Los Angeles Lakers

Could Jack Nicholson quit on the Lakers completely ... and become a Clippers fan?!

That's what Clippers prodigy Austin Rivers is hoping for ... especially with Jack telling TMZ Sports this week that he's not as obsessed with the Lake Show as he used to be.

Rivers -- the son of Clippers president/coach Doc Rivers -- was out in L.A. and told us, "I'm trying to get him over on our side man!"

Here's the thing ... we already know Jack has pro-Clippers tendencies ... he went to a Clippers playoff game last season. And they definitely have a brighter future than the Lakers.

Plus, Jack already knows his way around the stadium ... since the Clips and the Lakers both play in the Staples Center.

Jeanie Buss ... it might be time to panic.

Lookin' for some insane courtside seats to the Lakers game?

Jack Nicholson tells TMZ Sports he's willing to sell you his for face value ... since he's not as motivated to go the Staples Center as he used to be.

It's actually pretty sad ... Nicholson -- who's been a staple at the Lakers games for decades -- was leaving Madeo in Beverly Hills when he told us he's just not as into the Lake Show as he used to be.

We're guessing the team's abysmal record has a lot to do with it.

Kobe Bryant says ... he knows there are NBA stars who refused to play for the Lakers because they couldn't handle Mamba's ego ... but Kobe says the team didn't need those players anyway.

Bryant just opened up to GQ ... saying, "Does my nature make me less enjoyable to play with? Of course."

When specifically asked if his ego has deterred top talent from joining the Lake Show -- he replied, "Of course it does. Is it possible that some top players in the league are intimidated by that? Yes. But do I want to play with those players? Does the Laker organization want those specific players? No."

He adds, "Magic. Jordan. Bird. We all would have been phenomenal teammates. This organization wants players who will carry this franchise to another five or six championships. The player who does that has to be cut from the same cloth. And if they’re not cut from that cloth, they don’t belong here."

In the issue, Bryant was also brutally honest about his relationship with former coach Phil Jackson -- saying, "He understood the dynamic he had to deal with between me and Shaq. So he would take shots at me in the press, and I understood he was doing that in order to ingratiate himself to Shaq."

"And since I knew what he was doing, I felt like that was an insult to my intelligence. I was like, ‘F**k him. I’m out here busting my ass. I’m killing myself.’ And it became insulting."

His rotator is still jacked up, but his rotors are doing just fine -- which is why Kobe Bryant broke out the helicopter for a special Valentine's Day date with his wife Vanessa.

The two took to the skies for a little romantic V-Day getaway over the weekend ... and made sure to take a few mid-flight selfies along the way.

Sidenote -- Vanessa's earrings ... damn.

Legend has it, Kobe has been using the 'copter for years to go from his home in Orange County to the Staples Center in L.A. so he can beat freeway traffic.

But with his season over, it's good to see Kobe's still finding use for his favorite method of travel.

Finally, a highlight at the Lakers game.

For some reason, Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden decided to hit up Staples Center in L.A. Tuesday night to watch the Kobe-less Lakers go down in flames to the Washington Wizards.

But during a break in the action, the newlyweds (married just 3 weeks ago) were put on the "Kiss Cam" ... and they came through strong with some PDA as several fans clapped and cheered.

Just days after being diagnosed with a season-ending rotator cuff injury, Kobe Bryant his up a popular paintball park in L.A. this weekend ... to kick it with Anderson Silva.

Kobe and the UFC legend were hanging at the Hollywood Sports park in Bellflower, CA on Saturday -- where Silva and his kids go paint splatterin' every other weekend.

Seems unlikely Kobe got in on the action -- since everyone else in the pic is dressed for combat and Kobe's not ... and also, he's still nursing that injury.

It's not just the Lakers who will take a hit with Kobe Bryant out the rest of the season -- local L.A. restaurants are also concerned ... telling TMZ Sports business is significantly slower when the Mamba isn't on the court.

FYI -- Staples Center is located right next to L.A. Live ... a major entertainment center packed with restaurants often trafficked by people before and after events at the arena.

But with Kobe going down with a torn rotator cuff, several restaurant staffers tell us everyone is going to suffer.

We spoke with Mike Zislis -- owner of Rock ‘N Fish at L.A. Live -- who tells us, "We feel like we’re gonna lose at least 10 percent of our sales per home game."

"Last year when Kobe was out we calculated we lost $250k in revenue," Zislis says, noting that Kobe only played in 2 home games during the '13-'14 season.

"Lakers fans generally spend more than Kings or Clippers fans so when they suck and Kobe isn’t there to draw fans, it hurts."

We also spoke with staffers at Katsuya at L.A. Live who echoed Mike's statements. One staffer told us, "When Kobe is out, the restaurant is empty and business is slow. It sucks for the staff because less people equals less tips."

Of course, there's one simple solution to the problem -- the Lakers could go on a winning streak and bring the fans back to the arena.

She lived the Gucci lifestyle before the divorce ... and now Byron Scott's wife is demanding the Gucci lifestyle AFTER the split too -- telling a judge the Lakers coach needs to pay up so she can continue to live like a BOSS!

We broke the story ... Byron filed for divorce from his college sweetheart Anita Scott last year after 29 years of marriage -- right before he signed a $17 million contract with the Lakers.

But Anita says they were living large way before the Lakers gig -- and in new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, she spells out why Scott needs to open up his checkbook.

Here's a sample of the life Anita says she was accustomed to during her marriage to Byron:

BALLER MANSIONS
-- Anita says the couple lived in several insane cribs over the years (8 bedroom pad in NJ, 7 bedroom house in New Orleans, swanky 4 bedroom penthouse in Cleveland).

