Los Angeles Lakers

LL Cool J just gave us a tour of the $1 million-plus per week yacht he and Magic Johnson -- along with a slew of other celebs like Samuel L. Jackson -- have been living their best life on ... and, as expected, it's incredible!!

The hip-hop legend joined the 62-year-old Lakers legend and wife, Cookie, aboard a $150K a day, 279 ft. luxury yacht for Magic's annual summer vacay ... which dates back to at least 2017.

Sure, there are photos of the yacht ... but up until now, you could really only imagine how the famous guests were living aboard the lavish yacht.

LL starts the tour by showing his room, the master suite, and the incredible view they have from one of the decks on the boat - with a jacuzzi nearby, of course.

"Our home away from home for the last 2 weeks..Thank you to my Big bro @magicjohnson and @thecookiej we appreciate you.. and to Sam, Latanya, Rich, Tina, Vicky, and John, much love!! GOOD VIBES!!!" LL wrote on Instagram.

LL takes us through multiple floors, showcasing a massive lounge/formal dining area, gym, and a massage/spa area.

The best part ... the gym leads to an outdoor pool, and as you can see in the video, the view is breathtaking.

LeBron James is NOT the NBA's G.O.A.T ... so says the King's former teammate, Ray Allen, who completely shut down the declaration from a beloved LBJ fan in a recent argument that was all caught on video.

Tyriek Weeks -- a basketball player from Commonwealth Academy in Rhode Island -- shared the clip to his TikTok page this weekend ... showing him and Allen getting into it over the James vs. Michael Jordan debate.

“He can score and pass it,” Weeks said, advocating for why he believed James was #1.

“Is he a great free throw shooter?" James' ex-Miami Heat teammate fired back. "Is he a great 3-point shooter? Is he a great dribbler?"

After Weeks answered "no" to all three questions ... Allen said, "So, you're saying he's the GOAT, but he ain’t even the greatest in all them categories."

Allen then went on to say Jordan actually is.

The argument from Allen is a surprising one -- considering the 46-year-old won the 2013 NBA title with LBJ, and the guys appeared to be super close during their time together in South Beach.

Lamar Odom says he still feels the presence of his late friend and former teammate, Kobe Bryant ... telling TMZ Sports, "He comes to me in dreams."

Odom, wearing the incredible Kobe and Gigi tribute pendant he got as a gift earlier this year on the anniversary of the duo's tragic death, told us out at LAX this week that it actually happens "often."

"[He's] just talking to me all the time," Odom said of the dreams. "'Hang in there. Keep fighting.' A lot of s***."

LO -- who played with Kobe from 2004-2011 and stayed good friends with him in retirement -- tells us the dreams he has with the Mamba usually involve them shooting around, sometimes even in actual games.

"His spirit, it's so strong," said Odom, who also has a tattoo of Kobe on his neck. "To me, he's like not too far away. Especially when you're dreaming of someone, and they talk to you in that dream, you're definitely going to remember it."

Lamar tells us Kobe continues to inspire him to this day ... and added that the NBA legend is a big reason why he loves flying into the City of Angels.

Russell Westbrook had the best Tuesday EVER -- because after he scored a $47 MILLION payday from the Lakers ... he celebrated with Kevin Hart at an L.A. hotspot!!

Russ opted into the final year of his Lakers contract early Tuesday morning -- making him richer than ever -- and hours later, he, Hart and some other buddies grabbed dinner at LAVO Ristorante, a swanky West Hollywood joint.

The two were in great spirits -- laughing and dappin' each other up outside of the eatery ... and while Russ didn't say too much, it's pretty clear he's fired up to be staying in L.A. for at least another year.

Of course, the 33-year-old's first year in Lakers purple and gold didn't go smoothly -- he was heckled daily over his play -- but he made it obvious with an impromptu Beyonce car karaoke sesh Tuesday morning that he's shaking all of that off in 2022-23.

BTW, no official word on who picked up the tab at Tuesday night's dinner ... but if we had to guess, something tells us it was probably Russ.

Westbrook and Hart have been tight for years -- remember, the duo were spotted out together right after the guard was traded to L.A. last year.

Russell Westbrook is staying with the Lakers ... and is sending a message to all the haters who don't like it by posting a video of him absolutely rockin' out to Beyonce's "Break My Soul."

The 9-time NBA All-Star shared the clip of himself jammin' to Bey's new song on social media on Tuesday ... just a few minutes before ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that Russ will exercise his $47.1 million option to stay in L.A. next season.

