NBA

Derrick Rose hit LAX on Wednesday to fly out to Chicago ... WITH 10 BAGS!!!

Tilman Fertitta tells TMZ Sports he's absolutely STOKED about buying the Houston Rockets -- explaining it's been a lifelong dream ... and he wants to bring Beyonce into the fold.

We spoke with the "Billion Dollar Buyer" star moments after it was announced he bought the NBA team for $2.2 BILLION ... and he told us he'll work his ass off to make Houston proud.

As far as Beyonce -- who was in the running to buy the team -- Tilman praises her as a wonderful ambassador for Houston and hopes she'll join his team "in some capacity."

"It would be great to have her involved in any way."

FYI, Fertitta has made a fortune in the restaurant business -- he owns Catch, Mastro's, Bubba Gump and the Rainforest Cafe spots -- and says he can't wait to come to L.A. to beat the Lakers and the Clippers.

Beyonce's hopes of buying the Houston Rockets just got pushed to the left ... to the left -- instead, the team will be sold to billionaire restaurateur Tilman Fertitta.

Fertitta will fork over a check to current owner Leslie Alexander for $2.2 BILLION, this according to ESPN.

Alexander bought the team for $85 mil in 1993 ... so, not a bad investment for that guy!

Fertitta is COUSINS with Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the guys who made billions from the UFC -- but he was NOT an investor in that business.

Tilman is reportedly worth $3.1 billion, so says Forbes ... and stars in the CNBC reality show "Billion Dollar Buyer" -- where he buys blossoming companies.

Beyonce was rumored to be in the mix to buy the Rockets as part of an investment group -- but lost out ... despite support from her mother, who even posted a pic of B in a Rockets jersey over the weekend.

What helps Kevin Durant dominate on the court, makes him suck at stand up paddleboarding.

KD totally looked like a fish (a really big one) out of water as he attempted to get up on a board in Maui. Looks like he quickly discovered 7 feet -- or just under that -- is a whole lot of body to balance, but it is Labor Day weekend after all.

Kev eventually opted for the not-as-cool, yet way more stable move of paddling from his knees.

Can't knock the hustle, but maybe he should take a page out of his teammate Steph Curry's Hawaiian playbook when it comes to beach activities.

Finding weed in Amsterdam is hard (?!) -- so says JaVale McGee, who just got back from what most consider the weed capital of the world.

Not that he was on the hunt for any himself -- we think.

We got JaVale touching down at LAX ... and had to ask the Warriors big man if he got down with any extracurriculars while he was Euro-trippin'.

"No ... try not to," McGee told TMZ Sports. "It's not as accessible as you would think -- you have to go search for stuff."

Chris Brown would have to disagree.

How does James Worthy feel about Kevin Durant saying he'd take his spot on the Showtime Lakers?

In a word: "LUDICROUS."

We got Big Game James at LAX ... and asked him what he thought of KD's recent comments on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" -- where Durant said he'd take Worthy's starting spot next to Magic Johnson and co. if he could play for any historical team.

"I think that’s ludicrous," the Hall of Famer told TMZ Sports. "I don’t know how he came to that conclusion, but I disagree."

Worthy says he doesn't get why KD would single him out ... but we're guessing their beef from earlier this year's got something to do with it.

FYI, Durant ultimately decided he'd keep Worthy and bench Kurt Rambis for his Showtime dream team.

Kobe Bryant has played in a lot of venues, but never the Hollywood Bowl ... until Friday night.

Kobe took the stage at the best venue in L.A. and read his now-famous retirement letter, "Dear Basketball," accompanied by the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra no less.

The conductor was definitely as famous as Kobe, at least in orchestra circles ... John Williams.

And there's more ... an animated film by Glen Keane of Disney fame played on the big screen.

Awesome night for sure.

LaMelo Ball's $395 shoes officially have their first celeb buyer ... cause O'Shea Jackson Jr. (aka Ice Cube's son) says he's gonna cop a pair ASAP!

Not that O'Shea thinks The MB1s are worth the scratch -- dude's just a HUGE Lakers fan ... and backs all things BBB.

If you need proof ... the "Straight Outta Compton" star already knew about Melo's kicks when our photog found him at LAX -- just HOURS after they dropped.

"If it has the name Ball on it, the sh*t is HOT," Jackson told TMZ Sports.

"I’ma get mine. I’ma get some of Lonzo’s. If LaVar gets some, I’ma get them too."

Speaking of LaVar ... O'Shea says he's a "genius" -- and even plugged the Big Baller dad for president!

Looks like Jay-Z ain't the only big name on the bandwagon.

Iman Shumpert says he's not worried about facing off against his old teammate and friend, Kyrie Irving, when the Cavs take on Boston ... because he knows all Kyrie's moves!!

Shumpert was actually pretty candid about the whole situation when we asked if there will be a heated rivalry when playing the Celtics since the blockbuster trade sent Kyrie out of Cleveland.

