New York Knicks

Moment of truth for NBA superstar Derrick Rose ... the verdict will be read in his civil rape trial in just a few minutes.

Rose is being sued for more than $20 MILLION by a woman who claims the Knicks star and his 2 friends gang raped her in her L.A. apartment back in 2013.

Rose has acknowledged having sex with the woman but insisted it was consensual.

The jury is comprised of 8 people -- 6 women, 2 men.

Derrick Rose just arrived to federal court in downtown Los Angeles where his civil rape trial is underway.

Rose arrived moments ago -- roughly 2 hours after the proceedings began.

He pulled up in a black SUV where media was waiting for him -- but instead of getting out of the car, he sped around to another entrance where there were less cameras.

Rose -- dressed in a black suit -- entered the court with one other person while his accuser was on the stand testifying about the case.

Rose and 2 friends are accused of gang raping the woman in her L.A. apartment back in 2013. She's suing for more than $21 MILLION.

Who's your favorite basketball team ... and how do you feel about group sex?

Those were questions potential jurors in the Derrick Rose rape case were asked Tuesday -- as lawyers on both sides gear up for the $21 million trial.

Questionnaires were handed out to the jury pool in the L.A. courtroom -- in an effort to flush out any possible hidden biases.

Rose and his friends are accused of gang raping a woman in her L.A. apartment back in 2013 -- though the NBA superstar claims the group sex was consensual.

But it wasn't a smooth start for Team Rose -- with his attorney voicing his frustrations to the judge about the racial composition of the jury pool ... which contained only 2 black people.

Rose's lawyer also groused about the fact 15 of the first 27 potential jurors were Hispanic -- which was concerning for Rose because his accuser is Hispanic.

The judge said there was nothing he could do about it.

NY Knicks superstar Joakim Noah decided to skip a team dinner with cadets at West Point on Thursday night -- and claims it's because he's anti-war.

Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingis and others attended the function at the military academy in New York where the team has been training for the upcoming NBA season.

But Noah was M.I.A. at the dinner Thursday night -- where military officials also gave speeches to the team -- and Friday he told reporters he was making a political stand because he didn't feel comfortable and hates war.

The Knicks have been training at West Point for a few years -- but this is Noah's first season with the team.

10:50 AM PT -- A rep for Noah tells TMZ Sports, "He has the utmost respect for the military members and cadets. He just doesn't agree with war."

Derrick Rose's rape accuser won't be holding any more news conferences if he gets his way ... he's asking a judge to shut her up.

Rose just filed a motion requesting the anonymous accuser be prohibited from speaking about the case with anyone in the media until the end of the trial. He's pissed about what he calls her "nationwide media blitz," and feels it's hurting his ability to get a fair trial.

As we reported ... the accuser and her lawyer held a teleconference with reporters last week, during which they called Rose a "sexual deviant."

Derrick Rose is dragging Nick Young into his alleged rape case -- using his fellow NBA star in an attempt to discredit the accuser.

Sorry, Spike ... hip-hop star Fat Joe is officially the biggest freakin' Knicks fan in the world ... 'cause he says he'd give up FIVE MILLION DOLLARS if it meant his squad could take home the Larry O'Brien.

We got Joe out in NYC and posed a very simple, very easy question of choice to the rap legend ... would he rather have the Knicks win a championship ... or be handed $5 million in cold hard cash?

A real man can admit when he's wrong -- and Fabolous says he was WAY OFF when he predicted doom for the Knicks when they drafted Kristaps Porzingis.

The Brooklyn-born rapper was pissed when his squad took the Latvian phenom with the 4th overall pick in the 2015 draft -- and at the time, told us the Knicks were totally screwed.

But that was before KP killed it in his rookie season.

Check out the video to see how Fab changed his tune.

Brand new Knicks star Joakim Noah is already taking a bite of the big apple, and it's very, very juicy.

Knicks fans, you're no longer an NBA laughingstock ... with Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony, Fat Joe says the the team is one of the BEST in the NBA!

TMZ Sports ran into Joe in L.A. and asked about his beloved Knicks ... who've added ballers D. Rose, Brandon Jennings, Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee this off-season.

Still, the team was 32-50 last year ... how much better can they be?

A LOT ... according to Joe, who says the Knicks are going to the Eastern Conference Finals. He even knows which superstar player they'll have to battle for a spot in the NBA Finals.

Good news for Knicks fans -- Spike Lee seems pretty optimistic about signing Joakim Noah.

Bad news for Knicks fans -- He's not too confident about Kevin Durant.

The Knicks mega-fan was at LAX when he told us Noah is "doable" -- meaning he's convinced there's a very real chance NY signs the Chicago Bull.

He's way less confident about landing KD.

Here's the summary of this video -- Busta Rhymes LOVES Derrick Rose. He LOVES Carmelo Anthony.

Porzingis?? Not so much.

Busta is a huuuuge NY Knicks fan -- and says the combination of D-Rose and 'Melo is a major step in the right direction for his beloved squad.

But when we brought the other star on the team -- Kristaps Porzingis -- Mr. Rhymes didn't seem too enthused about the Latvian sensation.

"Carmelo and Derrick Rose ... and I'll vouch for that. I ain't vouching for nothing else."

We saw Carmelo Anthony and his wife, La La, out in NYC Wednesday night -- so, we had to ask about Derrick Rose ... and the rumors that Kevin Durant will be the next big star to sign with the Knicks.

Check out the clip ... the Durant question makes 'Melo smile.

Kenny Smith's wife says she knows the perfect candidate for the Houston Rockets head coaching job -- KENNY SMITH!!!!

Smith had a "date" with the team earlier this month to discuss the job -- but according to multiple reports, he's already out of the running.

So, when we saw Kenny and his wife Gwendolyn Osborne-Smith leaving Mastro's Thursday night, we had to ask who he thinks is the right candidate.

That's when Gwendolyn spoke up -- "IT'S HIM! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?!"

She's not the only one who feels that way ...

NY Knicks superfan Jerry Ferrara -- aka Turtle from "Entourage" -- insists he's fully behind Jeff Hornacek as the new head coach of his beloved squad.

Sorta.

Check out the clip ... Jerry REALLY wants to love the move -- and even drops a few facts as to why it's a good thing.

But that sigh at the beginning of the clip ...

It's one of the biggest mysteries in the history of hip-hop ... Which Knicks player was robbed by the Notorious B.I.G. after he walked in on Biggie banging his GF?

According to Fat Joe it was Anthony Mason ... and Joe made this BOMBSHELL revelation while talking with the guys on ESPN's "Highly Questionable" Monday morning.

The song is legendary ... called "I Got A Story To Tell," it chronicles Biggie's one night stand with a Knicks player's GF that almost ended up deadly when the unnamed player arrived home early.

Biggie maintained the story was true ... but for years we didn't know who it was until Joe spilled the beans earlier today.

Check out the clip ...