Los Angeles Lakers

"Ship all them n***as out. Get a slave ship, and ship all them sorry motherf*ckers the f*ck outta here!"

That's just a tiny piece of Snoop Dogg's weekend rant against the Lakers ... and yeah, dude is PISSED Los Angeles is about to miss the playoffs again this season.

"These sorry mother f*ckers ain't going to do sh*t," Snoop said ... "These goofballs ain't going to do sh*t. They sorry."

Snoop's scorched earth comments came after L.A.'s second loss this weekend -- a 118-109 pounding to the last-place Suns -- when the rapper threw his camera into selfie mode and blasted EVERYONE not named LeBron.

"Somebody gotta go. F*ck this shit. Somebody gotta go. Matter of fact, a lot of n***as gotta go, starting with the coach."

As for his Staples Center tickets ... Snoop says he's so over L.A., he's giving away his box suite seats for just $5!!!!

Think Snoop's overreacting? With losses to the Bucks on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday ... the Lakers are now closer to 13th place in the West than they are to a playoff spot.

Snoop's begging the front office to intervene ... and as part of his rant -- he yelled, "Get LeBron some f*ckin' help!!"

LeBron James thinks Anthony Davis is being done dirty in the media -- and he seems to be pointing the finger at the people who run the New Orleans Pelicans.

Bron had Davis as a guest on his HBO series, "The Shop" -- where the guys, along with stars like Antonio Brown, discussed real issues in their lives.

The topic turned to "public relations" when Antonio suggested Steelers ownership -- or at least, powerful members of the organization -- were trying to wrongly paint him as a "distraction" in the media over the past few weeks.

"That's the narrative they try to create once you doing your own thing," Brown said on the show ... "It's like, this guy's a distraction. He's this type of guy. All I've ever been is a guy who came from Central Michigan, 6th round, who worked his ass off."

LeBron made a comment essentially agreeing with Brown's opinion -- and then compared AB's situation to Anthony Davis.

Remember, Davis publicly requested a trade in January -- and since he and Bron share the same agent -- a lot of people thought they had teamed up to force the Pelicans to move AD to the Lakers.

During the negotiations, there were negative stories that came out about Davis -- and LeBron sure seems to be suggesting the hit pieces were orchestrated by the Pelicans.

"7 years in the league, nobody's ever said anything negative about AD but you can tell when the narrative changed when you don't do what they want you to do."

Davis is now playing out the season with the Pelicans -- and is hoping to be traded at the end of the season.

Two MVPs were on the court at Staples Center on Wednesday -- with Patrick Mahomes sitting right on the floor as LeBron James led the Lakers to a 125-119 victory over the Pelicans!

Oh, and LeBron LOVED that Mahomes was there!

The K.C. Chiefs quarterback got the VIP treatment -- with a personal attendant making sure Pat and his girlfriend, Brittany Matthews, were taken care of like royalty ... while sitting next to other huge stars like Halsey and David Beckham.

Of course, the Lakers are basically in must-win mode for the rest of the season if they want a shot at the playoffs ... and it seems like Pat and Brit were the good luck charms the team needs.

Didn't hurt that Bron posted 33 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds -- but after the game, King James gave a special shout-out to his NFL pal.

"Good to have you in the building tonight MVP!!" LBJ wrote.

Mahomes is becoming a massive star -- just check out the crowd trying to get autographs and pics on the way out of Staples.

Mahomes wasn't the only star athlete in the crowd -- Floyd Mayweather and Todd Gurley also showed out.

BTW ... we shot footage of Gurley walking to his car -- that knee seem okay to you?

Remember, TG's leg has been a big Rams storyline since his disappearing act in the NFL playoffs ... but he's said repeatedly the injury is not an issue.

In fact ... his head coach, Sean McVay, told reporters at the NFL's combine Thursday he's positive his star RB is "feeling good."

One of the hottest rappers in the game named a song after Derek Fisher ... and you know who's stoked about that??

DEREK FISHER ... 's kids, 'cause the ex-Lakers star says Gunna's tribute gave him MAJOR cool points with the youngins in his house.

If you haven't heard about the Young Thug signee, Gunna is one of the biggest names in the industry right now ... and his collab mixtape with Lil Baby, "Drip Harder," is widely considered one of the top projects of 2018.

Gunna's follow-up, "Drip or Drown 2" just dropped last week ... and features 2 songs with tributes to NBAers Fisher and Yao Ming.

Fisher -- who says he's a Gunna fan -- says he hasn't heard the song yet, but his kids have made him well aware of the shoutout.

"It makes me feel old," Fisher tells us. "I was old and not cool, and now I'm a little cooler."

The song -- which is like an ode to guns -- has pretty much nothing to do with D-Fish except for the line in the hook, "shoot like Derek Fisher, ain't no n***a cross the line."

Fisher says he's down to be a part of the music video for the song if Gunna wants him... as long as it's appropriate.

Advice to pro athletes ... if you wanna shot with Farrah Abraham, ya gotta come with courtside seats.

That's the message Farrah says she told Lakers' rising star Kyle Kuzma -- claiming he tried to get at her in her DMs ... but he wouldn't pony up for quality Lakers tickets.

The "Backdoor Teen Mom" star appeared on "The Hollywood Pipeline" podcast and spilled the tea about how she allegedly shot down the 23-year-old NBA player.

According to Abraham, Kuzma told her he would have to pay out of pocket $15,000 to sit her on the court next to stars like Leo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson ... and refused to budge.

So, Farrah says she told the guy to kick rocks.

Bad news for Kyle, Farrah moved on.

Good news for Kyle, so did he ... dude just wound up on a boat with Instagram model Katya Elise Henry and seems like he's doing just fine!!

By the way, can't really blame Kuzma -- dude is still in his rookie deal with the Lakers ... which only pays him $5 mil over 3 years ... which by NBA superstar standards is dirt poor!

Cool moment at the Vanity Fair party after the Oscars ... when Caitlyn Jenner and Kobe Bryant spotted each other on the way out of the event and stopped on the red carpet to hug it out.

Kobe has been a Caitlyn supporter for YEARS -- the NBA legend was one of the first big stars to throw his support behind Caitlyn getting ESPN's Arthur Ashe award at the ESPYs back in 2015.

Remember, there was controversy surrounding the award at the time with many people claiming there were other people far more deserving.

At the time, Kobe told us he appreciated Caitlyn for educating people about being comfortable being themselves -- "Doesn't matter what walk of life you're in man, you gotta be comfortable being you."

Kobe was at the party with his wife, Vanessa -- who's pregnant with their 4th child.

Other huge stars at the party -- Odell Beckham Jr., Russel Wilson and Ciara.

Kobe is no stranger to the Oscars -- he won the 2018 Academy Award for Best Animated Short for his film, "Dear Basketball."

The flick was based off a poem Kobe wrote to announce his retirement from the NBA back in 2016.

Tristan Thompson, listen up ... Nick Young is giving away one of his secrets for getting over a massive cheating scandal!!!

Of course, Swaggy P is an expert in what TT's currently going through ... the ex-Lakers star famously cheated on Iggy Azalea when the two were dating in 2016.

So, when we got Nick leaving Pretty Little Things on Wednesday night ... we asked how Tristan should deal with his latest Khloe Kardashian drama -- and Young delivered!!!

There's more ... Nick also spoke with us about Zion Williamson's shoe-blowing incident against North Carolina -- saying the play showed Z-Dub is legitimately like the Hulk!!!

You think LeBron James and the Lakers were gonna let Rihanna down on the night of her birthday celebration???! Hell no!!

RiRi took her superrich Saudi boyfriend to Staples Center on Thursday to cheer on her favorite NBA player on the night after her 31st birthday ... and the team delivered one heck of a gift!!!

Check out the pics of Rihanna and Hassan Jameel in a private box -- going berserk as the Lakers came back from 19 down to beat the Houston Rockets ... one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Of course, Jameel is a bit of a baller himself -- in 2017 his family was reportedly worth $2.2 BILLION -- which made them the 4th richest family in the Arab world.

Jameel started dating Rihanna in 2017 and by the looks of these pics, they're still going strong.

Other huge stars at the game -- "Wheel of Fortune" star Pat Sajak, Denzel Washington, French Montana and Jimmy Iovine.

