The 8-year-old girl who belted out the national anthem at the Pacers game earlier this week nearly had Flavor Flav reachin' for the Kleenex ... because the rapper tells TMZ Sports the rendition was so good -- it just about made him cry!!
Flav, of course, is a bit of an expert when it comes to "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- his version of the song at a Milwaukee Bucks game last year went viral -- and he says Kinsley Murray's performance on Monday was just as good as his.
In fact, the Public Enemy hype man said it straight up "almost brought some tears to my eyes!"
"She did a great job," Flav said. "I commend her. I'm proud of her. They need to let her do it again."
As for the haters who were criticizing Murray's song -- which she crooned ahead of Indiana's game against Toronto -- Flav said they can go kick rocks.
The 64-year-old explained there's a ton of pressure that comes when performing the tune in public -- nerves he said even he feels to this day.
"I don't care what nobody say," Flav said. "That little girl sang her little heart out. She rocked, man. She did her best. She did her thing. Not only that, but I'm so proud of her because she knew all the of the words."
Kinsley wasn't the only youngster to bring a smile to Flav's face this week ... he told us his godsons, Nico Ali Walsh and Biaggio Ali Walsh, have also left him grinning ear-to-ear.
The two -- who are Muhammad Ali's grandsons -- have both entered the fighting world ... Nico's a boxer and Biaggio's a mixed martial artist ... and Flav told us all about how he's so proud of how well they're taking to their respective sports!