S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay-Z's highly-anticipated Brooklyn Nets season opener is still months away, however, a photo of the team's home court has landed online.
A photo of the team’s court hit the Internet this week showing its black and white team logo planted in the middle of the floor.
An intriguing image showed up Monday afternoon on Instagram. It was clearly the Nets new court, laid out at what appeared to be the IZOD Center. The poster reported that “the team was running a practice setup in the Izod center before they put it in Barclays Center. It’s a new type of wood flooring, no team has except Brooklyn.” He added that the set-up was supposed to be secret “we weren’t suppose to take pics… Lol but we’re able to sneak that one.” (Nets Daily)
According to recent reports, the minority owner’s relationship with the Nets players also extends to off-court activities.
In a piece that The New York Times just published, Nets general manager Billy King was asked about what Hov does to help the team. And, somewhat surprisingly, King revealed that he does a little bit of everything–including playing the role of a real estate agent for certain Nets players. “When Deron Williams was making his decision [about whether or not he wanted to resign with the Nets], he was struggling for a place to live,” King said. “Jay-Z goes, ‘Tell him I’ll call him tomorrow and I’ll help.’ It’s a lot about being able to relate to being wealthy, being young, being African-American. He can relate to them, where maybe I can’t or [Nets owner] Mikhail [Prokhorov] can’t.” (Complex)
Anticipation is building for Jay’s Nets, especially since team owner Mikhail Prokhorov recently promised he would rap alongside Jigga this fall.
According to Mr. Prokhorov, a reprise is in the works, but this time in downtown Brooklyn, where Jay-Z will open the $1 billion Barclays Center with a series of sold-out concerts this fall. “Yes, I will rap at his concert,” Mr. Prokhorov informed Crain’s via email. “I am in rehearsals now 10 hours a day and plan to demand joint billing.” (Crains New York)
The rap star recently discussed his influence in designing the Nets’ team logo.
With this new Nets move, Jay-Z and Nets brass looked to the past in order to ensure the team’s place in the future. Vintage New York transit system signage served as their chief inspiration. “It was really a take off the old subway signs, if you look at the old subway signs they were in black and white. It was that strong, beautiful, iconic black and white,” Jay said. “I wanted to pick something that would stand the test of time and be here forever.” (MTV)