They picked a great game to attend -- the Lakers were getting destroyed for the first 3 quarters before LeBron activated "playoff mode" and went nuclear on everyone ... exploding for 29 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Lakers ended up winning the game 111 to 106 -- boosting the Lakers' record back to .500.

Meanwhile, the Rockets' James Harden extended his 30-point game streak to 32 games, the 2nd longest 30-point streak in NBA history.

By the way, Lakers officials gifted Rihanna her very own customized "Bad Girl RiRi" Lakers jersey, but she didn't wear it ... instead, opting to rock her #23 LeBron James threads.

One last thing ... every year LeBron has won an NBA title, Rihanna has dropped a new album -- and there are rumors she's working on a new album right now.

So, good juju for the Lakers?

See that hand?? Yeah, that's Kyle Kuzma's hand ... and now you wish you were Kyle Kuzma.

The 23-year-old Lakers star is getting some well-deserved R&R before the All-Star break ends ... taking a boat trip in Miami with an insanely attractive model ... and cuppin' a handful of ass in the process.

Kuz -- who won the MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge this past weekend -- kept the winning going on Monday with rumored girlfriend Katya Elise Henry ... a model with nearly 6 million followers on IG.

The couple(?) have yet to acknowledge any real romance on social media ... but it doesn't take a genius to put 2 and 2 together with this one, thanks to Kuz's body art.

The rumors date back to last year when KEH was spotted attending Laker games ... and this pretty much closes the case.

On top of being ridiculously hot, Henry -- a Miami native -- is also a businesswoman with her own workout plan (including an 8-week "booty program") and bikini line.

No word on whether this is love or just young kids having fun ... but it's clear there are no losers here.

LeBron James has a new teammate ... 2 CHAINZ!!! 'Cause the Lakers superstar just announced his first music project starring the "It's A Vibe" rapper.

The King is takin' his first shot at being an A&R exec ... teaming up with the Georgia rapper for, "Rap Or Go To The League," a 14-track album coming out March 1.

LBJ announced the collab with a video of the duo in the studio ... choppin' it up about things like the tracklist, features and release plans -- all the things a music exec has to deal with.

"Can’t wait for y’all to hear the continues evolution of his profound skills from his mind to the booth to the records itself," Bron says, "Proud of you homie and the people will be as well when this hits!"

2 Chainz added ... "It's gonna be shocking for people to know how much input you had on (the project.)"

No word on whether Bron actually got in the booth to spit some bars ... but we know he's fully capable of doing so.

Scottie Pippen says he's a fan of Luke Walton -- but tells TMZ Sports, if his old pal, Phil Jackson, was coaching the Lakers, they'd be well on their way to an NBA title already.

Look, this definitely ain't an aggressive shot at Luke -- but, Pippen kept it 100 telling us, "That's all he [Phil Jackson] do is win."

Scottie was braving the frozen tundra of Bev Hills (it was 58 degrees) on Monday when we asked about the situation with the Lakers ... currently in 10th place in the Western Conference.

Pippen told us he'd love to see 73-year-old Phil come out of retirement for another crack at a Larry O'Brien Trophy ... and he's confident LeBron, Lonzo and Kuzma could get the job done.

Scottie won 6 NBA rings under Jackson during his run with the Chicago Bulls. Phil went on to win 5 more with the L.A. Lakers.

Of course, there are reports of turmoil in Laker Nation -- with members of LeBron's camp allegedly pushing for Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to replace Luke ASAP.

We spoke with Luke on Sunday -- and he denied friction with LeBron, telling TMZ Sports, "LeBron and I get along just fine."

So, what happens now? Luke says he's confident he can right the ship and lead the Lakers to the playoffs.

Lakers' head coach Luke Walton says he doesn't know ANYTHING about reports of friction between him and LeBron James ... telling TMZ Sports, "LeBron and I get along just fine."

The 38-year-old head coach had just touched down at LAX where he let us ask some Lakers questions -- and couldn't have been nicer about it.

On how the season is going so far, Luke told us he thinks it's "good" but points out how injuries to guys like LeBron, Lonzo and others have had an impact.

Still, Luke is optimistic -- telling us, "We'll be alright."

