NBA

Jahlil Okafor is opening about his infamous '15 streetfight in front of a Boston nightclub -- saying he lost his cool hours after the 76ers blew their chance to finally win a game that season.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Okafor went on a violent bender on Nov. 25, 2015 -- socking at least 2 men in the face outside Storyville Boston nightclub hours after Philadelphia (0-15 at the time) lost to the Celtics.

Okafor is now explaining the situation to SB Nation saying, "We were almost about to win that game against the Celtics and it ended up getting away from us in the fourth quarter," Okafor said.

"I remember just being upset because I thought we were about to get our first win. And I just decided I'm going to go out that night. I don't remember a lot of it, because I was really intoxicated."

"And me being drunk, I wasn't in my right state of mind. I remember being taunted -- just random stuff I would hear all the time on the court. I just reacted differently."

Okafor says he was so embarrassed after the fight, he didn't leave his house for 2 weeks.

ESPN host Jalen Rose tells TMZ Sports he wishes Donald Trump would stop going after his colleague Jemele Hill ... and focus on the "bigger issues" in our country.

The former NBA star is one of the more prominent figures on the network -- so with Trump tweeting about his co-worker, we asked for his thoughts.

"I just wish the President would focus on the larger issues we have to deal with in our country ... straight up, real talk ... as a tax paying citizen."

Ex-Lakers coach Byron Scott says the scumbags who raided his L.A. home did their homework -- and mapped out his daily routine so they could burglarize the place when no one was home.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... thieves broke into his Hermosa Beach pad more than a week ago and made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in belongings ... including jewelry, guns and cash.

"I pray to God they catch em," Scott told us at LAX.

Scott says he's grateful no one was hurt -- and says at the end of the day, it's all replaceable ... "It's just stuff."

High school or no high school, LaMelo Ball is gonna kill it for UCLA -- so says Bruin legend Tracy Murray ... who tells TMZ Sports it's still all about Ball in Westwood.

We talked to Murray, a 2-time All-Pac-10 player for UCLA and current announcer for the team -- and he told us LaVar's decision to take LaMelo out of HS won't change a damn thing when it comes to college.

"He's already committed to UCLA. With that already happening why play HS basketball when you already know where you're going?"

Some people have expressed concern that LaMelo might miss critical development as a player if he missed the last 2 years of school, but Murray says there's something else that's more important.

"The only thing that really matters at this point is that he's taking college prep courses that prepare him for UCLA."

Kenyon Martin says he's sorry for saying Jeremy Lin was biting black people's swag with his new dreadlocks ... but is sticking by his belief that Lin's hair is freakin' weird.

Martin got destroyed on social media for comments he made about Lin's new 'do, specifically his belief that Jeremy chose the hairstyle because he "wants to be black."

We spoke to K-Mart, and he says he's far from the racist he's being depicted as, and wants to apologize to Lin for the comment he said was a joke, which was taken totally wrong.

As for the subject of Lin's polarizing new look, Kenyon still had to keep it real, even while he was eating a little crow.

"Is it still funny that he has dreadlocks? Yes."

Ex-NBA star Glen "Big Baby" Davis says he believes Cam Newton was sincere in his apology -- but that didn't stop him from clowning on the QB last night.

"I think he was sincere. I think he just made a mistake," Davis said on his way out of Poppy in L.A. ... "He's probably got woman problems or something."

Davis also said Cam shouldn't sweat losing his Greek yogurt sponsor because he thinks it tastes like "baby food" anyway.

So, what can Cam do now?

"I think his clothing should express how he feels. I think he should wear some women's clothing."

Yeah, hold your breath on that one.

Yanking LaMelo Ball outta high school was "the smartest move in the world," so says John Salley, who praises LaVar as a visionary who knows how to make great athletes.

"Smartest people in the world are homeschooled," Salley tells TMZ Sports.

"If not, you get shot in school, you gotta get picked on, you gotta worry about clothes, you're not focused."

Of course, LaVar pulled 16-year-old LaMelo out of Chino Hills High School to privately educate and train him. LaVar believes he will better prepare Melo for the NBA this way.

Salley agrees -- and points to Boris Becker, who dropped out of school in 10th grade to focus on tennis. He won his first Grand Slam at 17 years old.

"[LaVar is] developing a great athlete."

NBA players Marcus and Markieff Morris have just been found not guilty of beating a man to a bloody pulp after a 2015 youth basketball game.

Both Marcus (who plays for the Boston Celtics) and Markieff (who plays for the Washington Wizards) appeared in an Arizona courtroom on Tuesday where they were acquitted on aggravated assault charges.

As we previously reported, the brothers were accused of joining 3 others guys in a brutal beatdown of Erik Hood, a former acquaintance ... after Hood allegedly sent inappropriate texts to the mother of the twins.

Good news, Cleveland ... Chris Bosh thinks LeBron James and Dwyane Wade's Cavs reunion will produce championship fruit.

