LA Lakers receive NBA Championship rings
0 
The Los Angeles Lakers received their rings for winning the 2009-2010 NBA championship at the Staples Center Tuesday night.
"I want to thank all you fans for your incredible support," Lakers' star Kobe Bryant told the capacity crowd of 18,997.
"It means so much to us. We couldn't have done it without you. It's amazing to see a whole city get behind this team."
Bryant, who is beginning his record 15th season with the Lakers, received his ring from Commissioner David Stern.
"None of this is possible without the greatest owner in the history of team sports. I want everybody to give it up for the man, Mr. Jerry Buss, who started everything."
The team's latest championship banner was then unveiled while the Randy Newman song, "I Love L.A." and Queen ballad "We Are The Champions" played.
The Laker players wore gold jackets when they received their rings, with replicas of the 11 championship banners for the team's championships in Los Angeles and the one banner representing the five championships won when the team played in Minneapolis on the back.
For the second consecutive year, the rings were designed by Jason of Beverly Hills. Each ring was adorned by a piece of the ball used in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals.
"We wanted to create history with this year's ring and I think we've done that," said Jason Arasheben, the chief executive officer of Jason of Beverly Hills. "`More than any other year, this year's ring allows the owner to relive and own a piece of Lakers' history with the leather from the Game 7 ball."
The ring features two trophies, signifying the team's back-to-back championships. It also includes 16 oversized round brilliant white diamonds to indicate the franchise's 16 championships. Each player is depicted by a three-dimensional sculpture of his face on his ring.
The ring was made from a custom batch of 16 karat gold.
