Oakland, CA – Golden State Warriors fan Mitchel Mathews was particularly excited after for in Game 1 of The Finals 2017 last night. Mr. Mathews was named “Designated Driver for the Season” for the Warriors and attended Game 1 as a grand prize winner of the “Responsibility Has Its Rewards” sweepstakes.
Veronica Bem was named “Designated Driver for the Season” for the Cleveland Cavaliers and will attend Game 3 of The Finals as the other grand prize winner of the sweepstakes. Both winners were randomly selected among all of the fans who pledged to be Good Sports – designated drivers at Warriors and Cavaliers home games. Designated drivers pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol and provide their friends and family with a safe ride home.
Throughout the season, the NBA, Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Coalition, Bud Light and NBA teams across the country have worked together to make more fans aware of the designated driver programs at NBA arenas, encourage responsible drinking, positive fan behavior and promote traffic safety. The success of those efforts is demonstrated by the fact that more than 65,000 adults pledged to be designated drivers during the 2016-2017 NBA season.
The top five NBA teams for designated drivers at the end of the 2016-2017 season are:
- Dallas Mavericks with 10,164 designated drivers
- Oklahoma City Thunder with 9,547 designated drivers
- Houston Rockets with 7,595 designated drivers
- Charlotte Hornets with 7,483 designated drivers
- Milwaukee Bucks with 5,070 designated drivers