In fact, Walton told us he still thinks the 28-29 Lakers (currently in 10th place in the West) could make the playoffs ... saying, "We have some work to do, but we can do it."

ESPN's Jackie MacMullan recently reported about tension in the Lakers locker room between players and the head coach ... saying in late January, "It's clear to me ... that LeBron's camp would prefer a coaching change. They're not too subtle about that."

Luke cracks a smile when we asked about those reports -- probably because there's more to the story he's just not ready to say publicly yet.

Louisiana legend James Carville says if Anthony Davis doesn't wanna be in New Orleans he can GET LOST because the Pelicans deserve a player that actually WANTS to play for them.

He also cannot stop talking about the surging LSU Tigers basketball team.

Carville is a Louisiana sports superfan, so when we got him out we had to ask about the Bayou state's latest pro sports drama ... AD trying to make his way to L.A.

That's when James gave it to Davis ... saying if the beauty and majesty of magnolias, swamps, amazing food, and rich culture aren't good enough for the superstar, he can kick rocks.

"If he wants to go, go. I don't want to have somebody who doesn't wanna be here, but I want to get something for him."

JC wasn't finished talking basketball ... and decked out in all LSU gear asked our camera guy if he saw that LSU had beaten Kentucky in Kentucky ... a rare feat for the Tigers ... James was downright giddy.

Lakers super fan Ice Cube says Scottie Pippen is WRONG when he says LeBron James doesn't have the clutch gene ... but RIGHT when he says LBJ is no Michael Jordan ... or Kobe Bryant.

Pippen took some shots at LeBron recently ... actually, he pretty much destroyed the guy on "ESPN First Take," saying the King turns into a peasant during crunch time in games.

We got Ice Cube at LAX and asked the lifelong NBA fan if there's any truth to Scottie's scathing critique, and the West Coast legend said no ... and yes.

"I think he does have the clutch gene, but not too many people in the world got the Kobe and Jordan gene."

So ... LeBron is clutch, just not Kobe or Jordan clutch. So, he's not like a high-priced Gucci clutch bag (no disrespect to T.I.) he's more like a Coach clutch bag (no disrespect to Coach).

Makes sense ... Cube went on to say LeBron shouldn't sweat Scottie's opinion, because he's got 3 rings and it doesn't matter, but we think Cube forgot one thing.

Forget candy, jewelry and teddy bears ... Cookie Johnson says Magic's secret to Valentine's Day is simple -- FLOWERS AND DINNER!!!

"He goes more out for birthdays and things like that," Magic's wife tells TMZ Sports.

Of course, Magic doesn't usually have the chance to ball out on Feb. 14 ... Cookie says the couple is almost ALWAYS on the road for the day at the NBA's All-Star festivities.

Things don't appear to be changing this year ... Cookie was actually on her way to the big event when we got her at LAX on Wednesday morning.

But, it seems Magic's V-Day plans are working all right for the couple ... Cookie and the Lakers GM have been together for decades -- and she's just fine with MJ's annual game plan.

"We do a nice dinner, something like that."

Ya hear that??? It ain't too late to return that necklace!!!

Flea HATES the Boston Celtics with the red, hot, fiery passion of 1,000 suns -- and when we saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers star at LAX ... HE WENT NUCLEAR on Beantown!!!

Oh, we should mention he's a die-hard Lakers fan ... if you couldn't tell by his throwback Magic Johnson shirt.

"I just think the Boston Celtics SUCK ASS," Flea proclaimed, "They're like the Satanic bottom of the basketball world! They are the shadow side."

It didn't stop there ... Flea reached way back into the rivalry to throw even more shade at the Celtics.

"Magic Johnson owned Larry Bird in college, owned him in the pros ... more championships, smoked him in college -- it's a simple fact."

We asked Flea if he'd like to see a Lakers vs. Celtics series in the NBA Finals -- and he went even HARDER!

"That would be thrilling. I'd like to see Lonzo dunk right on Jason Tatum's head!"

So, how do people in Boston feel about that? We got Mark Wahlberg out the other day, and he's already counting on the Celtics and the Boston Bruins to make it a clean 4-team championship sweep this year.