NBA London 2018: Sir Alex Ferguson, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne in attendance as A-listers flock to The O2 as Boston Celtics beat Philadelphia 76ers
There were plenty of famous faces on show as celeb A-listers gathered in capital for NBA showdown
SIR ALEX FERGUSON, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne were among a host of A-list stars who flocked to the O2 Arena for the hottest ticket in town on Thursday night.
The Premier League icons were front row to see the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-103 in the eighth regular season NBA game in London.
Courtside seats have proved hugely desirable in recent years with stars from the sporting, music and acting worlds regular visitors for the game.
Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso joined Hazard for the prestigious event.
There are plenty of footballers who love NBA, and it was clear they were making their presence known as Arsenal aces Shkodran Mustafi, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal turned up as well.
Olivier Giroud, Sead Kolasinac and Rob Holding made sure the Gunners were the most represented team on the night.
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But the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Adrian and Manuel Lanzini ensured the rest of the Premier League wouldn’t be shown up.
Crystal Palace had a number of stars in attendance, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek - who sat in the wrong seat and was told to move, Patrick van Aanholt and Jairo Riedewald turning up with Timothy Fosu-Mensah.
Comedian-rapper Michael Dapaah, AKA Big Shaq, accompanied the latter and also posed for pics with Chelsea’s Hazard.
While Michael Ballack and PSG’s Julian Draxler showed celebs were willing to come from all over the continent for the occasion.
Stoke’s Jack Butland and Geoff Cameron turned up, as did Watford’s Troy Deeney and Man City’s Raheem Sterling.
Last year, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Lethal Bizzle and models Winnie Harlow and Xenia Tchoumi were among the many famous faces in attendance.
Gordon Ramsey, actors Idris Elba and Michael B. Jordan and Anthony Joshua have also been spotted at the event in recent years.
Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal hero Thierry Henry are huge basketball fans and were in attendance once again - they've been regulars at the game over the years.
In what was easily the best game at the O2 Arena, the Boston Celtics roared back from 22 points down to win 114-103.
The Celtics, the top team in the East, were heavy favourites heading into the game, but appeared to be showing signs of jet lag at the startt.
The 76ers, led by the hot hand of JJ Redick raced out into a massive lead - before the men in green began to chip away at that lead.
By half-time, that 22-point lead had been whittled down to just nine.
The Celts started the second half on fire and never let up.
Kyrie Irving drew the most oohs and aahs but it was the team's gritty defence that won them this game.
Jaylen Brown was superb, top scoring for the Celtics with 21 points on an efficient 8-14 from the field.
The Celtics return to the US still the team to beat in the East.
