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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….LeBron James would wield a purple lightsaber
- Updated: December 27, 2017
Christmas Day serves as a benchmark each year for when the NBA starts to matter to the casual sports fan.
Bowl mania is in full swing, the NFL regular season is winding down and a parody of “The Room” new “Star Wars” film was released.
Worlds collided and the following question crossed my mind while watching Cavs-Warriors on Christmas Day: What color lightsaber would LeBron James have?
What color lightsaber would @KingJames have?
— Mark Bergin (@mdbergin) December 25, 2017
Some 17 Twitter users (you can’t be certain each user is actually a person) voted in my super official, scientific poll.
In the past, perhaps the self-proclaimed “king” would have had a red lightsaber like several other alpha Star Wars villains, including Darth Maul, Darth Vader and Kylo Ren.
LeBron is definitely the Mace Windu of the NBA.
However, even before posting the question, my gut told me James would wield the purple saber.
James has some parallels with actor Samuel L. Jackson, who starred as Mace Windu in the “Star Wars” trilogy of prequels.
Here are the reasons James would have a purple lightsaber:
“I want a purple one. I’m like the second baddest Jedi in the universe next to Yoda.”
Jackson told this to “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, according to an interview Jackson had on the Graham Norton Show.
Everyone other than Skip Bayless knows James is the baldest baddest force the NBA has seen in the post-Jordan era.
Just like James concedes to Michael Jordan, Mace Windu concedes to Yoda.
The three Star Wars prequels came out in 1999, 2002 and 2005
Jordan officially retired from the Chicago Bulls for the second time on Jan. 13, 1999.
Someone had to fill the void Jordan left behind in the NBA, just like someone had to fill the void Yoda left behind for the Jedi way.
Even though both Jordan and Yoda reappear (Jordan as a member of the Wizards and Yoda as a Force ghost), they’re not quite as strong.
In a separate universe, Jackson played Mr. Glass in “Unbreakable”
This final point has nothing and everything to do with “Star Wars.”
Jackson’s character in “Unbreakable” believes that if he represents human fragility in its most extreme case, there must be someone “unbreakable” at the opposite end of the spectrum.
In the NBA, James is nearly unbreakable. He’s as close to bionic as you can get.
This example of extreme opposites provides concrete proof that James, like Jackson, would don a purple lightsaber.
Mark Bergin is a journalist in Tampa, Florida. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Related: However you feel about LeBron on the court, he’s become a hero off of it
