On Thursday night, the Lakers played their last game at Staples Center where they hosted the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers would take another L to their troubled season but before they took the court, they released a statement about their history in the building.
There aren’t many places that can make you feel,
How STAPLES Center has made you feel.It’s where shots became Big shots,
It’s where a three-peat landed in Los Angeles,
Where a scorer’s table was the perfect place for a celebration.It’s where streamers fall like rain,
And the staff knows you by name.It’s where coaches have put it all on the line. And it’s paid off.
It’s where players show fans that they can believe in something.
And where fans show players that they believe in them.STAPLES Center, the place we’ve called our home for 22 years.
Home to who the Lakers have become, with 18,977 of you by our side.
The name’s changing, but this won’t.Because you’ve all made this place our home,
Our home for two decades,
And for decades to come.
According to ESPN, the famous arena in downtown Los Angeles will be known as Crypto.com beginning Christmas Day. Also on that day, the Lakers will host the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA’s annual Christmas slate.
The home to the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Sparks will no longer carry the name of Staples, ending a 22-year run. Crypto.com is paying a reported $700 million over 20 years for the rights to name the building. Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency platform and exchange headquartered in Singapore and has already dabbled in sports spending in the last year, buying batches on the Philadelphia 76ers jerseys and other sponsorship deals.
Following the announcement, Vanessa Bryant commented on the name change on Instagram, saying that it will always be known as the home that Kobe built. “Forever known as the house that Kobe built” Bryant captioned her Instagram post of the Staples Center.
Shaq, one of the biggest figures to play in the building, spoke on the name change on his The Big Podcast with Shaq and is in approval of the change as Staples belongs to him and Kobe Bryant.
“It was a blessing to be able to play in that building, to play in front of my favorite actors and actresses, to play in front of my family,” Shaq said. I’m glad they’re taking the name of the Staples Center down, because that was our building. … Congratulations to the owners for getting a new deal, but hey, the Staples Center belong to Shaq and Kobe, forever.”