The clip is hilarious ... Russ is dancing and singing along to the track, while appearing to be in the driver's seat of his car.

The song seems to be a clear message to all of his haters ... as many Lakers fans trashed the guy and wanted him gone following a down 2021-22 season.

"You won't break my soul!" Russ sang over and over again. "I'm telling everybody!"

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving won a ring together before, and it may not have been their last ... 'cause Matt Barnes tells TMZ Sports the Lakers could be smelling champagne if Kyrie Irving joins L.A.

Matt -- who played for the Purple and Gold for two seasons -- spoke about the recent Irving rumors out at LAX this week ... and he told us if Uncle Drew ends up with the Lakers, it could result in the franchise's 18th championship.

Barnes thinks Irving -- who is rumored to be at a standstill in contract negotiations with the Nets -- would be the perfect fit for the Lake Show ... which would set him up with his old teammate in Cleveland.

"I think what they have right now," Barnes said, "if they can learn to co-exist with the group they have now, they're really close."

Barnes told us the biggest key for Irving -- who missed a ton of games over the years for a bevy of reasons -- succeeding or failing in L.A. is his level of commitment to playing.

Of course, the Lakers still have Anthony Davis, who (when healthy) is still considered a top 10 player in the league ... but Barnes thinks Kyrie is the missing piece Bron and AD need to win another ring.

Shaq's generosity knows no limits -- the NBA legend is donating the $50,000 he was set to make from a DJ'ing gig in Buffalo to the family of one of the shooting victims.

"DJ Diesel" has been making his rounds on tour ... and was naturally reticent about continuing on with his scheduled show in Buffalo in the aftermath of the mass shooting that took place last month, sources tell TMZ Sports.

But, the Hall of Famer and 4X-NBA champ decided to still do the show ... knowing how much the event meant to those who attended.

Before Shaq got busy on the ones-and-twos ... he met with the widow and son of Aaron Salter Jr., the retired police officer who was shot and killed while heroically trying to stop the gunman inside Tops supermarket in Buffalo from killing more innocent people.

We're told ... not only did The Big Aristotle have some one-on-one time with members of the Salter family, but he also agreed to give the money he was going to make to them in wake of the heinous tragedy.

The lives of many in the Buffalo community were altered and affected ... when an armed gunman senselessly executed at least 10 people in a vile hate crime.

We've seen countless people step up -- like the Buffalo Bills org. led by star quarterback Josh Allen -- in the city's time of need ... and Shaq, who's no stranger to charitable deeds, is the latest example.

Back in December, O'Neal raised $2 million in charity for his "Shaquille O'Neal Foundation" -- which provides resources and opportunities to the youth in this country without access to either -- by selling unique NFTs of himself.

The L.A. Lakers' summer roster just got a whole lot more interesting ... because after the NBA Draft this week, the team signed Shaq and Scottie Pippen's sons to deals!!

Both Shareef O'Neal and Scotty Pippen Jr. inked agreements with the Purple and Gold on Thursday night ... after going undrafted in the NBA's annual two-round selection event.

According to reports, O'Neal signed on to play for the Lakers on their NBA Summer League squad. Pippen Jr., meanwhile, signed a two-way deal, meaning he'll also play on the summer roster with O'Neal, but will then have a good shot of getting on the actual regular-season squad.

The sons of both NBA legends were fired up over the contracts ... O'Neal posted a video of him as a baby in a Lakers jersey on his social media page to celebrate, while Pippen Jr. popped a bottle of champagne and then had a long hug with his family and famous Dad.

While the two aren't as gifted as their fathers (who the hell is?!?) ... both bring a ton to the Lakers' table. Shareef -- who played his college ball at both UCLA and LSU -- is a 6-foot-10, 225-pound big man who can stretch the floor.

Pippen Jr. -- a star at Vanderbilt the past three years -- is a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 20.4 points per game in his final collegiate season.

This is awesome ... an outdoor basketball court in Los Angeles got a complete makeover this week -- with images of Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Magic Johnson, and other Lakers legends being painted all over it.

The artist behind the work, Gustavo Zermeno Jr., tells TMZ Sports he initially linked up with Veniceball and Project Backboard to repaint the court at Southside Christian Church in Inglewood to try to give it some TLC.

The Lakers theme was Zermeno Jr.'s idea ... saying he's been wanting to do this for years and "the pastor of the church is a huge Laker fan so it worked out perfectly."

