NBA fans know there are unwritten rules when it comes to talking about the league’s biggest stars. For superstars like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kevin Durant, their names are global brands, and their teams of agents and managers work around the clock to protect that image and keep their reputations spotless. And when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers man LeBron James, his PR team works overtime.

This was evident during an earlier All-Star Weekend broadcast on NBA TV. The pre-game featured veterans Rudy Gay and Tristan Thompson. The latter was part of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers team that won the NBA Championship with James at the helm. Thompson later joined King James in Los Angeles, playing for the Lakers during the 2022-23 season.

While speaking on the show about James’ upcoming appearance on Sunday at the 2026 All-Star Game, it was Gay who first joked about how James could be compared to ‘Jesus’.

This caused everyone on the show, including Thompson and the other presenters, to burst out laughing. Gay took that a step further in a couple of seconds by adding, “or maybe Tupac, I don’t know, they say he didn’t die.”

34-year-old Thompson was quick to respond: “I had another name, but I won’t use it on the internet.”

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This was enough to warrant a reaction from their producers, as one of the presenters was informed that they would be cutting the segment for a commercial break.

“They want to save us from ourselves,” he added as the others kept on chuckling.

Throwback to when LeBron James met the original ‘Black Jesus’

These comparisons between LeBron James and Jesus might not sit well with fans today. However, there was a time when a certain Chicago Bulls player gave himself the title of ‘Black Jesus,’ and no one blinked an eye.

Yes, we’re referring to the great Michael Jordan. NBA Fans will recall how NBA great Reggie Miller got the brunt of Jordan’s anger when they were trash-talking each other during an exhibition game.

“Michael…who do you think you are? The great Michael Jordan? That’s right, there’s a new kid on town!” He kind of looks at me and starts shaking his head. So at half I have 10, and he has four points…end of the game, the second half, he ended up with 44 and I ended up with 12. So he outscored me 40-2. And as he’s walking off, he’s like, Be sure, and be careful, you never talk to Black Jesus like that,” Miller said while on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show in 2015.

Building on the James-Jordan connection, the above picture is from when rookie James ran into his idol, whom he also called ‘Black Jesus.’ Come to think of it, this was probably the moment when the two biggest stars the league has ever seen, representing two different eras, crossed paths for the first time.

From that point on, every step of James’ rise was measured against Jordan’s shadow, with fans and media treating their careers as two chapters of the same myth. Whether you see it as a ‘passing of the torch moment’ or just a surreal encounter between a kid from Akron and his biggest hero, it remains one of the most quietly iconic images in NBA history.