Los Angeles Lakers

LiAngelo Ball believes his NBA hopes and dreams are alive and well ... telling TMZ Sports there are definitely NBA teams interested in retaining his services.

'Gelo just killed a private combine at the IMG academy down in Florida ... turning in a 37-inch vertical leap, and draining 3's with ease.

Question is, was it enough to make NBA teams think about taking a flier on the middle Ball brother?

We asked LiAngelo if the workouts had drawn any interest from NBA teams when we saw him out at LAX with LaVar, and his answer was simple.

"Yeah, of course."

There were reports that both the Lakers and the Warriors have agreed to workouts with 'Gelo ... but the Warriors refuted those claims soon after they were made public.

That's cool by LaVar, because he told our guy he'd rather 'Gelo play for a California team a little further south.

Lakers rookie star Kyle Kuzma says he's honored NBA coaches voted him to the NBA All-Rookie 1st Team ... but tells us he wasn't surprised.

"I thought I was gonna get it all year, really," Kuzma told TMZ Sports at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills.

"It's definitely a good honor."

The twist ... his teammate, Lonzo Ball (the 2nd pick in the draft), only made the All-Rookie 2nd Team -- so, we had to ask Kyle if that would have an impact on their friendship.

"Not at all," Kuzma says ... "That's my brother."

Kobe Bryant is finally revealing his initial reaction to Kanye West's slavery comments on "TMZ Live" -- and it's the same feeling mostly everyone else had ... "What the hell are you talking about?!"

The Mamba was speaking with L.A. high school students at We Rise LA when 14-year-old Kaya -- a BSO junior reporter -- wanted to know what Kobe made of Kanye's "slavery is a choice" argument.

"Completely disagree," Kobe explained.

"The thing about our country is that you have the right to say whatever it is that you want to say ... that's the beautiful part about living in a democracy."

He added, "Conversely, you also have to take the responses that come after that as well because everybody has the freedom to say what it is that they feel."

"For him, he's one of these entertainers that's always in a constant state of growth ... he's always challenging not us as people but really himself. He's doing a lot of questioning internally himself."

"I just take it for what it is and completely disagree."

Even Black Mamba enjoys a little white snake.

Kobe Bryant brought his entire family to the Taylor Swift concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena over the weekend ... even busting out some dance moves to "Shake It Off."

Kobe and Taylor have been friends for a little while ... remember, it was Kobe who played M.C. when she got a banner at Staples Center back in 2015 for "Most Sold Out Performances."

This time, Bryant didn't have any official duties -- but he did get V.I.P. access for his daughters to hang with Taylor backstage ... where his wife, Vanessa, also kicked it with Julia Roberts!

Retirement ain't so bad, is it, Kobe?

There were a TON of famous people at the show including Rebel Wilson, Miles Teller, Bill Nye, Sarah Michelle Gellar ... and get this -- Amber Rose and her ex, Wiz Khalifa, arrived together with their kid!

He didn't exactly poo-poo the idea ...

Kobe Bryant is keeping an open mind when it comes to the Lakers' draft plans ... saying he'd be cool with the team taking another Ball brother ... "if it'll help win."

Kobe was leaving ABC Studios in New York City when we straight-up asked, "With the [NBA Draft coming up], what do you want the Lakers to do?"

Kobe's response ... "Win."

That's when we asked about LaVar Ball's plan to get LiAngelo Ball to the Lake Show ... joining his brother, Lonzo.

Kobe shrugged at the idea and said, "If it'll help win."

Kobe Bryant is showing all dads the key exercise to making a day at Disneyland into a core-strengthening, arm-building session ... THE PRINCESS LIFT.

Here's Mamba demonstrating the exercise at the Happiest Place On Earth this past weekend ... carrying his 1-year-old daughter, Bianka Bella, around ... with great technique.

BTW, it's working ... look at the size of Kobe's arms -- they are legitimately bursting out of his shirt and the veins are aggressive and frightening.

Sorry, Drake ... your trash talkin' doesn't stand a chance against Julius Randle, 'cause the L.A. Lakers star says he's way too locked in during games to get distracted by celeb hecklers.

It was a hot topic in sports this week when the NBA issued a warning to the 6 God for "bad language" towards Cavs bruiser Kendrick Perkins ... after he allegedly called Perk a "f*cking p*ssy."

We asked Randle what he thought about the whole situation ... and he laughed it off (probably 'cause he's so used to playing against celebs in L.A. all the time.)

If you need a reminder that Lakers coach Luke Walton was once one of the best athletes on the planet ... we have video of him KILLING it at beach volleyball.

The video was posted by pro volleyball players the McKibbin Brothers, and shows Walton holding his own on a court with AVP pros Casey Patterson, Sean Rosenthal, Stafford Slick and Chase Budinger.

Walton is blockin', spikin', and settin' like one of the pros ... using his 6'8" frame to dominate out there on the sand, and we're being serious ... THE DUDE CAN REALLY PLAY.

Kobe Bryant is talking even MORE trash about his former Lakers teammate, Smush Parker -- saying crappy teammates like Smush forced him to score 81 points back in 2006.

Yeah, it's been more than 12 YEARS since Kobe went insane on the Toronto Raptors ... but he still can't pass up an opportunity to dunk all over Smush -- a guy he hated back in the day.

This time, Kobe was doing a Q&A at USC back on April 2, when he was asked a trivia question -- who was the Lakers 2nd leading scorer in that legendary game?

