LOS ANGELES – When ABC announcer Mike Breen announced the closing seconds of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals victory in October, he exclaimed, “Banner No. 17 will be in the rafters soon.”
He was right about the hanging section. What Breen didn’t know was that when the Lakers open the season against the LA Clippers on Tuesday, no one will actually be able to see the banner making its new home at Staples Center.
For opening night, the Lakers will wear a black cloak covering the 2019-2020 championship banner, with the message “Stay tuned, Lakers family” printed on it in gold block letters.
It will remain covered until the coronavirus pandemic clears and fans are allowed back into the building for games.
“We won’t be unveiling a banner because we want to wait for fans to do that,” Lakers president Tim Harris told ESPN. “When you win a championship, the championship has a lot of quote-unquote owners. A championship belongs to the team, it belongs to the players, it belongs to the fans.
“And then the things that come with a championship, the assets that come with a championship, it’s like the ownership group is the caretakers of the trophy. And the rings when you win a championship, they belong to the players. And the banner. if you win a championship, it belongs to the fans. That’s roughly how I look at this. “
The last time Staples Center hosted a game with fans was on March 10. In late November, the LA County Department of Public Health issued an injunction prohibiting all public and private gatherings of individuals not from the same household.
‘We clearly got the trophy. And [Tuesday] In the evening we will hand out the rings, “Harris told ESPN.” And we want, if we can, to wait with all hope until we have the chance to unveil the banner with the banner owners – that’s the fans – right there with us. “
As for the black robe, Harris explained, “He says, ‘We’re going to wait for you.’ ‘
The ring ceremony continues, without the normal pomp and circumstance that comes with a championship celebration for the purple and gold.
“We started thinking, ‘How are we going to do this? How are we going to do this event if we don’t have fans?’ If you’re on a television show, ”Harris said.
“For the banner, we’re missing part of it. We’re missing part of it, and that’s the people who are a big part of it, and that’s the fans. So we’ll wait.”