LeBron James says Jay-Z taught him how to move like a mogul

The NBA legend says Michael Jordan inspired his game, but the Brooklyn MC taught him how to move through business, success, and life.

For LeBron James, Michael Jordan was the blueprint on the basketball court. But when it came to building a life and legacy beyond the game, Jay-Z became a mentor, an example, and, in James’ words, a “big brother.”

During a conversation at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit at Fanatics Fest in New York City on Thursday, James reflected on meeting the Brooklyn rapper when he was only 16.

According to Okayplayer, the future NBA superstar first connected with Jay-Z while the rapper was on tour. James recalled that he and his childhood friends did not spend the encounter asking for favors or attempting to impress anyone. Instead, they quietly watched and learned.

“We really just watched Jay and how they moved and how he moved, and it was like a sponge,” James said. “We didn’t say much. We didn’t ask for much. We just sat there.”

What stayed with him was not merely Jay-Z’s fame or success. It was the confidence, intention and professionalism with which he carried himself.

“He moved how a person that knows who he is and what he brings to the table is supposed to move,” James explained. “And from the business side, to the way he talked, to the way he greeted people. It was just an aura about him and a professionalism in his respective genre that we all kind of learned.”

That kind of exposure can be especially meaningful for a young Black man suddenly entering rooms where wealth, power, and celebrity operate by their own rules. James was already a nationally known basketball prospect as a teenager, but talent alone could not teach him how to navigate everything that would come with becoming LeBron James.

Jay-Z, who transformed himself from a Brooklyn rapper into an entertainment and business mogul, offered James a model for expanding without abandoning where he came from.

James made a clear distinction between Jordan’s influence and the relationship he developed with Jay-Z.

“I say M.J. was my biggest inspiration as far as basketball, but I never got an opportunity to hang with him or talk to him or whatever,” he said. “But Jay is like my big brother. He’s the one who’s given me so much game and has taught me so much.”

James added that Jay-Z’s guidance continues to influence his choices decades later.

“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?’” James said. “Because he gave me so much game as a 16-year-old kid.”

The results of that mentorship are difficult to miss.

James has turned a historic basketball career into a wide-ranging portfolio spanning entertainment, media, education and philanthropy. Through ventures including SpringHill Company, UNINTERRUPTED and the LeBron James Family Foundation, he has followed a path familiar to Jay-Z fans: use the platform, but do not allow the platform to become the limit.

Their bond also reflects a longstanding tradition within Black communities. Sometimes mentorship is not a formal program, a scheduled monthly meeting or a neatly packaged relationship. Sometimes it begins with a younger person paying attention to how an elder enters a room, treats people and understands their own worth.