NBA

LeBron James got Michael Rapaport to cut the trash talking and shut his mouth ... and even Rapaport says he's pretty damn impressed.

Look, Rap has said a lot of crap about Bron over the years -- he famously called him a "motherf*cker" for dissing his kids back in the day.

But now, Rapaport says LeBron is playing on such another level ... he's been rendered speechless.

"I've never seen anybody do what he's done this playoffs," Rapaport says ... "The biggest sh*t-talker, myself. I've got nothing to say. He's been unbelievable."

There is one guy who's still getting the wrath of Rap -- Drake -- who didn't show up to Game 4 of the Cavs vs. Raptors series to watch his team get swept out of the playoffs.

Listen up, Dez Bryant ... Nuggets guard Devin Harris is about to give you pro athlete to pro athlete advice on where you should end up, now that your time with the Cowboys is over.

Harris played in Dallas for YEARS and knows what it's like to leave big D behind, so when we got him in Beverly Hills we wanted to know if he had any potential landing spots in mind for Dez.

Devin says he has the perfect team ... and while you're gonna have to watch to see what he says, we'll be kind enough to give you some hints.

Hall of Fame QB (1st ballot lock) ... Bryant already has history there (infamous moment) ... he'll need some heavier coats if it happens ... and lastly, it's a spot close to Harris' heart.

It's been more than a year since Charles Oakley was arrested at the Knicks game ... but he's still pissed at owner James Dolan and SCOFFED at the idea of making peace with the guy.

We spotted Oak leaving the BTIG Charity Day in NYC and asked how he felt about David Fizdale taking over as head coach for his former team.,

"I hope he do a great job," Oakley said ... "[that's] all I can say!"

But when we turned the conversation to Dolan -- you can tell right away, Oak is still furious over the Feb. 2017 arrest.

"Why would you bury the hatchet with someone who dragged you out of the place?"

Of course, Oakley was arrested for getting physical with security who tried to remove him from MSG after a heated exchange with Dolan. It took an army of security to subdue Oakley.

The ex-Knicks star was charged with assault, harassment and criminal trespass, but later cut a deal with prosecutors and the case has been thrown out.

Eric Dickerson ain't worried EVEN A LITTLE BIT about Saquon Barkley breaking his NFL rookie rushing record -- telling TMZ Sports straight-up, "[the Giants] got no offensive line!"

The Hall of Famer was speaking with kids at Van Nuys Elementary School when he educated us about why he's confident the #1 pick in the draft won't come close to the 1,808 yards he put up in 1983.

"You gotta have a line," Dickerson said ... "Nothing against their line, but you gotta have a line!"

Zach Randolph is ALL ABOUT having a female head coach in the NBA -- especially after working with a female asst. coach on the Kings ... telling TMZ Sports it was one of best experiences of his career.

The entire NBA is buzzing about Becky Hammon -- an assistant with the Spurs who's in the running for the head coaching job in Milwaukee. If hired, she'd be the first female head coach in NBA history.

Enter Z-Bo who was out in ATL when he stopped to rave about Jenny Boucek ... an assistant player development coach with the Sacramento Kings.

"This was the first year we had a [female assistant coach]. This was my first year ever experiencing that and it was a great experience ... probably one of the best experiences."

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside isn't getting down or out of shape over his team's early playoff exit ... because he just gets to spend more time with his smoking hot girlfriend.

A totally ripped Whiteside and his lady, Ashly Ariza, were spotted at the beach in Miami Tuesday ... and both had no problem showing off their bods. Of course, Ashly's bikini highlighted her assets a little more.

Hassan's been the subject of trade rumors since the Heat got bounced from the playoffs early by the Sixers, but he doesn't seem to be sweating that either ... perhaps because he's still got $52 million left on his contract.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are taking their rekindled relationship to the next level ... with a daytime movie date.

The 2 were at a cinema a few miles outside Cleveland Tuesday afternoon, and looking very much like a couple again. Khloe and Tristan grabbed snacks together before the movie and were seen leaving in the same car afterward. No word on which flick they caught.

We broke the story ... Khloe's family is the opposite of thrilled about her getting back together with Tristan, but they're backing off pressuring her to dump him for good.

The LeBron James effect is VERY REAL ... 'cause the hat he wore to the Cavs game Monday completely sold out at an insanely fast rate ... and now the company behind it is scrambling to restock!!

The black ball cap sporting the message "Don't Trip" blew up on social media last night ...and fans immediately searched the web to get one of their own.

We spoke with Kevin Circosta, founder of the Free & Easy company, who says they'd sold out of all 6 colorways by the time he woke up Tuesday ... and on top of that, they've received thousands of back orders for the hats.

Circosta says he has no idea how Bron got a hold of the merch ... admitting he didn't send anything to James' people, but says he's happy for the "organic" interaction.

Circosta says his entire team is working to re-up production ASAP ... in the meantime, his website has a friendly message saying "Thanks King James! This hat is backordered but more are coming soon."

Good news: MLB star Adam Jones finally got his sweet new pair of Lonzo Ball's Big Baller Brand shoes!

Bad news: HE ORDERED THE SHOES A YEAR AGO!!!

For the record, the Baltimore Orioles star has been a vocal supporter of the Ball family ever since LaVar announced the shoe back in May 2017.

