In this painting, we see Michael Jordan depicted in a hooded robe. The image is based on the photograph of legendary singer Isaac Hayes on the cover of his album Black Moses. Michael Jordan is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. After a playoff game in 1986, during which Jordan scored an incredible 63 points, opposing player Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics told reporters, “That was God disguised as Michael Jordan.” Jordan was subsequently dubbed Black Jesus by fans. The myth that has since arisen around Jordan is one of the driving factors that led Nikko Washington to pursue making paintings about the intersection of sports stars and mythology. “If you critique Jordan’s technique, it’s sort of blasphemous,” Washington says. “It’s sacrilegious to speak negatively about him.”