Los Angeles Lakers

All good things must come to an end ... including Steve Nash's career -- 'cause despite his incredible run in the NBA, Gary Payton says it's time for Steve to hang it up.

The Glove was at LAX this week when we asked about the constantly-injured Lakers star ... who's only played in 60 of the the Lakers 135 games since joining the team.

"He gettin' hurt to much," Payton says ... "I mean, when you are getting hurt that many times, you think you can play, but it don't help you ... I think he should go on a little."

Kobe Bryant didn't have to go through the regular NBA hazing rituals when he was a rookie -- in fact a bunch of retired Lakers GREATS came out to initiate the Mamba including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ... so says Cedric Ceballos.

The former NBA All-Star appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and told us ... back when Kobe was drafted in '96, most of the team took it easy on the guy since he was fresh out of high school ... but he definitely had to pay his dues.

"We'd make him chase balls into the stands of the huge arenas, or take bags off the plane in the freezing cold. Or we'd say, 'I need coffee from Starbucks and donuts from Krispy Kreme' -- and it'd be 2am in a town we just arrived in."

And who was behind the hazing?

Cedric says Eddie Jones used to make Kobe bring him Gatorade right before every game ... but the fun didn't stop there!

"Even the veterans who are retired ... James Worthy, Kareem, Wilt Chamberlain ... all those guys came down to give him a little bit of rookie hazing, knowing that he was going to be the great player he is."

Cedric says Kobe "understood what it was all about" and didn't remember the Mamba resisting ... but says the hazing was all about having fun -- "We don't belittle the guys."

Magic Johnson's son EJ is BLOWING UP as a reality star on "Rich Kids of Beverly Hills" ... and the NBA legend tells TMZ Sports he couldn't be PROUDER!!!

In fact, Magic says he thinks the shameless E! reality show will springboard EJ into a TV superstar -- and predicts it won't be long before the kid has his own show.

Magic really couldn't be a more supportive parent -- especially after the way he had EJ's back when his son revealed he's gay.

There's more .. Magic also talks about recently buying the L.A. Sparks and also takes another shot at the Lakers. Check out the clip.

Jack Nicholson upped the ante on duck-lip selfies by shooting his own ... of course he did it from $2500 COURTSIDE Lakers seats! Take that 25-year-old chicks.

76-year-old Jack struck the tired-ass pose with a cute blonde fan last night at Staples Center.

This was probably the closest he came to smiling last night since the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers got crushed by the Indiana Pacers 104-92.

Our best guess on Jack's thoughts during the game ... "This town team needs an enema!"

Gabrielle Union -- the future Mrs. Dwyane Wade -- took her brand new million dollar 8.5 carat diamond ring out in public yesterday ... but not without some serious hired muscle to keep it safe.

Gabby and Ring arrived to the Staples Center in L.A. ... flanked by private security ... to watch their man dominate the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers.

Funny, Kobe knows a little something about expensive jewelry ... in fact, he may have bought the most expensive ring out of ALL the NBA players ($4 million) .. except his wasn't a "Will You Marry Me" diamond -- it was a "FORGIVE ME!" diamond.

There's a reason the L.A. Lakers have committed a total of ZERO individual technical fouls this season -- THEY DON'T COME CHEAP ... so say some of the guys on the squad.

Jordan Hill and Jodie Meeks were leaving Boa Steakhouse Wednesday night (which also ain't exactly cheap) ... when they told us they're not exactly stoked about having to pay the 4-figure league fines that come with being T'd up.

For the record ...the league fines players $1,000 for their first two technical fouls, $1,500 each for the next two, and $2,000 for #s 5 and 6.

Lamar Odom may have ruined his chances of EVER returning to his beloved Los Angeles Lakers ... so says his ex coach and NBA legend Phil Jackson.

Jackson didn't mince words to TMZ when we asked if he thought Lamar would ever return to the purple and gold. He said, "I think that bridge might have been burned."

In case you didn't know, Phil is pretty tight with Lakers execs -- he lives with team Prez Jeanie Buss.

And this is interesting. Phil tells us ... he's not blaming the Kardashian family for Lamar's woes, despite a recent interview in which he hinted that Lamar would have been better off without the K-fam.

He says although the reality show was "a distraction" for Lamar, there's a benefit that outweighed the negative -- "Lamar got a family and a caring unit."

He also said he worries that Bruce Jenner is out of the picture ... because Lamar related to him as an athlete.

As for what caused Lamar to unravel, Jackson said he's been dealing with "too many personal things," although he was not specific.

Kobe Bryant has apparently forgiven Phil Jackson for calling him an insecure, sensitive sub-Jordanesque player in his book ... 'cause the two got together for breakfast this week, TMZ has learned.

We've learned ... Kobe and his former Lakers coach shared a booth at Wendy's Place in El Segundo Thursday morning ... chowing down on eggs and other breakfast-y items.

Kobe and Phil have had a complicated relationship over the years ... which Phil touched upon in his book, "Eleven Rings," which he released back in May.

In the book, Phil wrote that Michael was a better shooter, defender and overall leader than Kobe ... which some people interpreted as a slight against the Mamba.

But at breakfast yesterday, the two seemed as chummy as ever ... talking about basketball while scarfing down their meal.

So, who paid when the bill came??? The guy with the most jewelry.

The fate of the Los Angeles Lakers rests in the hands of Kobe Bryant ... which is why it might be concerning that his hands are near the mouth of A LIVE MAN-EATING LION!!!

