Mike Tyson offered a blunt response when asked if NBA legend Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.

Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls between 1991 and 1998, in two separate stints. He retired in 1993 to pursue a career in Major League Baseball but returned to the NBA to further enhance his legendary status.

With 14 NBA All-Star selections and five MVP awards, many consider Jordan the greatest basketball player ever. However, competition for the title of the greatest athlete spans other sports, with figures like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer all in the mix.

Mike Tyson, who could also be considered among the greatest in his sport, had a strong view on Jordan’s place in basketball history. He praised Jordan’s “wholeness and determination,” emphasizing that greatness comes from sacrifice.

“You only achieve that [being the greatest] through sacrifice,” Tyson told Club Random with Bill Maher. “Only sacrificing can make you the best in the world. Nothing else. You have to sacrifice.”

Jordan himself has discussed the challenges he faced on his journey to becoming the greatest NBA player. He has advised young players to overcome obstacles, stating, “If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them, everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, work around it.”