Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant is right ... Atlanta Hawks player Dahntay Jones is a dirty cheater who knew what he was doing when he hurt the Black Mamba on the court last week ... at least according to Lakers superfan Ice Cube.

Cube -- decked out in Lakers gear -- was at LAX this weekend when we asked the rap legend about Kobe's claim that Jones cheap-shotted him during a fadeaway jumper last week ... causing Bryant to injure his ankle.

"It's kinda whack when you gotta cheat to win," Cube said ... saying, "But [Kobe's] a champ, he'll come back. That ankle will be strong."

Guess Kim Jong Un just isn't a Lakers fan ... 'cause Kobe Bryant claims he was NEVER approached by the North Korean dictator to come visit ... a la Dennis Rodman.

Bryant appeared on Jimmy Kimmel last night and talked about the missile crisis ... saying, "You know it’s a crazy world ... I mean, our President is a Chicago Bulls fan. Dennis obviously has great history with that and North Korea."

He added, "I mean, I think we are all just as shocked as everybody is here about that ... but it’s a weird world."

When asked if KJU ever reached out to him, Kobe replied, "No, I haven't heard anything yet."

And then came the zinger ... when Jimmy asked if Kobe would consider heading over to N. Korea if called upon.

Kobe: "Yeah, I would probably pass, I’d probably pass."
Jimmy: "Oh, for once you are passing!?"

Late L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss suffered from prostate cancer before ultimately succumbing to kidney failure ... this according to his death certificate.

According to the doc, Buss suffered from metastatic sarcomatoid prostate cancer in the 15 months leading to his death on February 18th. The cancer is listed as the second underlying cause of death.

It was widely reported that Dr. Buss was battling cancer before his death, but the cancer was never specified.

The immediate cause of death is listed as renal (kidney) failure, and the first underlying cause of death is listed as respiratory failure.

Buss was 80. He's survived by his 6 children.

Mark Cuban learned everything he knows about winning NBA championships from late Lakers owner Jerry Buss -- and he tells TMZ, he'll always remember Jerry for his priceless words of wisdom.

Mark -- who owns the Mavs -- told us, "Jerry Buss was the guy I looked up to in the NBA. When I got into the NBA he was the one guy who told me don't worry about what other people are saying. Just stay true to yourself. Believe in what you're doing and good things will happen."

He added, "The NBA will definitely miss him. I'll miss him."

Metta World Peace was roused out of bed early this morning when police responded to a report of 4 armed men in the basketball star's condo complex ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us LAPD got a call around midnight about 4 guys -- 3 with handguns and one with a shotgun -- lurking around the L.A. Laker's westside home.

We're told officers called out the suspects over a loudspeaker, and 2 men -- Metta's brother and cousin -- heard the commotion and came out to talk to cops.

Only problem is ... we're told they didn't have any ID, so police handcuffed both men until they could make sure they weren't suspects.

Sources say officers had to wake up Metta -- who quickly vouched for his brother and cousin, and both men were released. We're told Mr. World Peace was very "understanding and professional" ... naturally.

Eventually the "armed suspects" came out and proved to cops they were residents of the complex -- unrelated to Metta -- who were returning home with BB guns used while recording a video.

We're told the 4 men got off with a warning -- presumably about carrying weapons in public -- and possibly about unnecessarily alarming Lakers superstars ... who, let's face it, need all the rest they can get this season.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss was such a force in the high-stakes poker world ... the World Series of Poker wants to honor his memory by naming a championship tournament after him, TMZ has learned.

A rep for WSOP tells TMZ, "At the appropriate time, we will seek to ask the family to honor [Jerry's] legacy by possibly naming our WSOP Seven Card Stud Championship after him or awarding the victor a special perpetual trophy in his honor."

Buss has been a fixture in the high-stakes poker circuit for years -- placing high in several national tournaments since the 90s ... including 3rd at the 1991 WSOP 7-card stud event.

The WSOP rep adds, "We’re definitely going to miss seeing him ... Even when the Lakers were playing in the NBA Finals, you could often find Dr. Buss playing his favorite game -- Seven Card Stud -- at the World Series of Poker."

Buss died early this morning at an L.A. hospital following a battle with cancer. He was 80.

And to show you just how obsessed Buss was with poker -- here's a pic of the guy playing cards at a cheesy casino back in 2009 ... while the Lakers parade was taking place just 10 miles away.

Jerry Buss -- owner of the Los Angeles Lakers -- died early this morning at the age of 80.

Buss had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. for the past few months due to a previously undisclosed intestinal problem ... though it was revealed yesterday he'd been battling cancer the entire time.

After starting his career as a chemist, Buss soon found his true calling in the real estate biz ... snapping up properties all over L.A. before moving on to the sporting world.

In 1979, Buss made history when he purchased the Lakers, the L.A. Kings and The Forum for $67.5 million -- at that time, the largest transaction in sports.

Under his ownership, Buss watched dozens of all-time greats -- including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant -- win the Lakers 10 NBA Championships. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Buss was also an avid poker player ... and appeared on several TV shows, including "High Stakes Poker" and "Poker After Dark."

