The Los Angeles Lakers have a new jersey patch, and it is the biggest change to the front of their uniform in five years. Starting with the 2026-27 season, the small advertising patch on the upper-left chest will read Albert, the personal-finance app, replacing the Bibigo mark that had been there since 2021. According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, a league source pegged the deal at an annual value north of $30 million, which makes it one of the richer jersey-patch partnerships in the NBA.
We will say it right up top: we like this look a lot more than Bibigo, and a lot more than Wish before it. The Albert patch is a clean purple wordmark that actually sits inside the Lakers' color world instead of fighting it, and on the gold Icon jersey it reads like it belongs there. After nine years of patches that mostly clashed, this is the first one that looks designed for the uniform rather than dropped onto it.
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Who Is Albert, the New Lakers Patch Sponsor?
Albert is a personal-finance app, a "personal financial assistant" that automates saving, budgeting, and money management, and the company says it is trusted by more than 20 million people. It joins a wave of fintech and financial-services brands buying the most valuable few square inches in the NBA. The patch is small, but it lives on every broadcast, every highlight, and every jersey sold, which is exactly why the category keeps bidding these deals up. For Albert, landing on the Lakers, one of the most-watched teams on earth, is about as much national exposure as that little rectangle can buy.
The Design: Why the Albert Patch Works
The reason this one lands is restraint. The Albert wordmark is set in a soft, rounded serif in Lakers purple, and on the gold Icon jersey it sits on a gold patch so the whole thing reads tonally, purple type on gold, the team's own two colors and nothing else. There is no competing logo color, no busy mark, no fourth color crashing the palette. That is the entire difference between a patch that looks like an ad and a patch that looks like part of the uniform.
The Lakers confirmed the patch will appear on all four of their uniform editions: the gold Icon, the purple Statement, the white Association, and the black City edition. Expect the wordmark to flip to gold or white on the darker jerseys so it stays legible, the same way the best patch programs adapt per uniform.
Ranking the Lakers' Three Jersey Patches: Wish, Bibigo, Albert
The Lakers have now worn three jersey patches since the NBA introduced them in 2017, and it is a genuine glow-up.
- Albert (2026-27 onward) — the best of the three. Tonal, clean, and color-matched to the uniform. The first Lakers patch that looks intentional.
- Bibigo (2021-2026) — the middle child. The Korean food brand's blue-and-white mark never sat comfortably in a purple-and-gold world. It was fine, never right.
- Wish (2017-2021) — the weakest. The plain blue Wish wordmark was the definition of a sticker slapped on a legendary jersey, and it drew years of fan complaints for exactly that reason.
If you graded the three, Albert is comfortably an A-, Bibigo a C+, and Wish a C-. Getting the patch to disappear into the uniform is the whole job, and Albert is the first one to pull it off.
The Bottom Line on the Lakers' New Albert Patch
A jersey patch is a small thing that fans notice every single game, and for nine years the Lakers wore ones that never quite fit. Albert changes that. It is a reported $30 million-plus win for the business side and, more importantly for us, the first Lakers patch that respects the most iconic uniform in basketball. Purple on gold, clean type, no clutter. We are on board. Bring it on for 2026-27.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new Lakers jersey patch for 2026-27? The Los Angeles Lakers' new jersey patch is Albert, a personal-finance app. It replaces Bibigo on the upper-left chest of the Lakers' uniforms starting with the 2026-27 NBA season.
Who is Albert, the Lakers' new patch sponsor? Albert is a personal financial assistant app that automates saving, budgeting, and money management, and says it is trusted by more than 20 million people. It is the latest fintech brand to buy an NBA jersey patch, one of the most valuable ad placements in sports.
How much is the Lakers' Albert jersey patch deal worth? Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, a league source said the deal carries an annual value north of $30 million, making it one of the larger jersey-patch partnerships in the NBA.
When does the Lakers' Albert patch debut? The Albert patch takes effect for the 2026-27 NBA season, appearing on Lakers uniforms from that season onward.
What happened to the Lakers' Bibigo patch? Bibigo, the Korean food brand owned by CJ Group, had been the Lakers' jersey patch sponsor since 2021. That partnership is ending, and Albert replaces it beginning in 2026-27.
Who was the Lakers' jersey patch sponsor before Bibigo? Wish, the e-commerce app, was the Lakers' first jersey patch sponsor from 2017 to 2021, when the NBA first allowed patches. Bibigo followed from 2021 to 2026, and Albert takes over in 2026-27.
Which Lakers uniforms will have the Albert patch? All four of the Lakers' uniform editions: the gold Icon, the purple Statement, the white Association, and the black City edition. The patch sits on the upper-left chest of each.
Do all NBA teams have jersey patches? Most do. The NBA introduced jersey advertising patches in 2017, and the majority of teams sell the placement to a sponsor. The Lakers, as one of the league's most-watched franchises, command one of the highest patch values in the NBA.
Is the Albert patch better than the old Wish and Bibigo patches? In our view, yes. The Albert wordmark is a tonal purple mark that matches the Lakers' colors and reads as part of the uniform, where the Wish and Bibigo patches both clashed with the purple-and-gold. We grade Albert an A-, Bibigo a C+, and Wish a C-.
More NBA Coverage
- Los Angeles Lakers Jersey Tracker 2025-26 — every Lakers uniform, game by game
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ColorWay Sports is an independent design site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Los Angeles Lakers, Albert, or the NBA. Cover image via the Los Angeles Lakers.
