Lakers among teams against advertisements on jerseys

The 2016 NBA All-Star weekend was of historic significance not just because of the ongoing farewell tour to Kobe Bryant, but also due to it featuring small advertising patches on the players' jerseys for the first time. Each All-Star jersey had a small Kia patch on the left side, a fairly unobtrusive source of revenue for a league already raking it in.

According to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, it may not be the last time fans see patches like this on NBA jerseys, and they could even be coming to individual team jerseys next. Darren Rovell of ESPN reported last week that NBA owners would discuss putting ads on their team's jerseys during a meeting in Toronto on Sunday, and now Haynes is reporting that the Los Angeles Lakers were among the minority of teams that are against such a measure, although he notes that there will not be a formal vote on the issue until a later date.

The Lakers already rank as the second most valuable franchise in the NBA, so they aren't necessarily desperate for the extra revenue that jersey advertisements would provide. The team has also been very public about how much it values the history of it's organization, and it's forum blue and gold jerseys rank among the most iconic looks in the NBA. Even if the jersey patches were as tastefully done as the Kia ones were on the All-Star jerseys, it would still fundamentally change the look of a classic kit.

The Lakers are in the minority on this issue for now, so the patches may be coming anyway, and it's certainly a story worth keeping an eye on as it develops.

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