This year’s NBA draft lottery will have something extra for sports fans, as rap mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter will be on hand to represent the New Jersey Nets.
Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, will be one of 14 Nets representatives that will be seated on the stage when NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver announces the winning order of teams participating in the draft lottery tonight (May 20).
As the lottery approaches, Carter is hoping for a good night for the Nets. "This is very exciting and I hope my nickname 'Lucky Lefty' holds up," said the former Def Jam Recordings president.
The mogul, who reportedly paid $4.5 million for a stake in the Nets as a part-owner, also pushed for the team to move from New Jersey to his native borough of Brooklyn.
The Nets have a 1.1 percent chance of receiving the first pick and less than a four percent chance of securing one of the top three selections for the first time since 2001.
Based on its record for the 2007-08 season, the team is likely to have the 10th pick in the draft if it doesn’t get a top three selection.
The NBA draft lottery will air live from 8 - 8:30 p.m. Tuesday (May 20) on ESPN. The event, which is slated to take place at the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, NJ., will be held before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons.
The lottery will be followed by the NBA draft, which will occur on June 26.
