Former NBA star Matt Barnes says he can't believe he has to clear the air on the latest rumor circulating the internet, but here he is ... denying an A.I. model scammed him out of a ton of money.

The chatter spread like wildfire over the past few days ... which stated the 14-year vet fell victim to a super-hot catfish who wound up with $61K of his hard-earned money.

His buddy Gilbert Arenas didn't do him any favors by breathing more life into it on his own podcast ... so now here he is, setting the record straight.

"I've sat back and watched the internet lie about me the whole year," Barnes said. "The whole year -- lies from me being gay, to me talking abortion to me telling some girl not to do a reality show."

"I get back from Dubai ... I see all of a sudden I'm suing an A.I.

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