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Lakers Officially Unveil New Uniforms for 2018-19


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On 10/17/2018 at 8:33 AM, Quillz said:

I don't care how classic it might have been, that has always been a terrible wordmark. The L looks like it's stabbing the A, and the S is angled oddly relative to other letters and isn't really attached. The present wordmark is so much cleaner and better.

 

On 10/17/2018 at 9:13 AM, henburg said:

 

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On 10/18/2018 at 1:33 AM, Old School Fool said:

 

Because it sucks compared to the current one and it should stay on the uniform that it was on. The one on the Practice jersey is what they should be using too.

 

This is an extension of the discussion I had with the one dude who thought the 49ers’ throwbacks weren’t cohesive enough...

 

Whether or not the “Showtime” Lakers wordmark sucks is irrelevant. If you’re going to honour a past team or player? You ought to get the look as accurate as you can manage. Warts and all.

 

Designing something that looks like it came from the cutting room floor, a uniform Magic Johnson never wore, that doesn’t even include the proper version of the wordmark, is not honouring Magic Johnson.

 

Whether or not the Showtime version of the wordmark looks good or not doesn’t matter. You want to honour Magic Johnson? Get the proper Magic Johnson look down properly. 

 

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10 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

 

 

This is an extension of the discussion I had with the one dude who thought the 49ers’ throwbacks weren’t cohesive enough...

 

Whether or not the “Showtime” Lakers wordmark sucks is irrelevant. If you’re going to honour a past team or player? You ought to get the look as accurate as you can manage. Warts and all.

 

Designing something that looks like it came from the cutting room floor, a uniform Magic Johnson never wore, that doesn’t even include the proper version of the wordmark, is not honouring Magic Johnson.

 

Whether or not the Showtime version of the wordmark looks good or not doesn’t matter. You want to honour Magic Johnson? Get the proper Magic Johnson look down properly. 

 

 

My gif was more aimed at the tired "lol millenials call everything fire" joke, but I also don't necessarily think that's true. If they were meant to be straight-up throwbacks I would agree with you, but they aren't trying to perfectly mimic the Magic-era Lakers. They want to make something new that is a nod to his legacy which has now spanned past his playing days. I don't love the product they came up with, but I think that they concept itself is much more interesting than a conventional throwback. 

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11 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

 

 

 

This is an extension of the discussion I had with the one dude who thought the 49ers’ throwbacks weren’t cohesive enough...

 

Whether or not the “Showtime” Lakers wordmark sucks is irrelevant. If you’re going to honour a past team or player? You ought to get the look as accurate as you can manage. Warts and all.

 

Designing something that looks like it came from the cutting room floor, a uniform Magic Johnson never wore, that doesn’t even include the proper version of the wordmark, is not honouring Magic Johnson.

 

Whether or not the Showtime version of the wordmark looks good or not doesn’t matter. You want to honour Magic Johnson? Get the proper Magic Johnson look down properly. 

 

 

I'd go even further.  How are you "honoring" Magic Johnson with just a throwback jersey to what he wore?  He never wore an Adidas jersey, or one made out of these modern materials.  And then everyone gets their own name and number?  I'll go looking through YouTube, but I don't recall Magic ever wearing a jersey that said "Hart 3" on the back.  The only proper way to honor him would be to have all the players sport actual game-worn Magic Johnson jerseys, in a game played at the Forum on an actual court from back in the day.  Otherwise... Get.  Off.  My.  Damn.  Lawn.  I worked hard on that criss-cross pattern.

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49 minutes ago, swilson160 said:

 

I'd go even further.  How are you "honoring" Magic Johnson with just a throwback jersey to what he wore?  He never wore an Adidas jersey, or one made out of these modern materials.  And then everyone gets their own name and number?  I'll go looking through YouTube, but I don't recall Magic ever wearing a jersey that said "Hart 3" on the back.  The only proper way to honor him would be to have all the players sport actual game-worn Magic Johnson jerseys, in a game played at the Forum on an actual court from back in the day.  Otherwise... Get.  Off.  My.  Damn.  Lawn.  I worked hard on that criss-cross pattern.

:rolleyes: 

 

Throwbacks have always been about reproducing older looks with new templates and materials. Or getting as close as you can get. 

