Allen Iverson affectionately calls Michael Jordan ‘Black Jesus’

Allen Iverson reflects on Michael Jordan’s mentorship, calling him “Black Jesus.”

In a new video from The Players’ Tribune entitled, “So … You Want the Real Story?,” Allen Iverson opens up on Michael Jordan‘s mentorship early in his career and just how much the star rookie out of Georgetown revered the greatest NBA player of all time.

While the clips are repurposed interviews from a 2014 documentary called Iverson, hearing AI speak on his basketball hero is timeless and particularly more relevant after MJ vs. LeBron James debates cropped up again this summer following The Last Dance.

Iverson directly attributes his motivation to Jordan:

“Anybody that know Allen Iverson know Black Jesus was it for me,” he said.

"“I wanted to be like Mike. I remember the first time seeing him, I couldn’t believe it, man. I ain’t never looked at a person in my life — and I’ve seen millions of celebrities — I never looked at somebody that didn’t look real. Never. Like, the got damn guy was glowing or something, man.”"

The No. 1 overall pick from the 1996 NBA Draft unleashed a legendary crossover on Jordan in their third meeting, but even in 2003, when MJ was playing in his last All-Star Game, Iverson was still awestruck by him.

Iverson wanted to pay tribute to his idol, but had to get creative to avoid upsetting his sponsor, Reebok, which didn’t make Jordan jerseys. As The Answer explains, “I wanted to pay tribute and homage to him. So I cut the tag off, cut the Nike sign off from the back, put on my Bulls hat, and came in.”

When Iverson came in, Jordan’s larger than life persona was on full display.

"“He was sitting in the coaches’ office, with his feet kicked up, smoking a cigar with the uniform on. I was like, ‘Man, that is so cool.’ Like, smoking a cigar before the game, man! Because you’re in the coach’s office, man. You run everything. I’ll never forget it, that was my guy.”"

It probably wouldn’t take more than one guess to figure out who Iverson is taking in the MJ vs. LBJ debate.