Our Story and History of WaCover

Every league has that moment—the kind where the gym goes quiet, the scoreboard glares, and the plan you walked in with no longer works. For the United States Basketball Network (USBN), that moment came in 2020.

USBN had just lined up a major beverage sponsor when the company was acquired. The new ownership changed direction and, with one polite email, the deal that was supposed to fuel a rising basketball movement vanished. What followed were months that turned into years: pitch decks sent, calls taken, meetings that ended with “love the vision, not the fit.” The dream didn’t dim, but the runway did.

So USBN did what resilient teams always do during a rough quarter—they huddled up and drew a new play.

If the right partner wouldn’t come, they would become the partner. If no brand would stand beside the game, they would build a brand born from the game. The question shifted from “Who will sponsor us?” to “What would the perfect drink for our athletes, coaches, and fans look like—if we made it ourselves?”

That question started the two-year journey to WaCover.

Practice gyms turned into tasting rooms. Whiteboards filled with formulas and feedback, then got erased and filled again. Sports nutritionists weighed in on balance and function; coaches pushed for something clean and consistent; players asked for performance without the gimmicks. Sport scientists shaped what recovery should mean after a back-to-back, a long bus ride, or a summer run in a hot gym. USBN listened, iterated, and kept going.

There were false starts—batches that almost worked, partners that almost fit, costs that almost made sense. But “almost” doesn’t win playoffs, and it doesn’t build a product worthy of wearing “Official Drink of the USBN.” Then the right partners arrived. The recipe locked. The supply chain snapped into place. The first production run rolled off with a promise printed between the lines: this isn’t just a beverage, it’s a blueprint.

WaCover was created by the United States Basketball Network for the United States Basketball Network. It exists so the game can take care of the game.

When you choose WaCover, you’re not only choosing an athlete-first hydration and recovery product—you’re choosing to power a system that helps more players play professionally in the U.S., keeps teams on the floor, and puts real resources back into communities. All profits from WaCover go directly to growing USBN: supporting teams and players, funding training and travel, investing in broadcasts that spotlight overlooked talent, and building local programs that bring families, friends, and neighborhoods together around the sport they love.

Think about what a single purchase can become:

• A bus seat for a rookie chasing his first contract.
   
• Court time for a team building chemistry in the off-season.
   
• A youth clinic that teaches discipline, teamwork, and respect—the same values USBN champions on every platform.
   
• A broadcast that puts a player’s name on a scout’s screen and hope in a living room full of dreamers.

WaCover is more than a bottle on a bench or a sleeve in a gym bag. It’s the answer to a problem that almost stopped a movement. It’s what happens when a league refuses to wait for permission to grow and decides to build the engine itself. It’s proof that the best partnerships aren’t always found—they’re forged.

So here’s the invitation: if you believe basketball still has the power to open doors, create careers, and strengthen communities, join the roster. Stock it at home. Bring it to practice. Share it at watch parties. Put WaCover on your table and USBN on your screen.

Because every sip fuels something bigger than thirst. It fuels a league becoming a reality, a player getting a shot, a city finding a team to rally around. It fuels the next whistle, the next tip-off, the next story worth telling.

WaCover—Official Drink of the USBN.
Hydrate. Recover. Help the game win.