Los Angeles Lakers

The celebrities are finally feelin' the Lakers again -- especially The Game who tells TMZ Sports he just dropped $400,000 on courtside seats!!!!

Game was leaving Playhouse nightclub in Hollywood this week when someone asked him to sign a basketball (he's a huge hoops fan).

But instead of inking his own name, Game signed the name of L.A.'s top draft pick -- saying, "I'm putting my money on D'Angelo Russell!"

He even added the number "5" -- and said that's what D.R.'s jersey should be.

As for the seats, Game says he believes in the team so strongly, he bought 4 courtside season tickets -- which sell for $2,500 a pop.

How should newly drafted Lakers rookie Larry Nance Jr. deal with the fact he called Kobe Bryant a "rapist" on Twitter back in 2012??

He might need to "bow down" and beg for his forgiveness ... so says Bryant's former teammate Brian Shaw.

Shaw -- who played for the Lakers from '99 to '03 -- acknowledged things are gonna be awkward between the two players when we saw him at LAX on Friday ... but he says the real lesson is simple:

"Ya'll know you won the Finals tonight if you're a Golden State Warriors fan ... but f**k all that n***a, I'm a Laker 'til my mother f**kin' death baby!"
-- Lil Wayne

Weezy was performing at Heat Ultra Lounge in Orange County, CA Tuesday night when he started talkin' basketball ... while smokin' on (what appears to be) a fat blunt.

Weezy's from New Orleans ... but has said he's been a die-hard Lakers fan ever since Kobe joined the squad. The two have become pretty tight over the years.

Might be a good time for to be a rich Lakers fan, 'cause with Jack Nicholson's enthusiasm for the team fading ... there might be some good courtside seats available next season.

The crush between Jahlil Okafor and Los Angeles is a full on love affair now ... 'cause sources within the Lakers organization tell TMZ Sports Jahlil MURDERED his private workout with the team today.

We spoke with a high ranking source in the Lakers organization who tells us the team put Jahlil through an up close and personal workout this morning -- just like they did with Kobe back in '96 -- and the 19-year-old was nothing short of spectacular.

"Just off what we saw out of today’s workouts, Jahlil has the potential to not just be one of the best big men in the league but one of the best to put on a Lakers jersey."

In fact ... we're told that the team is so enamored with Okafor that they plan to have reps spend the entire day with him ... culminating with a wine and dine sesh at a fancy L.A. restaurant later tonight.

Good news Lakers fans ... potential 2nd pick Jahlil Okafor looks right at home in the SoCal sun ... chillin' with his college teammates at an upscale L.A. rooftop party this past weekend.

Jahlil, along with fellow Dukies Tyus Jones, Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones hit up the rooftop pool of the very swanky SLS hotel in Beverly Hills this past Saturday, partying with celebrities like Too Short, and Charlamagne Tha God.

We're told the crew had some lovely ladies in their cabana, but there was no drinking and the guys mostly just chilled out and kicked back while things got crazy at the pool.

As for Jahlil, he has a workout this week with the Lakers ... but let's face it, the team could use all five guys.

Pay attention Lakers fans ... you could be looking at the future of the Purple and Gold -- 'cause Karl-Anthony Towns is in L.A. and just had a meal with Lakers prodigy Julius Randle.

Here's the backstory ... it's still unclear who will fall to the Lakers at pick #2 of the upcoming NBA Draft -- but most believe it's between Towns and fellow college hoops phenom Jahlil Okafor.

Which is why it was interesting to see Towns in Beverly Hills at Il Pastaio having lunch with Randle on Thursday -- who, like Towns, played his college ball at the University of Kentucky.

Both guys insisted the lunch wasn't a recruiting meal ... but Towns told us he'd love to play with a "legend" like Kobe Bryant.

We also asked how he felt about possibly going to Minnesota. Check out what he said.

Nick Young's days of raging and having fun are over ... 'cause now that he's engaged to be married, Swaggy says he's trading in the fast life -- for bingo.

Moments after he proposed to Iggy Azalea, Young shot a video talking about what his life is going to be like after trying the knot.

"I've retired my jersey man, I'm done. I'm gonna go play bingo and cards ... that's my life now."

Moments later, one of Nick's friends poured out some liquor for Nick -- saying, "To my dead homie."

Soooo ... congrats!?

Iggy Azalea is officially on her way to becoming Mrs. Swaggy P-- her NBA star boyfriend Nick Young popped the question ... and she said, "Yes!"

It all went down at Nick Young's 30th birthday party Monday night -- with the L.A. Lakers star getting down on one knee and busting out a fat 10 carat yellow diamond ring.

The two started dating back in 2013 -- for their first date, Nick took her to a Target to go shoppping.

From there, they hit it off quickly -- with Nick once taking her home from a club and bragging, "What I'm about to do with this shouldn't be legal!"

Soooo ... congrats!!!

Jack Nicholson is officially UNDER ATTACK by a billionaire NBA superfan ... who claims the actor has TURNED HIS BACK on the Lakers -- and he's pissed!!!

