Lakers Will Not Reveal Championship Banner Until Fans Can Attend Games

The Lakers aren’t revealing Banner No. 17 just yet.

Los Angeles’ championship banner for the 2019-20 season will be hidden behind a black sheet until fans are permitted to attend games at Staples Center once again, team president of business operations Tim Harris told ESPN on Tuesday. The phrase, “Stay tuned, Lakers fans” will be printed on it in bold gold lettering.

The Lakers still will honor their NBA Finals victory in October with a traditional ring ceremony ahead of Tuesday night’s season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers. But they want to wait for when the time is right to reveal the banner.

“We won’t be unveiling a banner because we want to wait for the fans on that,” Harris said, via 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 stuff that comes with a championship, the assets that come with a championship, it’s kind of like the ownership group are the caretakers of the trophy. And the rings when you win a championship, those belong to the players. And the banner when you win a championship belongs to the fans. That’s kind of how I look at this.”

The Lakers will host their first game at Staples Center on Tuesday since March 10, two days before the NBA indefinitely suspended its season due to COVID-19. Tip-off is slated for 10 p.m. ET.