When Joe Rogan and Tom Segura broke down what truly separates Michael Jordan from Kobe Bryant

Last year, Joe Rogan and fellow comedy icon Tom Segura talked about what separates basketball legend Michael Jordan from fellow legend Kobe Bryant. Jordan, largely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, has been frequently compared to Bryant, who was said to have succeeded him as the best in the league.

This age-old debate was brought to the conversation when the topic of "greatness" was introduced. Rogan cited Michael Jordan's example of what happens when an athlete refuses to be mediocre.

During an episode #1632 of the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), the 57-year-old said:

"That's how you get to be a Michael Jordan. You don't get to be a Michael Jordan by being like a so so competitor - just a really good athlete."

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Tom Segura replied by recalling a famous quote by legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson, who coached both Jordan and Bryant:

"There was that Phil Jackson quote where the people always asked him about Jordan-Kobe, you know, coz he coached both. And what was the difference. And he goes, 'Kobe had to beat you at basketball and Jordan had to beat you at everything.'"

Listen to the conversation here:

Joe Rogan on Michael Jordan's ego: "You almost have to have it"

Michael Jordan's "ego" has been known to be legendary, both in and out of the basketball court.

Back in 2020, Joe Rogan spoke on this ego that only once-in-a-lifetime individuals like Jordan have. In a JRE episode featuring renowned social psychologist Keith Campbell, the podcasting pioneer said:

"There's pros and cons there but my point was, that there is something to the ego in that regard where, [I] think you almost have to have it, to be Michael Jordan, for instance, who had a tremendous ego. Huge, yeah but also one of the greatest, if not the greatest basketball players of all time."

Rogan then recalled a time when Michael Jordan was already retired and was called out by a current player. He recalled how Jordan answered in the most Jordan way possible:

"So Michael Jordan came back and played him one-on-one and [I] just watched him scorched him while he's talking sh*t the whole time."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below:

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi