NBA

From one NBA rookie superstar ... to another?

We spotted Tinashe -- looking insanely hot, BTW -- leaving Chateau Marmont Wednesday night and making her way to Warwick ... the same Hollywood club where Ben Simmons' rookie rival, Donovan Mitchell, was partying.

Our photog insists he saw Tinashe talking with Mitchell at Warwick ... but when we talked to the singer on the way out, she laughed at the insinuation she was shooting her shot.

In fact, Mitchell left the club a short time later -- with so many hot young ladies in his car he couldn't even fit 'em all in -- and made two chicks hit the pavement!

Meanwhile, Ben Simmons has apparently moved on to Kendall Jenner -- they went on a double date down the street with Devin Booker.

Well, it's official ... Ben Simmons is 100% hanging with Kendall Jenner -- because they hit up Nice Guy in West Hollywood together on Wednesday night -- on a double date with another NBA star.

It's funny because Ben and Kendall hit up one of the most paparazzi-packed places in town -- but arrived separately so the photogs couldn't get a shot of them together.

FYI, Kendall left the restaurant around 10:45 PM to make it look like she was leaving ... but snuck back inside to hang with Ben. They both REALLY left together around 1 AM.

Still, everyone knew the jig ... especially when they left and both got into the same SUV -- along with Kylie's BFF, Jordyn Woods, who was hanging with 21-year-old rising star Devin Booker.

Of course, everybody stayed mum when we asked about relationship status -- and Ben's situation with ex-GF Tinashe ... but it's obvious the dating rumors are true.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has condemned Roseanne ... while praising her sitcom as a "very good" liberal show -- and is now questioning if canceling the program was really the right move.

Kareem says his immediate reaction to Roseanne's tweets was to "punish her" by taking away her show -- and notes Disney and ABC "cut off the rotting appendage before it infected the rest of the body."

But, when thinking it through, Kareem says it's important to consider the other options ...

"'Roseanne' is a very good show," Abdul-Jabbar wrote in the Hollywood Reporter ... "Ironically, it's one of the most liberal shows on TV, with a clear agenda of tolerance and compassion."

"To punish Roseanne, we’ve removed the louder, smarter, more influential voice of the show itself."

"Roseanne’s tweets may give solace to other racists, but they have no real impact in changing minds. The show, which reaches millions, can affect people by showing tolerance and compassion on a weekly basis."

Kareem also questions if ABC should have fired Roseanne and kept the show running without her. He points to other shows that continued to air without the main star ... like "Two and a Half Men" and "Valerie" which continued after Valerie Harper left.

If LiAngelo Ball can help the Lakers win, Josh Hart tells TMZ Sports he'd love to have Lonzo's little bro as a teammate!

We got the Lakers rookie leaving Craig's just hours after Lonzo's bro wrapped up his workout at the Lakers practice facility on Tuesday and had to ask ... would he be open to a second Ball in the purple and gold??

"Hey man, if he's going to make us win, it don't matter," Hart told us. "I want him."

If it does go down ... we'll have to check back with Hart's feelings on the matter ... 'cause he and 'Gelo play the same position -- and you just know LaVar Ball will have something to say about that.

Meanwhile, enjoy LiAngelo's dunk session ... it's impressive.

NBA star Ben Simmons had a fancy dinner date in Bev Hills on Monday night ... and the woman in his car sure looks a lot like Kendall Jenner.

It makes sense ... considering new reports the Philadelphia 76ers star has broken up with Tinashe and moved on to Kendall. The romance has been going on for a few weeks, according to Page Six.

Our video was shot outside the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills -- where our sources say Simmons and the mystery woman had a bite to eat together. We're told the woman tried like hell to stay low key -- using her hoodie to cover her face.

Kendall's been connected to basketball players before -- most recently, she was with Blake Griffin and before that she was reportedly dating Jordan Clarkson.

If that really is Kendall (and it really seems like it is) ... welcome to the Kardashians, Mr. Simmons!

FYI, we last saw Simmons with Tinashe in Philly earlier this month -- riding in a Ferrari together.

