NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & TΕ«rangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • ManawatΕ« - Whanganui
    • All ManawatΕ« - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • ManawatΕ«
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Basketball

Basketball: English actor Jack Whitehall ruined in soul-crushing NBA half time shot prank

news.com.au
12 Jan, 2018 06:53 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber? Β Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access contentβ€”explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
β€Œ
Save

    Share this article

British comedian Jack Whitehall is on the receiving end of a brutal prank by the Philadelphia 76ers during their visit to London

You might know him as an English comedian.

You might know Jack Whitehall as the posh kid on English comedy sitcom Fresh Meat.

Maybe you've never heard of him.

Read more: LeBron James hints at NBA retirement

After watching the prank pulled on the 29-year-old by stars from the Philadelphia 76ers in the middle of their NBA game against Boston on Friday morning (AEDT) you won't be able to forget his face.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It's impossible to get the image of that face dissolving into his hands after having his heart ripped in two after falling victim to a straight up dastardly prank.

Whitehall was one of many London celebrities to turn out for the highly-publicised showdown between Aussie Ben Simmons' 76ers and Eastern Conference leaders Boston at the sold out O2 Arena in London.

The English comedian clearly had no idea the fix was in when he was called out to shoot a three-point shot to win a prize during a TV timeout as the Celtics were running away to a 114-103 win.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Whitehall, the star of Bad Education, was called on to hit his three-point shot from the top of the key while blindfolded.

His shot came out flat as it left his hands and sailed under the bucket, taking a huge piece of the net on its way.

Unfortunately, while he was still blindfolded, 76ers players and event staff whipped the crowd into a frenzy and were jumping around in celebrations as if he'd actually nailed the miracle shot.

As Whitehall removed the blindfold his eyes were greeted with a scene of absolute pandemonium.

Discover more

Basketball

Friends' endorsement inspired Christmas' Breakers move

09 Jan 12:38 AM
Basketball

Watch: Opponent's praise for Steven Adams

11 Jan 06:18 AM
Basketball

LeBron James hints to NBA retirement

11 Jan 09:42 PM
Basketball

NBA GM to Trump: 'I am proud of my s***hole'

13 Jan 03:51 AM

At first he couldn't believe it.

He shouldn't have. But he did.

Big mistake.

Whitehall then β€” as would be appropriate for landing a blindfolded three-point shot β€” went berserk hugging those around him and raising his arms in the air in triumph.

It was at this point that the match day presentation staff decided to drop the bomb on the poor unsuspecting victim.

Whitehall was made to look up to the giant scoreboard to watch a replay of his momentous feat.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was then that the star's world instantly began crumbling around him as he watched the ball sail under the rim. As the stadium announcer repeated the words, "Oh no" Whitehall buried his face in his hands.

The 76ers staff thought it was pretty damn funny, though.

Most NBA commentators couldn't deal with the ice cold set-up.

Whitehall took his epic burn in good spirit, at least.

That good nature might be why he was selected for the prank ahead of some of the other celebrities that were courtside to see his downfall.

The host of English Premier League stars in attendance included Arsenal's Hector Bellerin and Chelsea's Eden Hazard.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne was also on hand, as were Manchester United's iconic former manager Alex Ferguson and former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack and British cycling hero Bradley Wiggins.

πŸ™ˆπŸ™ˆπŸ™ˆπŸ™ˆ

— Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) January 12, 2018

They all watched the 76ers crash just as hard as Whitehall had done earlier.

After leading by 22 points early in the second quarter, the Sixers were blown away 66-46 in the second half.

Star guard Kyrie Irving scored 20 points with seven assists and six rebounds for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and Marcus Morris had 19 with eight rebounds as the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics stretched their NBA winning streak to seven games.

Rookie Jayson Tatum helped turn the tide, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the decisive third period.

"I don't think we were ready for the punch they gave us in the first half," Celtics coach Brad Stevens acknowledged.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There was no real panic, but we had to play a lot better than we were."

The 76ers had come out strong, with JJ Redick scoring 13 of his 22 points in the first half.

Cameroon's Joel Embiid added 16 points and Aussie Simmons chipped in 15 for Philadelphia and for a time it looked as if the eighth regular-season NBA game to be played in London could see the 76ers on the right side of the kind of blowout that fans there saw last year, when the Denver Nuggets trounced the Indiana Pacers 140-112.

But the Celtics tightened the screws defensively and closed out the second quarter on a 15-3 scoring run before out-scoring the Sixers 37-22 to seize control in the third period.

"We stayed the course," Stevens said.

"We've done that all year." Tatum, like Simmons a rookie of the year candidate, came alive in the third, making his first five shots as Boston cut the deficit to one point.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Boston took the lead for the first time on a dunk by Daniel Theis that made it 69-68 with six minutes left in the third.

Boston joined the NBA champion Golden State Warriors as the only teams to come back from 20-point deficits in more than one game this season.

Irving acknowledged that their offence wasn't flowing early as they played for the first time since edging the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

But he added that once they got the ball moving and began to push the pace, the Celtics never doubted they could come all the way back.

As the Celtics built their lead to as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter, Irving heard some chants of "M-V-P".

"That was pretty awesome over here in London, man, in the O2," said the Australian-born Irving, who opted out of a chance to play for Australia at the 2012 London Oympics in order to pursue an international career with the USA. "This is something I'll remember for the rest of my life."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

β€” with AFP

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Basketball

Tall Blacks

Tall Blacks score rare victory over Boomers in series finale

11 May 06:15 PM
Basketball

'Transformative moment': Dame Lisa Carrington backs women's basketball

03 May 06:00 PM
Basketball

Indian Panthers suspension: Companies allegedly owed thousands of dollars

03 May 04:15 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Basketball

Tall Blacks score rare victory over Boomers in series finale

Tall Blacks score rare victory over Boomers in series finale

11 May 06:15 PM

The Tall Blacks beat Australia 106-97 in Hamilton on Sunday.

'Transformative moment': Dame Lisa Carrington backs women's basketball

'Transformative moment': Dame Lisa Carrington backs women's basketball

03 May 06:00 PM
Indian Panthers suspension: Companies allegedly owed thousands of dollars

Indian Panthers suspension: Companies allegedly owed thousands of dollars

03 May 04:15 AM
Indian Panthers: Team CEO responds to concerns about pay delays

Indian Panthers: Team CEO responds to concerns about pay delays

30 Apr 06:41 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • Β© Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP