Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers may have lost to the Raptors Monday night -- but Metta World Peace didn't seem too bothered ... 'cause he got to party with Justin Bieber after the game!

Metta and the Lake Show were in Toronto for the game -- and lost 102-93 -- but afterward, Peace found time to kick it with the Biebs ... though it's unclear where they were.

Kobe didn't appear to join along -- but he got love in Canada too ... getting custom Black Mamba shoes and a hat from the Raptors as a token of the their appreciation.

Call him old school ... but Shaquille O'Neal says when it comes to retiring Kobe Bryant's jersey, there's only one option ... his ORIGINAL number ... the ocho.

The debate has been raised in the Lakers front office -- since Kobe dominated in both #8 and #24 ... and team officials are still undecided about which number to hang in the rafters at Staples.

But Shaq says there's no decision -- ya gotta go with the original number. Then again, Shaq's probably biased -- since he won 3 rings with Kobe in his #8 days ... and never played with him as #24.

There's more to the clip ... Shaq also says he'd be down to have Kobe on "Inside the NBA" after the season.

Kobe did it. Shaq did it. Even Metta did it ... and now Jordan Clarkson says he may be the next Lakers player to drop a RAP ALBUM -- but there's a huuuuge catch.

Clarkson hit an L.A. club the other night to celebrate Julius Randle's birthday -- and on the way out, he told us he's kicking around the idea ... but ONLY after he wins an NBA title.

Good news for Clarkson -- he may have some time to work on the lyrics.

BTW, here's a video of Kobe rapping to jog your memory. Good times ...

Kobe Bryant is leaving the legacy of Philly basketball in good (tiny) hands ... 'cause after his final hometown game he took time to meet with the 2nd biggest hoops name in the city ... Mo'ne Davis.

Mo'ne -- who says her dream is to play in the WNBA -- chopped it up with the Mamba post game, and from the looks of the pic ... was super excited to meet with the old fella.

Oh and BTW ... check out the jersey she's holding ... seems pretty obvious which number she supports in the whole #24 vs #8 debate.

Check out the future below ... at Kobe's tournament no less.

The Kobe Bryant jersey debate has now reached the Lakers front office -- with a team rep telling us they plan on having official meetings to decide which number to retire ... #8 or #24???

A spokesperson for the team tells TMZ Sports, "We have had a couple very casual and preliminary conversations internally about this over the past few years."

"But now that Kobe has officially announced a retirement date, I anticipate we will discuss this more formally in the coming weeks and months."

Of course, the issue is that Bryant dominated in both numbers ... winning 3 NBA championships in #8 (2000, 2001, 2002) and 2 in #24 (2009, 2010).

One former Lakers star is already weighing in -- with Rick Fox saying the team should just retire 'em BOTH!!

#8 or #24 ... that's the issue the Lakers will face when it comes time to retire Kobe Bryant's jersey -- but Rick Fox says he has a better solution ... RETIRE 'EM BOTH!!!

The issue is that Bryant dominated in both numbers ... winning 3 NBA championships in #8 (2000, 2001, 2002) and 2 in #24 (2009, 2010).

It's a completely different situation from Michael Jordan ... who only rocked the #45 for 22 games before switching back to #23.

So, what should the Lakers do??

Fox says it's time for the team to break tradition and let Kobe become the first player with TWO numbers in the rafters.

What feud?

Shaquille O'Neal says he loves Kobe Bryant like a brother ... despite their rocky "Tell Me How My Ass Tastes" past ... and to prove it, he offered Mamba some advice on his upcoming retirement.

"Its time for u to take it all in," Shaq tweeted to his former teammate ... "Sit back, relax & enjoy all that u have built. Love u lil bro."

The two essentially buried the hatchet back in August ... when they appeared on a podcast together and expressed regret over the way their feud played out in the media back in the day.

Of course, the biggest shot fired was Shaq's freestyle attack on Kobe in a NYC club back in 2008 ... but it seems they're both over it now.

This will be Kobe Bryant's final season in the NBA ... he just made it official by penning a love letter to basketball.

Kobe says the 2015-16 season will be his last in the Lakers purple and gold -- and any other uniform. In the letter, posted on The Players' Tribune, Kobe writes ... "Dear Basketball, From the moment I started rolling my dad's tube sock and shooting imaginary game-winning shots ... I fell in love with you."

He also said, "This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye. And that's OK. I'm ready to let you go."

The letter's pretty extraordinary, and kind of emotional.

37-year-old Kobe closed with -- "I'll always be that kid with the rolled up socks. Garbage can in the corner, :05 on the clock, ball in my hands. 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1. Love you always, Kobe."

It doesn't matter that they're 17 POINT UNDERDOGS, the Lakers will shock the best team in the NBA tonight and BEAT THE WARRIORS ... for real ... so says Aries Spears.

"The sun shines on a dog's ass baby ... and the Lakers got their booty in the air."

The former "Mad TV" star says it's just a matter of time before Golden State starts racking up the Ls ... and says any comparison to the legendary '96 Chicago Bulls team is just plain ridiculous.

The 3 American heroes who bravely teamed up to BEAT DOWN a gun-toting terrorist on a Paris-bound train were honored by the Lakers Sunday night ... with Kobe Bryant personally giving all 3 guys their props.

All 3 heroes got the VIP treatment at Staples Center -- including Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler and Spencer Stone ... who made the trip despite recovering from stab wounds suffered in a recent bar attack.

As we previously reported, Sadler was wearing a Lakers shirt when he and his friends tackled and subdued the gunman during the August incident.

The team took notice and wanted to thank the men -- giving them VIP seats, personalized jerseys and private meetings with players and team officials, including Jeanie Buss.

BTW, the Lakers won yesterday -- so, INVITE 'EM BACK!!!!

Tracy Morgan got one helluva of a "welcome back" moment at the Knicks game Sunday -- getting huge props from Kobe and Magic ... and the GAME BALL from the Knicks!!

TMZ Sports has obtained footage of Lakers guard Lou Williams handcuffed by police and slammed up against a cop car in front of a casino in Vegas ... but the NBA player insists he did NOTHING wrong.

We've learned ... Williams was detained in front of The Cromwell hotel and casino on the Vegas strip in the early hours of September 13th ... after the Mayweather vs. Berto fight.

Witnesses at the scene tell us, Williams was involved in an altercation with "a large man" -- and cops rushed in to break it up. We're told Williams adamantly denies being involved in a fight.

Williams was handcuffed and slammed up against a police car -- but the Las Vegas Metro Police Department tell us they have NO RECORD showing Williams was formally arrested that night.

We spoke with Lou's agent Wallace Prather III who tells us, "Apparently there was an issue that [Lou] wasn't involved in, which is why they didn't arrest him."

"If Lou was fighting in public in Las Vegas they would have arrested his ass ... he wasn't fighting anyone."

Eventually, cops released the cuffs and Williams was sent on his way.

Kobe Bryant is getting flak from some NBA fans who noticed he was the only Lakers player on the court Tuesday who WASN'T wearing special socks to honor U.S. troops ... and now, we know why.

The NBA is allowing players to wear special designed red, white and blue socks as part of Hoops for Troops week ... which runs from Nov. 3rd to the 11th.

The socks are optional for players ... but it seems only two players in the Lakers vs. Nuggets game opted out ... Kobe and Jameer Nelson.

But our NBA sources tell us ... Kobe wasn't trying to make a political statement -- he simply prefers to wear quarter-length socks and the Hoops for Troops socks were only available in crew length.

So, don't worry ... Kobe doesn't hate America -- he just likes to be comfortable.

Metta World Peace says he and Kobe Bryant both tried to save Lamar Odom from going down a dark path ... and were FURIOUS when they learned he overdosed in a Nevada brothel.

Seems D'Angelo Russell is already used to the Hollywood lifestyle ... 'cause not only is he rocking a swagged out $5k custom bag ... but A-list mega star Jamie Foxx helped him get it.

The Lakers rookie turned heads when he showed up to his debut regular season game rocking a seriously blinged out Louis Stewart custom backpack.

We spoke to the guys over at Louis Stewart ... and they tell us D'Angelo dropped $5k cash for the lambskin bag ... which is draped in Swarovski crystals and features the LS signature red suede interior.

Only thing more dope than the bag? How D'Angelo got it ... our LS guys tell us Russell was in Vegas for the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight when he noticed Jamie Foxx had one that was similar.

He asked Jamie what the bag was, which prompted the Academy Award winner to call LS and put them in touch with Russell. Money was exchanged ... and the rest is style history.

Good work, Jamie ... Kobe will take it from here.

One season after he joked about getting rid of his seats, Jack Nicholson returned to Staples Center Wednesday night ... supporting the Lakers at their home opener.

Don't forget, both Nicholson and his famous friend Lou Adler expressed some serious frustrations with the team last year ... and it seemed like the Purple & Gold were in danger of losing their biggest fans.

But last night, there they were ... Lou and Jack back in their regular seats -- hoping this would be the year the Lake Show gets their groove back.

They lost.

Wonder if we'll see 'em again at the next home game on Sunday?