The Los Angeles Lakers received their championship rings on Tuesday night in an emotional pregame ceremony.
And while the rings have plenty of details and features, perhaps the best part about them are the tributes to late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Each ring includes two specific odes to the five-time champion.
The first comes on the side where each player’s jersey number is located. Surrounding the player’s number is a black mamba, with the phrase “Leave a Legacy” on both sides. The second tribute to Bryant is inside of the ring, underneath the logo on the front face.
All of the Lakers retired jerseys can be seen there, but Bryant’s two jerseys are highlighted a different color than the rest. Furthermore, the retired jerseys are on a snake-print base. The details and entirety of the ring can be viewed via Jason of Beverly Hills:
Lakers star LeBron James was ecstatic about receiving his ring, calling it a culmination of everything that team has been through. However, he wished fans were there to take part in the celebration.
“It was just a culmination of what we went through from 2019 to ’20. So many ups and downs, a lot of adversity, just so many storylines and things that happened — both good and bad for our franchise,” he said.
“For that (the ring) to cultivate the whole season, bring it to one moment and be able to celebrate that moment with our teammates and franchise, it was a pretty cool feeling. But at the end of the day, we would definitely have loved to be able to do that with our fans, our family, our friends.
“Because they sacrificed for that as well. Like I said, happy to be a part of it but bittersweet, for sure.”
L.A. dedicated their championship run to Bryant, wearing the Black Mamba jerseys on several occasions, including twice in the NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis motivated to win second ring
Although the Lakers lost to the L.A. Clippers in their season opener, they still are widely considered the favorites to repeat in 2020-21. Anthony Davis felt particularly motivated to repeat after receiving his ring.
“It’s heavier than I thought, for sure. Even when I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to play with my ring on,’ and I did a shooting motion, it was super heavy. It’s something that you cherish forever,” he said.
“I don’t understand how some guys sell their ring. I can’t see that. It just holds so much value for me as a basketball player. It’s an accomplishment. Everyone doesn’t have one of these. I get to say that I have one.”
“I’ll put it in a safe place and now this entire season I get to look at that ring and remind me of what we’ve done, what I’ve done, and you get that feeling of wanting another one. When we were with Jeanie and Adam was talking, [LeBron] was saying something and I wasn’t paying attention but I could see in his eyes he wants another one. It just makes you want to get another one of those and relive that feeling again.”
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