Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus, Love Island’s Maya Jama and Black Panther’s Letitia Wright: The biggest stars you can expect to see on London Lions European basketball nights

Timothee Chalamet stole the show during this year’s NBA playoffs, an ever-present at New York Knicks games, becoming the star of celebrity row. With London Lions returning to the highest stage, which stars can you expect to catch at the Copper Box?

London Lions are back in Europe next season with the 2025-26 BKT EuroCup fixtures recently announced, setting up key ties against leading European sides including Besiktas Gain Istanbul and Panionios Athens. 

Watching the Lions is an exciting moment for any fan, with many celebrities and icons enjoying the action in the capital. Let’s look back at the biggest stars to grace the Copper Box’s front row, from Premier League stars to Marvel superheroes, ahead of an action-packed year of European basketball.

Premier League Stars

In the closing weeks of last season, several Premier League stars showed up to support the capital’s top basketball team. Then West Ham player, Mohammed Kudus, has recently confirmed his switch to Tottenham Hotspur where he’ll play alongside Kevin Danso, another Lions attendee.

Meanwhile, Fulham stars Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey have both been spotted at the Copper Box as well as former Arsenal player Stephy Mavididi, now playing for Leicester City.

Maya Jama

The Love Island presenter, who was involved as a manager in Baller League which was hosted at the same arena, cheered on the Lions as they took on PSG in the 2022-23 campaign.

Letitia Wright

Star of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Letitia Wright also showed up to the showdown with Paris, with more nights like this expected this season. Wright played the Marvel hero after her breakout role in Top Boy and earned critical acclaim for her role in Black Mirror.

Stefflon Don

In 2023, rapper Stefflon Don took over the Copper Box with an electrifying half-time performance on Mother’s Day.

Headie One

North-London based rapper, Headie One, is at the forefront of British drill music and this season represented the Lions on the front row. He also took on a half-court shot but the less said about that, the better.

In 2023, the Lions became the first British side to reach the EuroCup playoffs, before going one step further a year later, reaching the semi-finals of the playoffs in 2024.

The BKT EuroCup features twenty teams with these split into two groups of ten for the initial group stage. In this phase, every side will play each other twice across 18 rounds, with the top six from each group progressing to the knockouts.

The Lions were drawn in Group B with the likes of Besiktas Gain Istanbul, Niners Chemnitz and Buducnost Voli Podgorica. European basketball for the Lions kicks off on 2 October before the group stage concludes on 11 February.

Full London Lions BKT EuroCup 2025-26 group stage schedule

Early bird season tickets for 2025/26, which includes every home BKT EuroCup fixture, are now available to buy at: https://www.thelondonlions.com/

• Author Name: Sam Simons