Rare chance to cheer on LeBron and Luffy under the same roof.

As we reported last year, One Piece will set sail for Crypto.com Arena on 28 February for a one-day collaboration game between the LA Lakers and LA Clippers. This is the latest collab between the anime and manga juggernaut and premier LA sports franchises, following One Piece Day with the LA Rams last year.

In all honesty, though, the generally lanky One Piece cast, for the most part, tend to be built far more for basketball than football so this team-up is like a match made in Heaven Island. And what better way to illustrate that point than with an actual illustration of the Straw Hat Pirates, all in Lakers uniforms?

▼Luffy has the number 5656, which can be read as “Gum-Gum” in Japanese. The other characters all have their birthdates as numbers.

It’s a rare look at one of anime and manga’s most famous teams dressed as one of basketball’s most famous teams, and if you’re a ticket holder for Friday’s game, then you’re in luck because you can get this drawing in poster form for free!

That’s not all either, everyone admitted into the game will also get a free T-shirt featuring Luffy going in for a monster dunk and showing a lot of restraint by not just stretching his arm right up to the basket.

These two freebies alone would be worth the trip that also lets you see stars like LeBron James and Rui Hachimura play. But there’s going to be even more festivities planned, such as a special photo booth based on the One Piece video game Bounty Rush, where you can take a commemorative photo inside the arena.

There’s also going to be a special on-court game in which random fans will be plucked from the crowd and given a chance to win special prizes. Details about the game and prizes are being kept under wraps, but considering the T-shirt and poster above are standard, it’s sure to be something really great.

For those of us who can’t make it to Crypto.com Arena, or even LA for that matter, it’ll still be possible to enjoy the event by checking out the official social media accounts of the LA Lakers, where they’ll be posting images of all 10 Straw Hat Pirates dressed in Lakers gear individually throughout the game.

But those who can make it are really in for a treat. The game sounds like it’ll be great too since it’s against the Clippers, who will definitely be out for revenge for not being able to team up with One Piece. After all, pirates sail on clippers…

That is what the team’s named after, right? It can’t be like the hair trimmers. And come to think of it, what the heck is a “laker” anyway? Someone who lives by a lake?

Anyway… You all go and check out this game. I’ll catch up after I swing by Wikipedia and figure all these names out.

Source: Press release
Images: ©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, ©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation, ©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
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