It's no secret, Bosh is very tight with Bron and Dwyane --"they're my guys" -- and was a key part of the squad back in the Miami Heat championship days.

It's gotta suck to be left out of the CLE reunion (health issues), but when we saw Bosh and his wife leaving Craig's restaurant in L.A. on Monday night, he couldn't have been more supportive.

BTW, don't close the book on Bosh's career just yet -- he told us back in July his health is great and he's still thinking about a future in basketball.

LaVar Ball is taking his son LaMelo's hoops career into his own hands -- pulling the top prospect out of Chino Hills High School so he can personally train 'Melo over the next 2 years.

"I'm going to make him the best basketball player ever," LaVar told the L.A. Times' Eric Sondheimer.

LaVar says LaMelo will officially be checked outta Chino on Tuesday ... and won't play any games in public until AAU ball rolls around in the spring.

The Big Baller dad says the shift will benefit 'Melo since there will be "less distractions."

High school officials told us LaMelo's BBB shoe deal would NOT disqualify him from playing HS basketball ... so this is probably just LaVar trying to get his kid to the next level.

Khloe Kardashian's boyfriend is going to be her baby daddy now ... so he's stepping up his real estate game for the sake of his family.

Our Kardashian sources tell us ... Tristan Thompson's plan to simply rent a place in L.A. went out the window as soon as the couple found out she was pregnant. Now we're told he's looking to buy a pad in Bel Air, Bev Hills or the Hollywood Hills.

As we reported ... Khloe and Tristan were out hunting for a rental for him in July, looking for places in the $60k a month range. Our sources say now that he's planning to become an L.A. homeowner ... his budget's around $20 million.

We're told Tristan wants his own place in the city so they don't have to drive back to Khloe's house in Calabasas ... which is about an hour away.

And he probably wants to design his own baby room, too.

Matt Barnes says he's blessed to have won a ring with the Warriors ... but tells TMZ Sports the whole thing was "bittersweet."

Matt grinded 15 YEARS for a 'chip -- and says it was an "amazing experience" being a part of one of the greatest teams in NBA history ... but the injury he suffered right before the playoffs really put a damper on things.

"It's bittersweet 'cause I wanted to be out there crying and bleeding and sweating with my teammates," Barnes said ... "I had to sit back and watch our team win the finals."

Makes sense -- Barnes is one of the toughest competitors in pro sports ... so you can understand how hard it must have been to sit back and watch even when his team was dominating.

Overall, though, Matt says the experience was dope.

Just like the after-parties.

Atlanta Hawks star Dennis Schroder was arrested for battery, according to police in Georgia -- and the team says its scrambling to gather info.

Details are scarce, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the 24-year-old guard was busted on suspicion of battery, a misdemeanor. Police records confirm Schroder was arrested for battery.

The Hawks have issued a statement saying, "We are aware of an incident involving Dennis Schröder earlier this morning."

"We are still gathering information as it pertains to the situation, and out of respect for the legal process, we will have no further comment at this time."

It was date night for Michael Jordan in NYC on Thursday.

Hot wife? Check.

Chauffeur driven SUV? Check.

MJ's trademark overly baggy dad pants? Check.

Expensive, rare Air Jordans? Of course.

The NBA legend took Yvette Prieto out to Marea bar and restaurant in Midtown. He was in a great mood. He was super nice to the paparazzi and fans on the street.

But we wanted to know what the face of one of the biggest shoe lines on the planet rocks out for a fancy dinner.

The answer -- it appears MJ's wearing the Air Jordan 1 Pinnacles ... brown leather kicks with 24K gold-plated accents. They retail for $400 a pair.

Wonder if he ever wears the same pair twice?

Chad Johnson says NFL protests have been "politically whitewashed from why it started in the first place" -- and says kneeling has turned into "a goddamn Ice Bucket Challenge."

The ex-NFL superstar was smokin' a stogie in West Hollywood on Thursday when we asked how he felt about the Denver Broncos releasing a statement saying they will no longer kneel for the anthem.

Johnson sighed ... and said the whole protest situation in the NFL has become "unfortunate."

"We're not kneeling for the same reasons that Kaepernick kneeled for 14 months ago," Johnson said ... "It's completely different."

Johnson essentially echoed the feelings of L.A. Sparks player Essence Carson -- who told us why she's upset people have made the protest about the flag and Trump ... instead of racism and police brutality.

Washington Wizards baller Kelly Oubre is setting the record straight -- saying he's "NOT a lesbian" ... despite what some fans say.

The 21-year-old rising star was talking to CSN Mid Atlantic about some of the crap he gets from opposing fans ... and dropped this shocker.

"People call me a lesbian a lot. They think I look like a female girl or a teenage girl or something."

So, why the lesbian jabs? Oubre says he thinks he knows why ...

"I understand I'm a pretty dude. They might be mad that their wife likes me or something."

But to be clear -- "I'm not a lesbian. I'm a grown man."

"I've heard that multiple times. I guess it's something to try to get under my skin, but at the end of the day I know who I am."

And now you know.