Literally Every Celebrity Was at Fanatics Fest NYC This Weekend: Here's What You Missed

Here’s everything that happened inside the Javits Center.

  • By: Julianne Elise Beffa I Photos By: Roc Nation, Getty Images, Fanatics Fest

There are sports conventions, there are music festivals, and then there’s Fanatics Fest NYC. This week, the Javitz Center become something entirely its own- a place where championship trophies rolled through the aisles, billion-dollar trading cards changed hands, Lionel Messi answered World Cup questions feet away from Tom Brady.

The biggest surprise of the weekend belonged to Justin Bieber, who made an unannounced appearance during the Fanatics Games with a WWE-style entrance set to his No. 1 hit, “YUKON.” Thousands of fans immediately surrounded the competition area as the singer jumped into the games alongside Brady and Novak Djokovic, quickly climbing to the top of the leaderboard ahead of both sports icons. In a weekend already packed with celebrity appearances, Bieber’s arrival instantly became one of the most talked-about moments across Fanatics Fest NYC.

Justin Bieber Surprise Performance

LeBron James delivered a different kind of headline. Bringing Mind the Game to a live audience alongside Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, James answered questions from fans before stepping off the stage to spend time with the crowd himself. One young fan walked away with an unforgettable memory after LeBron signed their trading card live, a reminder that even at an event filled with superstars, some of the biggest moments happen one interaction at a time.

Tom Brady seemed to be everywhere at once. One minute he was showing off his competitive side by perfectly hitting the Raising Cane’s target and sending Rob Gronkowski crashing into a dunk tank filled with Cane’s sauce. The next, he was surprising collectors at the CardVault booth alongside Daymond John, launching signed footballs into the crowd before moving across the convention floor for another headline-making panel. Later, Brady found himself sharing the stage with Logan Paul before Karl-Anthony Towns stepped in to break up a heated exchange that had fans buzzing throughout the afternoon.

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Lebron James, Travis Scott, Michael Rubin

Fresh off bringing an NBA championship back to New York, Jalen Brunson received perhaps the loudest ovation of the day. Every appearance by the Knicks captain was interrupted by thunderous “MVP!” chants as fans packed into the Kings of New York championship panel to celebrate Brunson, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. The celebration didn’t end when the conversation did. Moments later, the Knicks stars carried the Larry O’Brien Trophy through the Javits Center, giving thousands of fans an up-close look at the championship hardware that had spent decades waiting to return to New York.

Earlier in the day, Brunson and Hart reunited with New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge for a live edition of The Roommates Show, where Hart launched Randy’s Donuts into the crowd while Judge laughed about Hart secretly untying his shoe courtside during a Knicks game. Asked what makes the city special, Judge and Brunson didn’t hesitate before agreeing there was simply “no place better than New York.”

Jordyn & Jodie Woods

The energy only intensified once Fanatics Fest hosted the official FIFA World Cup Finals press conferences. The stage brought together an extraordinary lineup that included Lionel Messi, Rodri, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Novak Djokovic and Rio Ferdinand, creating one of the most surreal moments in the event’s history. Fans repeatedly interrupted the conversation with deafening chants of “MESSI!” while Brady asked the Argentine legend about the now-iconic photograph of him bathing a baby Lamine Yamal, the Spanish phenom preparing to compete on soccer’s biggest stage. Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin later captured the moment with a once-in-a-lifetime group selfie featuring many of the global icons gathered on stage.

Trading card culture continued to prove why it sits at the heart of Fanatics Fest. Shark Tank investor Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary spent more than $1 million on a Shohei Ohtani one-of-one Logoman autograph card, while Alex Rodriguez pulled a coveted Cooper Flagg rookie autograph card at the CardVault by Tom Brady booth. Victor Wembanyama delighted collectors by opening Topps Star Wars packs, signing dual-autograph cards and handing them directly to fans as chants echoed throughout the booth. Minutes later, Cooper Flagg unveiled his Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card, which industry experts believe could eventually command as much as $5 million.

Elsewhere across the Javits Center, Kevin Hart wasted no time bringing Cold As Balls into its new Netflix era, filming fresh episodes with iShowSpeed, Rob Gronkowski, Serena Williams and Cooper Flagg in front of a live audience. Disney and Champion debuted a new NFL collection through the first-ever Disney Fan Draft with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Taylor Rooks, while Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Olympic gold medalist Megan Keller helped assign iconic Disney characters to NFL franchises in one of the day’s most creative activations.

Tom Brady

Away from the public crowds, Michael Rubin and Relevent Sports welcomed some of the biggest names in sports, business and entertainment to an exclusive luncheon inside JAY-Z’s reimagined 40/40 Club. LeBron James, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, Travis Scott, Adam Silver, Gianni Infantino and dozens of influential leaders gathered under one roof before the celebrations continued well into the evening with Kevin Hart, Shaquille O’Neal, DJ Khaled, Trevor Noah, Stephen A. Smith, James Harden and countless others.

Fanatics Fest NYC has quickly evolved beyond a collectibles convention or fan event. It’s become one of the few places where sports, entertainment, business and culture collide in real time, creating moments that simply couldn’t happen anywhere else. On a single afternoon, fans watched Justin Bieber compete against Tom Brady, celebrated an NBA championship with Jalen Brunson, heard LeBron James break down basketball, watched Lionel Messi command an arena, and witnessed trading cards worth millions of dollars emerge from freshly opened packs. Few events can bring together that many worlds under one roof, and that’s exactly what continues to make Fanatics Fest one of New York City’s biggest weekends of the year.

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