Los Angeles Lakers

Lamar Odom is clearly not over Khloe Kardashian ... the ex-NBA star recently said that he misses his ex-wife "so much" -- and is still dreaming about her.

"Celebrity Big Brother" cameras captured Odom's revelation while he was making his bed on the show ... with Lamar repeatedly telling his housemate, choreographer Todrick Hall, that he thinks about Khloe often.

"I had some good dreams last night," Odom can be heard telling Hall in the footage. "I dreamt about my ex-wife last night."

"I miss her so much," Odom continued. "I wish I could take that time back ... I miss her so much."

The 42-year-old married Khloe back in 2009, but the two were divorced just a few years later.

Since their split, Khloe had a daughter, True, with Tristan Thompson ... whom Odom recently called "corny" over the way he's treated Khloe.

Lamar Odom is still holding out hope for this season's Lakers ... telling TMZ Sports despite their struggles, the Purple and Gold are still his pick to win the NBA title.

LeBron James and Co. have underperformed so far in 2021-22 -- they're far from the top of the Western Conference and can't seem to find a rhythm.

Odom -- who won 2 titles with the Lakers -- says he's not concerned about the Lake Show's lack of success so far ... and it's all thanks to the talent on the roster.

"I think they're good enough to win a championship," Odom tells us. "They're still my pick to win the championship. I don't know if that's Laker pride or me just being a Laker at heart. But they're still my pick."

"Anytime you have LeBron James on the court and a healthy Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony as your 6th man, I think they'll give you a really good shot."

Odom -- who recently launched the Savvy Talent Management Group -- says the team needs to pick it up defensively ... and would like to see LeBron lead the team like Kobe Bryant did for 20 years.

"Of the teams that I played for that won championships, we had a tremendous leader in Bean Bryant," Odom adds. "A lot of his will, tenacity ... it kind of rubbed off on us. I would like to see LeBron James' will and tenacity and his will to win rub off on these Laker guys."

"I think once that happens, once they coincide that, they'll be all right."

Carmelo Anthony needed to be restrained from going after fans in Philadelphia on Thursday night ... and it's all because he says some of them called him "boy."

As the L.A. Lakers were down big to the 76ers in the fourth quarter of their game in Philly ... Melo stopped playing and began walking toward a group of Sixers fans that appeared to be talking trash.

At one point, it looked like Anthony was going to enter the crowd and get face-to-face with the men ... but, fortunately, referees grabbed him before he could get to the fans.

Arena security ended up booting the men from the area before it could escalate further ... and when Melo was asked about the incident following the game, he told the L.A. Times that he was called "boy" by the men.

Melo added in his postgame interview that he believed all of the smack talk crossed lines.

"Some things were said -- unacceptable," Anthony said. "I'm cool with fans heckling, fans talking trash, cheering for their team, booing the other team, I'm all for that."

"But when you cross certain lines, as a man, you just, that's what you're going to see. That's what you're going to get, as you saw there."

Anthony continued, "There's just certain things you don't bring to any type of sporting event. There's just certain things you don't say to anybody. If I was outside and I bumped into you and you said those things to me, then it would be a totally different story."

It's unclear if the fans will face further discipline from the 76ers.

Of course, this is far from the first time this season that players have gotten into it with fans ... even Carmelo's own teammate, LeBron James, had hecklers kicked out of their seats earlier this season.

Despite the construction of a temporary Kobe and Gigi Bryant statue this week at the site of their tragic helicopter crash ... TMZ Sports has learned a permanent sculpture will not be installed.

City of Calabasas officials told us this week they have "no plans for any sort of memorial at the crash site."

A spokesperson for the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority, which oversees the site of the tragic crash, added that there is to be "no permanent memorial on the site."

It does not mean one couldn't ultimately end up being placed there at some point down the road ... but the rep for the MRCA told us definitively there's nothing currently in the works for now or the future.

It's a bummer for those who wanted to see a statue erected ... especially after a 160-pound one was placed on the scene by sculptor Dan Medina on the anniversary of the crash on Wednesday.

Fans loved the mini-monument, which featured a depiction of Kobe and Gigi together, and Medina had told us he'd be willing to donate a life-sized version of it to the city for free.

Ex-NBA player Kwame Brown is livid with Dwyane Wade's daughter's fashion tribute to Kobe Bryant ... saying her #8 jersey dress was "disrespectful" to the Lakers legend.

14-year-old Zaya Wade showed love to the Bryants in an Instagram post on Wednesday ... wearing the outfit and captioning the post, "always remembering and honoring Kobe and Gianna."

