Rapper Jay-Z may have caught a case of March Madness, but it’s the NBA that is mad because it plans to launch a probe into why he chose to make a surprise visit to the Kentucky locker room, according to a new report.
After the Wildcats won their regional final over North Carolina on Sunday night, the rapper, who also owns a minority stake in the Nets, decided to show up to the postgame celebration by visiting the team locker room at Prudential Center in Newark.
VIDEO: JAY-Z CONGRATULATES KENTUCKY
Jay-Z may have been there to congratulate the Wildcats for earning the school’s first trip to the Final Four since 1998, but the NBA wants to know whether he was trying to get a word in with some future draft picks, according to the report.
Though the incident is not a violation of NCAA rules, CBSSports.com reported Wednesday that the NBA plans an investigation.
In the room with Jay-Z at the time where potential draft picks Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones.
The Nets traded away their lottery pick to the Jazz in the Deron Williams deal. They do still own the rights to the Lakers pick, but since Los Angeles is playoff bound that pick will not come until end of first round.
In 2007, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was fined $30,000 for a similar incident in which he sat with Kevin Durant’s mother in the stands during the Big 12 tournament before Durant announced his intentions to leave Texas for the NBA.
Kentucky plays UConn on Saturday, and VCU faces Butler in the other semifinal at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
The NCAA title game will be played Monday in Houston.