“He Wasn’t Brought Up That Way”: Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman Once Gave His Take On LeBron James’ Case For Being The GOAT

Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan were quite the duo during the 90s. They shared a joint hunger for winning and competing. Rodman and Mike Tyson once discussed Michael Jordan’s toughness on Tyson’s podcast ‘Hotboxin with Mike Tyson’. Tyson spoke about how the young guys in the league have a beautiful shot and a knack for scoring. He even said that MJ would probably get outscored by some of the youngsters, but his toughness is something that would go unmatched.

Rodman and Tyson spoke about the LeBron James and Michael Jordan comparison. Rodman believes that the eras are incomparable. Jordan played against some of the tougher and more physical teams, like the ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ and the Showtime Lakers. According to Rodman, LeBron lacks MJ’s toughness because he simply was not brought up that way. MJ would play with his brothers as a youngster and would often be on the losing side. This created the mentality of being tough and competitive.

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LeBron grew up as a prodigy. He was a man amongst young boys in his high school class. It is reported that LeBron was already 6’8 at the age of 18. He simply did not go through the kind of adversities that MJ went through. Jordan’s mental toughness could be seen when he gained 15 pounds of muscle to beat Isiah Thomas’ Pistons after losing to them in successive years.

Dennis Rodman and Mike Tyson discuss LeBron and Michael Jordan

Tyson hosted the podcast episode with Dennis Rodman back in 2022, where they spoke about a plethora of topics. They talked about meeting each other in Vegas and partying during Rodman’s Chicago days. The duo also discussed what separated Michael Jordan from others like LeBron.

Rodman said, “He brought up that way. You know how it is, right, yeah. So it’s all good, you know. It’s amazing when you have that fire for any sport, yeah, any sport.”

Mike Tyson spoke about how Michael Jordan would give his opponents a ‘beating.’ Jordan was known to be ruthless. He added that LeBron was not similar to Jordan in the ways of his toughness.

Rodman once called MJ a ‘devil’

This is not the first time Michael Jordan has received compliments from his former teammate. Rodman has always rooted for MJ, spoken about his toughness and character.

Rodman once said, “You got the greatest basketball player on the planet, the second greatest in Scottie Pippen, and then you got the devil.”

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From the Rodman-Tyson chat on the podcast, it can be said that there is a lack of toughness across the league that existed in the 90s. This may be attributed to how the game has developed, the skill level is at an all-time high, and how the rules have changed. Regardless, it was interesting to hear the two legends in their field talk about the LeBron-MJ debate.