NBA

Here's Joakim Noah proving he's got nothing to hide when it comes to getting naked -- stripping off his pants in the middle of the street in Santa Monica ... and yeah, dude's in great shape.

The New York Knicks player was leaving a vintage French boutique in Santa Monica on Monday -- when he decided it was time for a wardrobe change.

Off came the shorts ... out came his bare ass -- and Noah couldn't help but smile as people walked by him in the middle of the day.

Joakim Noah's 6'11", 230 pounds and was standing in front of his expensive Porsche ... so, we're sure no one even noticed -- right?

Charles Oakley pled no contest to misdemeanor disorderly conduct stemming from his alleged cheating incident at a Vegas casino ... but he won't spend another minute behind bars.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Oakley was arrested on July 8 after officials say he cheated multiple times at the Cosmopolitan hotel while playing the Ultimate Texas Hold'Em table game.

The ex-NBA star was initially charged with committing a fraudulent act in a casino -- a felony that carried up to 6 years in prison.

But, Oakley's attorneys were able to cut a deal with prosecutors in which they reduced the felony to a misdemeanor ... and ultimately, Oak will not serve ANY jail time. We're told Oakley's punishment is a $1,000 fine.

"Mr. Oakley has pled no contest to the simple misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct which fully resolves this situation," Oakley's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement.

Matt Barnes says "dumbass" Donald Trump is crazy for going after LeBron James on Twitter -- telling TMZ Sports he's convinced POTUS is a racist.

Barnes played against James for years in the NBA and was VERY offended when Trump attacked the NBA superstar's intelligence Friday night ... especially since he knows James to be really smart, business savvy and philanthropic.

So, what's Barnes gonna do about it? He's putting his money where his mouth is.

Matt tells TMZ Sports he's now trying to set up a political run for himself in Sacramento -- explaining he wants to run for mayor at some point in the future.

Barnes says he wants to use his fame and influence to improve his community and prove athletes shouldn't just "shut up and dribble."

Here's Kendall Jenner, Ben Simmons and her Doberman Pinscher just out grabbing a quick bite, right before things allegedly went south with a little girl.

TMZ broke the story, Kendall's pup allegedly nipped at the girl Sunday morning at Beverly Glen Deli in Los Angeles. Someone at the deli called 911, but police didn't respond because there were no serious injuries.

You can see the dog seemed pretty friendly with another customer as Kendall and Ben arrived.

Val Chmerkovskiy has become the latest in Hollywood to recruit a member of the LeBron family ... with the two-time Mirror Ball trophy winner callin' out Bronny to join the cast of "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors"!

Remember ... L.A.'s biggest celebs have already lined up to work with LeBron now that he's a Laker -- and just a few days ago, Jackie Christie begged Savannah to join "Basketball Wives."

Now ... Bronny's getting the Tinseltown pitch, courtesy of new 'DWTS: Juniors' judge Chmerkovskiy -- who tells TMZ Sports he really wants to see LBJ Jr. on the dance floor.

"It'll be awesome for you," Val says. "You're welcome, you should come on the show!"

It wouldn't be the most farfetched thing we've ever seen ... after all, we already reported Scottie Pippen's 9-year-old daughter is slated to be on the show.

NBA player Denzel Valentine got embarrassed at the Drew League in L.A. recently ... and now the man responsible for dropping 44 on DV is telling us why it had to be done in such savage fashion.

The man's name is Frank "Nitty" Sessions ... the reigning Drew Leauge MVP and triggerman for The Game's team, "Birdie's Revenge."

Sessions' beatdown of Valentine instantly went viral ... and when he spoke with TMZ Sports, he told us in this case it was a little more than a day's work ... it was PUNISHMENT.

"He said something that bothered me, that most NBA guys I play with would never say to me."

We asked Nitty what Valentine said to him ... and, while he wouldn't say exactly, he gave us an idea when we asked if DV referenced the difference in the two men's bank accounts.

"Oh, of course he did. That's why I lost it. It's two lines and we both playing for free right now. In between these lines that don't got nothing to do with it."

BTW -- Sessions ain't broke. He's been getting money playing ball overseas for years, and basketball pays all the bills for him.

Frank says he wants to test his game against Chris Paul or Patrick Beverley next ... but until that happens, relive what he did to Valentine below ... might not be suitable for kids, it's that nasty.

Reggie Theus says HE'S the reason Michael Jordan is what he is today ... and he's waiting on Bulls fans to finally respect that -- telling TMZ Sports, "I'm looking for a check actually."

The former NBA star was leaving LAX when he explained to us that if it weren't for him, the '90s Bulls might have never been a thing.

"I take a lot of credit for their success," Reggie says. "Because, if we weren't so bad, they would have never gotten Michael Jordan."

Theus laughs off the comment ... but Reggie WAS part of the Chicago team in the 1983-84 season that was so awful, it allowed the Bulls to get the No. 3 pick and take M.J. the following season.

Melania Trump's not going to bat for her husband after his derogatory and utterly disrespectful tweet Friday night ... and is instead lending her support to LeBron James.

Scoreboard?

FLOTUS addressed Donald Trump calling both LeBron and Don Lemon dumb, through a statement by her spokesperson to CNN saying ... "It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation."

According to her statement, Melania would also be open to visiting LeBron's I Promise School in his hometown of Akron as part of her "Be Best" initiative.

So -- instead of backing POTUS on this one -- seems like the First Lady's more down to team up with Bron.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden understands what Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and Darkwing Duck have already proved ... that if you're gonna be a hero, you gotta have some theme music.

