Uni Watch’s Flashback: The history of The Lake Show

It’s an exciting time for the Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James now on the roster and new uniforms set to be released July 30 (and a Modell’s outlet may have leaked them a few days ago). With that in mind, let’s take a Friday Flashback look at 10 notable details in the Lakers’ visual history. Ready? Here we go:

1. Play for the name on the front (and back) of the jersey

You probably know that former Lakers great Jerry West is the basis for the NBA logo. But here’s something you might not know about West: He’s one of the very few pro athletes to wear his name on the front and back of his jersey simultaneously. It happened during many of his All-Star appearances, when he played for the Western Conference.

2. Purp walk

As longtime readers may be aware, your friendly uniform columnist is not a fan of purple uniforms. But what’s even worse than a purple uni? A uni with two different shades of purple. That was the situation for the Lakers in the early and mid-1980s, when many players’ jerseys and shorts didn’t quite match. The reason for this has never been satisfactorily explained (Different laundering techniques? Different perspiration rates? Different manufacturers?), but it sure looked weird.

3. Kobe: Twice as nice

Many players across different sports have had different numbers retired by different teams. But Kobe Bryant is the only player to have two numbers retired by the same team. It happened last winter, when the Lakers retired Nos. 8 and 24 in his honor.

4. And speaking of numbers …

When fans debate the best look for the Lakers’ uniform numbers — yes, some uni-obsessed fans really do that — the argument usually boils down to block shadow versus no block shadow. (In fact, many fans are hoping that next week’s uni unveiling will include the return of the block-shadowed numbers.) But the Lakers’ classic gold uniforms have actually featured three different number designs over the years, not two: block-shadowed white over purple, block-shadowed purple over white, and plain numerals without shadow. Which one works best?

5. Who wears short shorts?

Everyone knows that basketball shorts used to be shorter than they are now. But here’s the thing that most people overlook: Back in the short-shorts era, most players wore high socks, so the players’ thighs were exposed. As shorts got longer, socks got correspondingly lower, so roughly the same amount of skin was exposed, but now it was on the calves instead of the thighs.

What does this have to do with the Lakers? This: In 2007, the Lakers played a game in throwback uniforms, complete with short shorts. But most of the players went with low socks, so their calves and thighs were exposed — or, in the eyes of many fans, overexposed. After wearing the short shorts in the first half, they came out wearing longer contemporary shorts for the second half.

6. Who wears high socks?

Even when other players were starting to wear their socks lower, Lakers shooting guard Michael Cooper wore his socks high. Like, really high — right up to his kneecaps. Hard to imagine him without those super-white tube socks. A classic example of a player with a signature style.

7. Check your head(band)

Speaking of signature styles: Nowadays, many NBA players wear headbands as a fashion statement. But headbands were pretty rare in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Lakers great Wilt Chamberlain wore a particularly interesting model — thick across his brow and thin in the back. A unique look for a unique player.

8. Letter-perfect

You probably know that the Lakers updated their jerseys from an old-school scoop-neck collar to the more modern-looking wishbone collar in 1999. What you might not realize is that the ’99 makeover also included some tweaks to the classic “Lakers” chest lettering. Which version do you prefer?

9. Drip, drip, drip …

The Lakers’ logo has those horizontal lines that convey speed and dynamism. Or do they? NBA researcher Conrad Burry recently explained that the logo and the lines were originally rendered in blue so they looked like drips of water — a reference to the Lakers’ lake-inspired team name (which in turn dates back to the franchise’s original incarnation in Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”). Who knew?

10. Apostrophe catastrophe

In 2012, the Lakers unveiled a new court design featuring numbered stars to mark each of the team’s championships. Just one problem: The stars had apostrophes that were backward (an increasingly common phenomenon that drives some of us bonkers). Last year they finally changed them to proper apostrophes, and a huge sigh of relief was heard throughout the land (or at least at Uni Watch HQ).

OK, that should be enough to keep you in a Lakers-centric frame of mind until Monday’s uniform unveiling, which will mark the unofficial start of the team’s LeBron era.

Paul Lukas is well aware that the Lakers have sometimes referred to their shade of purple as “Forum blue,” but come on — it’s purple. If you like this column, you’ll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and sign up for his mailing list so you’ll always know when a new column has been posted. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, check out his Uni Watch merchandise, or just ask him a question? Contact him here.