At the beginning of the season, it was announced that the Los Angeles Lakers would not be unveiling their 2019-20 championship banner to kick-off the season. The Lakers’ players and staff did receive their championship rings, but the organization saved the banner for a time when fans could be present at the Staples Center. Coming off the announcement that fans would be at the Lakers’ game against the Celtics on April 15th, the team has now announced that the banner will be unveiled on May 12th against the Houston Rockets (Jeanie Buss originally revealed this on Spectrum SportsNet).
OFFICIAL: Banner No. 17 will be unveiled on May 12. pic.twitter.com/EBXvD7lAuU
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 8, 2021
The Lakers really made the fans feel valued and important by doing this, even covering the banner with a faux banner that read “Stay tuned, Lakers family” (pictured above). As previously stated, the Lakers (and Clippers) will be able to have limited fans in the stands starting April 15th (Clippers will have fans on their first game after that date: April 17th). It will be the first time in over a year that they will play in front of fans at the Staples Center. They last had fans on March 10th, 2020 when they lost to the Brooklyn Nets. A couple of days later, the season was suspended due to coronavirus.
Banner number 17 will now be unveiled in a month, adding to the never-ending wall of Lakers greatness that includes six championships since this new millennium started. The purple-and-gold should have both Anthony Davis and LeBron James back by that time, as Lakers Nation will then turn their sights towards number 18.
