🏀 The LA Lakers, One Piece, and the Growing Sports x Anime Wave

On February 28th, the LA Lakers teamed up with manga/anime franchise One Piece for a special collaboration during their game against the Clippers.

The event featured One Piece-themed content and limited edition Lakers x One Piece merch — giving plenty of reasons for people to drive conversation about the collab on social media.

Anime fans are numerous and passionate, both in Los Angeles and around the world. There are also many NBA players who describe themselves as huge anime fans, like Zion Williamson, Joel Embiid, and Jaylen Brown.

We see that sports teams are increasingly embracing anime collabs. The Boston Red Sox are hosting a One Piece night on May 3rd, and the LA Rams did something similar in December 2023.

The formula is usually the same — release some custom merch, anime-styled content, and exclusive collectibles. It’s a low touch partnership that helps bring anime fans into the world of the sports team for a real cultural crossover moment.

As anime continues to grow in popularity, I fully expect more sports teams to tap into anime culture.