Move over Jigga and Bey
The sale of the Philadelphia 76ers is now complete, and the franchise has one of Hollywood’s highest-profile couples as part owners. Will & Jada Smith are now proud part owners of the team, according to this report. The new ownership will be announced during a press conference later Tuesday:
The sale agreement told ESPN.com that the ownership group that will be introduced later Tuesday includes Philly native Smith as a minority shareholder.
The presence of Smith in an ownership consortium headlined by New York-based leveraged buyout specialist Joshua Harris, David Blitzer and former NBA agent and Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien means that the Atlantic Division now houses two giants from the entertainment industry.
Named by Newsweek in April 2007 as the most powerful actor in Hollywood, Smith joins the Sixers in a capacity akin to music mogul Jay-Z’s role with the New Jersey Nets. And Levien is believed to be the first former agent to be part of an NBA ownership group since Lewis Schaffel served as the original managing partner of the Miami Heat.
Most be nice to be rich… The Smiths join Jay-Z (Nets), Usher Raymond (Cavs) and rapper Nelly (Bobcats) in the ranks of entertainers turned NBA franchise owners. Nice move for both sides.
Now if only this damn lockout would be settled soon…
-ALR
