Ranking every Lakers city edition jersey through the years

NBA city edition jerseys have become a staple of the regular season ever since Nike started doing them seven seasons ago. These jerseys have been a hit-or-miss depending on the team and the design but for the most part, the Los Angeles Lakers have donned several iconic city edition jerseys.

They are not all great, though, and there is definitely a hierarchy among the jerseys that the team and Nike have put together. With the 2023-24 city edition jersey officially out, we thought it would be fitting to rank every Lakers city edition jersey ever made.

Ranking every Lakers city edition jersey:

7. Lakers’ 2022-23 city edition jersey

Did anyone say the Sacramento Lakers? From a pure visual standpoint, this jersey actually doesn’t look that bad. The way the purple and black contrasted with the white made for a good-looking jersey that definitely jumped off the screen every time the Lakers were on TV.

All that being said, this is not a Lakers jersey. Every other city edition jersey, even the latest installment, has had some kind of team-related design to it. The only thing that is even remotely “Lakers” about this jersey is the fact that there is purple in it.

There is no gold and the jersey doesn’t even say the team name across the chest. It looks good, but it looks like a Kings jersey cosplaying as a Lakers jersey.

6. Lakers’ 2023-24 city edition jersey

The newest city edition jersey pays homage to the history of the franchise with the triangular font that the team donned back when it moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Dubbed the “California Dream”, these jerseys are meant to pay respect to the team’s California roots.

All that being said, it still is not a good-looking jersey. In terms of pure looks, it might be the worst that Nike has come out with. But it at least pays respects to the history of the franchise, so it has that going for it.

5. Lakers’ 2021-22 city edition jersey

This is where the line is drawn from ugly/uninspired jerseys to jerseys that actually look nice. This city edition jersey may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it has a nice blend of paying homage to the franchise while also being modern.

This jersey incorporates elements from the 50s, the 60s, and even has the L logo on the waistband that encapsulated the team during its three-peat in the early 2000s. The melting pot of so many different things makes it different, and while some may think it is an eyesore, it is a good jersey.

4. Lakers’ 2020-21 city edition jersey

Los Angeles didn’t call the first four city edition jerseys “city edition”. Instead, the team called them the “lore series” that were meant to pay homage to previous Lakers legends. For the fourth installment for the 2020-21 season, the Lakers were paying homage to Elgin Baylor.

The classic white and blue look is undoubtedly clean. The colorway did not line up with the modern Lakers look but that is what made these jerseys so great. This is a perfect example of a city edition jersey — sorry, lore series — should look like.

3. Lakers’ 2018-19 city edition jersey

The 2018-19 jerseys were the first that LeBron James played in and they were undoubtedly gorgeous. Meant to honor Magic Johnson, the Lakers and Nike nailed the design with the all-purple design with the gold and black font and the pinstripes running down the jersey.

It went deeper than this, though. The pinstripes actually read “3x5xSHOWTIME” which was an homage to the Showtime Lakers that Magic piloted. Magic was a three-time MVP and he won five championships.

2. Lakers’ 2019-20 city edition jersey

This is the only city edition jersey that actually took advantage of the iconic Lakers gold as the main color in the colorway. This is exactly what a city edition jersey should be: it pays homage to the team’s history while executing on the current colors in a clean, fresh way.

The vintage lettering on the front mixed with the retired numbers on the side of the jersey made this a must-have for any Laker fans. As clean as it is, there is still one more jersey that trumps it as the best of the best.

1. Lakers’ 2017-18 city edition jersey

The first is always the best.

This jersey was so iconic that the Lakers brought back a version of it for the 2020 NBA Playoffs to pay tribute to the late great Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. The very first city edition jersey paid homage to the greatest Laker of all time and thus, it is the greatest city edition jersey not just in Lakers history, but in NBA history.

It is hard to find another city edition jersey that not only encapsulates the heartbeat of a franchise but does so in a clean way that is unlike any other city edition jersey in the league. This jersey is truly one of a kind.