Fans are loving the blossoming bromance between Jalen Hurts and LeBron James
Did LeBron James and Jalen Hurts just become best friends?
Fresh off the the Eagles' 37-34 win over the Buffalo Bills, Hurts finally got to see his favourite athlete play for the first time as the Lakers visited Philadelphia to take on the 76ers.
Hurts and his dad, Averion, sat courtside for the game at Wells Fargo Center as the Sixers handed the Lakers a 138-94 loss.
The 44-point loss was the heaviest of LeBron's 21-year NBA career, but it didn't alter Hurts' opinion of the 'The King' after seeing him in the flesh.
Asked about meeting the four-time NBA champion, Hurts told reporters: "I've never seen LeBron James play, never met him.
"A great player... he's so transcendent in terms of the things he's been able to do on and off the court. He's changed the game in so many different ways, so just thought it would be cool to go see him.
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"Obviously, I had the opportunity to meet him, and I wanted him to shake my dad's hand too."
He later added: "Just thought it’d be cool to go see him, and obviously I had the opportunity to meet him.
“I wanted him to shake my dad’s hand, too. That’s a guy that my dad has watched, being an older guy, watched him grow into the monumental figure he is now. ... It’s just all love and respect for him.”
The respect appears to go both ways too. Hurts briefly popped up on the arena's jumbotron and James reportedly 'lit up' when he saw him.
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James later caught wind of Hurts' kind words and posted his own supportive message to the NFL MVP favourite.
“And it’s all love and respect right back to you Young [King]!!!” James responded on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Both NFL and NBA fans were loving the crossover and blossoming bromance between the two superstars.
"Real recognize Real...Both at the top of their sport right now," one fan commented.
"My two goats," another said.
"Greatness. Recognize. Greatness," a third wrote.
Hurts and James are having fairly different seasons in their respective sports right now. The Eagles have a league best 10-1 record and are bossing the NFC standings.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are having a mixed bag of it so far this season. They have an 11-8 record, which is only good for the No.7 seed in the Western Conference.
They are, however, in the knockout rounds of the In-Season Tournament after going 4-0 in group play. They face the Phoenix Suns in the next round who finished 3-1 in group stage play.