When he learned it was Smush ... Kobe pulled a face and fired off some shots.

"What did he have, 4?"

Smush actually dropped 13 that day ... but Kobe didn't care and continued the attack.

"Now you know why I had to score 81" ... suggesting his supporting cast was pure trash.

Lamar Jackson is STOKED to be on the same team as another Heisman Trophy winner -- telling TMZ Sports he can't wait to LEARN from RG3.

After Jackson was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 32nd pick in the draft, Lamar was hanging with his family in Dallas and celebrating the moment.

There's talk that there could be some tension between Jackson and Robert Griffin III because of their similar playing style -- but Lamar doesn't see it that way at all ... describing RG3 as more of a mentor.

Jackson also says Kobe Bryant sent him a signed Lakers jersey as a show of support before the draft -- and now, he can't wait to return the favor ... and hook Mamba up with some signed Ravens threads.

11:48 AM PT -- Matt Barnes has weighed in on the engagement ... saying he's happy for EVERYONE involved!

"I have two beautiful boys from my ex we are both focussing on co-parenting & providing the best atmosphere & childhood for them," Barnes said ... "They love him, so I love it."

"Despite not seeing eye to eye initially w Derek he & I are on the same page & communicate weekly about Isaiah and Carter."

"With that being said congrats on the engagement!"

Good news for Derek Fisher ... the ex-NBA star popped the question to his girlfriend, Gloria Govan -- AND SHE SAID, "YES!"

We've learned ... 43-year-old Fisher got down on one knee during a small shindig at their Los Angeles-area home on April 7, surrounded by their kids and Gloria's nephew.

Derek had some of Gloria's friends take her out during the day so he could decorate the house while she was gone ... candles, flower petals ... it was romantic!

And yeah ... the ring's pretty big. We got a photo and you can see the diamond is the size of her knuckle!

Derek and Gloria have been dating since 2015. Both were previously married but have since divorced their significant others.

Of course, Gloria was married to Matt Barnes -- which caused some legendary drama between Derek and his ex-Lakers teammate. But Barnes recently said the beef is over and the two are now cool.

No word on when the two plan on officially tying the knot -- it's still early though.

Lonzo Ball’s pregnant GF is starting to show in a BIG way -- but that ain't stoppin' her from slaying the Gram!

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Lonzo's high school sweatheart, Denise Garcia, got a Ball in the oven late last year, and they're expecting a baby girl in July.

Now, with Denise in Month 6 of her pregnancy, her body is still bangin' ... and she's showing it off in a tiny string bikini.

Lonzo has said he's excited for the kid -- and even got some advice from his own dad, LaVar, on their reality show, "Ball In the Family."

"He's a Ball -- he's gonna be a great dad," LaVar said ... noting that little girls are WAY harder to raise than little boys.

Lonzo said he hopes his kid will love him as much as he loves his own parents.

Congrats, Zo -- on the future kid ... but mostly on the current baby mama.

Could you imagine getting on an airplane ... WITHOUT YOUR PHONE?!

Nightmare, right?!

Well, that's ALMOST what happened to "This Is Us" star Sterling K. Brown ... if not for the heroic actions of Lakers rookie Josh Hart!

Brown tells us he left his phone in the car and ALMOST had to suffer an entire flight without Twitter, Instagram and all the movies and TV shows he had on his cell.

Well, thankfully for him ... Hart was there to save the day!

We caught the whole thing on video -- and afterward, Hart told us he wants to treat Brown as his guest to a Lakers game next season!

The 32-year-old Lakers rookie who just had one of the craziest debuts in NBA history is just getting started -- so says Kenny Smith.

We got The Jet the day after he watched Andre Ingram drop 19 points on the 1st-place Houston Rockets ... after 10 YEARS waiting for a G-League call-up.

Kenny told us not to sleep on the veteran rook -- 'cause 1-hit wonders don't got stroke like Andre!

"He’s gonna get an opportunity -- if not with the Lakers then somebody else. At least to be part of their training camp," The Jet told TMZ Sports.

Kenny says he was blown away with Ingram's story just like the rest of us ... and we got a feeling it's only a matter of time before someone goes Hollywood with it.

Nicki Minaj thought she was gonna sit courtside at a regular old Lakers game Tuesday night -- turns out, she had front row seats to one of the best rookie debuts EVER!

Despite celebs like Richard Sherman and Will Ferrell in the house, the REAL star at Staples Center was Andre Ingram ... the 32-year-old rookie who dropped 19 on the first place Houston Rockets!

Ingram's story is pretty awesome ... he's been grinding it out in the G-league for the past decade hoping to get a shot in the NBA ... and Tuesday night, he made the most of his big chance.

In fact, toward the end of the game, the crowd began chanting "MVP" at Ingram -- who later called the whole thing a "once in a lifetime" experience.

Master P says he and Kobe Bryant nearly came to blows in the Lakers facility years ago -- and it would've DEFINITELY gone down if Lamar Odom hadn't played peacemaker.

P was on "The Red Pill With Van Lathan" podcast talking about his business ventures, hip-hop legacy and basketball career ... when he broke down how things got heated with Black Mamba.

"We had a couple words," P says ... noting that he's more about action than talkin'.

Here's the thing -- P wouldn't say what specifically led to him and Kobe's face off, but you can tell it got very real for a second, and that Odom intervening might've cost us all a much better story.

We have to ask the question -- you knew we were gonna do it -- if it had gone down, who ya got?

Answer: Chris Childs.