NBA

Kobe Bryant's Oscar win has gotten mixed reviews amid the #MeToo movement, but Matt Barnes is 100% behind his ex-NBA rival -- giving Bryant mad props for paving the way for sports stars.

"I think it's dope. He's breaking down barriers, still being great," Barnes told TMZ Sports out at Poppy in Hollywood.

Want proof? Matt says things are really coming together for a Huey Newton/Black Panthers biopic he's producing ... and he can't wait to tell "the whole truth" behind the real BP (sorry, Marvel).

DeAndre Jordan says the NCAA should absolutely pay its players ... and if they do, a crappy salary won't cut it.

We got DJ out at Poppy over the weekend, and the Clippers All-Star didn't shy away from our question about pay for play ... joining guys like Carmelo Anthony and Lonzo Ball who've called for change in college hoops.

As for how much they should rake ... DeAndre didn't go full LaVar, but he did call for them to earn more than millions of Americans do every year.

Kobe Bryant celebrated an amazing victory Sunday night ... winning an Oscar and, incredibly, the celebrities in the audience had a case of selective amnesia.

Kobe took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for "Dear Basketball." The audience cheered Kobe ... some even rose to their feet for a standing O.

Interesting ... considering the majority of the audience were wearing Time's Up pins. You may recall -- although a lot of the people who came out after the ceremony didn't -- Kobe was arrested in 2003, charged and brought to trial for rape. The case fell apart when the alleged victim stopped cooperating with prosecutors. Kobe subsequently settled for a reported $5 million, though he denies paying her a cent.

Kobe was Teflon at the awards ceremony. Not so for Ryan Seacrest, who was shunned by some celebs even though he hasn't been sued, arrested, charged -- and was cleared by an E! investigation.

And James Franco was essentially exiled from the Oscars -- again not arrested, charged, nothing.

So, why did Kobe get a pass? We spoke with a bunch of stars including Shawn Mendes, Bebe Rexha, Colin Hanks and others who claimed they had no knowledge of his past. Some just made jokes.

Sorry ladies ... Chandler Parsons is off the market. And sorry fellas ... his insanely beautiful model girlfriend is going to make you very, very jealous.

TMZ Sports has learned the Memphis Grizzlies stud has been dating 23-year-old Cassie Amato and they're in a committed relationship. No word on how they met ... but we're told things are serious.

Sources tell us Chan-Dog and Amato -- she lives in L.A. -- are cool with being 1,800 miles apart during the season ... 'cause Parsons has that dope ass $11 MILLION mansion in Bel-Air for the off-season.

Parsons even made things Instagram official -- posting a photo of her on Valentine's Day with the caption "my valentine everyday."

Chandler has a penchant for beautiful women -- see here, here and here -- and Cassie definitely checks all the right boxes.

Kenny Smith says J.R. Smith's soup-throwing incident could create some MAJOR issues with the Cavs' chemistry ... telling TMZ Sports J.R.'s actions will affect the whole team.

We spoke with the Jet about J.R.'s 1-game suspension for reportedly hurlin' soup at Cleveland asst. coach Damon Jones ... and Kenny calls it "the ultimate disrespect" for not solving his issue with words.

Kenny says it's still possible for the Cavs to move on from it ... but admits, "J.R. made it hard on everybody. He made it hard on LeBron."

J.R. Smith weaponized soup.

Sip that in ... because that's why the Cleveland Cavs suspended the NBA star for Thursday's game against the 76ers.

Team officials had announced Smith was hit with a 1-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team ... and now ESPN is reporting that conduct was a soup attack on a Cavs coach.

The target of Smith's delicious rage ... Damon Jones -- a former Cavs player who's now an assistant with the team.

NBA star DeMar DeRozan doesn't want people struggling with depression to feel alone -- telling TMZ Sports that's why he opened up about his own issues during All-Star Weekend.

"We all go through stuff," DeRozan told us in D.C. ... "You can't name nobody that don't go through something."

The Toronto Raptors All-Star first revealed his struggle on Feb. 17 -- when he tweeted out, "This depression get the best of me."

He later opened up about his mental health situation with the Toronto Star saying, "It’s not nothing I’m against or ashamed of. Now, at my age, I understand how many people go through it."

James Harden's crossover broke the internet -- and Wesley Johnson's ankles -- Wednesday night ... but one of the best ball handlers on the planet says he's seen way better!!

We got AND1 legend "The Professor" -- real name Grayson Boucher -- the morning after Harden's dirty cross/stare down combo vs. the Clippers ... and he told TMZ Sports why he thinks it should NOT go down with the all-time greats.

Don't get it twisted -- Professor says the Beard's shake was "one of the best of the season, for sure" ... but to get an A+ in his class, you gotta drop fools with Allen Iverson-level sauce.

Speaking of A.I., Grayson told us whether or not Iverson's his pick for GOAT NBA crossover artist ... and who he feels is the best in the game today (and trust us -- it's a shocker).

Diddy's kids clothing line just got A LOT more baller -- 'cause his newest models are the spawn of 3 of the NBA's biggest superstars!!

The WAGs of Carmelo Anthony (La La), Chris Paul and Isaiah Thomas just shared the first look of their sons as the faces of Sean John Kids ... and we gotta say, these boys flyyyyy.

