NBA

They found love in an NBA place!!

OKC Thunder star Andre Roberson made his long-rumored relationship with the face of NBA 2K, Rachel DeMita, social media OFFISH this week ... and the two are adorable.

DeMita's been a meteor in the sports world, rising to national fame with her appearances on the Association's top video game and at Celebrity All-Star Games (she's a hooper too!).

She's picked up over a million followers on social media ... and Dre was clearly one of the biggest fans.

The two got all kinds of cozy over the last few months, including at a wedding overseas last week ... which appears to have prompted the long-awaited Insta move.

Rachel clearly appreciated it, dropping a "My whole heart" line in Andre's comment section.

NBA superstars seem happy about it too ... Russell Westbrook posted some praising hands emojis -- and Kevin Durant even liked the post!

Only one thing left for the couple to divulge ... this had to be how the meeting between the two ballers went down, right???

Scary moment for Lamar Odom ... someone pulled a gun and fired multiple shots during an altercation with the NBA star ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's what we know ... cops were called to a Hooters restaurant in Queens, NY in the early hours of July 20 after gunshots were fired.

We've learned ... witnesses told police Lamar and his group of friends were leaving the restaurant when they got into a verbal altercation with another group. Part of the argument was captured on surveillance.

One witness told cops a man from the other group pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots into the air -- nobody was hit. That group fled the scene, according to the witness.

Law enforcement sources tell us the NYPD is actively searching for the shooter. So far, no arrests have been made.

Odom is not accused of any wrongdoing -- and we're told he's been cooperating with police.

Lamar's attorney Saam Zangeneh tells us "Lamar did nothing wrong and was not arrested."

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon won't go to jail for his 2017 fire alarm pulling meltdown in L.A. -- but he ain't exactly off the hook either.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the former Chicago Bulls player was arrested back in June 2017 after witnesses say he freaked out and pulled a bunch of fire alarms at his apartment complex.

LAPD and L.A. City Fire raced to the scene -- but when they realized there was no fire, Gordon was arrested for falsely activating a fire alarm.

He faced up to a year in jail -- but struck a deal with prosecutors in which he pled no contest and, in exchange, got 18 months probation. He was also ordered to pay various fines and fees.

No big deal for Gordon ... who reportedly made $84 MILLION during his NBA career.

Sorry, Lakers fans ... L.A. is still Clip City, even with LeBron in the purple and gold -- so says Clippers guard Lou Williams.

We got the reigning Sixth Man of the Year out at his Lou Williams basketball camp in Atlanta when he told us the Clippers still run Los Angeles ... despite Magic Johnson's huge free agency haul.

"I mean, the Lakers ain't beat us since I've been on the Clippers," Williams tells TMZ Sports.

"So, record-wise, yeah, we are the better team in L.A. until they prove it."

Nothing's off limits when Jeff Ross goes head-to-head with Blake Griffin in a Roast Battle on Saturday ... including his former relationship with Kendall Jenner.

Here's the deal ... Blake challenged Ross on social media a few days ago. Ross accepted. Now, the joke prepping begins. So does the s**t talking.

"He gets injured easily," Ross said about the NBA star ... "Maybe it'll be an emotional injury this time."

Ross won't have a hard time finding material -- but, our photog gave him a head start.

Of course, Griffin's no amateur -- he's been doing stand-up comedy for a while and Ross thinks he's a genuinely funny guy.

"Blake, to his credit, has got a lot of guts challenging me to a Roast Battle ... I think he's gonna give me a good shot."

Ben Simmons was with rich company for his birthday in Vegas over the weekend ... partying with a squad worth nearly $10 BILLION combined ... and TMZ Sports has the pics!!

The NBA Rookie of the Year kicked off his 22nd year with ragers at both Drai's and TAO nightclubs in Vegas on Saturday ... livin' it up with Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin (net worth: 3 billion), Patriots owner Robert Kraft (6 billion) and Meek Mill (okay, he's not a billionaire, but he's rich).

FYI -- all these guys played a huge role in the #FreeMeek campaign ... so it's great to see them all hangin' out together after the rapper's release.

We're told the gang rolled together to Drai's to support Meek's performance ... and judging by our vid from TAO that same night, all eyes were on the Philly Clout Gang.

What's the only thing hotter than the stogie Michael Jordan lit up on his vacay in Italy this week?? HIS KICKS!!

His Airness was out in Positano on Monday -- coolin' it on boats and hangin' with his entourage -- rockin' a fresh pair of all white Js.

Our sneaker experts tell us they're some kind of Jordan lows ... without a swoosh and DEFINITELY not available for retail.

We're told the basketball GOAT really likes the kicks ... so Nike hooked him up with the one-of-a-kind pair.

This ain't the first time MJ has flossed super rare sneaks while on vacay -- 'cause back in December while in Barbados, he rocked special kicks we'd never seen before.

Here's Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving showing that, while they play for different NBA teams, they're on the same squad when it comes to one thing ... HOT CHICKS.

Durant & Irving hit up Wet Republic in Vegas this past weekend, where Irving's girlfriend, Chantel Jeffries, was DJ'ing her first set at the legendary pool party.

