The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be a superstitious lot. Entering Saturday, the team was scheduled to wear their City Edition “Lake Show” uniforms against the New York Knicks. Instead, they took the floor wearing their Statement Edition purple uniforms, and the reason was their past performance.
Los Angeles is 1-9 in its City Editions, in a season where it held a 27-19 record overall before the game.
Team reporter Mike Trudell said the swap was a “team decision,” while head coach JJ Redick didn’t seem to care, via ESPN:
“I’m just hopeful that we’re wearing matching jerseys and matching shorts,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said jokingly before the game. “I don’t really care what color the jerseys are.”
The Lakers, whose site says the City Edition uniform reflects how “The ‘Lake Show’ isn’t just about winning,” are scheduled to wear their newly banished threads eight more times this season. ESPN reports the team will revisit those plans during the All-Star break.
City Edition uniforms are annually changing uniforms meant to offer an alternative to each team’s usual look. In practice, the uniforms are a vehicle for the NBA to have a continually rotating set of merchandise to sell to fans each season, hence why the league might not love the Lakers dropping the uniforms halfway through the season.