Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant is still a titan of industry -- even in death -- so says Forbes which just ranked him #6 on its "Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities of 2020" list.

The NBA legend passed away on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash -- but in the months that followed, his estate pulled in an estimated $20 million in earnings, Forbes says.

The main source of income is from shoes and apparel -- with Nike reportedly raking in around $250 mil annually from Mamba items.

In addition to sneakers, Kobe's 2018 autobiography, "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" sold more than 300,000 copies this year --TEN TIMES the number of copies it did in 2019, Forbes says.

There's more ... after the Lakers won the NBA championship in October, Bryant's jersey was the #2 seller for the organization, behind Finals MVP LeBron James.

As for the rest of the Forbes list ... Michael Jackson is still #1 with $48 mil in earnings in 2020. Dr. Seuss is #2 with $33 mil. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz is #3 with $32.5. Arnold Palmer is #4 with $25 million. And #5 is Elvis with $23 mil.

Elvis' estate has lost a ton of money this year because of the COVID pandemic -- tourism at his legendary home Graceland is a big moneymaker, but it's been hit hard by the shutdowns.

The defending NBA champs will be playing home games in front of empty seats to start off the 2020-21 season ... with the Los Angeles Lakers keeping fans home "until further notice."

The team made the announcement Wednesday ... saying it consulted with state and local health officials to come up with its plan for games as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

"The health and safety of our fans, players, staff and community are our main priority and we will continue to work with state and local officials to come up with a plan to safely welcome fans back to STAPLES Center in adherence with local, State, and NBA guidelines," the Lakers said in a statement.

"We appreciate your continued support and look forward to coming together, when it is safe to do so, to celebrate the raising of our banner and the quest for another NBA championship.

FYI, L.A. -- like many places across the country -- is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The 2020-21 schedule will be released soon ... and the season starts Dec. 22.

A Lakers fan blew off his hand during a fireworks accident while celebrating the team's NBA championship -- and dramatic video shows an LAPD officer with medical training rushed to his aid.

It all went down in Los Angeles on October 11, when thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the Lakers' victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

One man apparently suffered a Jason Pierre-Paul-style injury -- with a firework blowing up in his left hand.

LAPD Officer Christopher Gonzalez -- a former Army Ranger -- was on shift that night ... and immediately jumped into action.

"In the blink of an eye, the combat veteran becomes the guardian we train our officers to be," the LAPD says in a dramatic video of the incident.

Body cam video shows Officer Gonzalez remains cool, calm and collected throughout the ordeal -- placing a tourniquet on the man's arm to help slow the bleeding. He also locates other wounds and informs paramedics about the situation when help arrives.

"Left hand is like, gone," the officer says ... "[He's also] bleeding from the right. I couldn’t find a source and .. and he has a 1-inch wound on his left groin that he’s holding gauze over."

Ultimately, the man was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

No word on his current condition but it's clear he was lucky Officer Gonzalez was on duty that night.

Lebron James is dropping a special episode of "The Shop" this week -- because he booked Barack Obama!!!

"In Miami this weekend, I dropped by The Shop to talk with [LeBron] and [Maverick Carter] about the NBA bubble, the racial justice movement, and what's at stake over these next seven days," Obama said.

Bron and Obama are famously good friends who have been tight for years.

In fact, Obama reportedly counseled LeBron on how to make statements about social justice and police brutality while inside the NBA Bubble.

Plus, they both hate President Trump and are campaigning hard for Joe Biden.

LeBron also tweeted about the show -- saying, "It was such an honor.  My President giving us the perspective and motivation we need right now. GO VOTE!!!"

The Obama episode is set to drop on Friday, Oct. 30 on HBO and HBO Max.

The network is also touting that the special was produced under COVID-19 guidelines.

Producers are keeping a tight lid on the content so far -- but HBO's exec Vice President Nina Rosenstein gave this teaser -- "Their conversation with President Obama is candid, compelling and urgently relevant."

LeBron James was back at Nobu in Malibu on Thursday night for a fancy dinner with Anthony Davis and their agent Rich Paul.

Normally, not that big of a deal for 2 teammates to dine with their agent -- but it seems like they're making a statement in the wake of some criticism about their professional relationship.

Earlier Thursday, an anonymous NBA agent went after LeBron and Rich Paul to The Athletic -- essentially saying that Paul is just a puppet for LeBron.

