Jay-Z Influence on the Nets Eclipse his Ownership Stake

All told, he has achieved a remarkable feat of leverage with his tiny sliver of the team, which was reduced from one-third to one-fifteenth of a percent upon Mr. Prokhorov’s purchase of the Nets, according to people aware of the deal terms. (Mr. Carter, who declined to be interviewed for this article, retains a slightly larger sliver of the arena itself — just under a fifth of a percent.)       

As if to slam that point home, when the Nets placed a 222-foot-tall billboard near Madison Square Garden depicting Mr. Carter and Mr. Prokhorov as their “blueprint for greatness,” the two were shown at the same size, with Mr. Carter up front.       

Mr. Ratner said he was seeking both sizzle and “credibility — which we needed badly,” when he first approached several other celebrities in 2003 about helping him acquire the team. Then he was introduced to Mr. Carter by Drew Katz, the son of one of the Nets’ principal owners, after Jason Kidd, then the Nets’ marquee point guard, suggested that Mr. Carter buy the team.

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