Bigger than Basketball

No one should be surprised to read that Mikhail Prokhorov's global ambitions go far beyond the Nets.  What they are is his entree to New York and all that portends.  It was indeed telling that his introductory press conference wound up at a midtown Manhattan hotel favored by Russian oligarchs, not East Rutherford, not Brooklyn...and there was no tacky photo op of the new owner holding up a uniform jersey adorned with a big "1" and his name in Cyrillic. 

In a lengthy feature, New York Magazine examines Prokhorov as New York's newest  Russian icon (pun intended).  The Nets, as Russian emigre' Michael Idov writes, are "a ticket to instant popular-culture importance", something that has permitted Prokhorov to "leap into the city’s collective consciousness with a speed unusual for any foreigner, let alone a Russian".

It doesn't end there. Prokhorov's "Snob" magazine will debut in New York in September.  All of it is about creating "The Global Russian"...not just the global NBA franchise.

• Klub Prokhorov - Michael Idov - New York Magazine