The agent essentially claims LeBron is running the show at the Klutch Sports Group and Paul is just doing his bidding -- which, if true, would be illegal in California since a player is not also allowed to represent talent.

Here's a quote from the article ...

"The worst thing that LeBron is doing is forcing this power with Rich Paul and what that is, in terms of, he’s a player, but he has prowess in the media space. His company Spring Hill, that’s awesome. Doing the movies and all of the projects. That’s so commendable. I love that. But now that they’ve jumped into the agent game, which the reality is, it’s illegal for a player, particularly if you’re in the state of California, to be licensed to represent talent."

The agent suggests several young players have been "seduced" by LeBron to sign with Klutch because they idolized him growing up ... only to end up signing bad deals.

But, neither Bron nor Anthony Davis or Paul seemed to be bothered by the criticism Thursday night -- rolling up to Nobu in fancy cars and enjoying a night at one of the hottest restaurants in town.

Kobe Bryant's legacy will live on at the Smithsonian -- where his jersey from the 2008 NBA Finals now hangs at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Bryant wore the jersey in Game 5 of the '08 NBA Finals -- the night the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics. Kobe dropped 25 that night.

The Celtics ended up winning the series (remember the Kevin Garnett "Anything is possible" moment?). Kobe was named MVP of the league that season. Plus Mamba led the Lakers to the NBA title in 2009 and 2010.

Kobe -- a founding donor of NMAAHC -- later donated his Game 5 jersey where it will now be featured in an installation called, "Sports: Leveling the Playing Field."

The text next to the jersey reads, "In 1996, Kobe Bryant became the first guard to successfully make the leap from high school to the National Basketball Association. At the time, experts were skeptical that high school wing players could compete in the NBA. His success ushered in the modern era of younger players in the league."

Kobe was a huge supporter of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. -- he was a founding donor.

In fact, Smithsonian officials say the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation has contributed more than $1 million to NMAAHC over the years.

"As a founding donor, [Kobe] understood the significance of this museum to the nation and the world," museum official Spencer Crew said.

"After postponing the March installation due to COVID-19, we believe now is the perfect moment in history to honor his memory by placing his jersey on view."

FYI, Bryant’s jersey will be on view next to a pair of LeBron James 15 “Equality” sneakers by Nike, museum officials say.

The L.A. Lakers victory celebration has moved to Malibu -- with LeBron James and his teammates turning up at Nobu!

Seems it was a couple's dinner -- because everyone from Bron to Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard and more showed up to the restaurant Wednesday night with their significant others. The fashion game was strong!!!

Just because they're out of the bubble, doesn't mean they're blowing off COVID safety measures -- everyone masked up on the way into the sushi joint.

Rajón Rondo, Markieff Morris, Jared Dudley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and others also showed up ... though we haven't seen pics of Anthony Davis yet!

Earlier this week, Davis appeared on the 'Jimmy Kimmel' show and joked about how he wouldn't go back to Disney World for years after spending months in the bubble. He also mentioned how most of his teammates just relaxed in their own beds once they arrived home. Maybe he's just not ready to party yet!

Speaking of parties ... as we previously reported, the Lakers and L.A. City and County officials are working together to figure out a safe way to have a massive victory parade in L.A. -- but it won't happen until the pandemic is over, which could take a while.

In the meantime, hopefully the players enjoyed their expensive victory dinner at the hottest restaurant in town ... they earned it!!

An L.A. man claims he was shot in the face with a rubber bullet at the Lakers championship celebration at Staples Center ... and now the LAPD is investigating, TMZ Sports has learned.

Here's the deal ... Manny Barrientos -- a Van Nuys native who loves photography -- told KTLA 5 he headed out to Staples Center on Sunday night after the Lakers beat the Heat in Game 6 to grab some pics of the downtown L.A. party.

But, Barrientos says when police came to break up the rowdy scene ... he was shot in the mouth by a rubber bullet, which knocked out 8 of his teeth. and destroyed his lip.

"I seen my shirt all bloody," Barrientos said. "And people around me were just like, 'Your lip! Your lip is gone! Your lip is gone!'"

"My lip, it was actually on the floor at one point. A whole little chunk of it was on the floor."

Barrientos says he required emergency care to fix the damage ... and his family has now set up a GoFundMe page to try to help him pay for the medical bills.

Barrientos' family added Manny "didn’t deserve this."

The family notes Barrientos is still in the hospital recovering.

"As promised, the Lakers win the 'ship, I'll go get that tat."