Kobe faced down the king of the jungle at an L.A. studio today ... during a commercial shoot for Turkish Airlines. Kobe's a celebrity spokesman for the airline.

Check out the pics above ... that's Kobe sticking his right hand (his shooting hand, mind you) directly up to the lion's mouth.

Fortunately, Kobe emerged without a scratch ... and he's lucky ... 'cause as everyone knows, big cats can be dangerous to humans. Just ask Adam Sandler ...

Lamar Odom aggressively wanted to talk to a photog yesterday, about life, health, basketball and marriage.

Lamar has NEVER been chatty, so this lunchtime video is pretty shocking. The photog tries to end the interview several times and Lamar actually calls him back. Among the subjects:

You gotta see it. It's as revealing as anything we've seen in a long time.

Lamar Odom is way beyond first impressions with the Lakers ... but, all the same, he got a fresh shave of his head for a meeting with the team on Monday ... TMZ has learned.

Lamar's barber in the Valley, a dude named Enzo, hooked up the troubled NBA star Monday morning -- and even gave LO his trademark star on the back of his head ... which he sported during past seasons with the Lakers.

Our sources tell us Lamar met with Laker execs Monday afternoon to discuss terms of a possible return. We're told things went well -- though nothing's been signed -- and that Lamar's first choice has always been to return to the Lakers.

It's pretty amazing ... a little more than a month ago Lamar was smoking crack and deep in the throes of drug addiction. But as we first reported, Odom has been adamant he can cut off his drug abuse without going to rehab.

It remains to be seen if an NBA team buys that (and we know Khloe Kardashian isn't) -- but as one source put it ... lately Lamar has sounded more like his old self.

On his Instagram, Lamar's barber wrote, "Wish em the best of luck in his meeting wit the Lakers today."

Kobe Bryant has Chinese envy -- at least when it comes to basketball -- claiming the rules in the Far East make it a real man’s game ... because “out here, you can’t even touch a motherf**ker.”

Kobe's diss to the NBA came during a candid moment in Vegas with Floyd Mayweather earlier this week ... when the two began talking about the differences between basketball in China vs. the NBA.

“They let you play over there,” Kobe said … adding, “out here they change the rules up and sh*t. You can’t even touch a motherf**ker. You can’t touch a n***a.”

Kinda strange coming from Kobe ... considering he has a reputation for begging NBA refs for calls.

Calls to China … weren’t made (c'mon, international calls ain't cheap!)

L.A. Lakers center, Pau Gasol, is optimistic that Lamar Odom -- his friend and former teammate -- will make a triumphant return to the NBA ... but admits he's still in the dark about what's going on in Lamar's life.

All 7-feet of Pau hit up Katsuya in Hollywood last night ... where he told us he hasn't had any contact with Lamar since he began his crack-fueled downward spiral ... but he still thinks Lamar can come back.

"The main thing is that he's healthy and happy," Gasol told us ... but he also knows what it's gonna take for Lamar -- or any pro-baller -- to be competitive in the NBA.

Lamar Odom is drugged out of his head ... but he's telling people he will sober up and play basketball again this coming season ... yes, he's that delusional.

Sources who have been spending time with Lamar tell us his drug problem is out of control -- that one of his drug dealers alone has sold him thousands of dollars in coke. We're told Lamar is now freebasing with pure cocaine.

As crazy as it sounds ... Lamar has done it before. We know he was using while on the Lakers and on the Mavericks. In addition, he was off the rails using drugs just months before joining the Clippers but cleaned up enough to get through the season.

We're told Lamar is full-on paranoid now ... he believes people are trying to set him up to get caught. As he told one friend, "Everyone wants to see me fail, but I'm not gonna let that happen."

Michael Jordan says there's only one guy who would beat him in a game of 1-on-1 ... and it ain't LeBron James -- it's Kobe Bryant.

MJ made the statement in a video promoting the NBA 2K14 -- while talking about a bunch of NBA legends he would've liked to ball against in their prime, including Jerry West, D-Wade, Carmelo, Kobe, LeBron and more.

"I don't think I would lose," Jordan says ... adding, "other than to Kobe Bryant because he steals all of my moves."

MJ was later asked who was the better player -- Kobe or LBJ -- and explained, "In terms of dominance in the game of basketball at this stage, it's LeBron."

NBA star Steve Nash scored a huge legal victory over his ex-wife -- blocking her from moving their kids to L.A. -- and then promptly agreed, for some strange reason, to let the fam come to Cali after all ... TMZ has learned.

As we first reported, the Los Angeles Lakers point guard has been battling his ex, Alejandra Nash, for months over her desire to move their 3 kids from Phoenix to L.A. -- in part because Steve thinks L.A. is a horrible place to raise kids. He even said so in open court.

Steve also believed Alejandra only wanted to be in L.A. because California laws could result in her getting increased child support payments.

Ultimately, the court agreed -- according to documents the judge ruled Alejandra failed to prove the move was "in the children's best interests" -- and her relocation request was "motivated, at least in part, by issues surrounding child support, which is an inappropriate basis for relocation."

Now this is where it gets weird.

Sources connected with the case , tell us Alejandra and the kids are currently living in L.A.! Further, we're told the children have already enrolled in public school in the South Bay section of L.A.

It's a huge mystery -- Nash fought tooth and nail to stop Alejandra, won the case ... and then upped and forfeited the 'W.'

Calls to Nash's attorney haven't been returned.