The Los Angeles Lakers left Disney World as NBA Champions just a couple months ago. It didn’t give ring maker Jason Arasheben much time to craft a special finger memento, but that was a challenge he felt up to.
In an interview with ESPN, Arasheben discussed waiting 10 years for the opportunity to design another ring for the Lakers. As it turns out, he had even less time than he thought.
The following is an excerpt from ESPN:
"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," Arasheben said. "Which is a feat in itself and very difficult to do, but we were able to accomplish that, thank God."
Arasheben delivered.
The rings are full of unique features that reflect different elements involved in the Lakers Champioship run. Each of the 17 purple rocks comprising the Lakers “L” on the front are .95 carrots, signifying the 95 days the Lakers spent in the NBA Bubble. 17 represents the number of franchise championships.
The phrase “Leave a Legacy” was the Lakers playoff slogan, and it’s actually featured in the handwriting of none other than Finals MVP LeBron James.
As you may expect, Kobe Bryant was also honoured within the design. After tragically passing away in a January helicopter crash, the Lakers included Kobe by adding a Mamba snake behind each player’s number.
The coolest feature of all is the removable top. When it’s taken off, the ring reveals the franchise’s retired jersey numbers.
(H/T ESPN)