That's Snoop Dogg making good on his promise to the Lakers -- getting some brand new body ink to commemorate L.A.'s 17th NBA title.

The rap legend hit up his pal, Mr. Cartoon, on Monday night -- and got a pretty large piece on his right forearm.

The piece includes Kobe Bryant's initials on his wrist -- along with the Larry O'Brien championship trophy above that ... with the Lakers team logo right below the gates of heaven. Pretty cool tattoo.

"Anything for the Lakers, everything for the Lakers, all things for the Lakers," Snoop said ... "F*ck the Clippers."

"That's championship sh*t -- something the Clippers don't know nothing about!"

During the session, Snoop gave tons of love to his tattoo artist, Mr. Cartoon -- who's famously worked on stars like 50 Cent and Slim Thug.

"Only by the best man -- that's the only man who do my tattoos, the one and only. Mr. Cartoon."

After the ink was dry, Snoop threw on his purple and gold Lakers jacket and went on his way.

"We the west and we the best ... f*ck outta here!"

Barack Obama is congratulating his pal, LeBron James -- saying the NBA superstar is a legend both on and off the court ... despite what Trump thinks.

"Proud of my friend @KingJames for his fourth title, fourth Finals MVP, and for not only living up to the hype after seventeen seasons, but surpassing it as an extraordinary leader both on the court and in the public arena fighting for education, social justice, and our democracy."

Obama and LeBron have been friends for years -- with Barack reportedly counseling LeBron on how to speak out against social injustice during the NBA restart.

And, with Donald Trump recently going after LeBron as "nasty" and a "hater" ... Obama made it clear he couldn't disagree with POTUS more.

LeBron also got some love Monday from Tom Brady -- because insanely accomplished old guys gotta stick together!

"Congrats to my brother @KingJames on winning his 4th championship," 43-year-old Brady said to the 35-year-old Lakers star ... "Not bad for a washed up old guy!"

But, the self-deprecation didn't stop there!

Check out the picture Brady posted along with the caption -- it's a meme of the Bucs QB holding up 4 fingers during his "what down?" blunder on "Thursday Night Football" last week -- but with LeBron's head on his body.

Haaaaaa.

It's nice to see TB12 can laugh about it now ... considering the mistake went on to cost Tampa Bay the game against the Chicago Bears.

Cops arrested 67 people outside Staples Center in L.A. Sunday night -- in a crazy celebration that had everything from fireworks to a guy in an actual plastic bubble!

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the arena -- despite the fact, the team was still in Orlando, Florida -- and things got crazy quickly!

So many people showed up (remember, we're still in a pandemic) -- that law enforcement declared an unlawful assembly in an effort to get people to go home!

The California Highway Patrol also shut down freeway off-ramps into the area to stop the crowd from growing in size.

Ultimately, we're told cops arrested 61 people for failing to disperse, 5 for looting and 1 for vandalism -- totaling 67.

We're told one police officer was injured in the chaos -- suffering a hand injury from a bottle somebody had thrown at cops.

Some fans were also injured. There are pics of paramedics treating someone outside Staples but unclear exactly what happened.

Not all of the fans were combative -- there were groups of people chanting Kobe Bryant's name, others waving Lakers flags.

But, there were times where fans got aggressive with police -- some even tried to kick in the windshield of a cop car -- which led to officers to brandish weapons in order to try and keep the peace.

We've seen footage from the celebration of fans fighting in the streets, looting a Starbucks and setting off fireworks.

As for the game, the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, winning the 17th title in franchise history.

Rihanna isn't rocking with anyone who is NOT on the Lakers wagon ... but for those who are, she's got a tune for ya.

RiRi and her crew belted out "We Are the Champions" Sunday night to celebrate the Lakers bringing home their 17th NBA championship -- and while it might seem cliché for most people ... she makes it awesome.

Rihanna went with a classic yellow Kobe Bryant #24 jersey, and accessorized with purple and gold balloons for her Lake Show party. It's unclear where this bash went down, but looks like she was next to an RV.

She captioned her video, "if you ain’t on this time right now...bye. Lebron remains king 💪🏿 Lakers are the champs 💜💛 and Kobe is proud 🙏🏿 A.D thank you! #🏆 #Congratulations."

Meanwhile ... Dr. Dre -- a huge Lakers fan -- was hanging out with Rick Ross, a huge Heat fan. The Doc couldn't help himself but give The Boss a hard time after the Lakers wrapped up the series, 4 games to 2. Dre reminded Rick, "That's what it is! The Lake Show!"

