NBA

LeBron James says he used the n-word vandalism incident at his Brentwood home to warn his children about racism ... revealing he turned the hate crime into a teachable moment.

We broke the story ... a racial slur was spray-painted on the front gate of LeBron's L.A. home on May 31.

In an interview with GQ, LBJ discussed the incident that happened in "one of the best f***ing neighborhoods in America" ... saying, "True colors will show, and it showed for me during the playoffs."

James says he talked to his children about what happened, and made an effort to turn the situation into a positive. He says ... "I let them know this is what it is, this is how it's going to be. When it's time for y'all to fly, you'll have to understand that."

"When y'all go out in public and y'all start driving or y'all start moving around, be respectful to cops, as much as you can. When you get pulled over, call your mom or dad, put it on speakerphone, and put your phone underneath the seat. But be respectful the whole time."

There's a lot more to the feature ... Bron talks about his future in Cleveland, whether he'd consider running for president, and the Cavs owner Dan Gilbert's infamous letter.

Marcelo Huertas had a rough run with the L.A. Lakers ... and now he's clapping back at his former team and the NBA for how they coddle their superstars.

"In the NBA, players are babies ... everyone is afraid of dealing with the athletes," Huertas told Brazilian hoops blog Bala na Cesta.

"That's not a thing in Europe. If you step over the line, you're punished athletically, financially, you're thrown out, suspended, whatever the hell. That doesn't exist in the NBA. I would see things and say, 'There's no way this is possible."'

Marcelo -- a Euroleague veteran -- says his 2 seasons with the Lakers were pretty tough on him emotionally ... claiming he put in a TON of hard work, even mentoring his younger point guard competition, just to ride the pine.

"Everything you can imagine, I would do it. If it had been in Europe I would've played."

FYI, Huertas averaged 15 minutes -- and 4 points a game -- in L.A. He's back playing in Spain now.

Kyrie Irving could have some serious issues when he returns to Ohio ... so says Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Wish Bone, who thinks Irving's DEAD WRONG to say Cleveland's not a sports city.

ICYMI -- K.I. struck a chord with Cavs fans for saying he was finally playing in a "a real, live sports city" after his trade to Boston ... which was taken as throwing shade at his old city.

Wish Bone -- a huge Cavs supporter from Cleveland -- says Irving's no longer welcome in northeast Ohio ... and hints he'll have to keep his head on a swivel if he tries to walk the streets of Cleveland again.

The Atlanta Hawks announced Dennis Schroder will be disciplined for his "unacceptable" September 29 arrest ... but the team has vowed to support the NBA star throughout the ongoing investigation.

Schroder was arrested for battery outside an Atlanta hookah bar last month after he and his friends got into a physical altercation with a man. According to cops, Schroder initiated the fight.

"That behavior is unacceptable, will not be tolerated by the Hawks organization, and will result in discipline for Dennis at the appropriate time once the matter has been more fully developed through the law enforcement process and otherwise," Hawks GM Travis Schlenk says.

Tristan Thompson got totally roasted by his teammates during a fan event Sunday night ... when he was asked if he's already gone fur coat shopping for his baby with Khloe Kardashian.

TMZ broke the story ... the Cavs star and Khloe -- his girlfriend of 1 year -- are expecting their first child together.

So when T.T. was asked about having "his and her" fur coats with Khloe at the Cavs' annual "Wine & Gold United" event on Sunday, J.R. Smith decided to tease Thompson about his new addition.

"You gettin' infant fur, too??"

You gotta see Tristan's reaction ... and his teammates absolutely lose it.

Dwyane Wade is a Ferrari guy ... but for his son, Zaire, it ain't time for a Supercar just yet.

D-Wade went full Dad mode in a dealership sesh with his 15-year-old son over the weekend ... making sure the young baller stayed in his lane while shoppin' for his first set of wheels.

The Cavs superstar's got an All-Star squad of luxury vehicles (including a $300k Ferrari) but Wade shut down any possibility of his kid coppin' a car like that -- "Keep dreaming."

Not that Zaire didn't have options -- Wade was on board with an $40k-$50k Audi Q5 or $50k-$60k Audi Cabriolet convertible.

Still ... kinda rough when your Dad's already given you a taste of the good life.

Seems Kendall Jenner is already close enough with Blake Griffin to join in on steak night with his boys.

The L.A. Clippers star and 3 of his guy friends hit up the Ocean Prime steak and seafood house in Bev Hills on Wednesday night ... with Kendall rounding out the group.

Blake and Kendall have been hanging out for a couple of months now ... so no reason not to invite her along, right?

So, when does Blake get his invite to girl's night?

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.