NBA

A 27-year-old man was arrested Friday for sending a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that essentially demanded Silver to let him play in the league ... or else.

"If you don't let me play, I'm going to come up there and kill you with my f*cking gun," David Pyant allegedly wrote in an email sent to NBA offices ... police sources tell us.

It doesn't appear Pyant has any real professional basketball experience -- but he does have a criminal record ... 13 prior arrests, according to the NY Post.

We're told Pyant was arrested on May 11 and charged with aggravated harassment. A judge granted a temporary restraining order requiring him to stay away from Silver.

Pyant was eventually released without bail.

WNBA legend Tamika Catchings says Becky Hammon should get the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job ... and it's not so the NBA can make history, it's because Hammon DESERVES the gig.

Hammon -- a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach -- reportedly interviewed for the Bucks job, making her the first woman to ever be seriously considered for an NBA head coaching spot.

We got Catchings -- a 10-time WNBA All-Star -- out in NYC and asked if it was time the NBA hired it's first-ever female HC ... and Catchings agreed Hammon should get the hire, but gender ain't the reason.

"She's a great coach, I wish people would stop looking at female vs. male and just look at who's the best fit for the job."

When we asked if that person was Hammon, Catchings was very clear ...

Rob Kardashian isn't willing to forgive or forget when it comes to Tristan Thompson cheating on Khloe ... and thinks his big sis can and should do better.

Sources close to Rob tell TMZ ... he's still furious with Tristan, and regardless of the couple seemingly getting back together and working their relationship out -- he's not having it.

We're told Rob thinks Tristan's an "a**hole" ... and he'll never be able to let go of him disrespecting and embarrassing his closest sister while she was pregnant.

Rob's apparently not on board with the rest of the family's approach of not pressuring Khloe to dump him either. We're told he's adamant she deserves better and should move on.

With Dwane Casey out as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Metta World Peace says he knows the right man for the job ... Drake.

We broke the news about Casey's firing to Metta on the streets of Beverly Hills -- and since Metta's been vocal about wanting to be a coach, we asked if he'd be interested.

Of course, Metta said he'd be down ... but seemed more excited about the idea of Drake taking over the role, since he already has an official position with the team.

(For the record, Metta says Drake has an ownership stake, but it appears he's wrong -- he works with the team as the global ambassador).

The 76ers lost ... but Ben Simmons is still winning in life -- hopping out of his super expensive Ferrari with his smokin' hot famous girlfriend, and TMZ Sports has the video.

The NBA star and his singer GF, Tinashe, pulled up to the Aloft hotel in Downtown Philadelphia in his Ferrari 488 Spider on Friday ... just two days after the Sixers were eliminated from the playoffs.

The NY Knicks made the "right choice" in hiring David Fizdale as the head coach ... but it wasn't the "best choice" -- so says Kenny Smith.

Of course, Kenny was in the running for the gig -- but the Knicks ultimately went with Fizdale, who has more experience as a head coach in the NBA.

"I think they made the right choice," Smith tells TMZ Sports ... "maybe not the best choice. I'm the best choice."

He then doubled down ... "They made the right choice, but not the best choice."

They haven't always had the best relationship, but Doc Rivers says there's no hard feelings when it comes to Chris Paul ... and he's rooting for him in the NBA playoffs.

Remember, when Paul left the Clippers last year ... he did an interview with Jay-Z and took a shot at the "culture" of the team, saying they weren't really trying to contend with the Warriors.

Doc took exception and fired back, "Listen, when you leave, you should just leave, honestly."

"I don’t think you have to try to burn the house down or justify why you left. That’s what I would say to it. I like our culture."

Now that some time has passed, we had to ask Doc how he felt about CP3 making his first conference finals -- and Rivers was nothing but supportive.

We also spoke about LeBron's historic playoff run -- and Rivers told us there is ANOTHER superstar who still may have the top spot when it comes to all-time great performances.

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.