LeBron James has never been shy about crediting the people who shaped him off the court, and in a new interview, he opened up about one relationship that goes back further than most people realize.
While we await James’ massive decision on his next NBA team, the four-time champ has revealed how one individual has had a major influence on his career.
LeBron James Reveals Jay Z’s Influence On His Career
James spoke to Rich Kleiman at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan recently. Kleiman asked him what it was like being around Jay Z early on, and whether it was something the rapper explicitly taught him. James explained that the two first crossed paths when he was just 16 years old, meeting Jay Z backstage during a tour stop in Chicago.
Not long after, their paths crossed again in New York around a highly anticipated game that was supposed to take place at Rucker Park, but never happened because of a citywide blackout.
James admitted he and his childhood crew asked a few questions during those early years. Instead, they simply watched, calling the experience like being a sponge as they studied how Jay Z carried himself in business settings, from the way he walked and talked to how he greeted the people around him.
The former Los Angeles Lakers star pointed out that members of Jay Z’s inner circle, Emory and Tata, are still around him today, more than two decades after James first met them, and recalled that his first summer around that world lined up with the release of Jay Z’s album The Blueprint 25 years ago.
That early exposure left a lasting impression. James said that while Michael Jordan was his biggest inspiration in basketball, he never had the chance to build a personal relationship with him, as he has with Jay Z.
“Jay is like my big brother. He’s the one who’s given me so much game and has taught me so much,” he said.
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The NBA legend went on to explain just how present that influence still is in his day-to-day decision-making, more than two decades after that first meeting in Chicago.
“I’m always thinking about him any time I’m doing something business-wise or making a decision or whatever, thinking like, is this going to make him proud,” he added.
It is a bond that has stayed public over the years, with the two frequently spotted together courtside and at each other’s events. But this interview offered a rare glimpse into just how deep their bond actually runs.
Even now, at 41, James still measures many of his choices against a simple question rooted in that mentorship, one he says has stuck with him since he was a teenager, watching quietly from the sidelines.
