NBA stars nowadays are not just enjoying tremendous success on the court but off it as well. We see so many prospering with their business ventures and some of the big names like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, and James Harden have their very own alcohol brands.
LeBron’s tequila brand Lobos 1707 is one of the more popular ones among these, at least among NBA fans. James routinely promotes the brand, which launched in 2020, on his social media profiles and he was an early investor in the company. Forbes had listed the Lobos Tequila as top five in the world in 2022 and LeBron was thrilled by it.
Jordan, meanwhile, launched Cincoro, another tequila brand, with Jeanie Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, Wes Edens, co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, Wyc Grousbeck, co-owner of the Boston Celtics, and Grousbeck’s wife, Emilia Fazzalari in 2019. Jordan, Buss, Edens, Grousbeck, and Fazzalari were spotted together during the launch of Cincoro Gold as well.
Curry went a different route than LeBron and Jordan, launching Gentleman’s Cut Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey earlier this year. Interestingly, he was very involved at every step of the process when making Gentleman’s Cut, and learned about every phase from manufacturing to marketing.
As for Harden, he launched J-HARDEN Wines last year and much like Curry, is very involved in the process. He claims he works with his wine team in between games and during the offseason as well. The Clippers star found a great market for his brand, too, with Harden being left in shock after Chinese fans bought 10,000 bottles of his wine in five seconds.
Digits, meanwhile, was Scottie Pippen’s first foray into the alcohol industry in 2021. It is a five-year-old bourbon whiskey and was launched exclusively in Chicago back then.
His former teammate Charles Barkley became a majority owner of Redmont Vodka, the first legal distillery in Birmingham since prohibition, in 2019. Barkley was looking to invest in a company based in his hometown and they presented the right option for him.
As for Dwyane Wade’s Wade Cellars, it was founded all the way back in 2014 as a partnership between him and Napa Valley vintner Jayson Pahlmeyer. Over the years, it has earned a positive reputation in the wine industry.
His good friend Carmelo Anthony launched his wine brand, VII(N) — The Seventh Estate — in 2022. Its inaugural vintage, Oath of Fidelity, took inspiration from the Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture.
Frenchman Tony Parker, meanwhile, returned to his roots, to partner with French businessman Michel Reybier and his winery Château La Mascaronne in 2022. The winery makes Champagne brands Michel Reybier and Jeeper.
Last but not least, we get to CJ McCollum, who was introduced to wine in his early 20s by his wife, Elise. He launched McCollum Heritage 91 in 2020 and their vintages became one of the more popular ones in the NBA.
There was one brand that didn’t make the graphic but was mentioned, which was Channing Frye’s Chosen Family Wines. JJ Redick sang its praises in the comments and Frye had a hilarious response to it.
Frye founded it in 2020 and his former teammate Kevin Love even partnered with him in 2021. It is really interesting how so many of these popped up just in the last couple of years, with Wade’s being by far the oldest. By the looks of it, you can expect many of these to pop up in the coming years.
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