Oakland, CA – Golden State Warriors fan Veronica Thomas was particularly excited for Game 1 of the NBA Finals 2018 presented by YouTube TV last night. Ms. Thomas 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. Thomas and her husband, Jay Thomas, celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary at the game.
James McCant was named “Designated Driver for the Season” for the Cleveland Cavaliers and will attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals as the other grand prize winner of the sweepstakes.
Both winners were randomly selected among all fans who pledged to be 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, Budweiser and NBA teams across the country 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 a record number of NBA fans – 73,954 responsible adults, to be exact – pledged to be designated drivers during the 2017-2018 NBA season.
The top five NBA teams for designated drivers at the end of the 2017-2018 season are:
- Oklahoma City Thunder with 11,684 designated drivers
- Houston Rockets with 8,545 designated drivers
- San Antonio Spurs with 7,015 designated drivers
- Charlotte Hornets with 6,330 designated drivers
- Dallas Mavericks with 6,256 designated drivers
The success of the ‘Responsibility Has Its Rewards’ campaign with the NBA this season is a direct result of the commitment from the league, the teams and all the campaign partners. Teamwork is what this campaign is all about. We are demonstrating that when everyone – including the fans – takes responsibility, everyone wins.<span class="su-quote-cite">Jill Pepper, Executive Director, TEAM Coalition</span>
TEAM Coalition
TEAM Coalition is an alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaires, stadium service providers, the beer industry, distillers, broadcasters, traffic safety experts and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities. TEAM Coalition members and supporters include the National Basketball Association, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Americrown, Aramark, Delaware North Sportservice, Legends, Spectra, Beer Institute, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Constellation Brands, HEINEKEN USA, MillerCoors, Brown-Forman, Live Nation, National Association of Broadcasters, Contemporary Services Corporation, International Association of Venue Managers, Stadium Managers Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information visit
TEAMCoalition.org or
FansDontLetFansDriveDrunk.org.
(Left to Right) Jerome Pickett, NBA Senior Vice President/Chief Security Officer; Veronica Thomas, Responsibility Has Its Rewards Sweepstakes Winner; Jay Thomas, Guest of Winner; Kevin Ross, TEAM Coalition Event Coordinator; Brent Hughes, Anheuser-Busch Senior Key Accounts Manager
