Rich Paul is one of the more influential figures in the NBA and one of LeBron James’ closest and longtime friends. However, their first meeting and budding friendship happened purely by chance and a conversation over throwback jerseys.
It was further cemented by Paul getting James a gold Magic Johnson Lakers authentic and a blue Joe Namath Rams jersey.
The year was 2002, and James was still a junior in high school, making waves as the next big thing the basketball world was going to experience. He and some of his friends were at the Akron-Canton Airport to travel to Atlanta for the NCAA Final Four when the confessed jersey-head saw Paul in some impressive clothing.
The Klutch Sports CEO, a Cleveland native himself, wasn’t the massive power figure yet. At that point, he was 21 and selling jerseys out of his car trunk after being mentored by Distant Replays owner Andy Hyman. James saw him sporting an authentic Warren Moon, complemented richly by white Air Force 1’s with the red sole and red swoosh.
On his part, the young King was dressed in a Michael Vick Falcons jersey, except that it was a replica. James knew it wasn’t the real deal, as the copies didn’t have the name and number sewn on them. What started as a discussion about where Paul had gotten his jerseys has now become a long-standing friendship.
ESPN’s Chris Broussard detailed the life of Paul in 2012, and that’s when the man, regarded as the most powerful agent in sports history, shared the story of how he met James. And he credits it to the Moon jersey he wore.
“If I don’t have on that jersey, we don’t have a conversation.”
The friendship between the two saw Paul become one of James’ confidantes after the 2003 NBA Draft, which was one of the deepest pools in league history.
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected James as the first overall pick. Soon after the draft, Paul joined Leon Rose, who orchestrated James’ extension with the Cavaliers in 2006 but left the agency six years later to start his agency. The blockbuster move was when the Lakers star left with him.
Broussard’s feature on Paul also had some of his competitors doubting him when he burst onto the scene.
“He didn’t graduate from college, so how’d he get certified?” says one competitor.
“I just hope we don’t have another Master P situation on our hands,” says another, referring to the rapper’s unsuccessful foray into the agent biz.
“How’s he going to walk into a Fortune 500 sports-brand company and negotiate a deal?” asks one more. “You can’t give a dentist a scalpel and say, Go do heart surgery.”
And now, Paul is one of James’ trusted inner circle, and his agency, Klutch Sports Group, now boasts of some of the stars as his clients. The likes of Anthony Davis, Zach LaVine, Draymond Green, and Ben Simmons are all represented by his agency.
Rich Paul And His Agency Klutch Sports Has Had A Meteoric Rise Over The Years
Headquartered in Los Angeles and ninth on the list of Forbes’ most valuable sports agencies, Klutch Sports, led by Paul, has grown to become a global entity and a household name in the NBA circuit.
For Paul, the start of his journey as an agent has a lot to do with James backing him. Broussard notes how the latter asked him for his social security number once and later handed him a check. This signaled the start of what the two would do.
“I just felt like Rich was someone I wanted to grow with. He’d always kept it real with me, and I wanted him to be down with my team.”
Fast forward to a decade, Paul was named one of the 2020 “Ebony Power 100 List” and was listed as one of the more dynamic figures in the world of sports management. Now, Klutch Sports also expanded its clientele to include players from the National Football League (NFL).
And it’s safe to say Paul’s rise to fame has some solid support from his friend, who is well on his way to carving a legend status for himself. Amazingly, it all began with a conversation about jerseys.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