Zermeno -- who's been painting professionally since 2016 -- tells us the focal point was Kobe (his favorite Laker) and other players who had their jerseys retired.

He also wanted to pay homage to Pau Gasol ... saying he "deserves to be up there with them."

And, after working alongside his friend Nick Flax for 2 weeks (10 hours per day using $3,000 worth of paint), he delivered a masterpiece.

Besides Bryant and Gasol, the court features Shaq, Magic, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, and Jerry Buss in front of the downtown L.A. skyline and Staples Center.

"It means the world really," Zermeno said of the piece. "It's also right next door to the new Clippers arena so it also shows this is still a Lakers town haha."

The unveiling marks the start of Zermeno's upcoming nonprofit organization called "Heart In The Paint" which will focus on the betterment of young lives through sports, art, and education.

Vanessa Bryant wants a jury to know that the sheriff's deputy accused of taking helicopter crash scene photos of Kobe Bryant was involved in another scandal involving excessive force where a handcuffed inmate's head was allegedly knelt on.

But, L.A. County is fighting back, insisting the other incident is irrelevant, and would seriously prejudice the jury.

About a year after Kobe, Gigi, and seven others tragically died in a helicopter crash, there was an incident inside a county jail involving a deputy named Doug Johnson ... who's accused of kneeling on the head of a handcuffed inmate for several minutes. The March 2021 incident received national news attention.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department allegedly attempted to prevent the details of the incident from going public ... believing it'd be a black eye for the department.

It's not the first scandal Doug Johnson's allegedly been involved in ... 'cause he's accused of being one of the deputies who took photographs of Kobe's remains at the crash site.

Photos were then allegedly shown to civilians -- without authorization -- in places like bars.

Now, lawyers for L.A. County are asking a judge to prevent Vanessa's attorney's from raising the issue during the defamation and negligence trial -- filed by the Bryant family in 2020 -- and set to begin in July.

The county, in documents filed on Friday, argues the jail incident is "entirely unrelated" to Vanessa's case. They argue bringing up such a hot button issue like excessive force could have a huge effect on the outcome of the trial.

Lawyers for the county reportedly asked Vanessa's legal team if they'd agree not to bring up the other incident ... but VB's attorney refused, according to the L.A. Times. That's when L.A. County filed the motion.

A judge is yet to make a decision on L.A. County's request.

As for the jail incident ... Johnson was captured on camera leading an inmate through a hallway, before the man, awaiting a murder charge, punched him in the face several times. Once Johnson got the 24-year-old inmate under control and handcuffed, he allegedly knelt on the inmates head for around 3 minutes.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith says Shaquille O'Neal had every right to clap back at a hater trying to diminish his success ... telling TMZ Sports no superstar has won a championship on their own.

As we previously reported, Diesel went OFF on a Twitter user for claiming he wouldn't have won his 3 rings with the Lakers without Kobe Bryant ... saying, "no person can win without another star big dummy."

We spoke with Smith about Shaq's issue with the heckler ... and he says anyone who knows hoop understands winning a ring isn't a one-man gig.

Worth mentioning -- Shaq brought Kenny into the debate with his rebuttal to the hater ... saying Smith wouldn't have won a championship without Hakeem Olajuwon.

Smith backs up the Big Aristotle ... saying the Hall of Famer is just spitting facts. And if the argument were about Kobe, it would be the same result -- no one wins without a stellar supporting cast.

Russell Westbrook might be a Laker, but he'll always be welcome in Oklahoma City ... which is why the point guard just received a key to the city!!

The 33-year-old superstar -- who won the MVP award with the Thunder in the 2016-17 season -- was on hand at Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City for the honor.

"We are so grateful for all @russwest44 has done for our city through the years," Mayor David Holt said. "And we want him to know he’s welcome here anytime."

"To make sure Russ can always come back home to OKC, I gave him the Key to the City."

The Mayor also cut the ribbon for a new futsal/basketball court, which was funded by Russ and his Why Not? foundation.

"This new court at Capitol Hill HS in South OKC demonstrates Russ’s continued commitment to the kids of @okcps and the people of OKC," David said.

Aside from his on-court accomplishments, Russ is known to have an active role in charitable work through his foundation -- which helps inspire children to achieve their dreams -- including backpack and shoe drives ... as well as handing out meals on Thanksgiving.

Of course, Westbrook spent the majority of his NBA career in OKC ... where he helped the team reach the Finals in 2012, and became the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

Shaquille O'Neal just eviscerated a hoops fan for trying to discredit his success with the Lakers ... telling the guy to "enjoy my stats and STF up."

