Famous footballing faces littered the crowd in London last night as the NBA rolled into town. The capital played host to Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers in a lively NBA London showcase which saw football's elite swap pitch-side for court-side at the O2 arena.
The O2 saw footballers outnumber basketballers as Premier League royalty mixed with European giants at the place to be seen on Thursday night. For NBA this is exactly why they've brought the game to the UK, famous faces building hype, and growing the interest in the sport away from US shores. Backed by a plethora of footballing talent, the Boston Celtics rallied to beat Philadelphia 76ers 114-103.
Belgian Ballin'.
It's called fashion. Look it up, yeah?
Full-time socialite and fashionista Hector Bellerin took his seat alongside Nacho Monreal, and Alexandre Lacazette, with Antoine Griezmann wedged between the Arsenal players. Yeah, look out for lazy transfer rumours this morning. The Chelsea contingent was also strong as Marcos Alonso, Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Andreas Christensen took in the action. Raheem Sterling, İlkay Gündoğan, and Kevin De Bruyne represented the Manchester City side of things, while Julian Draxler, Mamadou Sakho, Wilf Zaha, Andre Gray, Micahel Ballack, and Robert Pires were also amongst the familiar faces court-side.
Fergie suited, booted, and wondering why there isn't 4 more added minutes after the buzzer.
American sports have grown immensely in the UK, and specifically on the Premier League scene, with the NFL having a similar A-List attendance at Wembley in 2017. A mixture of genuine NBA interest, and a high-profile event on the door step of London footballers produced a huge turn out, and a platform for players to be seen in the public eye away from their tracksuits. Best dressed? You can call that.
Are you really a modern Premier League player if you don't like the NBA?