 

Saying “you can’t use the Showtime era wordmark because it’s ugly” misses the point. There’s nothing stopping Nike or the Lakers from putting it on a jersey, other then the desire not to. 

 

1 hour ago, henburg said:

 

My gif was more aimed at the tired "lol millenials call everything fire" joke...

I mean I don’t think it’s aimed at Millenials. It’s aimed at the kids of the generation after them. And as someone who works with teenagers? Yeah. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say they can and do talk like that. 

 

1 hour ago, henburg said:

I also don't necessarily think that's true. If they were meant to be straight-up throwbacks I would agree with you, but they aren't trying to perfectly mimic the Magic-era Lakers. They want to make something new that is a nod to his legacy which has now spanned past his playing days. I don't love the product they came up with, but I think that they concept itself is much more interesting than a conventional throwback. 

 I don’t see how the uniform they came out with honours Magic Johnson’s legacy, on court or off the court. Nothing about the design has anything to do with Johnson. You could replace the M logo on the waistband with a K or B, change the wording on the word-pinstripes, and claim it homages Koby Bryant. Or change that M to a W and change the wording on the pinstripes and look at that. Instant Jerry West homage.

 

There’s nothing here that honours Magic Johnson, and insisting it does amounts to swallowing a shoe company’s marketing in full. 

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20 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

 

I mean I don’t think it’s aimed at Millenials. It’s aimed at the kids of the generation after them. And as someone who works with teenagers? Yeah. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say they can and do talk like that.  

But it is an exaggeration to say they all do.

 

I think I partially agree with both points - at some times it absolutely seems like this place is like “it’s not an exact throwback so it sucks”, but many times people have liked modern uniforms as well. And they have a point - even as a teenager (meaning I’m irrelevant because I obviously only express my thoughts in two words: lit or fire), I find many throwbacks that people are clamoring for as better than the modern uniforms those teams wear today. So, both points are correct, but @Ice_Cap is more correct in my view (now I sound like the biology teacher that I got this year)

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1 hour ago, Ice_Cap said:

I don’t see how the uniform they came out with honours Magic Johnson’s legacy, on court or off the court. Nothing about the design has anything to do with Johnson. You could replace the M logo on the waistband with a K or B, change the wording on the word-pinstripes, and claim it homages Koby Bryant. Or change that M to a W and change the wording on the pinstripes and look at that. Instant Jerry West homage.

 

There’s nothing here that honours Magic Johnson, and insisting it does amounts to swallowing a shoe company’s marketing in full. 

They made the uniform equivalent of The Magic Hour.  Legacy honored.

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1 hour ago, Ice_Cap said:

There’s nothing here that honours Magic Johnson, and insisting it does amounts to swallowing a shoe company’s marketing in full. 

 

"I'M HONORING YOU!  BE HONORED!"

 

Gee, where have I heard this before in sports design?  Why am I doing this tomahawk chop, again?  

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3 hours ago, Magic Dynasty said:

But it is an exaggeration to say they all do.

Of course not every young person talks that way. It is prevalent slang though. People will pick up on it, and joke about it. My generation had its own slang when we were teenagers that got mocked. And so on. 

I promise you that 15 years down the line? Kids will be saying stuff that’ll make you roll your eyes too :P

 

3 hours ago, Magic Dynasty said:

I think I partially agree with both points - at some times it absolutely seems like this place is like “it’s not an exact throwback so it sucks”, but many times people have liked modern uniforms as well. And they have a point - even as a teenager (meaning I’m irrelevant because I obviously only express my thoughts in two words: lit or fire), I find many throwbacks that people are clamoring for as better than the modern uniforms those teams wear today. So, both points are correct, but @Ice_Cap is more correct in my view (now I sound like the biology teacher that I got this year)

 The problem is that the new primary look the Lakers have is very reminiscent of the Showtime set. So a straight Magic Johnson throwback wouldn’t work. 

 

That said? What they came up with doesn’t invoke Johnson or his career in any way. I’m not sure what a non-throwback “homage” uniform of Johnson’s career would look like, but what Nike came up with isn’t it. 

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4 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

I mean I don’t think it’s aimed at Millenials. It’s aimed at the kids of the generation after them. And as someone who works with teenagers? Yeah. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say they can and do talk like that. 

