Los Angeles Lakers

It's time for TMZ SPORTS DECODES ... starring NBA superstar Paul George, who might've just given the basketball world a huge clue about his future and the future of Mr. LeBron James.

Or did he?

First a little context ... rumors in NBA circles say LeBron joining the Lakers depends on him luring another big name star to Hollywood, and most people think George -- an L.A. native -- is that star.

In order for that to happen, George would have to want to play with LeBron and, when we got him at the Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am in L.A. and asked him ... he seemed like he was down.

"Yeah, I'm with LeBron every All-Star. Every one of my All-Stars I've been teamed with LeBron ... I like playing with him."

We continued decoding as we asked George if he even likes Los Angeles ... and once again, he gave us more positive feedback than an eastern Tinder swipe.

"I'm from L.A., I can say I love L.A. because I'm from L.A."

What do you get when you love both playing with LeBron and L.A.? Seems like Purple & Gold.

It wasn't quite Pusha T on Drake ... but Lonzo Ball came hard after Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma in a newly released diss track called "Kylie Kuzma."

The rap dropped Monday afternoon ... and Ball goes for the jugular on a few occasions, throwing around disses for two straight minutes.

"Who are you without ZO2? Just another dude with a bunch of tattoos," Lonzo rapped.

"Boy, you talking crazy. Why you trying to play me? You ain't on my level, you ain't famous as my baby."

There's more ... Lonzo goes after Kuzma's style relentlessly, jabbin' at the fleece outfits he rocks and the "Kuzmania" shirts he's been trying to sell.

"You want smoke, you can get it, dressing for attention. Trying to be Russell Westbrook, you just honorable mention."

Zo, Kuzma and Josh Hart have playfully gone after each other all season on social media ... but did Zo's rhymes cross the line??

Nah ... let's keep it comin'!!

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher were teammates for 13 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, so when Fisher gets hitched to "Basketball Wives" star Gloria Govan ... Mamba HAS to be there right?

NOT SO FAST.

We got Fisher out at LAX, and talked to him all about who may, or may not be there when he and Govan jump the broom ... and it seems there's a pretty decent chance Kobe WON'T be there.

"I mean, we'll see. It depends on how many people we decide to have there. If we decide it's just family, then it's just family."

So, Kobe's not family?! Weddings come with tough choices ...

Fisher also gave us his feelings on Shaq's ex-wife, Shaunie O'Neal, basically saying she wouldn't -- under any circumstances -- be caught dead at the wedding.

Here's a hint: He doesn't give a damn.

What did Lakers player Josh Hart tell his teammate, Lonzo Ball, when he caught him listening to his OWN rap music in the gym???

"TURN THAT SH*T OFF!"

It's actually pretty hilarious ... Hart could hear the ZO2 joint, "Gotta Get It," bumping from across the Lakers facility on Wednesday and decided to shame his pal on social media.

When the camera focused on Lonzo, he started dancing ... hard.

LeBron ain't gonna like this ... Isaiah Thomas is throwing ALL the shade at his former Cavs teammates ... trolling Cleveland for getting whooped in the NBA Finals.

IT was getting smoked by NBA legend Isiah Thomas (the other one) in a game called "Generation Gap" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Monday night ... and the Lakers guard compared his poor play to his old team.

"I'm like the Cavs ... I'm going to get swept"

Ouch.

Of course, IT was traded from Boston to Cleveland in the blockbuster Kyrie Irving deal just to get shipped to L.A. at the February deadline ... and IT's been poking fun at his time in the Land ever since.

Rick Fox says he's got the $100 MILLION Fortnite prize money in his sites -- and he's got his people scouting the world looking to put together the best squad he can find.

Fox is one of the big dogs in eSports -- his team, "Echo Fox," is a perennial contender in games like "League of Legends" and 'CS:GO.'

So, with Fortnite taking over the world and announcing a $100 MILLION prize pool next season -- we had to ask if he was making a run at that money.

"Our ears have been to the ground there, and our front office has been completely on top of finding the talent that would represent Echo Fox in a Fortnite setting."

Shouldn't be hard for Fox to put together a killer group -- his "Echo Fox" team dominated the H1Z1 competitions and won a ton of money there.

If LiAngelo Ball can help the Lakers win, Josh Hart tells TMZ Sports he'd love to have Lonzo's little bro as a teammate!

We got the Lakers rookie leaving Craig's just hours after Lonzo's bro wrapped up his workout at the Lakers practice facility on Tuesday and had to ask ... would he be open to a second Ball in the purple and gold??

"Hey man, if he's going to make us win, it don't matter," Hart told us. "I want him."

If it does go down ... we'll have to check back with Hart's feelings on the matter ... 'cause he and 'Gelo play the same position -- and you just know LaVar Ball will have something to say about that.

Meanwhile, enjoy LiAngelo's dunk session ... it's impressive.

If you thought LiAngelo Ball's dunk sesh at the Lakers practice facility was impressive ... wait 'til you see Zion Williamson's "hold my drink" response Tuesday.

The Duke commit -- clearly reacting to 'Gelo 'cause of the "dead legs" caption he shared -- nearly took down a rim trying to top the middle Ball brother's performance.

The first dunk: A self-lob, behind-the-back jam.

The second dunk: Another self-lob, left-handed hammer.

'Gelo's clearly got ups ... but yeah, we're givin' Zion the nod here.

