Actor James Lafferty (23) signals to his teammates during a basketball game hosted by Friends With Benefit commemorating the 23rd anniversary of One Tree Hill at the UNCW’s Trask Coliseum on Sept. 19. Rachel Jessen for ESPNTory CabreraSep 23, 2026, 08:57 AM ETCloseTory Cabrera is a writer/editor for ESPN.com who covers what’ trending in the world of sports and the intersection of sports x pop culture. She hails from northern Virginia and is a graduate of UConn.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsWILMINGTON, N.C. — “Are you here for the big game?” my new friend behind the car rental counter asked shortly after I touched down in Michael Jordan’s hometown.”People are saying you need to be in line by 7 a.m. if you want a chance at a decent seat,” she exclaimed before I could answer.To my surprise, my big game and her big game were one and the same: the “Hey 23” basketball game celebrating 23 years since the hit television show “One Tree Hill” first aired.Pausing to look around Wilmington International Airport, it appeared nearly everyone arriving in town had the same purpose. Couples, families and groups of friends of all ages — all donning black, white and royal blue, and not of the Duke Blue Devils variety.I had counted at least seven combined “Scott” jerseys and two red Quentin Fields-inspired capes before a handmade “You can’t kill Dan Scott” sign diverted my attention.Then the same cheerful voice snapped me back into focus.”Your car is ready. Just head to spot No. 23!
See you tomorrow!”Unclear whether my rental assignment was intentional or an omen, I grabbed the keys and stepped out into the North Carolina heat.If a 23rd anniversary feels arbitrary, you’re clearly not a “One Tree Hill” fan.OTH’s premise centered around a pair of half-brothers, Lucas (played by Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (played by James Lafferty) who starred on their high school basketball team in the fictional North Carolina small town of Tree Hill.The beloved teen drama — and in my entirely unbiased opinion, the most slept-on basketball show of our generation — followed Nathan Scott, aka No. 23 and his journey from winning a state championship in high school to being recruited by Duke until his college plans were derailed by his involvement in a point-shaving scheme. Scott eventually went on to win a national title at Maryland before suffering a spinal injury the night before the NBA draft. He then mounted a comeback that started with SlamBall, then saw him play in the D-League and finally become the starting point guard for the then-Charlotte Bobcats.In the 2000s, Nathan’s evolution from a brash high school standout to a selfless NBA star left an indelible mark on a generation of fans. The Ravens never existed — there was no Tree Hill High and no state championship banner.
But for the people who watched the scripted show and the actors who portrayed the characters, the basketball was real. In the years since its historic nine-season run from 2003 to ’12, it has amassed a cult following of a magnitude I couldn’t quite grasp until setting foot where the show was filmed.’Hey 23’On Sept. 19, in front of nearly 5,000 fans at UNC Wilmington’s Trask Coliseum, the show’s stars, including Lafferty, Murray, Antwon Tanner, Robbie Jones, Bryan Greenberg and Stephen Colletti took the court together again.The crowd, which included fans who had come as far as France, Australia and Greenland for a chance to see the Ravens, lost its collective mind when the Scott brothers (41-year-old Lafferty and 45-year-old Murray) took the court donning jerseys with their characters’ names on the back.From the moment I set foot in Trask Coliseum, the line between fiction and reality blurred.A large team photo hung on the wall near the concessions. Ravens banners and merch adorned the bleachers along with an outsized mock political banner touting “Dan Scott for mayor.” A mascot danced alongside a volunteer cheer squad doing stunts and tumbling in official Ravens uniforms who led the crowd in the wave. Musician Tyler Hilton (who played Chris Keller on the show) performed the National Anthem.By the time the OTH theme song, Gavin DeGraw’s 2003 hit “I Don’t Want To Be,” blared, we had reached Tobacco Road-level hype without the hostility.The game was part of a larger reunion including cast meet-and-greets, autograph sessions, a Hilton and Greenberg concert and a fashion show, hosted by “Friends with Benefit” charity events, that turned Wilmington back into Tree Hill for the weekend.Founder and CEO of “Friends with Benefit,” Rae Agostino, who appeared as an extra on “One Tree Hill,” credits Lafferty’s former charity games during the show’s run for sparking the idea.”I always wanted to do something with charity and ‘One Tree Hill,’ and I put my two loves together and here we are,” Agostino told ESPN.She also shared that proceeds from the event go to St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital and other charities of the celebrities’ choosing.While the basketball was, for the most part, rusty — the energy was electric.As one of the cheerleaders, Cassie Danforth, told ESPN about the connection between Wilmington and Tree Hill, its fictional counterpart, “It’s the same thing. We are Tree Hill.”The basketball of it allBy all accounts, Lafferty could ball.”James had to be very good. And he was. James is a very good basketball player,” said Paul Johansson, who played Nathan and Lucas’ father, the infamous villain Dan Scott.
“He had a high basketball IQ as well. You know, like [Steve] Nash or some of the other floor leaders. He had that general quality. He was a leader.”Lafferty was a 17-year-old high school senior fresh off being named MVP of the varsity basketball team at Hemet High School in Hemet, California, when he auditioned for the role of Nathan Scott — a process that included the final two actors in consideration playing a producer one-on-one at an executive’s house to make sure they knew their way around the court.”I didn’t think it was going to be, like, a real test like that.
I was trying to sort of take it easy. I was playing all the time at that time,” Lafferty said. “I was trying to, I don’t know, be polite. And he reminded me that it was not time to be polite, I was basically playing for my job.”In true Nathan Scott fashion, Lafferty shut out his opponent and landed the role.Despite getting to play only one season of varsity hoops after taking his junior year off to act — Lafferty played the role of Steve Alford in ESPN’s 2002 film “A Season on the Brink” about Bob Knight and the 1985-86 Indiana Hoosiers — Johansson assured that he could have had a career at the collegiate level had OTH not panned out.In fact, when the pilot got picked up, Lafferty was already in the dorms at Long Beach State.”I was planning to try to walk on to their basketball team,” he told ESPN.
“I was going to go for it. There was no way I was not going to go for it.”But he wasn’t the only actor in the Tree Hill universe who had game. Antwon Tanner (who played Antwon “Skills” Taylor), Robbie Jones (who played Quentin Fields) and Johansson all came from basketball backgrounds.If finding someone with the basketball prowess capable of playing Nathan was a tall order, casting the show’s primary antagonist, Dan, presented its own challenge. That is until one of the show’s producers crossed paths with Johansson.”When I was playing in the E League, the Entertainment League in Los Angeles, Brian Robbins, who was our executive producer …
I played against him a lot, so he saw me be competitive, you know, tough,” said Johansson. “And he saw that in me, and when I auditioned for the part, he immediately made the connection, ‘Oh, I played with this guy. He is Dan Scott.'”Johansson, who had played on international tours for the Canadian National Basketball Team and starred alongside Magic Johnson in a commercial, said his star-studded E League team included high-profile Hollywood stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Magui
