- Lowe's has launched its first-ever basketball campaign, signing Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson as brand partners.
- The campaign, titled "Buckets," marks Lowe's first real basketball push after years of building sports presence in the NFL, soccer, and NASCAR, and instead of starting with a league deal, Lowe's opened with athletes.
- The campaign is set to run throughout the year, launching mid-NBA playoffs and at the start of the WNBA's 30th season, with multiple creative versions centered on humor that reflect both athletes' personalities.
- For A'ja Wilson, the partnership is personal. She recalls picking out seeds at Lowe's as a child with her mom, calling it "a full circle moment."
Lowe’s just made its first move into basketball, announcing a campaign with four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
CMO Jen Wilson said the brand wanted athletes who embodied a “drive for excellence,” and basketball’s cultural pull, across both the men’s and women’s games, is what drew them in. Neither Wilson nor Brunson had previously partnered with the home improvement giant.
A’ja Wilson, who recently co-chaired the Met Gala and launched her second Nike signature sneaker, the A’Two also holds active endorsement deals with Gatorade, Ruffles, and JPMorganChase. She recently signed a landmark three-year, $5 million supermax contract with the Aces, making her the highest-paid player in WNBA history.
Jalen Brunson has an active deal with BodyArmor, starring in their “Choose Better” campaign alongside LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson. He also carries deals with Nike, American Express, and JPMorganChase.
Brunson scored 39 points in Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks as New York advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
For sneaker fans tracking athlete brand moves, Donovan Mitchell’s recent Adidas campaign offers another lens on how NBA stars are showing up in the brand space right now.
Lowe’s previously built its sports roster around NFL players, including Travis Kelce, Christian McCaffrey, Dak Prescott, and Bryce Young, before expanding into soccer with a multiyear deal featuring Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF.
The basketball campaign now rounds out a multi-sport strategy the brand has been methodically building.
Takeaways
Lowe’s “Buckets” campaign is a calculated play, not a trend-chase. The brand has spent years proving its sports strategy in the NFL and soccer before touching basketball, so when they move, it’s deliberate.
Choosing A’ja Wilson and Jalen Brunson gives Lowe’s access to two of the most culturally resonant athletes in the game right now. Wilson isn’t just an MVP, she’s a fashion figure, a Met Gala co-chair, and a sneaker brand. Brunson isn’t just a scorer, he’s New York’s face of consistency in an era obsessed with flash.
Together, they give Lowe’s something its NFL roster couldn’t: an audience that is younger, more diverse, and deeply plugged into the lifestyle conversation that basketball commands year-round.
The timing, mid-NBA playoffs and the WNBA’s landmark 30th season, also says a lot. Lowe’s is not testing basketball. It’s arriving.
With Lowe’s now active in the NFL, soccer, and basketball, which sport does the brand feel most natural in, and why? Does A’ja Wilson’s personal childhood connection to Lowe’s make this feel more authentic, or is it just clever storytelling?