KD was making the most of the occasion ... taking shots, and spending a lot of time talking and seeming to have fun with model Jocelyn Chew.

If you remember, Chew popped out of a cake at Joel Embiid's 24th bday back in March ... making some people think maybe the two were an item ... although it was never confirmed.

The next generation of the Big Baller Brand empire has arrived -- Lonzo Ball's girlfriend has given birth to a baby girl, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story back in February ... the 20-year-old Zo and his high school sweetheart, Denise Garcia, were expecting a baby baller of their own.

A family rep confirms Zoey Christina Ball was born on Sunday. We're told the baby girl is as happy and healthy as can be.

Lonzo and Denise started dating back when they were kids in Chino Hills.

The Chargers need tight end help now that Hunter Henry is done for the year ... and Geno Smith's got the perfect guy for the job -- ANTONIO GATES!!

The new Los Angeles quarterback told us he's hopin' the Bolts bring back the future Hall of Famer -- and his reasoning is pretty simple.

"Gates is a legend!"

Fair enough.

We also asked Geno if he thinks LeBron James is the top talent in Los Angeles now ... and Geno doesn't disagree!

Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Victor Oladipo, Iman Shumpert and Andre Drummond -- a pretty good starting five on the hardwood, right?!

Well, Drummond says it's also a fivesome he's rollin' to the music studio with -- 'cause they all spit fire on the mic!!

Andre -- better known as Dre Drumm in the rap community -- has serious game when it comes to rhyme and flow ... so, we had to ask -- who's the best musician in the NBA??

Drummond wouldn't reveal an MVP -- but he did give us an all-star team.

"Between myself, Iman Shumpert, Dame Lillard, you know Kevin Durant raps ... Victor Oladipo is another artist that does music in the NBA too!"

Sylvester Stallone's birthday celebration rolled into Bev Hills Friday, and we got him to weigh in on who's the real NBA G.O.A.T. ... when it comes to securing a reso around town.

Sly was leaving Nazareth's Fine Cigars smoke lounge when we asked him who he thought restaurants would rather seat at their last available table -- Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? Tough one, right? One's the established L.A. legend, and the other's the new kid on the block ... but also an NBA legend.

Rocky didn't duck the question, and sorry, Kobe -- he went with LBJ! Although, he offered a diplomatic explanation for his pick.

Sly turned 72 earlier this month, but we kept the party going with a belated gift.

Kenyon Martin Jr. is like a Magic Johnson Jr. when it comes to LeBron James Jr. -- putting on the full-court press to get him to commit to his insanely high-profile California high school.

Of course, Kenyon -- one of the top high school players in the country -- is going into his senior year at Sierra Canyon ... playing alongside Scottie Pippen's son and other NBA spawn.

The school's basketball program is crazy famous -- drawing super high-profile fans like Drake and Kanye West. Also, Marvin Bagley -- the #2 pick in the draft -- just graduated from SC.

As we previously reported, LeBron's son, Bronny -- widely considered the #1 rated 13-year-old hooper -- is seriously considering going to Sierra Cnayon ... but nothing's in stone yet.

But, Kenyon Jr. is hoping he can help steer Bronny in the right direction -- it's a pretty good sales pitch.

Obviously, they won't end up playing together -- Kenyon graduates in 2019 ... and he's already getting offers from top colleges including Georgetown, Memphis, Oklahoma, Oregon State and UCSB.

Russell Wilson and Ciara are pocketing their babysitter dough tonight -- no need for one when you have to attend a Hollywood event that's actually for the kids.

Ronda Rousey and Travis Browne, Michael Phelps and Nicole Phelps also showed up -- families in tow -- for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards Thursday night in Santa Monica. Kinda the perfect award show follow-up to the ESPYs.

Master P says the Raptors' GM is about to be fired ... 'cause he thinks there's no way in hell the DeMar DeRozan trade works out -- telling TMZ Sports, DeMar "was bigger than Vince Carter" in Toronto!!

We got P out at L.A. Live ... and he didn't mince words when it came to his disdain for the swap that sent DeMar to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard.

"Kawhi Leonard's a hell of a player, but he showed the team he was on that he didn't want to be there, so what you think they going to get?"

P tells us DeMar was so good for the Raptors ... they need to build a statue of him in Canada, and they need to do it before one of V.C. is raised.

"He still deserves a statue," P says. "He put that city on the map -- the country on the map as far as basketball."

OH NO ... BACKPACK KID GOT SERVED!!!!!

Shiggy -- the dude behind the "In My Feelings" challenge -- had a real-life dance battle with Backpack Kid at an ESPYs after-party on Wednesday ... and went BADLY for the BPK dude.

First off, we love Backpack Kid -- he's always been super cool to us -- but, man, SHIGGY JUST CAUGHT A BODY!!!

At one point, Shiggy DANCE-ATE Backpack Kid's heart.

The athletes were lovin' it ... everyone from Lakers star Josh Hart to Rams RB Todd Gurley to new Magic center Mo Bamba to Panthers wideout Devin Funchess had their cameras out, egging the whole thing on.

R.I.P. Backpack Kid.