Gatorade unveiled its first collaboration with UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers, which features her in the brand’s multiathlete bottle collection alongside Trevor Lawrence, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Sydney McLaughlin, the company announced Tuesday.
Bueckers signed a name, image and likeness deal with Gatorade in November, becoming the company’s first NCAA partner.
“Paige brought her personality and love of the game to life with her first Gx Collaboration bottle. It features a bold color palette and personal touches including the phrase ‘Be You Be Great’ nodding to her father’s impact, her iconic game day braids with the blue and pink overlapping ribbons and her ‘Buckets’ nickname,” Gatorade senior design director Sean Huls said in a statement.
Bueckers’ bold design “brings (her) personality to life and is a reminder to find the joy in sport,” the release stated.
Bueckers, a former No. 1 recruit, won all national player of the year awards she was eligible for in her freshman season at UConn, including AP Player of the Year; Naismith College Player of the Year; USBWA Women’s National Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award. As a sophomore, Bueckers returned to the court in February after she underwent surgery on a tibial plateau fracture and a meniscus tear, eventually leading the Huskies to the 2022 NCAA national championship game.
The 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 18 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and two steals per game in her first two seasons at UConn.
“It’s such an exciting moment to have my first Gatorade Gx bottle embody so much of who I am and stand for on and off the court. I hope my story is a reminder to be confident in who you are, to lift others up and to always strive to be the best version of yourself,” Bueckers said in a statement.
The other athletes with co-designed bottles include Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Lawrence, San Diego Padres shortstop Tatis Jr. and Olympic track star McLaughlin.
Lawrence’s bottle features animal patterns and colors inspired by his Heisman-winning career at Clemson and as a Jacksonville Jaguars No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Tatis’ bottle represents the youthfulness he’s brought to baseball over his four seasons in the MLB with its bright and colorful design — tropical accents represent him growing up in the Dominican Republic. McLaughlin’s design “inspires athletes to run their own race while finding joy on the track,” the statement read. The black and white bottle features a bright yellow butterfly which is a nod to her father’s mantra, “be the butterfly.”
“At Gatorade, the athlete is at the center of everything we do and we’re constantly looking for new ways to elevate their voices. For us, the Gx bottle is a blank canvas for storytelling and an opportunity to collaborate with our athletes to bring their journey to life in a creative way. Our first Gx Fuel Tomorrow Collection features some of our youngest roster athletes who inspire the next generation to love the game,” Huls said.
Bueckers’ other NIL partnerships include Cash App and StockX. She also filed a trademark for “Paige Buckets” which would allow her to use the nickname on apparel and signed an NIL deal with the education platform, Chegg, in March to address food insecurity for students.
