The cast of One Tree Hill doesn’t want to be anything other than fan favorites after an epic appearance at a charity basketball game over the weekend.
The show’s stars, including James Lafferty, Bryan Greenberg, Paul Johansson, Bethany Joy Lenz, Barbara Alyn Woods, Moira Kelly, Craig Sheffer, Stephen Colletti, Tyler Hilton, Antwon Tanner, Robbie Jones, Lee Norris, Shantel VanSanten and Cullen Moss, were in attendance to play in and watch a fan-curated State Championship Basketball Game on Saturday, September 21.
Lafferty, 39, Colletti, 38, Tanner, 49, and Greenberg, 46, among others, played in the game while Lenz, 43, cheered on the sidelines and Woods, 62, rallied for the players in a quintessential Ravens cheer outfit.
“We came. We balled. We didn’t get injured! Thanks to the best fans in the world for coming out🙏🏼🏀🐦⬛,” Greenberg shared on Instagram alongside some photos and videos from the game.
Notably, Gavin DeGraw, who sings the show’s theme song, “I Don’t Want to Be,” performed during halftime. He shared videos from his performance on Instagram Stories and promoted the new version of the beloved tune, which he re-recorded for his upcoming album Chariot 20 set for release on September 27.
Friends with Benefit Charity Events hosted a “21 Years of One Tree Hill” weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina which featured Saturday’s State Championship Basketball Game as well as Friday’s Pep Rally and Sunday’s 21st Anniversary Celebration featuring more OTH cast members like Sophia Bush, Austin Nichols and Daphne Zuniga.
The organization’s Instagram account posted countless photos and videos from the festivities, including personal moments between the cast. Lenz and Lafferty, who played lovebirds Haley James and Nathan Scott on the long-running CW show, posed together with Tanner while Norris, 42, interviewed fans at a game day press conference.
And Bush, 42, shared a sweet photo with Nichols, 44, on Sunday morning, writing, “Wilmington mornings with my TV hubby! We’re caffeinating and coming for y’all.”
Austin Nichols and Sophia Bush Courtesy of Sophia Bush/Instagram
The reunion comes after news of a One Tree Hill reboot. In August, reports swirled that Netflix is developing a new version of OTH, with stars Bush, Hilarie Burton Morgan and Danneel Ackles serving as executive producers. Bush and Burton Morgan, 42, who played best friends Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, respectively, are reportedly set to reprise their roles. Ackles, 45, who joined the show as Rachel during season 3, is also in talks to appear on screen.
“It’s been in development for some time. I think that’s all I can say,” Bush said on her OTH-themed podcast “Drama Queens.”
For the cast of One Tree Hill, the line between fact and fiction was often blurred. The show’s stars claim that events from their real lives — from their personal interests to their traumas — would find their way into their characters’ storylines. “[The producers] made practice of taking advantage of people’s personal lives,” Sophia […]
Burton Morgan added in an interview with People, “What I can say is that this go-around, being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me.”
One Tree Hill premiered in 2003 on The WB (now The CW). It followed half-brothers and basketball rivals Nathan (Lafferty) and Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) as they navigated their high school years in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. It aired for nine seasons before ending in 2012.