He is survived by his six children.

Will Ferrell is a Vagina ... Ted Vagina, to be exact ... at least according to the name tag he wore at the Lakers game last night.

Ferrell -- sporting a nicely manicured moustache -- threw on a Staples Center usher uniform (complete with the Vagina name tag) ... and went to work on the court ... keeping the floor safe from basketball hooligans.

At one point, Ted put Shaquille O'Neal in an arm bar -- and escorted the big guy off the court.

Vagina always gets his man.

3:45 PM PT -- A rep for the Miami Heat tells TMZ, "In response to your inquiry, please note that Lil Wayne was not ejected from the building. He chose to leave."

Lil Wayne was in the crowd for today's Miami Heat/Los Angeles Lakers game -- we say WAS because the rapper claims he got kicked out for rooting for the wrong team!

Wayne -- a big hoops fan -- tweeted a short time ago that he got tossed from AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami because he was rooting for the Lakers. When in Rome ...

Weezy is no stranger to beefing with NBA teams -- during last year's playoffs he bitched about not being allowed into an Oklahoma City Thunder game ... which the team says was because he just didn't have a ticket.

Magic Johnson has had enough with the Lakers ... saying the team's performance is so pathetic, he's embarrassed to be associated with the organization.

After Kobe Bryant and the Lake Show got blown out by the Boston Celtics 95 -116 last night, Magic went to Twitter and vented about his ex-team:

"Not sure if I was embarrassed for this Lakers team or embarrassed to be a former Laker, because of how they played against our rivals the Celtics last night."

And to add salt to the wound ... Magic followed up by giving props to Celtics star Kevin Garnett -- "Congrats to Kevin Garnett for scoring over 25,000 career points!"

Kobe and Vanessa Bryant launched their reconciliation tour last night by hitting up the Warner Bros. Golden Globes after-party together ... just a few days after Vanessa called off the split.

The on-again, off-again, on-again couple announced last week they were pulling the plug on their divorce, which seemed like a foregone conclusion after they were seen together at the 12-12-12 concert and on New Year's Eve.

Rebounding has always been a strength of Kobe's game.

Kobe Bryant is NOT getting divorced.

TMZ broke the story ... Vanessa -- through her lawyer, disso-queen Laura Wasser -- filed to end her marriage in December, 2011. Several months later ... Kobe -- in an attempt to win her back -- deeded over his interest in their 3 Newport Beach mansions.

Since she filed, Vanessa and Kobe were on-again, off-again like high school students.

But in the last month ... they got very tight. A turning point seemed to be the 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy relief concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC, when the two left arm-in-arm. They spent New Year's Eve together, were spotted at lunch and have pretty much been inseparable.

There have been reports that Kobe is getting back with Vanessa because it's cheaper to keep her ... but that's just not true. Fact is ... we've checked property records and Vanessa still owns 2 of the Newport Beach mansions -- she just sold the third for $3.2 mil. We don't know for sure, but it seems like Kobe may have signed a post-nup, giving Vanessa more financial leverage in the relationship.

Kobe Bryant's wife just lost one-third of her real estate portfolio ... unloading one of the three Newport Beach mansions Kobe gave her right after they split back in 2011 ... TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... Vanessa Bryant listed the 6,000 sq. ft. Newport Beach property back in September for $3.75 million -- and she finally closed the deal this month for $3.22 million.

Kobe and Vanessa purchased the place back in 2003 for $2.65 million. Vanessa's mother Sofia was living in the home prior to the sale.

The house is one of three massive Newport Beach mansions Kobe gave Vanessa last year ... one month after she filed for divorce.

As for the status of Kobe and Vanessa's divorce -- the papers have not been withdrawn ... and one source tells us they're on and off so much it's hard to get a read.

Still, the two were acting pretty coupley in public as recently as New Year's -- maybe 2013 is the year of the comeback.

The Los Angeles Lakers STINK ... THEY SUCK ... NOT GOOD ... this according to someone who would know, Denver Nuggets star Ty Lawson.

Just a few hours after Ty and the Nuggets beat up the Lake Show in L.A. last night, Lawson celebrated in Hollywood ... and talked some serious trash about the purple and gold.

"We bust they ass," Lawson said ... adding, "I told Kobe, we gonna bust they ass and they gonna deal with it ... Easy work!"

Dwight Howard might be a Los Angeles Laker, but part of him is still a member of the Orlando Magic ... specifically, his head.

In town to play the New York Knicks last month, D12 hit up a hat store in Harlem and wouldn't you know it ... he picked up a hat of his former team.

According to our witness, Dwight didn't just pick up the hat ... HE BOUGHT IT!!!

For the non-sports fans out there ... Dwight was traded away by the Magic last year after he basically whined his way out of town. It was not a happy parting of the ways.

One second we're all toasting Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss' engagement -- the next someone's blowing the whistle on a possibly, maybe tiny bit sexist headline. Hmm ... wonder who wrote that?