 

I really just don't like it used as something to brush off valid criticisms. That wordmark would look totally ridiculous on a modern jersey for more reasons than just appeasing young people. In all, it's not really that big of a deal to me. I didn't mean to start an argument or anything over it. Personally, I straddle the line between millennial and Gen Z, and it's definitely tacked on every uniform social media caption so I get it. 

 

4 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

 I don’t see how the uniform they came out with honours Magic Johnson’s legacy, on court or off the court. Nothing about the design has anything to do with Johnson. You could replace the M logo on the waistband with a K or B, change the wording on the word-pinstripes, and claim it homages Koby Bryant. Or change that M to a W and change the wording on the pinstripes and look at that. Instant Jerry West homage.

 

There’s nothing here that honours Magic Johnson, and insisting it does amounts to swallowing a shoe company’s marketing in full. 

 

Again, I am not saying their solution was necessarily good. You're not wrong about it being possibly transferrable to other players, but I think we should at least wait for the official release to gain a better understanding of it. (Although that will likely make it worse for most people because it's sure to be full of the marketing speak we all loathe lol)

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4 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

There’s nothing here that honours Magic Johnson, and insisting it does amounts to swallowing a shoe company’s marketing in full. 

 

Magic had to have say in it. If he's pleased with it, and if he feels like it honors him...then that's that. We're not the official arbiter as much as we want to be.

Smart is believing half of what you hear. Genius is knowing which half.

 

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22 hours ago, WSU151 said:

 

Magic had to have say in it. If he's pleased with it, and if he feels like it honors him...then that's that. We're not the official arbiter as much as we want to be.

I never claimed I, or we, was/were. 

 

And saying “they had Magic Johnson involved!” means nothing. Remember when the Ottawa Senators released their heritage alternates and then brought some goober off the internet who had a vaguely similar concept? They claimed he had “inspired” the design, but you could tell it was bs just by looking at his concept vs the sweater the team unveiled. 

It was a publicity stunt, essentially. 

 

Saying “Magic Johnson had input” seems much like the same sort of thing. I doubt he was involved beyond the Lakers and/or Nike paying him to give his endorsement. 

 

22 hours ago, henburg said:

I really just don't like it used as something to brush off valid criticisms. 

I think criticism of it would be valid if it were being brought back in a full-time context. 

 

It would be silly to not use it on a throwback though. And I would argue it’s silly to not use it on a new uniform meant to “honour” a legend who played when that wordmark was in use. 

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1 hour ago, Ice_Cap said:

I never claimed I, or we, was/were. 

 

And saying “they had Magic Johnson involved!” means nothing. Remember when the Ottawa Senators released their heritage alternates and then brought some goober off the internet who had a vaguely similar concept? They claimed he had “inspired” the design, but you could tell it was bs just by looking at his concept vs the sweater the team unveiled. 

It was a publicity stunt, essentially. 

 

Sayinh “Magic Johnson had input” seems much like the same sort of thing. I doubt he was involved beyond the Lakers and/or Nike paying him to give his endorsement. 

 

I think criticism of it would be valid if it were being brought back in a full-time context. 

 

It would be silly to not use it on a throwback though. And I would argue it’s silly to not use it on a new uniform meant to “honour” a legend who played when that wordmark was in use. 

 

Obviously, I don’t have any knowledge of how this particular project went down, but I have enough industry knowledge to understand how teams generally operate and all the layers and challenges that typically come with a project like this, and to me, this whole program feels like it’s suffering from a simple lack of planning and long-term vision.

 

They kicked it off by unveiling a promising first attempt with the Kobe “Black Mamba” uniform (which, ironically, was basically a Showtime uniform in black with a snakeskin pattern), and then it came time to do Magic’s, and there was no low hanging fruit to pick like there was for Kobe, and I think it’s only going to get tougher for Kareem, Worthy, West, Wilt, and Baylor. All those guys played in more or less the same two Lakers uniforms their whole careers, before throwbacks, before alternates, before the NBA was a fashion catalyst.

 

LA’s approach to the City edition uniform feels like an idea that got people reeeally excited in a meeting. Everyone saw the beautiful blue water and dove in head first without thinking about how deep the pool was.