Poor Rick, all he could do was sit there and take it. We don't know if these guys had money on the game, but if so ... they can both afford to pay up.

The parade is on hold, but the Lakers locker room celebration Sunday night was LIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTT!!!!

LeBron James, J.R. Smith, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Jared Dudley threw on some protective goggles and let the champagne fly moments after defeating the Miami Heat!

J.R. Smith found his old pal, LeBron, and doused him in booze, while dancing around the locker room with all of his teammates!

There's a funny moment when J.R. steals LeBron's Finals MVP trophy and parades it around the locker room while smoking a cigar ... it's a pretty great sight to see.

After the madness, LeBron snuck out into the hallway to FaceTime his mother, Gloria ... and had an emotional moment with her where he credited her for all of his success.

"I love you, you are the reason why I am able to even do this, Mom," LeBron said.

LeBron reflected about how Gloria was a single, 16-year-old kid when she gave birth to LeBron -- and how she battled to raise him alone in Akron, Ohio.

"Everything that you been through, everything that I've seen -- there’s nothing that can stop me. 'Cause this sh*t right here, this is nothing compared to the sh*t you had to go through."

The COVID pandemic won't stop the Lakers from celebrating their NBA championship -- but it WILL delay the official victory parade for a bit.

The Lakers dominated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday 106 to 93 -- wrapping up the series 4 to 2. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company made easy work of Jimmy Butler's squad.

So, let's talk celebration!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... L.A. County and City officials have been working with team honchos to find a safe way for the team and their legions of fans to have a victory celebration in the wake of their 17th franchise title.

We're told several ideas were kicked around -- including an "in-car" celebration, where a limited number of vehicles would be allowed to pull up to a location to cheer on the champs.

But, a "car party" ultimately didn't feel like the right way to inclusively celebrate an accomplishment of this magnitude -- so, it was scrapped.

Now, we're told everyone involved is set on throwing a massive victory parade -- just like the old days -- but not until County and City officials give the all-clear.

We're told everyone involved is hoping a Lakers victory parade through the streets of L.A. can bring the city together in a big way -- especially with everything Los Angelinos have endured over the past year ... from the COVID shutdowns to the death of Kobe Bryant and more.

Obviously, there's no specific date being targeted at the moment -- it all depends on how the pandemic plays out.

In the meantime, celebrations have already begun inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando -- where players have been allowed to bring in a limited number of family members.

Since everyone in the Bubble was tested prior to entry -- and tested regularly once inside -- there's really no concern about having a massive victory party on the Disney World property ... starting right now!!

'Memba these Los Angeles Lakers ... In honor of the NBA finals we are going back in time to remember some of the most iconic players to hit the court!

With Lake Show stars like Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and several others ... there are plenty of players that will have you calling a timeout!

Dribble through our gallery of Los Angeles Lakers to spark your memory of all the famous faces that used to play ball on the most well-known team in the league ... and see what the classic athletes look like now!

Donald Trump just WENT OFF on Lebron James -- blasting him as a "nasty" person and a "hater" who's ruining pro basketball.

It was all part of an anti-Black Lives Matter tirade during an appearance Friday on "The Rush Limbaugh Show" ... when Trump blamed the NBA's lagging ratings on the league's pro-BLM efforts.

"The NBA has become so political that nobody cares about it anymore," Trump said.

"I don't even know who's playing in the Finals."

Of course, LeBron's Lakers are in the Finals -- taking on the Miami Heat. Game 5 is set for Friday night.

Trump says he's never met LeBron -- but it's clear he doesn't like him.

"LeBron is a spokesman for the democratic party and a very nasty spokesman," Trump said.

"Because, again, I've done so much for the Black community and people don't wanna see that and he's a great basketball player but people don't wanna see a guy that way. They don't want to see that. We have enough difficulty during the week, you don't wanna sit down watching a basketball game and then watch somebody that hates your guts, okay, He's a hater."

Trump went on to rip LeBron's association with Black Lives Matter, which he calls a Marxist organization.

Trump also says the term "Black Lives Matter" is racist because it sows division between Black people, white people and other races.

LeBron is obviously not a fan of Trump -- he's gone after POTUS several times over the years ... even calling him a clown.

Most recently, LeBron mocked Vice President Mike Pence over the fly that bothered him during the VP debate this week ... comparing Pence to a piece of excrement.