Lakers New Court Revealed: The LA Logo, a Lot More Black, and What It Signals

The Lakers posted two words and a pair of photos on Tuesday afternoon, August 18, and set off a day of speculation. "Fresh court", with the eyes emoji, and a look at a floor that does not resemble any Lakers court we have seen.

First, This Is Not Crypto.com Arena

Before anyone panics about the Lakers playing on this in October, look at the wide shot again. There are two full courts side by side in the same room, UCLA Health signage on the far wall, retired numbers mounted on the baseline wall rather than hanging in a rafter, and a small bleacher section instead of an arena bowl.

That is the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, the Lakers' $80 million practice facility that opened in 2017. It has double basketball courts and seats 750, and it also hosts the South Bay Lakers of the G League. The Lakers never said this was their game floor. They said "fresh court", and the internet filled in the rest.

So this is the practice floor. That matters for how worried anyone should be, but it does not make the reveal meaningless. Quite the opposite.

The Lakers have historically kept the practice floor and the arena floor in step with each other. El Segundo has generally carried the same design language as Crypto.com Arena rather than running its own look, which is exactly why a change out there is worth paying attention to. Teams do not usually repaint a practice gym in a direction they have no intention of taking to the building where the games are played. If the two stay matched the way they have, this is a preview of the arena floor rather than a one-off.

The L Is Gone, and the LA Logo Took Over

The headline change is the secondary mark. The classic L, the one the Lakers have leaned on for years, is not on this floor. In its place is the LA mark that the club has been building equity in through its City Edition work.

We had a feeling this was coming. The LA logo has been creeping into more and more Lakers product, and moving it onto a court, even a practice court, is how a secondary mark gets promoted. If a rebrand is coming, this is what the first step looks like.

The Problem Is the Black

Here is where it loses us. There is a lot of black on this floor. The lane is black, the borders are black, and the overall impression is dark in a way a Lakers floor has never been.

Black is not a Lakers colour. It is a Lakers alternate, and there is a difference. The identity is purple and gold, and the further this franchise drifts from those two, the more it looks like a team trying to be something else. It does not help that the gold is barely gold anymore. It reads yellow on this floor, bright and flat, without the warmth that made the classic look feel expensive.

Put the black lane and the yellow together and you get a floor that is high contrast but low warmth. It is modern. It is not especially Lakers.

Compare It to What the Lakers Actually Play On

The quickest way to judge the new floor is to put it next to the two courts the Lakers have been using at Crypto.com Arena.

The primary court

Purple and gold carrying the floor, light wood everywhere else

The City Edition court

Where the LA mark and the darker palette already live

Set side by side, the story gets clearer. The primary court is the franchise as most people picture it, purple and gold doing the work with the wood left alone. The City Edition court is where the club has been experimenting, and it is where the LA mark and the darker treatment were already being tested.

The new practice floor is not a departure from both. It is the City Edition direction being promoted to the default. That is the actual news here, and it is why "it is only the practice court" undersells it: this is the alternate becoming the standard.

The 2000-2012 Court Is Still the Benchmark

For our money the best Lakers floor ever was the one they ran from roughly 2000 to 2012. Light hardwood, purple and gold doing all the work, no black filling space, the logo given room to breathe.

The 2009 Finals floor. Purple and gold, light wood, no black doing the heavy lifting.

That floor aged beautifully because it was confident enough to be simple. The new one is busier and darker and will date faster.

Why a Rebrand Makes Sense Anyway

The direction is defensible even if this execution is not our favourite. This is the post-LeBron, Luka era, and the franchise is redefining itself around a new star. There is new ownership, which historically triggers a visual refresh within a season or two. And the club has already shown it can get this right: the purple alternate they introduced last season is genuinely excellent, one of the best things they have put out in years.

So a Lakers rebrand is not a bad idea. Moving to the LA mark is not a bad idea. Building the whole thing on black is the part we would push back on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the Lakers get a new court for 2026-27? They revealed a new court on August 18, 2026, but the photos show the UCLA Health Training Center, their practice facility in El Segundo, rather than Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers did not say it was their game floor. That said, the practice floor and the arena floor have historically matched, so there is a good chance this previews what Crypto.com Arena looks like. Nothing about the arena court has been confirmed yet.

What is the new Lakers court logo? The floor uses the LA secondary mark rather than the classic L the team has used for years. The LA logo has been appearing on Lakers City Edition product for several seasons, and this promotes it to the floor.

Where is the Lakers practice facility? The UCLA Health Training Center at 2275 E Mariposa Avenue in El Segundo, California. It opened in 2017, cost around $80 million, has two full basketball courts, and seats 750. The South Bay Lakers of the G League also play there.

Are the Lakers rebranding? Nothing official has been announced. But the LA mark moving onto a court, a new ownership group, and a roster rebuilt around Luka Doncic are the conditions under which teams usually refresh their look. We would not be surprised by a fuller rebrand in the next season or two.

Why is there so much black on the new Lakers court? The lane and the borders are painted black, which is a departure. Black has been a Lakers alternate colour rather than a core one, and the franchise identity has always been purple and gold. It is the single most divisive thing about the new floor.

The Bottom Line on the New Lakers Court

The Lakers showed a practice floor, not an arena floor, and the difference matters before anyone declares the identity changed. It is not nothing, though, because these two floors have historically matched, and a practice gym repainted in a new direction is usually the arena's next move. What it does tell us is real though: the LA mark is being promoted, black is being used far more aggressively, and the gold has drifted toward yellow. The direction makes sense for a franchise entering a new era with new ownership. The palette does not. Purple and gold built this brand, and a floor this dark spends that equity rather than building on it.

Court images via the Los Angeles Lakers. ColorWay Sports is an independent design site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Los Angeles Lakers or the National Basketball Association.