NBA

Imagine seeing the massive fist of a 7-foot-1-inch giant coming at your face ... then imagine having the cojones to throw a punch right back!!

Kobe Bryant gave a blow-by-blow of his very first physical altercation with Shaq on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday night ... revealing the Big Aristotle was the first to throw hands.

Black Mamba says the 2 Laker legends duked it out after trash talking throughout a scrimmage during the 1998 NBA lockout.

"I must've been the craziest 19-year-old in the world to fight this guy ... at that point, you just gotta say look man, you're either gonna beat the hell outta me, but you're gonna know that I'm not gonna back down."

OKC Thunder star Steven Adams knocked his teammate OUT COLD in a game last night ... but they weren't fighting -- Adams was literally standing still!

The bizarre play went down at the Chesapeake Energy Arena ... when Thunder rookie Terrance Ferguson tried to stay with his man on D.

Unfortunately, standing in his way was 7 feet, 255 pounds of chiseled Jason Momoa-looking muscle (Adams) ... and Ferguson's svelte 6'7'', 184-pound frame couldn't handle the business.

The 2 collided heads -- and DOWN WENT FERGY. Adams was totally fine, BTW.

Steven, being the good dude that he is, quickly got the rook some medical attention ... and it looks like Terrance is gonna be OK outside of a possible concussion.

Don't mock the Timberwolves for signing Derrick Rose -- because the dude still has potential to be a championship caliber player ... so says Roy Hibbert.

Minnesota just locked up the 29-year-old former MVP for the rest of the season, leaving many wondering if they're wasting money and a roster spot considering his failed run with the Cavs.

But not Hibbert (a 2-time All-Star), who tells TMZ Sports he seriously thinks Rose can help elevate the T-Wolves to become a championship team.

"He's talented, very talented," Hibbert says.

Ex-NBA star Steve Francis says he's sick of people claiming he was on crack -- saying he's NEVER done that drug in his life ... but admits he battled alcohol abuse.

Francis opened up in The Players' Tribune in an article in which he details his tough journey to the NBA -- and the struggles he's had after his playing career ended.

"I had some dark days, no question," Francis admits ... "And I know people were asking, 'What the hell happened to Steve Francis?' But the hardest part was reading some bulls**t on the Internet saying that I was on crack."

"When I thought about my grandmother reading that, or my kids reading that … that broke my heart. Listen, I sold crack when I was growing up. I’ll own up to that. But never in my life did I ever do crack."

So, what happened to Steve after his NBA glory days?

"I was drinking heavily, is what happened. And that can be just as bad. In the span of a few years I lost basketball, I lost my whole identity, and I lost my stepfather, who committed suicide."

The dark days Francis is referring to likely includes March 2015 -- when an out-of-it Francis had a chain snatched off his neck at a Houston rap show.

He was also arrested for drunk driving in 2016 -- and during the incident, he cussed out police calling them "groupie motherf**kers."

He also yelled at the cops for checking out his gold chain and screamed, "Now you playing with fire, homie."

Chalk this one up as a HUGE win for Ben Simmons ... 'cause the 76ers rookie is officially R&B star Tinashe's "boo thang" -- this according to Tinashe herself!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the smokin' hot "Faded Love" singer at Craig's in WeHo Wednesday night ... and we asked her to address the obvious IG flirting going on with Ben earlier this week.

"That's my little boo thang" the 25-year-old revealed with a smile.

While Tinashe didn't get into much detail with us ... the paper trail has been there for about a month -- from even more social media flirting to gushing about B.S. being her favorite Sixers player in a recent radio interview.

Simmons has been balling out this season -- he's in the running for Rookie of the Year.

And now that we have the confirmation of his new girl ... this dude really is winning all around.

Good for you, Ben.

Rip Hamilton spent 9 years ballin' out in Detroit -- so what's his advice for the newest Pistons star Blake Griffin?

Bundle up.

The ex-NBA star was kinda laughing at the fact that Griffin went from sunny California to the frozen tundra of Detroit ... and said Blake's got no choice but to make it work 'cause he signed up for 5 seasons!

"Make sure he get a heavy coat out there 'cause trust me, it gets cold!"

Dwyane Wade personally greeted the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday as they returned to the school for the first full day of classes since the shooting.

Wade posed for photos and hung out with the kids as they tried to resume their education. It's the first time the school has had a full day of classes since the Valentine's Day shooting.

Wade also gave a speech and told the kids he's proud to live in Florida and praised them for the strength they've shown after the incident.

"I just wanted to come here today, hopefully for a moment, for a second ... bring a little excitement, bring a little joy," Wade says.

"What you guys have been going through, and I was hearing you guys have been amazing from afar, and I just wanted to come and say I'm inspired by all of you."

Wade tweeted about the visit, saying "I just had a great conversation with some of the students at Stoneman Douglas High School about some important/impactful things that they have planned."

"I’m looking forward to being more involved in the change that they WILL create."

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