Before playing any minutes in the NBA, LeBron James was already called ‘The Chosen One.’ He responded to the pressure in some style by winning the ROTY in a hotly contested race against Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and others. Not everybody sustains under pressure, so what if one is playing alongside Michael Jordan? Does it mean there is less pressure? As per the former Wizards star, it doesn’t.

“When you’re talking about a Michael Jordan, you’re talking about even the Tom Brady, you’re talking about these elite minds, they think different.” Gilbert Arenas spoke to celebrity Jon Bernthal on his podcast about what separates great athletes from legendary ones. “If you’re 18-19-year-old kid coming in and you get put on one of them teams with one of those guys and you’re coming in as a fan and they’re like ‘Bro we’re trying to win.’”

Agent Zero dealt with pressure in his rookie year as he started in only 30 games. But the next season, he not only started in all games but also earned the Most Improved Player Award. “You’re a young kid and you know, they don’t… it’s just one way. It’s just this is how we win. So what ends up happening is your confidence gets destroyed and there’s no system to build it right.”

During the podcast, he also explained why mental toughness matters more than raw talent. So, if you’re not mentally strong when you get to the NBA, no matter how talented you are, you can be wiped out. While the majority of the players, including Gilbert Arenas, took time to settle in the league. Michael Jordan left his mark from the get-go. He played in 82 games and averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists.

His Airness even ended up scoring 30 points or more in 33 games during that season. As per Steve Aschburner, only Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson produced a stat line of 25/5/5 as rookies. Since MJ was great from day 1, did he expect the same from everyone else as Arenas claims?

A Rookie once shared how Michael Jordan used to punish him

Not every player reaches the potential expected of them. But the scrutiny of the number 1 draft in the league, is usually the highest. One such rookie who failed to meet that expectation was Kwame Brown. In fact, during the draft day, he said, “If you draft me, you’ll never regret it.” But his 12-year career has very few moments to marvel at.

“They used to force me to work out for two and a half hours before games. Then they sat me on the bench until we were down by 30 with a couple minutes left in the game,” the 2001 No. 1 draft pick once spoke to SI. In another interview, he admitted that he “got no reason to be a MJ fan. That motherfu–er slapped me in the back of my head one day.”

Brown was part of the team when Michael Jordan came back from his retirement for the second time. Apart from being the superstar player, he was not only a minority owner of the franchise but also part of the front office with the Wizards. Since Arenas came to the Wizards after some years, he really could see the pressure on Brown to deliver. That’s why Agent Zero claims players like Michael Jordan operate on a different level, where others take time to reach.