We got Harden cruising the streets of Hollywood yesterday (in a car fit for a superhero) and asked him what his theme music is when he pulls up to L.A. clubs to stunt.

In true superhero fashion, Harden says very little (okay, maybe Deadpool is different), but rolls down his window for our guy and blares his answer as he pulls off into the Los Angeles sunset.

In case you were wondering, the song is "Petrafyde" by NinaN9ne and 8ig Hungry ... which is a jam fit for a hero to be sure.

BTW -- we didn't make up the rules for heroes and their theme music ... Keenen Ivory Wayans did.

No one is more plugged in to the NBA scene than Matt Barnes -- so, naturally, he's got all the inside scoop on the Draymond Green vs. Tristan Thompson incident and he's finally talking about it.

Barnes appeared on "Lunchtime with Roggin and Rodney" on AM 570 LA Sports and told the guys he's already spoken with his ex-Warriors teammate, Draymond, about the altercation and says the media got it all wrong.

"He was never actually hit and he actually tried to make peace through people that wanted him to squash it," Barnes says.

It had been reported that Tristan sucker punched Draymond when they met up at an ESPYs after-party at Delilah nightclub ... but Barnes says that's simply not true.

TMZ Sports had spoken to multiple witnesses who told us the guys actually made peace afterward and are on much better terms now.

No, Blake Griffin is NOT paying $258k per month in child support -- he's only paying a fraction of that ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the $258k figure that's being reported is wrong -- but sources tell us the NBA star is still cutting a significant check to Brynn Cameron, the mother of his 2 kids.

The number, we're told, is $32,000 per month ... which adds up to $384,000 per year.

It's no sweat for Blake, who recently signed a 5-year, $171 million contract.

Ever wonder how the NBA's best player would fare in a slow-pitch softball game??

Good, 'cause LeBron James hit the diamond Wednesday night ... and absolutely dominated.

LBJ, fam and friends (including J.R. Smith!) took the field at University of Akron ... when the King made his case to be the G.O.A.T of softball too.

Bron -- the biggest shortstop that's ever lived -- robbed wifey Savannah of a base hit early in the game ... stretched a ground ball to short into a double later ... and even hit this moonshot to center field.

We're told the game was just for fun and lasted about four hours. The King even brought out Swensons food truck for everyone afterward!!

Joakim Noah returned to Chicago on Thursday for a VERY good reason -- the former Bulls star was leading a peace march down West Jackson Boulevard.

The 33-year-old -- who now plays for the NY Knicks -- was holding a flag with the word "Peace" on it, while wearing a shirt that said, "Rock Your Drop On the Block."

The march was organized through Joakim's Noah's Arc Foundation -- which provides programs for kids in need in Chicago. There's also a heavy emphasis on ending the gun violence epidemic in Chicago.

Noah reportedly took countless pictures and spoke with all sorts of fans to try and spread his message.

Charles Oakley didn't just try to pull a fast one over a Vegas casino -- he tried to cheat 3 TIMES during a round of Ultimate Texas Hold'Em ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Oakley was arrested at the Cosmopolitan Hotel on July 8 after officials say he cheated while gambling. Now, we've obtained court docs which explains Oakley's alleged scheme in detail.

Here's the deal ... Oakley was playing the Ultimate Texas Hold'Em table game -- where both player and dealer get 2 cards, in addition to a community 5-card draw.

Of the 7 cards in play, the dealer and player use their best 5 cards to see who has the best hand.

During the first hand, Oakley started off strong ... with a pair of 4s. But, the dealer ended up with a winning hand ... 2 pair. When Oakley realized he was gonna lose, he allegedly pulled back a $100 chip from his bet.

Later on during the gambling session, Oakley had a monster hand -- 3 of a kind -- and this time, officials say he secretly ADDED chips to his bet on 2 different occasions during the hand, thereby increasing his payout by $125.

Officials say it was all captured on casino surveillance -- and he was arrested on the spot.

Get this ... officials say Oakley can't claim ignorance as an excuse because he apparently has logged around 119 HOURS playing the game at the Cosmo.

He was initially charged with a felony -- and faced up to 6 years in prison. But, that charge was recently knocked down to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and he'll likely get off without serving a minute behind bars.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is reminding us all why his nickname is the "Greek Freak" ... 'cause the NBA superstar took his first boxing lesson Thursday -- and it was pretty freakin' scary.

The 6-foot-11 Bucks forward -- lookin' as jacked as ever -- learned how to throw some jabs and hooks ... and the video is wild.

His trainer looks tiny ... and when G throws the haymakers -- there's some hold-your-breath moments.

FYI -- Antetokounmpo ain't the first gigantic NBA player to lace up the boxing gloves ... Shaq actually fought Oscar De La Hoya back in 2009.

Funniest part ... Giannis captioned the vid with "StayFreaky"

LeBron James' and Luke Walton's former teammate, Richard Jefferson, isn't worried about how the two guys will get along in L.A., telling TMZ Sports he thinks they will "do great" together.

Things got off to a weird start between the 'Bron and Luke ... with reports saying the two men didn't speak for some time after James made his decision to join the Lakers.

That made some people wonder if LeBron was planning to David Blatt Walton ... but, when we got Jefferson out in L.A., he said he expects everything to be just fine.

Remember, Jefferson is great friends with Walton having played college ball with Luke at Arizona ... and he's also one of LeBron's guys, having played his last few seasons in Cleveland.