The Los Angeles D-Fenders To Become the South Bay Lakers

The Los Angeles D-Fenders are getting a new name. According to ESPN and the NBA D-League, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that they will re-brand the name of the D-League team. The name? The South Bay Lakers. The change will be made following the 2016-2017 season.

President/CEO Joey Buss expressed his thoughts on the change. “I am excited to announce the South Bay Lakers rebrand. This is an opportunity to leverage the iconic Lakers brand, celebrate our amazing community and emphasize our franchise’s accomplishments over the last 10 years while we continue to compete for an NBA D-League championship.”

Along with the name change, the South Bay Lakers will also have a uniform change. The team will still keep the classic purple and gold, but add blue to honor the ocean views in the South Bay area.

To become more close with the community in South Bay, the team will be relocated to the UCLA Health Training Center this summer. The brand new facility, along with the new name and logo will be introduced and unveiled following the conclusion the current 2016-2017 season.

This is a smart move, as South Bay is the main headquarters for the team. This move will give them a chance to bond and become more acclimated after being somewhat distant from South Bay since its founding in 2006. It would be interesting to see how the blue will be incorporated into the uniforms as its affiliation with one of the most historic NBA teams is changing. However, change can be beneficial.

If the D-Fenders can get a new name and logo, it could be close to certain that there could be some type of re-branding talk for the Los Angeles Lakers. Could they insert some blue in their jersey to reflect their affiliate? Who knows, but this is definitely a good move for the team in hopes of winning a D-League championship sometime in the near future.