Roy Hibbert -- Ben Savage Is My Spirit Animal (VIDEO)

Roy Hibbert sees himself as more of an adolescent white kid struggling to make sense of high school ... than a 7'2" NBA shot blocking machine.

TMZ Sports uncovered this secret about the brand new Lakers big man when we saw him out in Bev. Hills on Wednesday night, and asked about celebrity aliases.

We all know most celebs use fake names when they check into a hotel, and Roy's gonna need a new one -- since he blew his own cover with our photog.

Roy also gives us a Kobe Bryant update, as in ... what happened after that super awkward news conference where he was asked if the Mamba called when he joined the team.