The visualization of the Los Angeles Lakers club, namely the team logo, received its famous name only in 1948. The modern identity associated the brand with its new “address,” symbolizing the game’s high speed and reflecting a professional focus.
Los Angeles Lakers: Brand overview
Founded: | 1947 |
Founder: | Buss Family Trusts, Jeanie Buss, Philip Anschutz, Edward P. Roski, Patrick Soon-Shiong |
Headquarters: |
Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Website: | nba.com |
The club was founded in 1946 under the name of Detroit Gems (Gemstone). In 1947, the Detroit Gems team completed its short-term journey into the real sport. The worst average scores and points scored by the opponents for the match in the season of 1946/47 hinted at the team’s lack of positive perspectives.
After a year in Detroit, the team moved to the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and became known as Minneapolis Lakers. The owner of the team named C. King Boring agreed to sell the rights to franchisees. His partners Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen, born in Minnesota, acquired the rights for modest $ 15 thousand.
But in fact, the new owners got the name and some sports belongings instead of the team. Having decided to break with the unsuccessful past of the team completely, Berger and Chalfen agreed to give a local flavor to the new name. From the list of the main nicknames of Minnesota were the Star of the North, the State of Gophers, and the Earth of 10,000 lakes. The owners considered the last name the most organic one. By the way, the term LAKER also referred to a unique project of ships carrying cargo in the Great Lakes region. Due to the name Lakers, the team got the nickname Lake.
The sufferings of the predecessors from Gems were worth it: in the Draft, Minneapolis Lakers got one peak, under which George Mikan, the future legend of the club, was chosen. The team entered the new season, making great strides and became its main discovery, having won the debut champion title.
George Mikan announced the completion of his career twice. But only after his final retirement in 1956, interest in the team began to decline rapidly. The inconclusive financial indicators forced the owners to start searching for potential buyers. The team from Minnesota, led by Bob Short, saved the team from moving to Kansas City.
The successful experience of Brooklyn Dodgers’ moving to Los Angeles prompted the team owner to think about changing his team’s registration, too. The status of a megapolis, suitable climatic conditions, and the absence of competition made the City of Angels the priority. This is how the club moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, California, in 1960.
To preserve the team’s identity, the former name was retained, except for the prefix. Since 1960, the team had been called the Los Angeles Lakers. This is the team whose sporting achievements (16 championship titles) exceed the number of natural reservoirs in the state itself.
Meaning and History
The Lakers basketball team, originally from Minneapolis, has been existing for more than 70 years. This is one of the most titled NBA teams, as well as, according to Forbes magazine, the most expensive one. Los Angeles Lakers are one of many NBA teams that have been forced to change their logo and name after moving to another state. When she was based at Minneapolis, the players’ t-shirts were adorned with an abstract bright yellow logo. Having moved to a new city, the club redesigned and found its final style.
What is Los Angeles Lakers?
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful basketball teams in the history of the National Basketball Association. She won 17 championships. The club began performing in 1947 at the NBL as the Minneapolis Lakers and was headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Then he moved to Los Angeles, changing the name. The franchise is in the NBA, represents the Pacific Division, and participates in the Western Conference.
1948 – 1960
The first Minneapolis Lakers logo was quite catchy. It personified the arrival of something new into the world of basketball. The original emblem appeared when the franchise was called Minneapolis Lakers. It contained a basketball that looked like a globe due to the artists depicting the Minnesota state borders within the circle and marking the city of Minneapolis with a small five-pointed star. Above was the abbreviation “MPLS” with a dot at the end and two large stars on each side. Below – the word “LAKERS.”
1961 – 1976
After the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, the emblem took on a whole new look. The ball survived, but became dark green and grainy, like grass on a lawn. The team name has moved to the center. The purple inscription “LOS ANGELES LAKERS” is divided into two lines and unusually framed: thin lines stretch to the left from the last word. Combined with italic font, this creates a motion effect.
1977 – 2001
After almost 30 years of existence, the team changed its primary colors. The main lines of the ball made of white turned black. Other colors have also changed: green – to orange and dark purple – to light blue. The seams on the ball shifted in the opposite direction.
2002 – today
In 2002, developers increased the clarity of the logo due to more saturated shades of golden, black, and purple. From the point of view of composition, nothing has changed: the team decided to adhere to their old style.
Font and Colors
The shape and proportions of the club mark have not been updated since 1961. As before, a basketball with distinctively traced seams takes pride in place, and the full name Los Angeles Lakers are written across it. Numerous horizontal stripes that stretch from the letters in the word “LAKERS” add dynamics and make the logo recognizable.
For the inscription, the developers used a stylized font. The font is italics with serifs and decorative elements, such as an elongated leg of the letter “R” that surrounds the adjacent “S” at the bottom. The palette includes only three colors: purple for text, golden, and black for a basketball.
Los Angeles Lakers color codes
Gold | Hex color: | #fdb927 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 253 185 39 | |
CMYK: | 0 30 94 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 123 C |
Purple | Hex color: | #552583 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 85 37 130 | |
CMYK: | 79 100 0 12 | |
Pantone: | PMS 526 C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
CMYK: | 30 100 0 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS Black C |
What is the LA Lakers logo?
The logo of this team is very stable. It always had a picture of a ball, supplemented with inscriptions. The modern version also consists of these components. Los Angeles Lakers are written against the background of a large basketball, highlighted in black, curved, straight, and curved stripes. It is painted purple with subtle touches that add a dynamic feel to the logo.
Why is the Lakers logo purple and gold?
Magenta and gold are the classic color combinations for the Lakers logo. This combination was approved in 1960 after the franchise moved to another state. Since Los Angeles is set against a background of mountains with a slightly purple haze and is a concentration of glitter of gold, the club chose these colors for itself. In addition, the golden color almost coincides with the traditional yellow color of a basketball.
What is the Los Angeles Laker’s colors?
The main colors of the Los Angeles Lakers are gold, black and purple. They appeared in 1960 after she departed from the city of Minneapolis. Since then, they have remained the club’s official colors and have never changed.
What color yellow is in the Lakers logo?
The yellow color in the Lakers logo is close to gold. It has PMS 123 C (Pantone grid), # FDB927 (Hex Color), 253, 185, 39 (RGB) and 0, 30, 94, 0 (CMYK).