Billionaire confirms large stake in Nets

DENVER — While both the Nets and the NBA have been mum on Joe Tsai’s purchase of a huge share of the team, confirmation came straight from the horse’s mouth — or in this case, the billionaire’s mouth.

The co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Tsai agreed to purchase a 49 percent share of the Nets, with an option to buy a controlling share in four years. His interest was first reported by The Post, and the consummation of the deal was first reported by ESPN. Now video has surfaced of Tsai acknowledging the move, calling Jeremy Lin his favorite player, and praising Caris LeVert.

With Tsai hosting a college basketball game between UCLA and Georgia Tech in Shanghai, he also spoke with Bill Walton and his wife, Lori, at a VIP roundtable at the Alibaba offices in China. And when Lori welcomed Tsai into the NBA family, the New Jerseyschooled Tsai responded “Yes, thank you.”

Video of the interaction was posted by ESPN.

“It’s interesting. It’s an interesting journey,” said Tsai. “It’s going to be a long, long project — a long-term project.”

Tsai graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1982, and gave his posh New Jersey alma mater the biggest gift in its 207-year history.

But with Tsai a part-time resident of San Diego — he spends much of his time in Hong Kong, but his wife and kids live in La Jolla, Calif. — and owning a lacrosse team there, many have wondered if he’ll move the Nets there. While Lori cheerfully prodded him, Tsai implied the Nets won’t be heading to California.

“San Diego? Whoa. That’s going to be a challenge,” said Tsai.

When asked who the Nets best player was, the first name he mentioned was LeVert, a second-year wing who is still developing.

“I like Caris LeVert. I think he’s a young [talent]. I think we have a very young group of guys,” said Tsai, before adding “My favorite, Jeremy Lin, is injured.”

After Isaiah Whitehead scored 26 points in Long Island’s G League opener Saturday, he got a call at 10 p.m. Monday and was told to hop an 8 a.m. flight Tuesday to meet the Nets in Denver. He arrived at 1:30 p.m., logged 15 strong minutes against the Nuggets and finished a team-best plus-12.

Backup center Tyler Zeller had a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting with five rebounds

Wing Allen Crabbe had just three points on 1of-8 shooting. But LeVert finally showed signs of life, with 13 points on 5-of-9.