It's winter in the northern hemisphere, so watch out for the ice.
The Lakers took that advice a bit to heart, revealing their iced-out championship ring reward after winning the 2019-2020 NBA Finals in October — as is true Hollywood style, they went big, bold and blingy with the rings. Take a look:
The Lakers' 2020 championship ring 💎🏆
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 23, 2020
(via @JasonofBH) pic.twitter.com/xGgMYSDbLb
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Designed by jewelry maker Jason Arasheben (Jason of Beverly Hills), the ring features a few extravagant details:
- There are snakes behind the players' numbers, honoring the late Kobe Bryant, whose nickname was "The Black Mamba."
- There is a removable top that reveals the numbers of retired Lakers players. The jerseys of Kobe Bryant (Nos. 8 and 24) are emphasized with a snakeskin background.
- There are 17 amethyst stones that make up the Lakers "L" on the front, each weighing .95 carats; the 17 represents the Lakers' 17th title, while the .95 carats represents the 95 days the Lakers spent in quarantine.
- The ring also has the word "unity" etched in, representing the social justice movements of 2020, of which NBA players took part.
So many details on these Lakers rings 🏆
— ESPN (@espn) December 23, 2020
💎 Most expensive ring in NBA title history
💎 Mamba snake behind players’ numbers to honor Kobe
💎 Removable top to reveal retired Lakers jerseys, with special emphasis on Kobe’s
(via @JasonofBH) pic.twitter.com/bDz1KdmDuV
Arasheben told ESPN he had just four weeks to turn around the design on the championship ring because of the shortened time between the end of the 2020 season and start of the '20-'21 season. In total, the ring features more than 800 stones and is the highest valued ring in NBA history.
The rings were the sweetest thing of the Lakers 2020-21 debut, though, as they lost to the Clippers 116-109 on Monday night.