The mother of basketball player Zeke Upshaw is suing the Detroit Pistons and the NBA -- claiming the league and the team could have saved her son's life after he collapsed on the court earlier this year.

Upshaw was playing for the Pistons' G-League team -- the Grand Rapids Drive -- when he collapsed on the court during the final minutes of a March 24, 2018 game.

The 26-year-old guard -- a former star at Hofstra -- never regained consciousness and died 2 days later from sudden cardiac death.

But Zeke's mom says he could have been saved if medical staff had rushed in and treated him immediately.

Instead, Jewel Upshaw says ... it took 4 crucial minutes before a doctor tended to Zeke -- no CPR, no chest compressions, no life-saving measures of any kind.

In fact, she claims the team doctor had "stepped out before the end of the basketball game and was not present nor available when Zeke collapsed."

Jewel claims when doctors finally tended to Zeke, the treatment was so poor -- she later learned Zeke's body "went without oxygen for another forty minutes ... leaving his brain completely oxygen deprived."

"At this point, there was no healthy brain left to save."

Jewel claims the NBA has had so much experience with players suffering sudden cardiac death over the years -- from Reggie Lewis to Conrad McRae -- there should be a proper protocol to handle these types of situations.

In her suit, Jewel says "there is simply no good reason for the defendants to have been unprepared for sudden cardiac death events such as Zeke's, and for their failure to react quickly to save a life."

"Had properly trained medical professionals administered expeditious and proper treatment, Zeke would still be alive."

The Philadelphia 76ers have announced they've launched an investigation into team honcho Bryan Colangelo ... to find out if he was REALLY leaking confidential team info through burner Twitter accounts.

Colangelo was allegedly using 5 secret accounts to trash various 76ers players -- including Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz and former players Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, according to The Ringer.

In the case of Okafor, Colangelo allegedly leaked private medical information that only a few people in the organization would know.

The team has now issued this statement ...

"An online media outlet filed a story linking multiple social media accounts to 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo."

"The allegations are serious and we have commenced an independent investigation into the matter."

"We will report the results of that investigation as soon as it is concluded."

Colangelo has denied trashing players on Twitter -- but 'fessed up to owning one of the Twitter accounts in question.

Good news, Houston Rockets fans -- you may have lost Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, but all early signs point to your star PG Chris Paul returning next season ... including the fact he's selling his L.A.-area home.

CP3, who's set to be a free agent next season, put his Calabasas property on the market just months after buying a massive mega-mansion in Texas about 30 miles from where the Rockets play ... and he's asking for a cool $11.5 million.

The Calabasas pad -- which Paul bought in 2015 for nearly $9 mil -- is more than 11,000 sq. ft. with 6 beds and 8 baths ... featuring a master bedroom with a private courtyard, a chef's kitchen with a pizza oven, a refrigerated wine closet and a home theater.

The ballin' grounds boast a pool & spa, fountain, waterfall, fire pit, BBQ island ... and a full-size outdoor basketball court. Oh, and Khloe Kardashian is the next-door neighbor.

Dikembe Mutombo says he's gonna show the world just how honored he is to receive the Craig Sager Strong Award ... by actually wearing the crazy Craig Sager-inspired jacket given to the winner.

It was just announced that Mutombo would be the recipient of the 2018 award ... which is given to individuals who display courage, compassion and grace to their fellow man.

We got Mutombo at LAX and asked if he planned to actually wear the jacket, which is a replica of the crazy multicolored joints Sager liked to rock when he was a reporter (NBA coach Monty Williams won last year), and Dikembe said YES.

"I already bought the shoes to go with it!"

BTW ... if you thought Dikembe was done being a real-life superhero, he's not -- telling our guy he's planning on building a school in the Congo to honor the memory of his father, in addition to the hospital he's built for his mother.

Yeah, do more.

If you thought LiAngelo Ball's dunk sesh at the Lakers practice facility was impressive ... wait 'til you see Zion Williamson's "hold my drink" response Tuesday.

