The Lakers are going back to their Showtime jerseys and they’re so damn good

If you put together Nike, the Los Angeles Lakers, and LeBron freaking James, good things are bound to happen.

On Tuesday, the Lakers announced their jerseys for the 2018-2019 season and — oh my — Showtime is absolutely back. LA has brought back the round neck similar to that of the Magic Johnson days, but most importantly, the shadow drop on the numbers. These are absolutely stunning and the perfect marketing move for the team.

Lakers jerseys have never been bad, but the shadow drop has been missing since 1999. And quite frankly, it just hasn’t been the same. Now the Lakers have these, plus the lights of LA, and that guy LeBron James? Lakers exceptionalism is all the way back and it’s about to be so damn fun.

This video should get you hyped.

“When the lights go down, the show comes on. This town knows a good performance when it sees one. Those that came before us turned on the lights. The numbers on their back hang forever. And the name on the chest says it all. The purple and gold is a masterpiece. It was built for the brightest stars. Our history shaped our future. And our future reflects our history. Let the show begin.”

The classic gold. A picture had leaked weeks ago hinting these could be a bright yellow but the Lakers got it right. Perfect.

The Lakers’ “Sunday Whites” as they’ve famously worn over for many years now. Even better now with the shadow drop.

If I have one tiny complaint, it’s this black stripe on the side of the purple jerseys. We didn’t need that. Don’t do that. Just let greatness be. If these had stayed full purple, it’d be much happier.

A near perfect release if it wasn’t for that strange black stripe.

You can read more about them here.