Ex-NBA superstar Steve Francis called police "groupie motherf**kers" during his DWI arrest back in November ... and DARED cops to lock him up after they confiscated his gold chain.

It's all on the arrest video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which begins when Francis is pulled over by Houston PD on Nov. 19 for speeding. Cops quickly suspected he was drunk.

Officers searched the car and found a bottle of Crown Royal and a big bag of weed (almost 22 grams).

40-year-old Francis was placed into a squad car while they searched the rest of his vehicle -- and that's when he noticed officers checking out his massive gold chain.

Francis got PISSED -- and shouted at cops, "Now you playing with fire, homie!"

"Take a picture. Play with that, watch what happens."

He called cops "suckas" and shouted, "Go ahead, lock me up groupie ass motherf**kers."

"Play with my chain, sucka!"

Francis told cops the chain was worth $100 million.

Officers told Francis he was being arrested for drunk driving, weed possession and retaliation. He denied being drunk and insisted he never threatened anyone.

He also asked the cops to drop him off at his grandmother's house.

That didn't happen -- instead, he was taken to the police station.

He later struck a deal with prosecutors in which he pled guilty to 1 count of drunk driving and won't have to spend another minute behind bars.

This isn't the first time Francis has had issues with his chain -- he was famously chain jacked at a Sauce Twinz' rap concert back in 2015. The necklace was later recovered and returned.