The rich guy going after Jack is Jimmy Goldstein -- who the NBA says spends more money on tickets than any other person in the world. He's also a Lakers season ticket holder.

So, when Jimmy was leaving Mr. Chow the other day, we had to ask how he felt about Jack's decision to essentially turn his back on the Lake Show this year.

That's when Goldstein tore the Joker a new one.

#CelebrityFeud!!!!

Kobe Bryant's on his last leg -- the upcoming season will be his last in the purple and gold ... according to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak.

Kupchak was on SiriusXM NBA radio when he dropped the mild bombshell -- saying that Kobe "has indicated to me that this is it" ... referring to the 2015-16 NBA season. Everyone knew this was the last year of Kobe's Lakers contract, but some fans held out hope he could keep it going for another season.

But Kupchak said, "There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don't think there will be. He hasn't indicated that he wants to continue to play."

It's unclear if he meant retiring from the Lakers -- or from the NBA altogether -- but the GM isn't guaranteeing Kobe will hang 'em up just yet. Kupchak admitted that in a year this could all change.

The NY Knicks must have done something terrible to someone in a past life, 'cause they're more cursed than the John Madden cover ... so says "Inside the NBA" star Kenny Smith.

Of course, Smith's reacting to the Knicks getting the #4 pick at Tuesday night's NBA Draft lottery ... after getting beat out by Minnesota (#1), the Lakers (#2) and Philadelphia (#3).

FYI -- the way the lottery works, the teams with the worst record have the best odds to get the #1 pick ... and the Knicks had such a bad record this season, they had the SECOND best odds to get the #1 pick in the lottery. Instead, they got screwed.

You gotta check out Kenny's analysis -- it's pretty hilarious.

Might be a hot new couple in Hollywood ... 'cause last night Lakers stud Jordan Clarkson hit the clubs with Victoria's Secret model Chanel Iman -- and TMZ Sports has a shot of the two of them holding hands on the way out!

The 22-year-old NBA rising star was leaving DBA nightclub holding hands with the supermodel ... who has been featured in everything from Sports Illustrated to Vogue.

No word on how serious they are ... or if they're even an official couple ... but our sources who were there say last night, it sure seemed like there was some chemistry between the two.

BTW, this wouldn't be Chanel's first celebrity relationship -- she was engaged to rapper ASAP Rocky ... but they broke things off back in 2014.

He's straight outta Compton but Ice Cube is only supporting ONE team from his hometown ... the Lakers -- and taking a shot at the Clippers in the process.

Despite the fact the Clippers are about to play in a Game 7 ... and the Lakers are sitting at home ... Cube told TMZ Sports "There's only one team in L.A."

Then, for good measure, Ice throws even more shade at Lob City ... making fun of the team name.

'Coach' and 'The Chin' weren't enough ... so now Bill Cowher can also go by 'Grandpa' -- his daughter Lindsay and her husband, Lakers forward Ryan Kelly, just had their first baby.

The baby ... Nile Jeremiah Kelly was born last night, and he's a big boy ... 8.8 lbs. and 22 in. long.

It's not known if Coach Cowher was actually at the hospital when Lindsay popped, but the ex-Steelers coach took a hands on approach with Lindsay's dating life ... at least according to his son-in-law, Ryan.

So, now that they have a baby boy ... the question: Dad is in the NBA, grandpa's an NFL coaching legend -- do you play football or basketball?

Nick Young claims the woman who accused him of rape back in 2011 has demanded $3 MILLION in damages to make things right ... but the NBA star is refusing to budge ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, Swaggy P is being sued by a woman who claims Nick slipped her a date rape drug at a Hollywood bar in 2011, took her to his house and vaginally and anally raped her.

Cops investigated the alleged incident and DISMISSED her claim because they felt her story didn't add up. The woman filed a lawsuit against Young in 2013 ... and the two sides are still battling it out.

Now, according to new docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... the accuser has a number in mind -- $3 million ... claiming she suffered emotional distress and loss of earnings.

But Young isn't buying it -- and has refused to settle ... instead, fighting the case tooth and nail to prove once and for all he's no rapist.

The Clippers aren't trolling the Lakers by turning the team locker room into an owners lounge for the NBA playoffs -- they asked the team for permission and got it ... TMZ Sports has learned.

There were rumblings that the Clips were trying to diss Laker Nation by using their space at Staples Center as Steve Ballmer's personal hangout area ... since the Clips are still playing and the Lakers didn't even come close to the playoffs.

But it just ain't the case -- at least according to Staples Center honcho Lee Zeidman who tells us there was an arrangement made before the 1st playoff game.

"The team inquired about using the Lakers locker room as a space for the Clippers owner. The Lakers gracefully granted use."

He continued, "People are trying to make something out of this, as if the Clippers are pissing off the Lakers by using their locker room. That's not true at all. We'd never use the Lakers space without asking the team."