On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers received their 2019-20 championship rings before kicking off their 2020-21 season against the Clippers.
Due to COVID-19, the ceremony went on without fans in the stadium. "These are obviously highly unusual times and a very different ring ceremony without fans," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, per Fox Sports. "To the Lakers fans, there are usually 20,000 people here, So we'll make it up to you."
The huge rings, which were designed by Jason of Beverly Hills with help from Don C, have 804 stones, 15.50 carats of yellow and white diamonds, and .95 carats of Laker purple amethyst stones for a total weight of 16.45 carats. The rings contain the heaviest total carat weight in NBA championship history and are, unsurprisingly, the most expensive. The massive rings also feature tributes to the late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, the Orlando bubble the NBA played at during the previous season, and much more.
The Kobe tributes comes in the form of a Black Mamba snake behind players' jersey numbers. It also features both of Kobe's jerseys, No. 24 and No. 8, under a removable top. Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and 7 other passengers, died on Jan. 26, 2020 in a helicopter accident.
"We had to finish all these rings in record breaking time because we really only had four to five weeks to finish everything," Arasheben explained to Robb Report. "This is completely unheard of, and usually I would say impossible. But we had people staying overnight and working late and we were able to get it done."
Arasheben told ESPN that "the fun part about this particular ring" was "that there was so much story to tell." He continued, "This was a season unlike any other in history."
"Ah, man, I'm just humbled to be a part of the moment," Don C previously told Complex about assisting in the making of the rings. "Really to be honest, Jason of Beverly Hills, it's his moment that he shared with me, so I just appreciate him doing so. I don't want to talk too much on it because I’d like for him to lead in the talking about it, but we do have a surprise in store with the rings that we think everybody will enjoy. Like you said, it's a big moment, so the word “big” comes to mind when it comes to describing the ring. You mentioned LeBron, so he comes to mind when describing the ring, and we just know the legacy of the organization and how important and special this year particularly was. So we tried to captivate all that into the product. But Jason is the GOAT, man. He the one that led that, so I don't want to try to take the shine from him. He let me come in and design with him, so I appreciate him.
LAKERS RINGS 💎 BY THE NUMBERS
Did you know: @JasonofBH only had 4 weeks (!!) to make the rings, as opposed to the usual 3-4 months. pic.twitter.com/ouesmCerHJ