In fact, Jones also ordered BBB's $200 sandals and raved about 'em back in December.

But, Jones also ordered the $495 ZO2 Prime Remix shoe -- and didn't get 'em until now!!!

"I bought these a year ago," Jones said ... "They JUST got here!"

Guessing Jones ordered the original version of the shoe when it was first announced. Remember, LaVar later changed the look of the shoe.

Khloe Kardashian's family is not happy she's getting back with Tristan Thompson -- and that's a major understatement -- but they're not going to lobby her to kick his ass to the curb.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe was spotted with TT at a Cleveland restaurant Friday having lunch with friends and then showed up at the Cavaliers' game Saturday to support her baby daddy.

Our Kardashian sources say Khloe's family is outraged he humiliated and betrayed her right before she gave birth to their daughter. We're told they WISH she'd remain civil with him for the sake of their daughter, but move on. That said, they have enormous respect for Khloe and think she's capable of making decisions for herself.

We're told the family is somewhat surprised by the turn of events, because not long ago it looked like she was done with Tristan ... and the family was down with that decision. She was staying in Cleveland because Tristan was on the road and the baby wasn't able to fly.

And this is interesting ... we're told the family privately feels they may never forgive Tristan, but they're not going to attempt to torpedo the relationship.

Thanksgiving should be interesting.

LiAngelo Ball doesn't need to hustle up a day job just yet, 'cause even though he wasn't invited to the draft combine, Master P says LiAngelo's NBA dream is alive and well.

'Gelo declared for the draft some time ago ... and most people thought it'd be an uphill journey for him to be drafted being that he didn't play college ball, and the Lithuanian pro experiment was short-lived.

We got P at LAX and asked him if this setback means 'Gelo won't make his hoops dreams come true, and P is telling the kid not to lose hope.

"It isn't over for LiAngelo Ball, there's still summer leagues and I'm sure someone will pick him up."

P knows what he's talking about ... remember he was able to make a couple different NBA summer league teams back in the day, and came THIS close to actually being a regular season player.

Kobe Bryant is showing all dads the key exercise to making a day at Disneyland into a core-strengthening, arm-building session ... THE PRINCESS LIFT.

Here's Mamba demonstrating the exercise at the Happiest Place On Earth this past weekend ... carrying his 1-year-old daughter, Bianka Bella, around ... with great technique.

BTW, it's working ... look at the size of Kobe's arms -- they are legitimately bursting out of his shirt and the veins are aggressive and frightening.

The horse that won the Kentucky Derby can be one of the greatest of ALL TIME ... so says trainer Bob Baffert, who just compared Justify to LeBron James!

Yes, LEBRON JAMES!!!

Justify beat everyone's ass at Churchill Downs this weekend -- racking up another Derby victory for Baffert, who many consider the greatest racehorse trainer EVER!

So, when we saw the silver-haired horse god at LAX, we had to ask about his new superstar.

"Oh, he looks like LeBron," Baffert says ... "Big, powerful, athletic face. Very rare. VERY rare. He's a beast."

We asked if we could start putting Justify in the same conversation as American Pharoah -- who won the Triple Crown -- and Baffert told us it's not a crazy comparison.

"He's up there with him," Baffert said ... "outstanding horse."

Sorry, Drake ... your trash talkin' doesn't stand a chance against Julius Randle, 'cause the L.A. Lakers star says he's way too locked in during games to get distracted by celeb hecklers.

It was a hot topic in sports this week when the NBA issued a warning to the 6 God for "bad language" towards Cavs bruiser Kendrick Perkins ... after he allegedly called Perk a "f*cking p*ssy."

We asked Randle what he thought about the whole situation ... and he laughed it off (probably 'cause he's so used to playing against celebs in L.A. all the time.)

Corey Clement is #30 on the field, but his new body art is all about #23 ... 'cause the Eagles star got a freakishly realistic tat of Michael Jordan on his leg!!

Clement clearly ain't afraid of the needle ... he got tats honoring his Super Bowl win just days after the game -- with an eagle on his forearm and 'SBLII' letters on his neck.

But it's just the beginning for the young RB ... 'cause the dude's following Odell Beckham's lead and getting his whole leg tatted with his favorite legends -- starting with His Airness!!

TMZ Sports spoke with CC's tattoo artist, Dan Czar ... who says he did a private 5-hour tat sesh at Clement's New Jersey home on Thursday.

BTW -- Czar's been blowing up in the sports world ... he's done work on stars like Johnny Manziel, Jihad Ward and Sidney Jones.

Czar says Corey wants to cover his leg with all his inspirations ... and reveals Jimi Hendrix will be the next addition to the sleeve.

Too Short thinks it's hilarious that Drake got an official warning from the NBA over his NSFW trash talk -- and says the Toronto Raptors would be better off if he never opened his mouth in the first place!

As we previously reported, Drake got scolded by the league after reportedly calling Kendrick Perkins a "f*cking p*ssy" during the Raptors vs. Cavs playoff game this week. Good times.

Now, Short says Drake's antics are actually HURTING the team he's trying to support.

"The Raptors are down 0-2 [in the series] ... it might be 1-1 or 2-0 Raptors if he wasn't sitting on the sidelines," Short says!

"He's motivating other teams!"