Kevin Hart Tried to Explain Michael Jordan’s Greatness to Joe Rogan
It should come as no surprise that Michael Jordan’s impact stretches well beyond the basketball court. Athletes, entertainers, and ordinary people around the world look at Jordan for inspiration across all walks. One of these fans is Kevin Hart.
Hart, who prides himself on his hard work drive to always get better, recently sat down with Joe Rogan on his podcast to discuss the impact that Jordan had on his life.
Kevin Hart’s hard work
Hart might be known to the casual audience as the loud, funny leading man of several comedies and television shows. While this is true, he did not get to where he is by chance. Comedy, like sports, is a competitive field in its own right, and reaching Hart’s status requires an equal amount of talent and savvy in getting his name out there.
Hart isn’t just a comedian; after all, he.is a media mogul, an entrepreneur, and an innovator in many ways. Seeing somebody like Michael Jordan, who showed that athletes could become a brand unto themselves, likely played dividends in getting Hart to where he is today, and it shows.
Hart is always thinking ahead about what he can do on camera, on the stage, and wherever else he’s needed.
He spoke on this to Rogan.
Kevin Hart on Michael Jordan
Speaking about The Last Dance documentary with Rogan, Hart, who once famously made Jordan angry with his jabs at a charity event (per NESN), was taken aback by how otherworldly Jordan seems on and off the court. Amazed, he beamed about what it was like to see a man reach Jordan’s heights the way he did.
“He’s an alien,” Hart told the podcast host. “He’s one of us. He’s one of those aliens [that] other aliens identify with.”
To outsiders and people who never had to reach a Jordan or hart level, Jordan’s career seems as unlikely as getting superpowers or winning the lottery. However, for Hart, it gives him a benchmark for what he can aspire to be, even as his name grows bigger across the globe.
“What this shows you is how different MJ was. That man was a f**ing winner. He was a winner. And that’s it. That’s it. MJ won. There is no other conversation. When you watch this doc, and you watched how he approached his days, and why he approached it, and the things that he did, and his reason for doing them, and ultimately what he did, and what his priority and what his goals were, you go, “F***.”
This is nothing new to those who paid attention. Kobe Bryant was notorious for looking up at Jordan not just as the greatest basketball player ever, but one of the greatest workers.
Just because the diminutive Hart can’t go out there and win NBA championships, however, it doesn’t mean that he can’t use Jordan as inspiration in his field.
Jordan’s dynamic impact
Jordan goes beyond sports. While other athletes like Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tom Brady have become international games, none have done so at the level Jordan did. No one ever calls somebody the Tiger Woods of baseball, football, or basketball. They almost always call somebody at the peak of a sport the Michael Jordan of whatever it is.
Hart might be a multi-millionaire celebrity now, but in the 1990s, he was another young man who watched Jordan ascend from NBA All-Star to a worldwide juggernaut. It makes sense, looking back, that Hart could see a man like that and grow inspired to use his methods in another world. Hart’s story is the story of a lot of people around the world.
This is what separates Jordan from every other athlete in history, and he will likely do so for many years to come, as well.
