While the Thunder’s loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals may have stung OKC fans in the chest, it burned a major hole in billionaire rapper Jay-Z’s pocket. Well, at least from a common man’s perspective.
According to TMZ, the Nets’ former owner bet $1 million on the Thunder winning the NBA Finals in five games. If he won this bet, it would have yielded him a $3.3 million payout.
But thanks to Bennedict Mathurin’s 27 points and T.J. McConnell’s record-setting steals off the bench, the Pacers rallied ahead in Game 3 and made it impossible for Jay-Z to win his best. Fortunately for Jay-Z, that amount is only 0.04% of his net worth, as Forbes values the Brooklyn-based artist at $2.5 billion.
Seeing Jay-Z lose $1 million like it’s casual change, NBA fans were left in disbelief online. They took to social media and vented their frustration at how easily Jay-Z was able to withstand a $1 million loss. Some of the most hilarious comments from Instagram include:
“$1 million is like $1 to him lol,” wrote an Instagram user who claimed that the loss was like nothing to him.
“Boo hoo. Life must be tough as a billionaire or whatever,” wrote a user who deemed this a first-world problem for Jay-Z.
“$10 to him,” wrote another user to show that a $1 million loss was not something a Billionaire is worried about.
“Jay Z should’ve had dinner with me. I knew my Thunder wasn’t winning in 5. OKC in 7,” wrote an OKC fan who wanted to convince himself that the Thunder can still bounce back in this series.
“Is it really losing 1 million if you work for the company?” wrote an Instagram user about Jay-Z’s personal connections with the Fanatics Sportsbook. Jay-Z helped Michael Rubin raise funds for the Fanatics Sportsbook in 2024. Therefore, some may say, in a way, he donated to a cause he believes in.
This is not the first egregious sports bet we’ve seen in these Playoffs. Earlier in the Playoffs, during the Timberwolves’ series in the first round, Drake bet $620K on Stake that they would win Game 3 against the Lakers. When the Timberwolves won that game, he reportedly claimed to have won over $1 million in that single bet.
Sports betting is a multi-billion-dollar industry in America. Just last year (2024), the sports betting industry earned a $13.7 billion revenue, according to ESPN. Despite the victory, the Pacers are still heavy series underdogs; according to Fanatics, their odds are +195 while the Thunder are -235 favorites to win. The series to go seven games has +100 odds at Fanatics, while the under six games is -125. The over/under for the games in this series is 6.5.
