- Kelsey Plum has been named a brand ambassador for Maker's Mark, joining a lifestyle campaign built around craft and an "unreasonable" attention to detail.
- The partnership marks another premium brand addition for Plum, who has active deals with Google Pixel, Skims, Kingmakers Cigars, Target, LegalZoom, and Buffy Protein, and no prior history with Maker's Mark.
- For Maker's Mark, this continues a deliberate sports-and-athlete strategy that includes a limited-edition blend with NBA star Bam Adebayo in late 2024 and a multi-year deal with Unrivaled in December 2025.
- Plum re-signed with the Los Angeles Sparks in April 2026 on a one-year deal, keeping her profile firmly in the spotlight heading into the WNBA season.
Kelsey Plum is Maker’s Mark’s newest brand ambassador. The newly announced partnership pairs the two-time WNBA champion with the Kentucky bourbon brand for a lifestyle-driven campaign centered on craft and what the brand calls an “unreasonable” attention to detail, a nod to its signature “Perfectly Unreasonable” global campaign.
For Maker’s Mark, the move is part of a growing sports playbook. In November 2024, the brand co-created a limited-edition “Bam & Marilyn’s 1 of 1 Blend” with NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo.
Then in December 2025, it locked in a multi-year deal as the first official spirits partner of Unrivaled, the player-owned women’s basketball league where Plum competed for Phantom BC in the 2026 season.
For Plum, it adds a premium spirits chapter to an endorsement portfolio that already spans finance, fashion, and lifestyle. She previously signed with GSTQ in 2022, became Zip’s first-ever brand ambassador in June 2024, and launched a signature cigar line with Kingmakers that same year.
In March 2026, Kelsey Plum partnered with Talk2Me to launch An “AI Twin” Of herself, adding to her growing off-court ventures.
The Maker’s Mark deal lands just weeks after the Los Angeles Sparks re-signed her, a four-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, for the 2026 WNBA season.
Brands are increasingly investing in women’s basketball talent just like the way Tampax did with Olivia Miles, treating athletes as full lifestyle partners, not just sports sponsorships.
Takeaways
This deal isn’t just a celebrity slapping a label on a bourbon bottle. Maker’s Mark has been quietly building one of the most intentional sports strategies in the spirits space: Bam Adebayo, Unrivaled, and now Kelsey Plum. Each move signals a clear direction: premium bourbon meets athlete culture.
For Plum specifically, the “craft and detail” angle of the campaign fits her brand identity naturally. She’s not just a dunker, she’s a builder. Cigars, AI, finance, fashion and now bourbon. She’s assembling an endorsement portfolio that positions her as a luxury lifestyle figure well beyond the court.
Does Maker’s Mark’s focus on women’s basketball athletes give it a long-term edge over other bourbon brands still chasing traditional male-sport sponsorships? With Kelsey Plum active in Unrivaled. a league Maker’s Mark already sponsors, could this deal evolve into something more integrated than a standard ambassadorship?
