After winning the NBA title in 2020, Los Angeles set out to find a jeweler to create rings for the players and staff. The Lakers gave that honor to L.A. native, Jason Arasheben. Arasheben has designed five NBA championship rings during his time as a jeweler. His last time designing one for the Los Angeles Lakers was when Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol led the franchise to back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. On top of that, he has also designed three rings for the Golden State Warriors.
However, like everything else this year, it won’t be a normal order for Arasheben. In the past, he’s had three to four months to design and craft a ring. Instead, he was given only four weeks this time around.
“I thought I had until the first week of January and I had essentially four weeks from the time we finalized the design to finish the entire production. Which is a feat in itself and very difficult to do, but we were able to accomplish that, thank God.
Given the unusual circumstances that have occurred in 2020, Arasheben wanted the ring to tell a story of the year through various “Easter Eggs.”
The .52 carats of yellow diamonds represent the Lakers’ 52 regular-season wins in 2020, while the phrase “Leave A Legacy” was the playoff slogan of the Lakers. The slogan can be found in gold and in the handwriting of LeBron James. Finally, the word “unity” is a nod to the social justice movement.
That isn’t all that is on the ring, as the organization also lost a Laker legend. To honor the legacy and memory of Kobe Bryant, a Black Mamba snake encircles the uniform of every player’s number on the ring. Furthermore, there is a detachable top that reveals another tribute to Bryant. The top reveals the rafters in staples center that emphasizes the jerseys of No. 8 and No. 24 on a snakeskin-texture background.
In only four weeks, Arasheben created a championship ring that not only celebrated the accomplishment of a great franchise but one that also tells the story of a year we may never forget.
