The Jordan Brand getups LeBron, AD, and Russ will don this year at Crypto.com Arena feature a purple base color scheme with accents in gold and black.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers became the latest NBA team to unveil their Jordan Brand Statement Edition uniforms for the 2022-23 season. This year’s model a purple jersey with “LAKERS” in gold lettering across the chest with black numerals trimmed and gold. Black vertical bars run up either side of the jersey.
The new kits feature the phrase ‘Leave A Legacy,’ which encapsulates the franchise’s “mission towards excellence on and off the court.” They also showcase the No. 17 on the neck of the jersey representing the franchise’s 17 championship rings.
As several observers have pointed out, the Statement Edition looks appear awfully similar to their jerseys from last year, with the design of the numerals being a notable exception:
Despite missing the 2021-22 postseason, the Lakers secured the top spot in the NBA’s most popular jersey and team merchandise lists. Furthermore, LeBron James was once again No. 1 on the list of total jerseys sold across the NBA according to the most recent consumer data shared in April of this year.
Given the reach and prestige of the LA market, it’s safe to say the Lakers will be in the same neighborhood next season among the game’s biggest merch-movers. Right on cue, they dropped their white and sky blue Nike City Edition uniforms back in August, paying homage to their time in Minneapolis in the 1950s.
The most important thing for these Lakers in 2022-23 isn’t the uniform they wear, of course — who will be healthy and raring to go the famous Purple and Gold is a much more pressing question. This team is coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs, and if they miss again, it would mark just the second time in James’ career that his team failed to make the postseason in consecutive years (2003-04; 2004-05).
But if they do break through and get back to the postseason in a relentless Western Conference, Nike and Jordan Brand have ensured that they’ll look awfully good doing it.
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