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1 hour ago, andrewharrington said:

 

Obviously, I don’t have any knowledge of how this particular project went down, but I have enough industry knowledge to understand how teams generally operate and all the layers and challenges that typically come with a project like this, and to me, this whole program feels like it’s suffering from a simple lack of planning and long-term vision.

 

They kicked it off by unveiling a promising first attempt with the Kobe “Black Mamba” uniform (which, ironically, was basically a Showtime uniform in black with a snakeskin pattern), and then it came time to do Magic’s, and there was no low hanging fruit to pick like there was for Kobe, and I think it’s only going to get tougher for Kareem, Worthy, West, Wilt, and Baylor. All those guys played in more or less the same two Lakers uniforms their whole careers, before throwbacks, before alternates, before the NBA was a fashion catalyst.

 

LA’s approach to the City edition uniform feels like an idea that got people reeeally excited in a meeting. Everyone saw the beautiful blue water and dove in head first without thinking about how deep the pool was.

 

My thoughts exactly. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Great idea for last season, but not as feasible long-term if this year’s is any indication.

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3 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

 

Obviously, I don’t have any knowledge of how this particular project went down, but I have enough industry knowledge to understand how teams generally operate and all the layers and challenges that typically come with a project like this, and to me, this whole program feels like it’s suffering from a simple lack of planning and long-term vision.

 

They kicked it off by unveiling a promising first attempt with the Kobe “Black Mamba” uniform (which, ironically, was basically a Showtime uniform in black with a snakeskin pattern), and then it came time to do Magic’s, and there was no low hanging fruit to pick like there was for Kobe, and I think it’s only going to get tougher for Kareem, Worthy, West, Wilt, and Baylor. All those guys played in more or less the same two Lakers uniforms their whole careers, before throwbacks, before alternates, before the NBA was a fashion catalyst.

 

LA’s approach to the City edition uniform feels like an idea that got people reeeally excited in a meeting. Everyone saw the beautiful blue water and dove in head first without thinking about how deep the pool was.

That's the problem with the idea that the "City" (and apparently the "Earned") jerseys will change every year. There are only so many viable ideas for any one brand. Eventually you have to stretch to make something work, and I think we're there. And it's only year two of this uniform system.

 

The Prince Timberwolves "City" uniform is perhaps the best example of that :D

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13 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

Sayinh “Magic Johnson had input” seems much like the same sort of thing. I doubt he was involved beyond the Lakers and/or Nike paying him to give his endorsement. 

 

I would hope Magic would have had more input, being the GM of the Lakers and all. Seems like he'd be in a conversation or two with Nike about what the jersey should look like.

Smart is believing half of what you hear. Genius is knowing which half.

 

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6 hours ago, WSU151 said:

 

I would hope Magic would have had more input, being the GM of the Lakers and all. Seems like he'd be in a conversation or two with Nike about what the jersey should look like.

He’s President of Basketball Operations, not GM :P 

Which (much like its counterparts in other sports) is a title so vague it could mean anything from hands-on contributor to the actual guy running the team to figurehead to make the fanbase happy. 

 

Being PoBO doesn’t seem like a job that necessarily requires him to give much of a crap about branding, especially when the league’s deal with Nike already dictates a fair degree of what the team will be wearing and when. So I’m not sold on the idea that he was involved beyond being asked/incentivized to give his endorsement and possibly signing off on the design as a formality. 

 

That being said I’m sure the Lakers and/or Nike will have a “behind the scenes” video where we get a quick shot of him looking over a designer’s shoulder and pointing at a computer monitor :P

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I caught some of the Lakers game and the uniforms are just close enough to the old school unis that you can tell this isnt going for some evocation of the old Lakers unis, it’s not going for hinting at or capturing the essence of the old Lakers unis. It’s trying to be the old Lakers unis, which means the decisions then to make them ever so slightly different come across like mistakes or like they weren’t paying close attention to the details or like they tried to create a throwback based on memory and didn’t use a photo for reference. It’s weird that they’d get them that close and not finish. It’s just different enough that it feels like they’re wearing low grade eBay knockoffs. 

 

Why go that far and not just get them 100% accurate?

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