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Watch: ESPN, Mookie Betts, Eli Manning, Paige Bueckers make cameos in 'Naked Gun' reboot

Fans of the 'This is SportsCenter' ad campaign will find a familiar theme in the preview clip from the movie that opens in August.

By J.P. Hoornstra

Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards on April 14.
Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards on April 14. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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Lt. Frank Drebin is back on the case. The clumsy detective portrayed by Leslie Nielsen in the original Naked Gun series of movies is getting new life, portrayed by Liam Neeson in a reboot set to debut in theaters on Aug. 1.

A teaser for the new Naked Gun film dropped Monday, and it features a cornucopia of sports cameos, from retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning to Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts to Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers and New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox.

The scene appears to be a send-up of the memorable "This is SportsCenter" advertising campaign that debuted in 1995 and ran until last year. The animiating idea behind the ads — that athletes and mascots share office cubicles with ESPN personalities in Bristol, Conn. — is apparently alive and well in the Naked Gun universe.

There's probably a high-level thought embedded in the clip's existence about the ascendance of professional athletes into celebrities more famous than Hollywood A-listers.

To wit: Other than future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, the famous baseball scene in the original Naked Gun movie did not seek to capitalize on the promotional power of any of the actual players who appeared in the original 1988 movie.

On the other hand, if you have seen the original movie, or any of its hilarious sequels, you know the series resists high-level commentary. Sit back, relax, and keep an eye out for Enrico Pallazzo.

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