Why Do NBA Players Hate Gatorade? Inside Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, and Other Stars’ Disgust for $19 Billion Brand

“Not sponsored by Gatorade.” It was only four years ago that a clip of Kawhi Leonard removing a bottle of Gatorade from the conference table right after bagging his maiden All-Star game MVP went viral on the internet. Sure enough, it was clear that The Klaw did not want to be associated with the brand. But he is not the only superstar to throw shade at the NBA’s official sports drink. Klay Thompson made a similar gesture during a conference seven years ago. But what do these stars have against the multi-billion-dollar brand?

Well, it might be nothing personal and everything to do with sponsorships. While superstars like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and even Michael Jordan are signed with Gatorade, Klay and Kawhi have had ties with the brand’s competitors for several years. The very year Kawhi went viral for putting a Gatorade bottle under the table, he became a shareholder in X2 Performance, which is an energy drink brand.

Moreover, CEO Mark French even deemed Leonard the “face of the brand” while the Clippers star revealed why he chose X2 Performance over its competitors, “I have been approached by many beverage and supplement brands, but I decided to join X2 because it is natural with clean ingredients.” So, it’s understandable why Kawhi doesn’t want to promote any other sports drink apart from the one that he holds equity in.

Sure enough, that’s the same reason why Klay threw a Gatorade bottle off the table as he arrived at a press conference seven years ago. At the time, he was sponsored by Built with Chocolate Milk and even had a multi-year deal with BodyArmor. And BodyArmor has been one of the biggest competitors of Gatorade for years.

Surely, if Klay is seen with any other sports drink, it will not only hurt BodyArmor’s credibility but also the Mavs superstar’s pockets. While Klay and Kawhi have their reasons to avoid Gatorade, no superstar might have a bigger beef with the brand than LeBron James!

When Gatorade mocked LeBron James and the superstar refused to acknowledge the brand

Well, just like Kawhi and Klay, LeBron was also partnered with one of Gatorade’s competitors, Powerade for many years. But the former being the NBA’s official sports drink, King James had to consume the beverage during games. However, he found a loophole to not be associated with the brand by peeling off the Gatorade tag from the bottle before drinking it. While it was usual practice for players not sponsored by the drink, things escalated ten years ago when LeBron suddenly cramped up during an NBA Finals game. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Gatorade used the incident to throw shade at Powerade by posting some snarky remarks on the internet.

However, the tweets were later deleted and the brand even issued an apology, “Our apologies for our response to fans’ tweets during (Thursday) night’s Heat vs. Spurs game. We got caught up in the heat of the battle. As a longtime partner of the Miami Heat, we support the entire team.” But LBJ seemed unbothered by Gatorade’s online activity, “I really don’t care what people say about me, I don’t care about that sports group, the drink group that I’m not even going to say their name. I’m not going to give them a light in The Finals. This is about the Spurs and the Heat, and it’s not about everybody else, man, I don’t care.” Yes, James didn’t even bother to name the brand, displaying his loyalty to Powerade.

Shockingly, LBJ ended his ties with Powerade’s parent company Coca-Cola three years ago and announced a new partnership with PepsiCo, which owns Gatorade. While he has starred in a commercial for the brand’s Mtn Dew Rise energy drink, he is yet to endorse Gatorade. Maybe he never will considering his bitter history with the brand.