Seven years ago, on episode #1045 of The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), the popular podcaster welcomed longtime friend Bryan Callen. One of the pair's conversations led to them marveling over the athleticism shown by NBA legend LeBron James, which led to them wondering how well he'd have done had he pursued MMA.
It isn't the first time Rogan dealt in hypotheticals about another athlete's potential in MMA. Callen even touched on a past conversation he had had with a friend about how athletic James was even as a teenager. So, when the two were looking over pictures of James training in the gym, Callen was astonished.
"Look at him. He's a freak. He's 6'9", 265 [pounds]. I sat next to him and Carlos Boozer, who played with him and they're the same size, and he goes, 'He's just a step faster than everybody as well, and just ridiculously strong.'"
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This caused Rogan, a longtime UFC commentator, to speculate on how well James would have done as a mixed martial artist.
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"If he was fighting, everybody would be f*cked. They're lucky. They are goddamn lucky there's that much money in basketball."
Check out Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen discussing LeBron James' MMA potential (8:10):
Curiously, James is no stranger to MMA. He was previously in something of a one-sided feud with three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen, who accused the basketball great of speaking inappropriately to his wife, among other allegations of poor behavior.
More recently, he has been the repeated target of Colby Covington's trash talk. However, James has hardly paid either man any mind.
Joe Rogan also wondered about another basketball player competing in MMA
On episode #1148 of JRE, which is no longer available on YouTube due to a copyright strike from Paramount Global, Rogan hosted fellow stand-up comedian Andrew Santino. The pair discussed legendary basketball player, Shaquille O'Neal, and how well he'd have done in MMA.
"A guy like that could never fight in the UFC, cause he probably can't make 265 [pounds]. If he did, he'd be shredded."
Check out Joe Rogan's thoughts on Shaquille O'Neal hypothetically fighting in the UFC (2:59):
