Jay-Z Showed Love To LeBron James (And Only LeBron James) In His Video Opening The 2023 NBA All-Star Game

Jay-Z is the picture of sustained greatness, so his voice was the correct choice to open TNT’s 2023 NBA All-Star Game broadcast on Sunday night, February 19.

The three-plus-minute montage began with a wider focus on the league’s many all-time greats, such as Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and the late Kobe Bryant, before zeroing in on LeBron James, with this year’s other all-stars going unmentioned by name.

Sunday’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah marked James’ 19th career All-Star selection, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most such honors in NBA history. That, nearly two weeks after James broke Kareem’s record and became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. The TNT tribute featured footage from James’ historic night on February 7, including his on-court embrace of Jay-Z.

Here’s a transcript of Jay-Z’s tribute:

“Being able to perform at a high level for a long period of time, that’s excellence. Long after you’re gone, people, they looking at your name like, ‘That’s what greatness is.’ There’s not many you can compare LeBron to. 19-time All-Star, a remarkable feat. The all-time leading scorer. All-time! I mean, what could you say?

I’ve known LeBron since he was in high school. There was a lot of talk around how amazing he was. We were convinced, like, this guy is super special. He’s been through plenty iterations of the game, and each era, he’s been the best. The Chosen One, and that’s it.

All-Star energy: it’s fun. The players, they’re super excited to play with one another. The league is in a great place right now. Every team has major stars. Amazing, amazing performers. People call it ‘being in the zone,’ where you could tell someone’s just like not there. You know, this thing is happening within seconds. How did he see this person? How did he jump and adjust mid-air? You can’t help but react watching that.

This is the All-Star Game! The attitude, the swagger. The players get a chance to do things they wouldn’t normally do in a game. All-Star, it’s like a childhood, boyish energy where everyone’s just happy to play the game that they love.”

To Hov’s point, Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-172 (!) in the 2023 All-Star Game with Boston’s Jayson Tatum claiming the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP on a record 55-point performance.

Tatum was far from the only player to go off:

And Jay-Z wasn’t the only one to celebrate James, as Dwyane Wade gave his former Miami Heat teammate flowers when introducing him at Vivint Arena:

Watch Jay-Z’s montage above.