The starting 4:

-- Melo's kid, Kiyan, in white

-- CP3's kid, Chris II, in black

-- IT's kids, Jaiden and James, in red and blue

Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Lee crashed the Warriors vs. Wizards game Wednesday in D.C. -- and if ya couldn't tell, they LOVE their hometown Dubs ... unlike Donald Trump.

Pelosi and Lee hit up Steph Curry and the gang outside the Warriors' locker room after they got the W ... thanking the NBA champs for their trip to the nation's capitol, where they snubbed Trump in favor of hangin' with local youth.

But before the meet-and-greet, the SF and Oakland democratic reps got their fangirl on in the stands!! (Dope scarf, Nancy ... but Barb wins with her custom "The Town" jersey.)

“They make us proud ... they are civic leaders. We are huge fans,” Lee told the Washington Post.

FYI, Pelosi invited the Dubs to hang with her in D.C. after POTUS pulled their White House invite ... but the fact that she sought THEM out says a lot.

Guessing they'll hook her up with better seats at Oracle ...

The only thing Donald Trump should be giving teachers is more school supplies -- so says John Salley, who tells TMZ Sports he ain't down with POTUS' idea to have educators packin' heat in the classroom.

We got Salley at an event at NeueHouse in Hollywood ... and the 4-time NBA champ told us only people trained to protect should carry guns, and no one else.

As for Trump's classroom cop proposition -- "I think teachers should carry books and pencils and pads. You know what, they've been lacking those."

The Golden State Warriors did NOT visit the White House during their trip to D.C. -- instead, they worked with kids in the community ... and the move is getting praised by a republican senator.

We spoke with John Thune [R-SD] who commended the NBA stars for taking local students to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

"I just think that they are a bunch of athletes who see themselves also serving the greater cause and I'm glad that they're willing to do that."

"They're willing to help people who are less fortunate than they are and maybe haven't had the breaks in life that they've had."

Of course, the topic of athletes and activism has been all over the news -- after Fox News host Laura Ingraham told LeBron James and Kevin Durant to "shut up and dribble" after they criticized Donald Trump.

By the way, Sen. Thune is a pretty good basketball player himself -- and had a reputation for being the BEST hooping politician in D.C. So, what's his advice for guarding Barack Obama?

Check out the clip ...

LeBron better start knucklin' up ... 'cause the baller he's been beefin' with is getting boxing lessons from a UFC superstar!!

That superstar is former middleweight champ Chris Weidman -- who came through Knicks practice on Wednesday to chill with his hometown hoops squad ... including Bron's trash-talkin' rival, Enes Kanter.

Weidman shot around with Enes -- but it looks like they had more fun strappin' on the gloves to get the Turkish big man ready for a potential throwdown with the King.

"Hey @kingjames, I've been training my guy @eneskanter11. Best think twice before messing with the Orange and Blue again," Chris tweeted at LeBron.

FYI, Kanter called LBJ a "queen" and a "princess" after they got in each other's faces in November ... and trolled him after a game last month, too.

Stipe Miocic is from Cleveland, Bron -- might be time to reach out.

Charles Barkley says college basketball is still GREAT because it helps black kids get a free college education -- and he dismisses the NCAA recruiting scandals as a few bad apples.

"The NCAA has some issues," Barkley told Adam Glyn in NYC ... "but what about all those kids who got to go to college for free?!"

"There's a few guys who are corrupt, I understand that. But, I always look at the big picture."

"I want all them young black kids getting their free education!"

The NCAA has been under fire recently after several high-profile players and programs were allegedly involved in schemes to pay players ... sometimes the payments reached 6 figures.

As for how Barkley would fix the system -- he says it's not as simple as just saying, "Pay the athletes."

"I don't know how to pay 'em. Who do you pay? Do you pay the basketball team? You pay the football team? You pay the girls teams? It's not that simple."

Shaquille O'Neal and his family were so excited for Shareef to commit to UCLA last night -- they made a victory family dance video!!!

We told you first ... Shareeef was leaning toward signing with the Bruins after decommitting from the University of Arizona following a recruiting scandal involving the head coach.

Well, Tuesday night, Reef -- one of the best high school hoops players in the country -- made it official ... and his mother Shaunie couldn't be happier (he'll be close to home!).

Then ... the family dance party broke out.

Shaq also posted a message about his son's decision -- "My baby @shareefoneal decided he’s gonna be a Bruin."

"Me and your mom @shaunieoneal5 are proud of you dude. This is the first of many steps to fulfill your dreams. #prouddad."

Dwyane Wade paid respect to the 17-year-old Miami Heat superfan killed in the Parkland school shooting by writing the kid's name on his shoes. Then he hit the game-winning shot.

Wade decided to honor Joaquin Oliver -- one of the 17 people killed in the attack -- when he learned Oliver was buried Sunday in Dwyane's #3 Miami Heat jersey.

Clearly, Wade felt inspired -- dropping 15 of the Heat's final 17 points -- including the game-winner -- to seal the 102-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Wade also honored his former agent Henry Thomas -- by inscribing his name on his other shoe.

After the game, Wade talked about why he chose to honor Thomas and Oliver.

"Appreciate you noticing that," Wade told reporters.

"It's just giving whatever I can to people who believe in me, and especially people who were happy about me coming back here ... who embrace me the way that I only can dream of with me coming back home."

"So just paying some due respect to [Oliver] and his family tonight."