(Courtesy Molson Coors)

When it comes to American sports sponsorships, few relationships have been as enduring—or as lucrative—as the one between beer and basketball.

From locker room celebrations to courtside ads, “Big Beer” companies, like Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors have been part of the basketball experience for decades, both on TV and in the arena.

The Early Days: Regional Beer and Local Loyalty

In the 1950s and ‘60s, beer sponsorships were mostly local. Regional breweries like Schlitz, Pabst, and Blatz sponsored local broadcasts of NBA and college games, often tailoring their ads to hometown fans. A Milwaukee viewer might catch a “Go Bucks!” message from Pabst, while up in St. Louis, Falstaff pushed its beer during Hawks games. These early partnerships cemented beer’s connection to basketball culture long before the big national campaigns rolled in.

The 1970s and ‘80s: National Brands Hit the Hardwood

As the NBA’s popularity exploded in the 1970s, so did beer’s interest. Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Company became major players, inking national sponsorship deals that brought Budweiser and Miller Lite logos to millions of TV screens. During the Magic-Bird era of the 1980s, Miller Lite’s “Great Taste, Less Filling” campaign became synonymous with sports culture—helped by ads featuring former athletes debating over beer in locker-room skits.

Budweiser, meanwhile, went big on TV spots that mixed basketball highlights with Americana imagery, positioning itself as the beer for every sports fan. The company even sponsored the NBA’s “Player of the Game” segments during broadcasts, making Budweiser and basketball practically inseparable.

The 1990s: The Age of Superstars and Super Campaigns

By the ‘90s, basketball was global—and so was beer marketing. Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and other stars drove viewership, and big beer brands doubled down. Coors Light entered the mix, sponsoring halftime reports and launching the iconic “Rocky Mountain cold” campaigns aimed squarely at the 21–34 demographic.

At the same time, smaller brewers began edging into niche sponsorships—college basketball tournaments, local team events, and charity hoops games—planting early seeds for what would later become the craft beer movement’s interest in sports partnerships.

The 2000s: Courtside Branding Goes Digital

The 2000s saw beer advertising evolve with the digital age and the promotional tie-ins got bigger. Bud Light became the “Official Beer of the NBA,” while Miller and Coors merged to form Molson Coors, pooling their sponsorship muscle. Arena naming rights became a big play: Anheuser-Busch brands showed up everywhere from LED courtside panels to post-game press backdrops.

This was also when the NBA’s social media presence began to boom—so beer brands followed fans online, sponsoring highlight reels, team hashtags, and even fantasy basketball leagues.

prime examples of how craft brewers found their way into basketball’s sponsorship game.

Craft Beer Joins the Game

Over the last decade, the craft beer wave has reached the hardwood. Teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks (all big beer towns) have partnered with local breweries for exclusive arena pours and limited-edition team-themed brews. The Bucks’ collaboration with Milwaukee’s Good City Brewing and the Blazers’ “Rip City Lager” from Portland’s Breakside Brewery are prime examples of how craft beer found a way into basketball’s sponsorship game.

Big Beer and Basketball Today

Currently Big Beer companies like Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors dominate professional basketball. They’ve the money and scale to support these kinds of partnerships in a way that craft brewers could never dream of.

Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra is the current official beer partner of the NBA, WNBA, and other major professional basketball leagues. The partnership was expanded globally in June 2023, building on Anheuser-Busch’s long-standing relationship with the league. Other Anheuser-Busch brands, such as Budweiser and Bud Light, have been associated with the NBA in the past. From 1998 until 2020, Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser brand was the official beer partner of the NBA.

Molson Coors’ beer brand, Coors Light currently has key alliances with the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trailblazers, Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans, while Miller Lite is partnering with the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics this season.

Coors Light and Miller Lite are also aligned with numerous top ranked men’s and women’s college basketball programs, including UConn, Michigan, Louisville and UCLA. Because for many fans, few things go together better than a cold beer and a great game.

And Big Beer is all about it.

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