Seems harmless, right?? Not in Brown's eyes ... as the 2001 #1 overall pick unleashed on Dwyane during his "Bust Life" YouTube show on Thursday ... saying the ex-Miami Heat star doesn't "level up as a man."

"You are letting your woman control your house," Kwame said ... claiming Kobe's wife, Vanessa, and kids would not honor Kobe the same way Zaya did.

Kwame strongly believes Zaya's tribute does a disservice to everything Kobe stands for ... citing his work ethic, masculinity, and faith.

"I'm not saying there's anything against homosexuals, but [Kobe] is a heterosexual man. Why is he being honored by making his jersey into a dress? Wear his goddamn jersey for the day to honor him without the dress part," Brown added.

"Let's please not show our Black brother in this light. This is no offense to nobody else. This man was a heterosexual man with a wife and a family. There's no reason for this to be tied to Kobe Bryant. None whatsoever."

D-Wade has been nothing but supportive of Zaya ... and has spoken out about how the family has grown in understanding over the years.

Lamar Odom is going back to TV -- the former Lakers star will be joining the cast of "Celebrity Big Brother" this season ... where he'll be competing for a $250,000 cash prize.

The series announced Odom will be a guest for its third season on Thursday ... releasing a video on social media introducing all the celebs who'll be living under the same roof for the competition.

"My name is Lamar Odom [and] people may know me for winning two championships with the LA Lakers," Odom said in his intro.

"They also may know me for marrying Khloe Kardashian. We had our own TV show. Our own reality show."

Odom is no stranger to television -- when he was still married to Khloe, they had their own show, "Khloe & Lamar" ... which was a spinoff of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

Speaking of Kardashians ... CBB will have another guest who has a tie to their family. Shanna Moakler -- whose ex-husband, Travis Barker, is engaged to Kourtney Kardashian -- will join Odom in the house.

Other notable guests include UFC star Miesha Tate, NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick, SNL's Chris Kattan and 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star, Cynthia Bailey.

Lamar made more than $114 million during his NBA career ... but recently opened up about his struggles with money management -- even going to Kobe Bryant to help him get out of a gambling debt.

A sculptor in Los Angeles has honored the anniversary of the deaths of Kobe and Gigi Bryant by placing a statue of the two at the site where they tragically passed away in 2020.

The artist, Dan Medina, tells TMZ Sports he created the 160-pound bronze figure and pulled it up to the scene in Calabasas via a wagon on Wednesday.

The sculpture is only a temporary piece -- Medina says he'll haul it back down at sunset -- but the artist tells us he's hoping the city will allow him to put up a larger, more life-sized version permanently at the site.

The artwork, while smaller than what Medina hopes it'll ultimately end up being, is incredible -- it's a depiction of Kobe in a Lakers uniform with his arm around Gigi, who's also in a basketball uniform holding a ball.

At the base of the statue, Medina added the names of all nine of the victims who tragically died in the helicopter crash on the Calabasas hillside on Jan. 26, 2020.

"Heroes come and go," words on the base of the statue read, "but legends are forever."

As we previously reported, Kobe, Gigi and the others were on their way to a girls basketball game, when the chopper suddenly wrecked in the terrain.

Tributes to the Bryants and the other victims of the crash have poured in on the anniversary Wednesday, with athletes and celebs from all over remembering them all on social media.

In fact, Kobe's old Lakers teammate, Lamar Odom, was gifted a diamond pendant on Wednesday to honor and remember the Bryants.

Lamar Odom will now have Kobe and Gigi Bryant with him everywhere he goes -- the ex-Lakers star was just gifted an incredible piece honoring the late NBA legend and his daughter on the second anniversary of their tragic helicopter accident.

TMZ Sports has learned ... LO -- who played alongside Kobe from 2004-2011 and remained close friends with the Hall of Famer in retirement -- received the special tribute to the Mamba and Mambacita from his manager, Tonita B.

The finished product is a diamond chain and pendant featuring Kobe kissing Gigi on the head ... which was based off a famous picture of the two sitting courtside at a Laker game in 2019.

We're told the chain -- designed by Scoobie Da Jeweler -- is made of 25 carats of VS diamonds ... and the whole finished product is worth around $17,000.

The back of the piece features a special quote from Kobe ... which reads, "Rest at the end, not in the middle."

We're told this all came to be when Tonita decided to do something unique for Lamar to commemorate their new Savvy Talent Management Group partnership ... and given his admiration for Bryant and his family, she chose a Mamba-related keepsake.

Odom has previously spoken about the impact Kobe left on his life after the fatal accident on Jan. 26, 2020 ... saying he not only helped him on the court, but was by his side during his darkest times.

Odom posted about his new gift on social media minutes ago ... saying, "To understand that Kobe meant the world to me and have this made as a constant reminder for me to keep going has me at loss for words. 💜"

The Los Angeles Lakers might be a dumpster fire right now, but that hasn't stopped fans from buying up all their gear ... with the Purple & Gold leading the NBA in merchandise sales this season.

The league just released its list of most popular fan purchases through the 2021-22 season so far ... and LeBron James sits at the top of the throne for player jersey sales, with the Lakers coming in at #1 for overall team merch sold on the NBA Store website.

It's pretty interesting, considering the Lake Show has stunk up the place this season -- they're 22-23 and head coach Frank Vogel is on the verge of losing his job.

But, it's clear fans aren't going anywhere ... stocking up on their swag as the team falls apart.

Stephen Curry comes in at #2 in jersey sales, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic rounding out the top 5.

Russell Westbrook -- who's had a pretty tough year -- didn't make the list ... but Anthony Davis was able to come in at #7.

The Dubs, Bucks, Nets and Celtics follow the Lakers in team sales.

Charles Barkley is so tired of the Lakers, he went on an epic rant on Thursday saying the team flat-out sucks and is a bunch of "cowards" and "wussies."

The "Inside the NBA" host held nothing back on the set of the insanely popular TNT hoops show ... railroading L.A. for its recent losses and the team's responses to them.

"The Lakers are such wussies," Barkley said, "and I only say wussies because I can't say the word I want to say."

"The way they have tried to throw Frank Vogel and Russell Westbrook under the bus is really pissing me off."

Ernie Johnson, the show's host, interrupted Charles ... reminding him that they had a scheduled guest about to come on, but CB wasn't about to let some interview stop him from going in on the Lakeshow.

Check out the clip ... Barkley responded to Johnson by saying, "The Lakers still suck when we get back from this interview."

Barkley went on to express his disgust for the Lakers' front office ... accusing it of "running and hiding" after putting together a crappy roster.

"I'm not going to sit at like all these clowns on other networks that got they heads up the Lakers booties," Barkley said.

"The people up top who put that trash together are running and hiding like cowards. You put all them old geezers out there. The best guy, other than LeBron, for the last month has been who? Stanley Johnson."

"It's ridiculous, man," an exasperated Barkley continued.

Charles ultimately said he doesn't care who wins or loses ... joking that he can't wait for the season to be over so he can golf and fish.

Antonio Brown's very public tour of the country following his infamous exit from the Buccaneers continued at Crypto.com Arena on Monday -- where he jumped on a railing to get love from fans who were chanting his name.

The former Tampa Bay star -- who's been spotted in NYC, Miami and now L.A. since being cut from the Bucs -- caused quite the scene outside of the Lakers game ... being mobbed by people who wanted autographs and pics with the NFL player.

Video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows it all went down just minutes after Brown watched LeBron James beat the Utah Jazz from courtside seats inside the building.

People wanted his pic and signature so badly -- Brown stayed for several minutes, and then he hopped on some skinny railing to entertain them.

The fans chanted "AB" over and over again ... all while he was standing on the fencing and waving his arms.

What's interesting -- Brown has claimed his ankle is completely jacked up ... but it certainly looked like it was healing up well while he was feet in the air balancing on the barrier.

Brown has not shied away one bit from the public eye since he threw a shirtless temper tantrum at MetLife Stadium -- he's been seen at NBA games repeatedly and has also been spotted dining with stars like Kanye West in recent days as well.

LeBron James is quickly getting over the Lakers' struggles and focusing on the positives ... by losing his mind over his wife's latest Instagram post.

The Lakers are below .500 with a 21-22 record so far this season, forcing the King to publicly apologize via social media on Sunday.

While LBJ's social media activity seemed like a downer, it got much better once Savannah posted a gorgeous look on Instagram Sunday night ... with Bron gushing multiple times over the shot.

"When you walked downstairs I said to myself 'GODDAMN!!! That’s MINE'🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥," LBJ said in response to Savannah's red hair and black outfit.

"SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL Queen 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍"

James didn't stop there ... he reposted the video on his own IG, saying, "GODDESS QUEEN 👸🏾!!"

"Lucky Black Man I am. SHEESH she’s BAD!!," he added. "It’s gone be a great week when you start it off with a Monday like this!"

Of course, LeBron and Savannah -- who were were high school sweethearts -- got married in 2013 and have three kids together ... Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri.

