Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell’s attempt to promote a sports drink he partnered with was shut down after the team ousted the Golden State Warriors from the playoffs on Saturday night.
Russell went to the press conference podium and plopped a bottle of Coco5 down on the table when a woman from the Lakers media relations team took the drink away. Gatorade is the official drink sponsor of the NBA.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, #1, warms up prior to game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles May 12, 2023. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
The point guard was dressed in a jacket and a headscarf as he spoke to reporters.
“So refreshing everyone tries snatching it from ya,” the company wrote on its Twitter account.
It was the second time in the playoffs Russell has had his drink taken away after trying to promote it in his postgame press conference. He also tried after the team’s Game 3 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, #1, shoots the basketball against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game five of the 2023 NBA playoffs conference semifinals round at Chase Center in San Francisco May 10, 2023. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Russell, who the Lakers acquired in the middle of the season, slyly asked why the drink was taken away. When he was told it was not one of the Lakers or the NBA’s partners, he replied, “but it’s my partner.”
“You’re gonna have to fine me. Coco5,” he said in April’s interaction, via the New York Post.
Russell is one of the handful of professional athletes who have partnered with Coco5. Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is a majority owner and ambassador of the brand. He enjoyed Russell’s first pitch.
“I think it was a good turnout,” Booker said last month, via the Arizona Republic. “It gave it more light than it would’ve if (the bottle) just sat there.”
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, #1, moves the ball up court against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles May 6, 2023. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
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Russell will get at least four more games to promote the beverage as the team gets ready to have a Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets. The series begins Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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