Bryant, he will NOT watch the 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony because it will simply make him too sad.

Kobe is set to be formally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August -- the ultimate honor for one of the greatest players of all time.

But, Shaq admits he can't muster up the strength to watch -- mostly because he can't handle another bout of soul-crushing sadness after Kobe passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

"Still miss him. Still think about him every day," O'Neal said on "The Big Podcast with Shaq."

Shaq says on the "scale of sadness" with 10 being the worst, he's finally at a "2" right now ... and watching the HOF ceremony "would bring me back to a 7, 8, 9 and I can't right now."

O'Neal continued, "It would be great if his wife gave a speech or his mom or dad give a speech but I'll see that afterwards. I'm not gonna watch the ceremony."

He also floated the idea of having a Kobe hologram at the ceremony -- saying it would be "nice" to have a Kobe-gram "sitting next to everyone else."

Kobe's Hall of Fame class is pretty stacked -- he'll be inducted along with Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.