DECLAN RICE revealed the best basketball player in the Arsenal team – and admitted he’s “terrible” at free throws!
The Gunners midfielder was sat court side at The O2 Arena on Sunday night for the NBA London Game between the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.
Declan Rice joins SunSport for an exclusive chat court sideCredit: SUPPLIED
Declan Rice is all smiles as he takes in the NBA London Game at The O2Credit: Getty
Virgil van Dijk and Thierry Henry share a word court sideCredit: Getty
Asmir Begovic, Declan Rice and Real Madrid legend Marcelo watch onCredit: Reuters
Rice, 27, is one of the leading midfielders in the Premier League and has driven Arsenal to the top of the table.
But he told SunSport in an exclusive court side interview that his skills do not transfer to the basketball court.
Rice said: “William Saliba is really good. We have a little hoop and we always play inside – Saliba is always there practicing.
“It’s actually good to be court side and witness it in the flesh.
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“The speed of thought, always trying to look for the best person open and just seeing up close how quick they are.
“The free-throws are actually a really hard thing to do.
“You don’t appreciate how tough it is and I’m terrible at it.
“But they make it look really easy.”
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Saliba was also in attendance as the NBA returned to London this weekend after seven years away.
The Arsenal duo were part of the star-studded, 18,424 sell-out crowd which also included Premier League stars including Virgil van Dijk and Joao Pedro.
The NBA season in the United States runs at a similar time to the Premier League campaign.
Rice will be playing on US soil this summer as he spearheads England’s World Cup bid.
The Arsenal midfielder added: “There’s games on so late and, when we have our night games, it’s always shown on the TV.
“So we’re always watching games and always catching up about it.
“One of my best friends is a massive NBA fan and a Knicks fan, so when we saw the Grizzlies-Magic was on, we decided to come.”
