The official Los Angeles Lakers colors are purple, gold and black. The primary color is Lakers Purple (#552583), paired with Lakers Gold (#FDB927) and black (#000000). These three appear across the team logo, uniforms and merchandise, with the purple and gold scheme adopted in 1967 under owner Jack Kent Cooke.
Lakers Color Codes: HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakers Purple | #552583 | 85, 37, 130 | 79, 100, 0, 12 | PMS 526 C | |
| Lakers Gold | #FDB927 | 253, 185, 39 | 0, 30, 94, 0 | PMS 123 C | |
| Black | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | 0, 0, 0, 100 | PMS Process Black C |
Both PMS 526 C and PMS 123 C are widely used across licensed Lakers print work and match the HEX values above closely. If you’re doing anything commercial, get the codes confirmed by the league’s licensing team rather than trusting a swatch site (including this one).
Breaking Down Each Lakers Color
Lakers Purple
Lakers Purple (#552583) is the team’s primary color. It fills the Statement Edition jersey, backs the wordmark in most logo lockups, and covers roughly half the court branding at Crypto.com Arena. This is a deep, red-leaning purple rather than a violet. Worth knowing: Jack Kent Cooke hated the word “purple,” so for years the front office called it Forum Blue. Same pigment, different marketing.
The shade reads as royal purple in most contexts, which was the whole point. Cooke wanted his Forum tenants to look regal.
Lakers Gold
Gold (#FDB927) is the secondary, though ask any fan and they’ll tell you it’s co-equal. It dominates the Icon Edition home jersey, forms the outline on the primary logo, and shows up as trim on nearly every alternate the team has worn since 1967.
Note that it’s gold, not yellow. There’s a slight orange lean in the mix (RGB 253, 185, 39) that pushes it toward metallic rather than lemon. Nike shifted the tone slightly in the 2017 uniform reset, though most people never noticed.
Black
Black (#000000) is a tertiary accent and a newer addition to the official palette. It appears in shadow lines, secondary marks, and most famously on the Black Mamba jerseys designed with Kobe Bryant’s input. Pure black here, no soft charcoal substitute.
Lakers Uniform Colors
Home (Icon Edition): gold base, purple lettering, white and purple trim.
Away (Association Edition): white base with purple numbers and gold accents.
Statement Edition: purple base. For the 2025-26 season the team switched the Statement lettering to white with gold trim, a first in franchise history.
History of the Purple and Gold
The Minneapolis Lakers (founded 1947) never wore purple. They played in powder blue and gold, and kept a blue-and-white look for the first seven seasons after the move to Los Angeles in 1960.
Everything changed in 1967. Cooke wanted both his Forum teams (the Lakers and the expansion Kings) to look royal, so the Lakers went purple and gold and never looked back.
Twelve of the franchise’s seventeen championships have come since that switch. Black joined the official palette much later as an accent, and the current uniform system dates to the 2017 Nike takeover, with the last significant jersey refresh landing in 2018.
Using the Lakers Colors in Your Work
For screen work, use the HEX or RGB values. For print, go with the CMYK breakdown or match to Pantone directly, since #552583 on an uncoated stock will drift noticeably darker than you expect.
“ :root { --lakers-purple: #552583; --lakers-gold: #FDB927; --lakers-black: #000000; } `
One practical tip: purple on black is a legibility trap. Keep gold as your separator whenever those two touch.
Related Resources
- Full NBA team color codes reference for all 30 franchises
- Cross-town comparison: Dodgers colors and Angels colors
- Full baseball team color codes list
- Build around the palette with purple color palettes or gold color palettes
FAQ on The Los Angeles Lakers Colors
What are the Los Angeles Lakers colors?
The Lakers colors are purple, gold and black. Lakers Purple (#552583) leads the palette, gold (#FDB927) sits beside it, and black (#000000) works as an accent. All three run through the logo, uniforms and team merchandise.
What are the Lakers color codes in HEX and RGB?
Lakers Purple: #552583, RGB (85, 37, 130). Lakers Gold: #FDB927, RGB (253, 185, 39). Black: #000000, RGB (0, 0, 0).
Those three hex codes cover every digital use, from web to social.
What is the Lakers Pantone color?
Purple matches PMS 526 C and gold matches PMS 123 C. Black uses PMS Process Black C. Use these for jersey printing, signage or anything on paper, since CMYK conversions drift under different stocks.
When did the Lakers adopt purple and gold?
In 1967. Owner Jack Kent Cooke wanted a regal look for both Forum tenants, so the blue-and-white scheme was dropped. Twelve of the franchise’s seventeen championships have come since.
What is the primary color of the Lakers?
Purple. It carries the Statement Edition jersey, backs the wordmark, and anchors the court design at Crypto.com Arena. Gold gets more visual attention on the home uniform, but purple is the listed primary color in brand documents.
Why is Lakers purple called Forum Blue?
Cooke disliked the word “purple.” He named the shade after The Forum in Inglewood and insisted staff call it Forum Blue. The pigment never changed. Only the label did, and the nickname stuck with older fans.
Is Lakers gold actually yellow?
No. The RGB mix (253, 185, 39) leans orange, which reads metallic rather than bright yellow. Nike adjusted the tone slightly during the 2017 uniform reset, though the shift is subtle on screen.
What colors did the Minneapolis Lakers wear?
Powder blue and gold. The franchise kept blue-and-white after moving to Los Angeles in 1960 and only switched to the current scheme seven years later. George Mikan never wore purple.
What are the Lakers jersey colors?
The Icon Edition home jersey is gold with purple lettering. The Association Edition road jersey is white with purple numbers. The Statement Edition is purple, updated for 2025-26 with white letters and gold trim.
Do the Lakers use black in their official palette?
Yes, as a tertiary accent. Black shows up in shadow lines and secondary marks, and most visibly on the Black Mamba uniform tied to Kobe Bryant. It is pure black, not charcoal.
Conclusion
The Los Angeles Lakers colors come down to three values worth saving: #552583, #FDB927 and #000000. Purple, gold, black.
Grab the Pantone equivalents (PMS 526 C, PMS 123 C) whenever the job goes to print. Screens are forgiving. Ink is not.
Everything else, the Forum Blue story, the Showtime era, the Icon and Statement editions, just explains why those codes carry the weight they do.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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