Zlatan Ibrahimovic welcomes LeBron James to LA just how you’d expect

LeBron James is moving west to play for the Lakers, and LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic offered a truly Zlatan welcome.

If you’ve been somewhat disengaged over the days heading into a holiday, or under a rock, news broke Sunday night that LeBron James will sign a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s got some aspirations off the court in the entertainment industry, which makes Los Angeles a worthy and perfect destination. But the Lakers are highly relevant again, and the NBA will be better for it, even if another great player will call the Western Conference home.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to MLS and the LA Galaxy with some fanfare this spring. He had a great moment in his debut for the team, and otherwise has pretty much delivered with nine goals in 12 games (nine starts) for the Galaxy so far this season. The Swedish striker definitely doesn’t lack for confidence, and he has little or no filter in letting the public know it when the opportunity arises

James will of course bring his exalted nickname, “King James,” with him from the Cavaliers to the Lakers. But among the massive and rapid Twitter reaction to the news of the signing Sunday night, positive and negative, Ibrahimovic stood out by welcoming James to LA in a fashion unique to his “Zlatan” persona.

Ibrahimovic is of course the self-proclaimed “god” he’s referring to in the tweet, alongside LeBron’s “king,” and they’ll now come together in Los Angeles. It comes off as highly tongue-in-cheek, and it surely is, but Zlatan’s view of himself invites just a hint of skepticism about humorous intent.

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As Kanye West said in the opening verse of “No Church In The Wild,” what’s a king to a god? For Ibrahimovic, perhaps the two are equal in terms of star power.