Chris Rock Compares Chris Farley to Michael Jordan in Preview for Late ‘SNL’ Star’s Tribute Special

Chris Rock recognizes the legacy that comedy icon Chris Farley left behind.

In an upcoming two-part tribute special on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s Fly on the Wall podcast, Rock recalls what a comedic genius Farley was during his days on Saturday Night Live.

“The thing about Farley was, I never felt that competition thing everybody talks about,” Rock, 57, says in the preview, first posted by Entertainment Weekly. “It was a very competitive environment but no one was competing with Farley.”

Rock even compares Farley to another trailblazer. “It was just like he’s Michael Jordan, and give him the ball,” he said of the late comedian, comparing him to the NBA icon.

“Literally, [I] never had one bit of like, ‘Hey, this guy doesn’t write sketches. Why is he in everything? Hey!’ None of that,” Rock adds. “None of, ‘Why is he in nine sketches and I’m in one?’ ‘Cause he’s better than you, that’s why.”

Continuing, Rock points out how Farley “had a way of stepping into funny, like it was just on his shoe” and “he didn’t know how he got there.” The Grown Ups actor also describes the “warmth” Farley had.

“He’s un-hateable and he’s this guy that he’s just always himself, in a good way,” he says. “He didn’t really have to get into character or anything. He was just f—— funny.”

Farley died in December 1997 from a drug overdose at age 33. Though the comedian appeared in high-profile films like Tommy Boy and Airheads, he was best known for being a cast member on five seasons of SNL from 1990 to 1995.

Spade, 58, and Carvey, 67, are set to honor their late colleague on Wednesday’s episode of their podcast. In addition to Rock, Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Bo Derek, Mike Myers, Jim Belushi and Jon Lovitz are among the other big names stopping by to pay tribute.

“It’s sad when our friend’s not here, but it is curious to [think] ‘Wow, what would that guy have done?’ When I see Sandler in something like Uncut Gems, it’s like, ‘Yeah, Farley could have done that,'” Rock says in the sneak peek. “He’s literally that level of actor, and that level of like, you just felt for that guy. Whatever ride Chris Farley was going to take me on, I was definitely ready to go on it.”

The Fly on the Wall podcast, presented by Cadence13, drops new episodes weekly across multiple podcast platforms.