Lakers Announce Return of Kobe Bryant-Designed Black Mamba Jerseys for Nuggets Game

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Tuesday that they will wear their Black Mamba uniforms during Thursday's home game against the Denver Nuggets in celebration of Kobe Bryant.

In a press release posted by Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Lakers declared that they will wear the Black Mamba uniforms after unveiling a statue of Bryant outside Crypto.com Arena prior to the game:

Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020 at the age of 41, helped design the Black Mamba uniforms, which were first worn during the 2017-18 season.

By virtue of spending his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers and earning 18 All-Star selections along the way, Bryant is one of the most iconic figures in franchise history.

Kobe helped L.A. win five NBA championships during his career, and he was named NBA Finals MVP twice, as well as NBA MVP once. The two-time NBA scoring champion averaged 25.0 points per game in 1,346 career regular-season contests and ranks fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 33,643 points.

The Lakers noted that Bryant will be the seventh person in franchise history to be immortalized in statue form, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Chick Hearn and Shaquille O'Neal.

While the Lakers typically wear purple and gold, the Black Mamba jerseys have a special place in team history, not only because of their link to Bryant, but also because the Lakers wore them during the playoffs in 2020 en route to their most recent NBA title.

On Thursday, the Lakers will clash with a Nuggets team that won the NBA championship last season and is currently fourth in the Western Conference with a 35-16 record.

It will also mark a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, which saw the Nuggets sweep the Lakers 4-0.

Although LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers are only 27-25 this season, they are set to enter Thursday's game on a hot streak, having won three games in a row.

That includes wins over the best team in the NBA in the Boston Celtics and a New York Knicks team that had been on a nine-game winning streak.

With a win against Denver, the Lakers could signal to the league that they are legitimate championship threats despite their modest record.