Superagent Rich Paul on LeBron, life’s trials and addressing the haters in new memoir

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Chestnut chats with Rich Paul about his new memoir “Lucky Me,” in which the sports agent reveals the trials and tribulations he’s faced, how rapper and mogul Jay-Z played a part in the book and why anyone who thinks he ‘lucked into’ representing LeBron James has a lot to learn about Paul’s path to success.

Video Transcript

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KEVIN CHESTNUT: I’m Kevin Chestnut with Yahoo Sports. And I’m here with Clutch Sports founder and CEO, Rich Paul. So Rich, you got a new book coming out. You named the book “Lucky Me.”

RICH PAUL: Yeah.

KEVIN CHESTNUT: And I also noticed that it’s coming out on Roc Lit 101.

RICH PAUL: Yeah.

KEVIN CHESTNUT: I’m a huge, huge Jay-Z fan. And already know he has a song called “Lucky Me” on “In My Lifetime, volume 1.” Was that the inspiration in the name? Or was that a name that you had already had, like, floating in your head for years?

RICH PAUL: Well, it was actually a name I already had floating in my head, but alongside of, that’s been my favorite Jay-Z record, and alongside of being extremely sarcastic to those that– the crowd in the back that’s screaming, you know, he’s only successful because he was lucky to meet LeBron. You know, I’m playing on all of that, right?

And it’s extremely sarcastic when you talk about how lucky am I, right? Losing my parents, growing up in an environment that I grew up in, you also had to create your own luck as well. I was pretty lucky to grow up in my dad’s store and learn how to, you know, wait on people from a customer service perspective. And I was very lucky to learn math just on a cash register and things like that.

And so there’s a lot of lucky moments. There’s a lot of not-so-lucky moments. There’s a lot of create-my-own lucky moments, and as well as “Lucky Me” being my favorite Jay-Z record. And to tie it all back in, with Jay and Roc Lit, it only made sense to me.

KEVIN CHESTNUT: You’re probably one of the most successful sports agents ever. What accomplishment do you hold dearest?

RICH PAUL: You know, I think it’s several, man. You know, a player doesn’t have to have you represent them. It’s a privilege to represent these guys and their families, you know, to a guy like a John Wall, who, you know, was a number-one pick and was one of the first guys as the number-one pick to say, you know what? I’ve known Rich all my life.

I’ve known since I was 16 years old. I believe in what he’s building. And despite what anybody has to say, I’m going to leave this what deemed to be at the time a well-renowned agent– and was a good agent, may he rest in peace– but come with Rich, you know. And that was a big thing, you know. And I’m appreciative of John for that.