The whole interaction started after the Legion Hoops Twitter account posted Diesel's insane stat lines from the NBA Finals during the Lakers' 3-peat from 2000-2002 ... which was meant to praise the big man's dominance.

Naturally, one user had to provide his unwarranted take on the topic ... tweeting out, "Even with all of this Shaq doesn’t win those rings without Kobe."

The jab got Shaq's attention ... and pissed him off so much, he clapped back with a fierce response.

"No person can win without another star big dummy," he said over the weekend. "How many would Magic (Johnson) have without Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar)? How many would Kenny Smith have without Hakeem Olajuwon?"

"WTF u talking about I hate dumb ass people," the Hall of Famer added. "Enjoy my stats and stf up."

The heckler has yet to respond to Shaq directly, but has been forced to defend his take with those backing O'Neal up.

YouTuber and boxer Austin McBroom is looking for redemption when he puts on his next boxing event at Crypto.com Arena in July ... enlisting Pro Bowl running back Le'Veon Bell and a former Lakers star to fight on the card.

TMZ Sports spoke with the social media superstar ahead his July 30 fight -- a professional bout against AnEsonGib -- and he's dropping some major hints on the huge names involved.

Among those names include the former Steelers star, some high profile musicians and even a popular ex-NBA hooper ... but aside from Bell, McBroom was tight-lipped on revealing who exactly he was talking about.

Of course, McBroom's Social Gloves' first attempt at the boxing game -- the Battle of the Platforms -- resulted in lawsuits and fighters claiming they didn't get paid ... but the 30-year-old says he's learned his lesson and is ready to put on a hiccup-free show.

"This time around, we're working with people who have been doing this for a while. We have a new team, new streaming partner, everything is new," McBroom tells us. "Guys that are really experienced and I've been very blessed and fortunate to have another shot at this."

"Everything in the past is behind us -- no lawsuits, fighters are paid and we're ready to do this thing the right way and put on a show how it was supposed to be put on the first time around."

McBroom is hellbent on making this a great experience for everyone involved this time around -- hoping to sell out the arena and sell around 300,000 Pay-Per-Views.

As for his own fight, McBroom says he's expecting to make light work out of Gib ... which he hopes will pave the way for a fight against Logan Paul's old opponent, KSI.

Metta Sandiford-Artest is a huge fan of Rasheed Wallace joining the Lakers as an assistant coach ... praising the ex-player as a hoops genius.

The 2010 NBA champion talked all things Purple & Gold after leaving Craig's in L.A. this week ... and when he was asked about 'Sheed joining the bench, Metta says the move could pay huge dividends for the Lake Show.

"I think Rasheed is brilliant, smart," Sandiford-Artest said ... adding Wallace is "as good as it's going to come when you talk about a basketball brain."

'Sheed joins the Lakers with previous coaching experience -- in 2013, he was a member of the Detroit Pistons coaching staff ... and last year, he was a member of the Memphis Tigers coaching staff under Penny Hardaway.

Wallace, who played for 6 different teams over his 18-year career, earned a reputation for being a savvy player on the court ... something Metta can attest to due to their battles over the years.

Sandiford-Artest admittedly said he won't be keeping up with the Lakers' offseason moves -- like whether they will try to get Zach LaVine -- but come October, he'll be tuned in to see what 'Sheed and newly hired head coach Darvin Ham do with the team.

Speaking of the team ... Metta said he's not bailing on the Russell Westbrook experiment in L.A. just yet ... amid pleas for the superstar point guard to be shipped out of town.

Rasheed Wallace is coming back to the NBA -- this time, as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers!!

The news broke on Monday ... Shams Charania of The Athletic announced the former NBA star has agreed to join the Lakers staff as an assistant coach under new head coach Darvin Ham.

FYI, Wallace and Ham -- who signed with L.A. last week -- played together on the Detroit Pistons from 2004 to 2005.

This won't be Wallace's first gig as an assistant coach -- he held the same position with the Pistons from 2013 to 2014 ... and last season with the Memphis Tigers.

In fact, Tigers' head coach Penny Hardaway hinted to a local reporter in Memphis that Wallace was likely to sign with the Lakers.

Before his coaching career, Wallace played 16 seasons for the then-Washington Bullets, Blazers, Hawks, Pistons, Celtics and Knicks.

The 4x All-Star's most notable years were with the Blazers and Pistons ... where he won an NBA championship in 2004.