Kendall-Jackson & La Crema Become Official Wines of NBA & WNBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Kendall-Jackson today announced a multiyear partnership, making Kendall-Jackson the Official Wine of the NBA and La Crema the Official Wine of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Both brands will also be the official wine partners of USA Basketball . Professional basketball players are famously wine obsessed: first we saw it on social media with the Banana Boat Team in 2015, tasting groups in the 2020 "Bubble," and the popularity has only grown since! I chronicled a bit of this in my profile of Tony Parker last August, just before he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. I also highly recommend checking out the wine reporting my good friend Baxter Holmes , Senior NBA Writer for ESPN , has published following the wine narratives in the league.

Kendall-Jackson is famous for producing one of the most sold Chardonnays in the world. During the NBA "Bubble" of 2020, Kendall-Jackson spotted the growing interest around wine in the league and offered virtual wine tastings and educational sessions from its expansive portfolio. This relationship sought to reaffirm the importance of community and shared experiences at a time when solitude and social distancing was becoming the norm due to COVID-19.

The multiyear agreement marks the leagues’ first-ever official winery partnerships. The NBA’s collaboration with Kendall-Jackson, the family-owned winery based in California, officially links the worlds of fine wine and basketball, celebrating the brands’ shared commitments to excellence and community. The partnership will come to life across the league’s marquee events, through elevated experiences, wine tastings and opportunities for players, coaches, and fans to learn about and appreciate wine in new and engaging ways.

Kendall-Jackson will serve as the presenting partner of the NBA Experiences Dinner Series, an exclusive, ticketed fan opportunity offered at marquee NBA events. The brand will also become an associate partner for the second-annual NBA Con, to be held this summer alongside NBA 2K Summer League, showcasing a commitment to blend the world of wine with the excitement of basketball. Both experiences will provide attendees an opportunity to explore wine through pop-up tasting rooms. The brand will also collaborate with the league to host additional tastings and experiential showcases at NBA All-Star and will have the opportunity to produce commemorative wine bottles and gift product to NBA players.

I had the opportunity to ask executives from Kendall-Jackson, La Crema and the NBA about this momentous partnership:

MK: Does the strong wine drinking culture in the NBA excite you even more to make Kendall-Jackson the Official Wine of the NBA?

“ Kendall-Jackson is a great representation of a partner that authentically connects with the culture of our league and the interests of our players and fans. Particularly over the last decade or so, we’ve seen a shared passion for wine develop around the league, and Kendall-Jackson’s expertise will help us continue to build on that to reach our fans in new and unique ways .” — Julie Morris, Head of Commercial Development and Media, NBA

MK: La Crema is the perfect Official Wine of the WNBA! How are La Crema & the WBA aligned in both promoting advocacy, equality and inclusion?

“ La Crema is led by family of women who have pushed boundaries within their respective fields. We are proud to align with a league that not only elevates women athletes but whose expanding audience also empowers and celebrates women’s achievements across all fields. Additionally, no professional sports league in the world has a higher percentage of publicly out LGBTQ+ athletes than the WNBA. This was a perfect match for La Crema’s legacy of proudly supporting the LGBTQ+ community, including our longstanding partnership with Equality California and our sponsorship of Pride celebrations across the country .” — Hailey Jackson Hartford Murray, Co-Proprietor, La Crema

MK: How will Kendall-Jackson & La Crema aim to bring wine to the younger generation of basketball fans? (all of whom are 21 and over, obviously :))

“ Wine is about an experience and so is the game of basketball, and so in uniting these two worlds our partnership emerges from a clear vision: to celebrate and elevate the growing affinity for fine wine within the NBA community. This collaboration acknowledges the evolving interests of the players and fans and aims to enrich the NBA experience by integrating the culture and artistry of winemaking with the dynamic spirit of the game .” — Chris Jackson, Co-Proprietor, Kendall-Jackson

“ We are shining a spotlight on the shared values and passions of La Crema and the WNBA. The same values that resonate with younger generations. The WNBA’s commitment to equality, empowerment, and celebration reflects La Crema’s own commitments and is precisely the kind of narrative that can rejuvenate the image of the wine industry and make it more appealing to those seeking brands with purpose .” — Hailey Jackson Hartford Murray, Co-Proprietor, La Crema