The Duke commit -- clearly reacting to 'Gelo 'cause of the "dead legs" caption he shared -- nearly took down a rim trying to top the middle Ball brother's performance.

The first dunk: A self-lob, behind-the-back jam.

The second dunk: Another self-lob, left-handed hammer.

'Gelo's clearly got ups ... but yeah, we're givin' Zion the nod here.

Here's LiAngelo Ball putting on a dunk show ... something we know he can do ... but it's where he's doing it that's interesting -- 'cause the kid is throwing down at the Lakers practice facility.

'Gelo is working hard to get into the NBA ... and told TMZ Sports he had interest from teams when we got him and his dad, LaVar, out at LAX last week.

So, when it comes to the new footage of 'Gelo at the Lakers gym, we're wondering ... did 'Gelo slide in with his big bro, Lonzo, or is the team taking a real look at the middle Ball brother, making LaVar's dream of a Ball-filled Lakers roster closer to being a reality?

So, the Golden State Warriors celebrated their Western Conf. Championship Monday night by bumping Usher on the team jet.

Funny, since Usher happens to be a minority owner of the Cleveland Cavs ... and it's almost like Nick Young and company were trying to send a friendly message -- "We're coming!"

While passing around the trophy, Swaggy P took over music duties -- and busted out Usher's greatest slow jams hits ... from "Nice & Slow" to "U Remind Me" and even "Burn."

Most of the players were diggin' it -- singing along and even dancing.

Serge Ibaka has a plan to stop the yearly butt kicking his Toronto Raptors get from the Cavs -- don't worry about LeBron, worry about ourselves.

For the last 3 years straight, Bron's Cavs have bounced the Raptors from the playoffs -- the last 2 years were a clean 4-0 sweep.

So, when we saw Serge at LAX, we asked what he plans to do to stop the LeBron domination.

"It's not about LeBron, it's about us," Ibaka said ... "We have to learn from this playoffs and work hard this summer and get ready."

That said, Ibaka tells us James is nothing short of "amazing" -- and said the 33-year-old legend isn't just an inspiration to future NBA stars ... but to current ones as well.

Is it weird to root for your sister's ex-boyfriend?

That's what Kylie Jenner did Monday night -- sitting courtside at the Houston Rockets playoff game ... cheering on James Harden.

Kylie was at the Houston Toyota Center with her boyfriend, Travis Scott -- who's from the area and happens to be a huge Rockets fan.

In the end, Harden and the Rockets lost to the Golden State Warriors 101-92 -- who now advance to the NBA Finals to take on Cleveland ... where Khloe's current boyfriend plays.

Kylie and Travis weren't the only big stars at the game ... rap superstars Lil Wayne and E-40 were there too.

LaVar Ball doesn't care one damn bit that Lonzo Ball won't be Rookie of the Year, telling TMZ Sports 'Zo's NBA freshman season was still a resounding success.

If you remember, LaVar predicted Lonzo would win the award before the season started, but even though Ball had a decent season with the Lakers, 'Zo wasn't named a finalist for ROY.

We got the Big Baller at LAX ... and wanted to know what he thought about one of his predictions not panning out, and you guessed it ... he couldn't care less.

"Who cares?! Who cares about Rookie of the Year?! Who cares about Rookie of the Year?! Ain't no missed prediction. They all going to the NBA."

As a matter of fact, it seems LaVar has had a TOTAL change of heart ... because now he doesn't even think the award matters AT ALL.

"I don't care who Rookie of the Year is. I don't care who's Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year don't mean nothing."

The finalists for the meaningless award are Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum.

How does 76ers stud Ben Simmons feel about rumors LeBron James could join him in Philadelphia next season? Seems pretty into it to us!!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know there's speculation LeBron will bounce from Cleveland next season -- even if he leads them in the Finals to another championship -- and there's a lot of talk he could end up in Philly or L.A.

So TMZ Sports asked Simmons at LAX if he thinks he could coexist with King James in the City of Brotherly Love.

"There's only one way to find out, man," the Sixers star coyly tells us.