The Lakers City Edition jerseys for the 2024-25 season have leaked, leaving much to be desired.
Nike giveth Nike taketh away. Long gone are the days of gorgeous City Editions that honor the Lakers’ legacy, like the 2022-23 version.
The new City Edition jerseys have leaked online and simply put, they look rough.
Los Angeles Lakers pic.twitter.com/MjBLfMtoFj
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) September 17, 2024
There is so much to complain about with this jersey; where should we begin?
Let’s start with the word “Lakers” being replaced with “LakeShow”. Yes, the franchise has used the moniker as its official hashtag on Twitter, which is a nice touch, but the font and colors don’t mesh well here.
Instead of looking like a fun take on a traditional jersey, it appears more like a knockoff you find at the Santee Alley markets in the Los Angeles Fashion District.
Then there are the colors. The purple appears dull and the way it fades to black leaves you with two versions of colors you usually love but hate on this uniform.
Whatever happened to the classic Lakers gold, why not something that honors the legacy that built this historic team?
The Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA did a tremendous job with their new jerseys. They leaned into celebrating L.A. basketball while blazing their own trail with their 2024 editions. They even used a new hashtag, #TheNewClassic, as part of the branding.
Honoring our past, looking towards the future.
Be the first to secure yours: https://t.co/pAYVMSPVkJ pic.twitter.com/abAO0cUfut
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) April 18, 2024
If the Sparks got it right, why did the Lakers and Nike miss the mark here?
How cool would it have been to use jerseys that pay homage to the 1980s Lakers or ones that celebrate Jerry West, who recently passed away?
That would have been an easy win this year, but instead of a slam dunk, we got a missed open layup.
One might say I’m being too hard on Nike, the multibillion-dollar corporation, for these designs, but this opinion is the consensus.
I asked around, searched through the comments and struggled to find anyone who liked, loved, or even felt neutral about this jersey.
Everything has been disdainful and whenever you get a place as divisive as the internet in unison with an opinion, you’ve either done something really right or wrong.
These City Editions missed the mark and make me miss last year’s version, which was also pretty bad.
I’m not going to beg Nike to stop making new jerseys. We won’t see a break in this cycle unless there’s a capitalistic argument for less production. What I do ask is for Nike to be better.
Just like Lakers fans demand greatness from the organization, that standard is held for everything surrounding the team.
These jerseys aren’t worthy of the name on the front. Then again, with LakeShow written across, maybe the awful design is actually on brand.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.