Jay-Z set a standard this year when he became part owner of the New Jersey Nets. In the ever braggadocio world of hip-hop, Jay-Z set a new standard. It looks like Nelly is up to meeting the challenge. Yesterday the Charlotte Bobcats announced that the St. Louis rapper is now a part owner of the expansion team.

If you are looking for the connection, the team’s majority owner is Bob Johnson, better known as the founder of BET. “This is a great opportunity for both the Bobcats and Nelly,” Johnson said. “Nelly is a great entertainer and a smart businessman and those two traits will serve us well as we prepare to tip off our inaugural season this fall.”

“To be able to make this move with Bob Johnson and to be a part of the first-ever minority owned professional sports franchise in history is a great opportunity,” Nelly said. “Bob and I share the same commitment to diversity and we are both self-made, having worked up from the very bottom to reach where we are today.” Let’s just hope Pimp Juice doesn’t become the team’s first official sponsor.