Knicks bring NBA trophy to Fanatics Fest, a Justin Bieber sighting and more. 5 takeaways

The stars were out along with the fans who support them in the Big Apple on Saturday despite the heavy rain throughout the day for 2026 Fanatics Fest inside the Javitz Center.

From athletes walking through, including a Ryan Garcia vs. Connor Benn boxing face-off, trading cards, entertainers, games, autographs and more -- there was too much going on to list or keep track of everything that happened. Nonetheless, here are some takeaways from the massive celebration of sports. Even Grammy Award winner Justin Bieber got in on the fun at Fanatics Fest.

The 2026 NBA Champion New York Knicks were in the building

What better way for the event set in the Big Apple than to have the New York Knicks walk through the building hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy from their 2026 championship win. Jalen Brunson threw out T-shirts despite a cast on his left wrist after getting surgery. He was accompanied by Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and other Knickerbockers. Fans ran to get a glimpse of the reigning champs which caused a commotion. Miles "Duece" McBride sat down in front of fans and answered some interviews.

Wasn't just athletes or entertainers there

Though there were plenty of sports to go around, known entrepreneurs and internet celebs such as Garyvee were in attendance with their own experiences. Gary Vaynerchuk was seen at his own pop-up talking with fans and selling his "VeeFriends," which are his own trading cards. Other personalities were seen at the festival live on Tik Tok selling things and interacting with fans along the way. So even though sports was the center piece of the weekend, there was a little something for everybody.

Games and giveaways

For each sport there were separate parts in the building. Along with collectables and celebs were also games and giveaways. The Top Deck section gave out cards to lucky fans. There were also raffles and QR codes people could scan to enter. Along with winning stuff, of course there were games and immersive experiences. For example, over at the WWE part, fans could sign a waiver and jump off the top rope and get a photo taken of them mid-air onto a soft landing spot that resembles a ring. There were also pop-a-shots, skeeball, and plenty of other games for fans.

Huge collectible cards

And of course there was the huge collection of trading cards throughout the building. There were museums of retro jerseys, cool artifacts, and more -- but the amount of card trading and purchasing was massive like it was every year. Everything from cards not for sale in glass cases protected by security, to cards being traded on Tik Tok in real time, and also the opportunity to purchase them.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Knicks bring NBA trophy to Fanatics Fest, a Justin Bieber sighting and more. 5 takeaways