Here's LiAngelo Ball putting on a dunk show ... something we know he can do ... but it's where he's doing it that's interesting -- 'cause the kid is throwing down at the Lakers practice facility.

'Gelo is working hard to get into the NBA ... and told TMZ Sports he had interest from teams when we got him and his dad, LaVar, out at LAX last week.

So, when it comes to the new footage of 'Gelo at the Lakers gym, we're wondering ... did 'Gelo slide in with his big bro, Lonzo, or is the team taking a real look at the middle Ball brother, making LaVar's dream of a Ball-filled Lakers roster closer to being a reality?

LaVar Ball doesn't care one damn bit that Lonzo Ball won't be Rookie of the Year, telling TMZ Sports 'Zo's NBA freshman season was still a resounding success.

If you remember, LaVar predicted Lonzo would win the award before the season started, but even though Ball had a decent season with the Lakers, 'Zo wasn't named a finalist for ROY.

We got the Big Baller at LAX ... and wanted to know what he thought about one of his predictions not panning out, and you guessed it ... he couldn't care less.

"Who cares?! Who cares about Rookie of the Year?! Who cares about Rookie of the Year?! Ain't no missed prediction. They all going to the NBA."

As a matter of fact, it seems LaVar has had a TOTAL change of heart ... because now he doesn't even think the award matters AT ALL.

"I don't care who Rookie of the Year is. I don't care who's Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year don't mean nothing."

The finalists for the meaningless award are Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum.

LiAngelo Ball believes his NBA hopes and dreams are alive and well ... telling TMZ Sports there are definitely NBA teams interested in retaining his services.

'Gelo just killed a private combine at the IMG academy down in Florida ... turning in a 37-inch vertical leap, and draining 3's with ease.

Question is, was it enough to make NBA teams think about taking a flier on the middle Ball brother?

We asked LiAngelo if the workouts had drawn any interest from NBA teams when we saw him out at LAX with LaVar, and his answer was simple.

"Yeah, of course."

There were reports that both the Lakers and the Warriors have agreed to workouts with 'Gelo ... but the Warriors refuted those claims soon after they were made public.

That's cool by LaVar, because he told our guy he'd rather 'Gelo play for a California team a little further south.

Lakers rookie star Kyle Kuzma says he's honored NBA coaches voted him to the NBA All-Rookie 1st Team ... but tells us he wasn't surprised.

"I thought I was gonna get it all year, really," Kuzma told TMZ Sports at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills.

"It's definitely a good honor."

The twist ... his teammate, Lonzo Ball (the 2nd pick in the draft), only made the All-Rookie 2nd Team -- so, we had to ask Kyle if that would have an impact on their friendship.

"Not at all," Kuzma says ... "That's my brother."

Kobe Bryant is finally revealing his initial reaction to Kanye West's slavery comments on "TMZ Live" -- and it's the same feeling mostly everyone else had ... "What the hell are you talking about?!"

The Mamba was speaking with L.A. high school students at We Rise LA when 14-year-old Kaya -- a BSO junior reporter -- wanted to know what Kobe made of Kanye's "slavery is a choice" argument.

"Completely disagree," Kobe explained.

"The thing about our country is that you have the right to say whatever it is that you want to say ... that's the beautiful part about living in a democracy."

He added, "Conversely, you also have to take the responses that come after that as well because everybody has the freedom to say what it is that they feel."

"For him, he's one of these entertainers that's always in a constant state of growth ... he's always challenging not us as people but really himself. He's doing a lot of questioning internally himself."

"I just take it for what it is and completely disagree."

Even Black Mamba enjoys a little white snake.

Kobe Bryant brought his entire family to the Taylor Swift concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena over the weekend ... even busting out some dance moves to "Shake It Off."

Kobe and Taylor have been friends for a little while ... remember, it was Kobe who played M.C. when she got a banner at Staples Center back in 2015 for "Most Sold Out Performances."

This time, Bryant didn't have any official duties -- but he did get V.I.P. access for his daughters to hang with Taylor backstage ... where his wife, Vanessa, also kicked it with Julia Roberts!

Retirement ain't so bad, is it, Kobe?

There were a TON of famous people at the show including Rebel Wilson, Miles Teller, Bill Nye, Sarah Michelle Gellar ... and get this -- Amber Rose and her ex, Wiz Khalifa, arrived together with their kid!

He didn't exactly poo-poo the idea ...

Kobe Bryant is keeping an open mind when it comes to the Lakers' draft plans ... saying he'd be cool with the team taking another Ball brother ... "if it'll help win."

Kobe was leaving ABC Studios in New York City when we straight-up asked, "With the [NBA Draft coming up], what do you want the Lakers to do?"

Kobe's response ... "Win."

That's when we asked about LaVar Ball's plan to get LiAngelo Ball to the Lake Show ... joining his brother, Lonzo.

Kobe shrugged at the idea and said, "If it'll help win."

Kobe Bryant is showing all dads the key exercise to making a day at Disneyland into a core-strengthening, arm-building session ... THE PRINCESS LIFT.

Here's Mamba demonstrating the exercise at the Happiest Place On Earth this past weekend ... carrying his 1-year-old daughter, Bianka Bella, around ... with great technique.

BTW, it's working ... look at the size of Kobe's arms -- they are legitimately bursting out of his shirt and the veins are aggressive and frightening.