BALLER SHOPPING SPREES
-- Anita says she "regularly" bought clothes from Chanel, Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton ... with no specific dollar limit.

BALLER HAIR
-- Anita says she dropped at least $600 every six weeks for hair upkeep ... and $500-per-month on manis, pedis and massages. Plus another $400-per-month on facials and "other personal maintenance."

BALLER VACATIONS
-- The Bahamas. Once a year. First class airfare. Suites at top-rated resorts. Oh, and they'd often pay for additional family members to join along.

Anita says she needs spousal support asap, since she doesn't have a job and is living in a cramped 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom condo in Culver City which is "not comparable to the lavish and spacious homes we purchased during the marriage."

#RichPeopleProblems

Look closely at the photo above ... one of these guys is a professional NBA player.

The other 4 dudes are rabbis ... who have a stellar reputation for blessing athletes before big games.

Which could be why Dwyane Wade made a kosher pit stop before the Miami Heat took on the Lakers in L.A. on Tuesday.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Heat used the facilities at the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills to warm up hours before their game. And before they left, Wade met up with Rabbi Hertzel Illulian ... who offered up a "quadruple rabbi blessing" before the game.

Turns out ... the Jews came through -- with the Heat beating the Lakers 78-75.

The win brings the rabbis to 2-0 when it comes to blessing NBA players -- after bestowing a "triple rabbi blessing" on Kevin Durant last year before he went on to beat the Clippers in the playoffs.

Mazel.

Coming to you from his kitchen ... in a tank top ... former L.A. Lakers baller Kareem Rush singing Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" -- and dude can definitely hit the high note!

As we previously reported, Rush is laser focused on growing his music career -- something he's been passionate about for years. In fact, Rush dropped a single back in 2010.

Now, with a new album on the way ... Rush put his pipes on display on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" -- busting out a ridiculously tough song with no warm-up, no backing track and only basement level acoustics.

His days with the Lakers are over ... but ex-NBA player Kareem Rush is still gunning to sell out the Staples Center ... as the next big superstar in pop music.

The 34-year-old tells TMZ Sports he's focusing on a singing career -- "I'm a cross between Timberlake and Maxwell."

Rush has been working on his craft for years ... and even dropped a single back in 2010 ... before he officially retired.

But now that he's done hoopin', Rush says he's putting everything he's got into music -- and plans to drop a brand new album later this month.

It got all "Stomp the Yard" in the Staples Center last night ... when Clippers owner Steve Ballmer busted out some EPIC dance moves during the game ... and Magic Johnson LOVED IT!!!

It all went down when Fergie came out to perform during the Clips vs. Lakers game ... when the music took hold of Ballmer's body ... and the body parts began to fly!!!

"That's an owner who can dance and own the team all at the same time," Magic told us on his way out of the arena. "He got better moves than me!"

Here's video of Los Angeles Lakers part-owner Jesse Buss stumbling out of a Hollywood nightclub early Monday morning ... and it sure looks like he stopped to pee on a dumpster on the way out.

The 26-year-old -- who is also the team's Director of Scouting -- was being helped out of Greystone Manor by friends just after 1AM when he stopped ... and spent some time pressed against a dumpster in the parking lot.

So, was Jesse taking a whiz?? You can see what appears to be the classic "dip and zip" move as he finishes up ... but we can't be certain.

Eventually, Jesse finishes up whatever it was he was doing and makes his way to a car ... and a flock of attractive females follow. It appears some got in the car. One was definitely turned away.

Swaggy P ain't the only Lakers player rollin' around on some fresh new wheels ... TMZ Sports has learned teammate Wesley Johnson just dropped $205k on a pimped out Aston Martin!!

We're told ... the 4th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft recently hit up Roadstarr Motorsports in L.A. looking to get a Christmas gift for himself.

He picked out a 2014 Aston Martin Rapide -- 0 to 60 in 4.7 seconds -- and customized it with a pearl white paint job that featured a matte black center.

The interior ... burgundy Italian leather with white stitching -- plus 10-inch monitors on the back of the front seats.

Plus ... 20-inch rims (we're told Wesley was adamant about dubs.)

Who needs Santa when you've made $13 million playing basketball???

If Christmas is a battlefield ... Nick Young is France -- 'cause he just surrendered in the war for the best Xmas gift after his GF Iggy Azalea hooked him up with a sick classic car.

The Lakers star was rollin' around L.A. in his brand new '62 Chevy Impala -- which Iggy delivered to him outside the Lakers facility Monday -- when we asked if it was even possible to top Iggy's gift.

The short answer ... no ... and Nick knows it -- admitting that she "won" the holiday gift exchange this year.

Swaggy also had some things to say about Kobe Bryant. Check out the clip ...

The war over Jerry Buss' fortune just took a shocking turn -- with a mysterious woman claiming she's the secret daughter of the late Lakers owner ... but Jerry's family is calling B.S.

According to heavily redacted legal docs filed in L.A. County Superior Court, the woman describes herself as an "omitted child" ... who is entitled to just as much of Jerry's estate as his other 6 children.

It appears from the docs that the woman claims she's the oldest of Jerry's children ... but all of the details about why she's convinced she's the fruit of his loins is redacted in the legal papers.

However, the woman has met staunch resistance from Jerry's most famous daughter, Jeanie Buss -- who filed legal docs of her own calling the woman a liar who deserves JACK SQUAT.

Of course, Jerry was reportedly worth in excess of $600 million -- so there's a lot of money on the line.