NBA Legend Nate Archibald -- Spanking Kids Is A Thing Of The Past ... Don't Do It

NBA Legend Nate "Tiny" Archibald tells TMZ Sports ... the practice of spanking your kids is going the way of the Betamax, Laser Discs and the Dodo Bird -- it's on the brink of extinction.

The Hall of Famer -- and certified teacher -- was out in NYC when we asked him if putting a shoe on a bad ass kid is still kosher in this post-Adrian Peterson debacle world.

Peep the vid -- Tiny says he's like the Chris Webber of child-rearing in that he's really fond of time-outs (you thought we forgot, didn't you Chris?).