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LeBron James is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. But even as one of the all-time greats, James still finds inspiration from other people. One of those people is rap legend Jay-Z.
LeBron James Pays Homage to Jay-Z
James was asked about his relationship with the rap star during CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit at Fanatics Fest NYC on Thursday (July 16). The four-time champ called Hov his “big brother.”
“He’s been one of my biggest inspirations. I say [Michael Jordan] was my biggest inspiration as far as basketball, but I never got an opportunity to hang with him or talk to him or whatever. But Jay is like my big brother,” he said as caught by Yahoo Sports. “He’s the one who’s given me so much game and has taught me so much,” he added. “And 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 or — because he gave me so much game as a 16-year-old kid.”
James also talked about how he and Jay both came from humble beginnings. And because of that, the hoops star was able to relate to Hov on an even deeper level.
“He comes from Marcy Projects in Brooklyn. He knows what it means to have to scrap and grind for everything. I come from Elizabeth Park Projects in Akron, Ohio. So I know exactly what it means to scrap and claw for everything,” James continued. “So it’s just — it’s a mindset. And when you know you got that — when you know you have the vision and you start to realize the power that you possess, and now you could tap into these resources, you become unstoppable.”
