Shawn Corey Carter, a.k.a Jay-Z, is a legend in hip hop and the business world.

Born and raised in New York City, Carter was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023.
As of 2024, he is the wealthiest musical artist in the world with a net worth of $2.5 billion.

He is also one of the world's best-selling music artists with over 140 million records sold. Jay-Z has no shortage of hardware either, having won 24 Grammy Awards, the 10th-most of all time and most awarded for any hip-hop artist.

From 2003-13, Jay-Z was a part owner of the Brooklyn Nets. He paid a reported $1 million for his share of the team. As part of his tenure, he encouraged the team's move from New Jersey to Brooklyn's Barclays Center in the 2012-13 season.

Given Carter’s past ties to the Nets while looking at the New York Knicks' recent success, including a second-round playoff appearance this past season and the offseason acquisitions of Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony-Towns, it begs the question: which New York City NBA team would Jay Z pick.

“Knicks or Nets?” I asked him at the 2024 Fanatics Fest in NYC.

His response: “Both. We’re in New York City!”

Well played, Jay Z. Well played.

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After finishing the 2023-24 regular season with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks knocked off Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the opening round.

The Orange and Blue went up 2-1 in the series against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals before several injuries to their star players did the team in, ultimately losing in a home Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

Meanwhile, the Nets finished 32-50 and failed to make the postseason.

The Knicks shocked the NBA world by trading for Nets star Mikal Bridges in June, a rare trade between the two crosstown rivals. Bridges played all 82 games last season, averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

New York also added star big man Karl Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, shipping off former Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo and star big man Julius Randle to the Twin Cities.

Thanks to these moves, the Knicks are entering the 2024-25 season as title contenders, while the Nets are in rebuilding mode. Still, that's not stopping Jay-Z from supporting both teams.