Lakers Christmas Jerseys: How LA's Uniforms Stack Up with Other NBA Teams'

Like the rest of the NBA's Christmas Day participants, the Lakers whipped out a fresh new uniform this afternoon.

White-on-white, with white lettering to boot, the jerseys were as bland as they were polarizing. The Lakers' white uniforms, normally reserved for Sundays, are one of the most widely adored looks in the league. But they feature hints and spots of color. Christmas day's look had none.

Monochromaticism was a big theme in this year's set of Christmas uniforms, but it didn't necessarily work in every instance. Let's examine how the Lakers' sartorial choice compared with the rest of the league's.

Worse Than the Lakers:

Culprits: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles Clippers

What's harder to read than white letters on a white shirt? How about red letters on a red shirt?

The Lakers' uniforms were slightly illegible from a distance, but far less so than the Knicks', Bulls' and Clippers'.

What it ultimately comes down to is letter outlining. The Knicks had nothing but a thin black line separating the popsicle-orange letters from the popsicle-orange uniform. The Bulls and Clips have similarly little contrast between their jerseys' reds.

The Lakers' white-on-white was tough to read, but it didn't take the eyes too long to adjust. The same can't be said for the others on this list.

Even With the Lakers:

Teams: Oklahoma City, Boston

The Thunder and Celtics did a better job than the Lakers at accentuating their monochromatic letters. That is, their jerseys were far less tedious to look at.

They were also much uglier.

Boston's moreso than Oklahoma City's, most because the Celtics' normal jerseys are so timeless, classic, beautiful. The introduction of negative space merely served to bastardize that perfection.

OKC's didn't seem as egregious, but that can largely be attributed to how bad their regular jerseys look. We're used to seeing Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook run around looking like clowns.

So, yeah: The Lakers' jerseys were harder to read. But they didn't look quite as silly as these two, which makes them just about even overall.

Better Than the Lakers:

Teams: Brooklyn, Miami, Denver, Houston

Let's start with Houston who, as the only team who ditched the monochromatic trend, has by far the best jerseys of the day. The grey backdrop with red lettering is an overt change of pace, but manages to do so without causing fans to squint. Beautiful stuff.

Like Boston and Oklahoma City, the Nets, Heat and Nuggets all do a better job integrating the letters into their jerseys. Denver, especially, manages to keep the blue-on-blue readable thanks to their electric yellow outline.

Unlike, Boston and Oklahoma City, however, none of these teams ended up looking silly on Christmas Day. They actually ended up looking quite nice.

The Lakers' jerseys were far from a train-wreck, but they were clearly outclassed by these three.