Shumpert says he's excited to play with new teammate Isaiah Thomas -- and has a message for him, "Get your work shoes on!"

As far as LeBron goes, Iman says the Cavs all have a group text going, but they haven't gotten together to talk about all of the changes going into next season.

Honestly, it's a great clip -- Shumpert keeps it all way real.

Time for a medical update on Isaiah Thomas' hip ... courtesy of his good friend (and former NBA player) Jason Terry.

Obviously, IT's hip has been all over the news -- with the Cavs almost pulling out of a trade with the Celtics due to concerns over the injury he suffered in the playoffs.

So, we spoke with Terry -- who's super tight with Thomas -- and he essentially told Cavs fans to CHILLLLLLL ... the hip is solid.

In fact, Terry says Isaiah is so good, the Cavs should build the whole team around him if LeBron James bails again ... and if that happens, "The Brink's truck WILL come out."

NBA star Zach Randolph has been formally charged with 2 misdemeanors for that August 9 weed arrest in L.A. ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the Sacramento Kings star was arrested in Nickerson Gardens in Watts earlier this month ... which was followed by a crazy, violent standoff between cops and locals.

Randolph was initially arrested for felony possession of marijuana with intent to sell, a charge based on the large quantity of weed cops say he had at the time.

But now, prosecutors have reduced the charges down to misdemeanor possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

If convicted on both counts, Randolph faces up to 1 year in jail -- but since it's his first arrest, he likely won't spend another minute behind bars.

Overall, it's good news for Randolph who didn't seem too concerned when TMZ Sports spotted him leaving jail hours after the arrest.

Victor Oladipo is putting all the whack NBA rappers to shame ... sounding like John Legend (seriously) in a single he dropped today to launch his music career.

The Indiana Pacers superstar went with a modern-day take of a Donny Hathaway classic for his debut effort -- and absolutely crushed it.

Oladipo talked about his other all-world talent in a social media post -- “They say when you have a gift you should share it because if you don't you're doing yourself, the world, and God who gave you the gift a disservice!!"

Victor also said his EP is coming soon -- "and it's straight fire."

Can't say we're too surprised by V.O.'s new gig ... ain't the first time the baller's slayed the mic!

If they're NOT dating by now ... they should be.

Blake Griffin and Kendall Jenner went out to a fancy romantic dinner AGAIN -- this time, they were joined by fellow NBA star Chandler Parsons and Hailey Baldwin.

Blake and Kendall left Craig's in L.A. together and got into a waiting car. Chandler followed shortly after. Hailey was definitely with the group ... but didn't want to be part of the mass exodus.

Chandler and Hailey have been spotted together in the past (sunbathing together in June) but insist they're not exclusively dating.

Blake and Kendall have been spending a lot of time together, too. But no official confirmation there either.

Bottom line -- four attractive, rich, famous people hanging out. What do YOU think is happening?

It's finally over ... Magic Johnson's month-long European vacation on a super pimped out mega-yacht is ending -- and all it cost him was about $3 MILLION!!!

As we previously reported, Magic flew his fam out to the Amalfi Coast on July 31st (on a private jet) and set sail on a super-yacht called the Siren ... which runs about $700k per week.

After touring the coast of Italy and hitting some of the best restaurants and shopping districts in the world with his wife, Cookie, and BFF Sam Jackson ... the Lakers legend is finally heading home.

But not before gifting the crew that helped him with custom Lakers jerseys!

Magic's known for being a super generous guy, so we're guessing there was some cash tips to go along with the Lakers swag ... at least judging by the smiles in the pic.

Now, Magic will fly back to the US ... where he'll have to readjust to reality -- in his insane L.A. mansion.

... until next summer.

J.J. Watt's relief fund for Hurricane Harvey victims just cracked $7 MILLION -- and he ain't stoppin' there!

Watt's crowdfunding campaign started with a target of $500K on Sunday ... and quickly climbed into the millions with generous donations from star athletes like Chris Paul.

Now, the Houston Texans star is steppin' it up even more -- setting a new goal of $10 million ... the same amount donated by Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.

FYI, Watt shared his plans for the cash when he hit $6 mil -- saying his team is filling up semitrucks to distribute water, food and other supplies throughout Houston.

LaVar Ball just dropped the trailer for his new reality show -- which puts a spotlight on his wife's recovery from a stroke that was so severe, the family admits they didn't know if she would live or die.

Tina Ball suffered the stroke back in February -- and has essentially stayed out of the spotlight as her sons Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo rose to basketball superstardom.

LaVar has been working with her in their Chino Hills home -- and finally allowed reality show cameras to document her recovery.

One powerful scene shows LaVar re-teaching Tina how to say "I love you."

At one point, Lonzo admits his mother's medical emergency "hit me kinda hard."

The 10-episode series, "Ball In the Family," debuts Thursday and also features much less serious topics -- like Lonzo's relationship with his girlfriend and LaMelo's youth basketball career.