Russell Westbrook can't catch a break -- the Lakers star was hilariously mocked by the Sacramento Kings' in-house DJ on Wednesday ... who played the song "Cold As Ice" every time he missed a shot.

It's no secret -- Russ hasn't necessarily been lights-out from the field recently ... and the shooting slump continued against the Kings in Sacramento.

Check out the clip -- you can hear the DJ drop a snippet of Foreigner's "Cold As Ice" track every time Westbrook missed a shot.

BTW, Russ finished the game with just 8 points -- going 2-14 from the field -- so the song was played quite a bit.

But, that wasn't the only troll job of the night -- in the waning moments of the game, the Kings put up a graphic on the scoreboard ... calling Westbrook the "Ice Cold Player Of The Game."

This isn't the first time we've seen the former MVP struggle to shoot the rock. In fact, here are some of Russ' most recent shooting woes.

7-of-19 vs. MIN

7-of-19 vs. SAC

4-of-14 vs. ATL

2-of-12 vs. MEM

2-of-14 vs. SAC

Westbrook brushed it all off after the game ... telling reporters "That's funny. I hope they played that the last 14 years, too. It's funny they play it now. That's cute."

To Russ' credit, he did take personal responsibility for his shooting struggles ... saying, "Man, who you telling. I can't f**king hit a shot, boy."

Halsey is not letting Grizzlies player Desmond Bane get away with coming at the King ... ripping the guard for being rude to LeBron James and having a "big a** f***in' mouth."

23-year-old Bane was clearly chirping throughout the Lakers' home game against Memphis ... and it got so heated at one point, LBJ shoved the guy for continuously running his mouth.

The award-winning singer -- who's a die-hard Lakers fan -- was sitting courtside through it all ... and had some words for DB after the game.

"Courtside observations: Bane got an unnaturally loud and rude big a** f***in mouth," Halsey said via Twitter.

Grizzlies fans quickly replied with shots of their own ... but Halsey wasn't having it.

"Bruh shut the f*** up," Halsey replied, "This man LeBron almost had to give him a masterclass in decorum."

"Everyone s*** talks but word on the court was 'he’s a problem.'"

FYI, Bane -- who's in his second season with the Grizz -- replied to Halsey's analysis with a few laughing emojis and a thumbs down ... but he later deleted the tweet.

Shaq is back on the mic -- the NBA legend just teamed up with EDM superstar Steve Aoki to drop a new banger ... and the song is 🔥🔥🔥!!

Shaquille O'Neal -- AKA DJ Diesel -- dusted off his notebook and came up with some words for "Welcome to the Playhouse" ... rapping about being at the top of the game and partying like crazy.

"Do you know what the cost to be the boss is? 'Til you got more endorsements than loses," the Hall of Famer raps ... adding, "Do you want Shaq to put you in your place? I'll make Steve throw a cake in your face."

Aoki was clearly pleased with Shaq's performance ... sharing a behind-the-scenes vid of when he first heard the verse.

O'Neal even sprinkled some hoop terms into his verse ... saying, "Turn your wrist overshoot a jump shot. Follow through then you won't get blocked."

FYI -- Aoki had been teasing the collab all week ... posting a pic with Shaq (but cropping the big man's head out).

As we previously reported, Shaq has been welcomed with open arms in the DJ universe ... with Diplo telling us back in 2019 the ex-Laker has all the skills needed to kill it in the industry.

Now that the new song is out, it's time to rage -- and just in time for Shaq's annual Funhouse Super Bowl bash in L.A. next month.

Tristan Thompson's rough week got a bit worse Tuesday night ... with his good friend LeBron James talking serious trash right in his face during the Lakers vs. Kings game.

It all went down in the closing minutes of L.A.'s matchup with Sacramento at Crypto.com Arena ... when LBJ drove the lane for a clutch and-1 layup to put the Lakers up 118-112 late in the game.

After the play, Bron headed right to the Kings' bench and yelled, "I'm a motherf***ing problem, bitch" ... with Tristan -- who didn't play in Tuesday night's game -- standing just feet away.

One of the game's announcers clearly thought it was a message directed for his ex-Cavs teammate ... saying James "looked right at him."

Tristan's reaction is priceless ... giving a sheepish look as the Lakers went on to take the win, 122-114.

Now, LeBron and Thompson have remained tight for years -- they played 4 seasons together (winning a title in 2016) ... and have remained close since LBJ joined the Lakers in 2018.

It's been a difficult stretch for Thompson -- on Monday, he revealed he fathered a child with a Houston woman and publicly apologized to his ex, Khloe Kardashian, and daughter, True, in the announcement.