• by Danielle Oster , October 21, 2024

Bodyarmor has drafted New York Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson to its roster of athlete brand partners.

The Coca-Cola energy drink brand entered into a multiyear agreement with Brunson. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. Brunson joins a brand roster of athletic partners that includes Atlanta Braves outfielder  Ronald Acuña Jr., Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow, and Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid,

Bodyarmor’s announcement arrives just ahead of the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season, which begins Oct. 22.

Bodyarmor celebrated the news with a video post on its Instagram channel, running throughout the NBA season showcasing Brunson’s career evolution from early training to NBA stardom. Bodyarmor will also feature Brunson in an OOH campaign running in midtown Manhattan locations that emphasize its “Nothing Is More Real” messaging.

“This partnership makes perfect sense because the brand values align with my personal beliefs and  commitment to what’s real,” Brunson said in a statement, adding that the partnership is “rooted in  authenticity and real impact.”

“At Bodyarmor we champion real ingredients and authentic partnerships with athletes that believe in our products as much as we do,” Bodyarmor CMO Tom Gargiulo added, while noting that the partnership “holds great promise and is especially meaningful to our team because of our New York roots.”

The sports drink brand was launched by Glaceau co-founder Mike Repole back in 2011. Coca-Cola purchased a minority stake in the company in 2018, and acquired the remaining stake in the brand in November, 2021.

Coca-Cola has invested heavily in marketing for the Bodyarmor brand over the course of the past year or so, including its “Field Of Fake” Super Bowl debut  back in February. That included kicking off a launch campaign for Bodyarmor Zero Sugar in early 2024, which was followed by a campaign launched in March starring model and actress Olivia Culpo alongside San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffery.