Charles Oakley

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For the American football player, see Charles Oakley (American football).

Charles Oakley
Charlotte Bobcats
(assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points
12,417 (9.7 ppg)
Rebounds12,205 (9.5 rpg)
Assists3,217 (2.5 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963) is an American former professional

BIG3.[1]

Early life

Charles Oakley was born December 18, 1963, in

Cleveland, Ohio, where he was raised. Oakley attended John Hay High School
, where he excelled in basketball.

College career

Oakley attended Virginia Union University, a Division II historically black university in Richmond, Virginia.[2][3] As a senior in 1984–85, Oakley led Virginia Union to the 1985 NCAA championship. The Panthers had a 31–1 overall record that year, with Oakley averaging 24 points and 17.3 rebounds a game. Oakley was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year. He scored 2,379 points and grabbed 1,642 rebounds in his college career.[2]

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (1985–1988)

Oakley was drafted with the 9th overall pick in the

NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1986.[5]

Charles Oakley during the 1986–87 season with the Chicago Bulls

Oakley also assumed the role of the team "enforcer", whose duty primarily was to protect young Jordan against cheap shots and roughhousing tactics of opposing players. He was given the nickname, "Oak Tree", for his rugged demeanor and no-nonsense attitude.[6][7] On April 26, 1987, Oakley set a postseason career high with 25 points scored, alongside grabbing 15 rebounds, in a loss to the Boston Celtics.[8]

New York Knicks (1988–1998)

With the drafting and development of

Mark Jackson
.

During the Knicks' 1994 season, which included a record 25 playoff games, Oakley started every regular season and playoff game for a record 107 starts in a single season. On June 1, 1994, Oakley scored 12 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and recorded 7 assists in a Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.[10] The Knicks eventually won that series. The following round, during that year's NBA Finals, Oakley averaged 11 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in a tightly contested seven-game series loss to the Houston Rockets.[11]

On March 11, 1998, Oakley grabbed a season high 22 rebounds in a loss against former teammate Anthony Mason and the Charlotte Hornets.[12] Despite regular season success and consistent playoffs appearances, the Knicks did not return to the Finals again during Oakley's tenure. During his time with the Knicks, Oakley was known across the league for being a defensive specialist and outstanding rebounder.[13]

Toronto Raptors (1998–2001)

In 1998, Oakley was traded by New York to the

triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.[15]

Return to Chicago (2001–2002)

In 2001, Oakley was traded by the Toronto Raptors with a 2002 2nd-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for Brian Skinner. This was his second tenure with the Bulls. Starting 36 of his 57 played games, he averaged 3.8 points per game, 6 rebounds per game, and 2 assists per game.[3]

Washington Wizards (2002–2003)

In 2002, Oakley signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards, where he was reunited with former teammate Michael Jordan. Oakley played 42 games during the 2002–03 season, averaging 1.8 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game.[3]

Houston Rockets (2004)

The 2003–04 season was Oakley's last season. On March 18, 2004, Oakley signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Houston Rockets. Oakley played only 7 games, in which he averaged 1.3 points per game, 0.7 rebounds per game, and 0.3 assists per game.[3] At the end of the season, Oakley retired from the NBA.

In 2007 Oakley was reported to be attempting an NBA comeback, at age 44. He claimed Dallas, Miami, Cleveland and New York were interested, but said he would "not [come] back cheap".[16]

Coaching and businesses

On December 26, 2010, Oakley was hired as an assistant coach for the

Charlotte Bobcats under then-head coach Paul Silas.[17]

He left that position on December 1, 2011, after experiencing health issues with back pain, during the 2010–11 season.[18]

Oakley owns several commercial enterprises, including:

Legacy

Oakley was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in honor of his 19-year professional basketball career. The induction ceremony was held on April 30, 2016.[24]

In September 2016, a portion of Deering Street in Oakley's hometown of Cleveland (near his alma mater of John Hay High School) was renamed Charles Oakley Way in his honor.[25]

He was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2005 after his career at Virginia Union University.

Career highlights

  • He placed in the top ten in
    rebounds per game
    five times between 1987 and 1994 (second in 1987 and 1988).
  • Due to his durability he actually placed in the top ten in total rebounds 6 times and led the league in total rebounds twice (1987 and 1988).
  • In 1994, he became an NBA
    All-Star
    and was chosen to the league's All-Defense 1st team.
  • Oakley currently ranks 25th all-time in NBA games played with 1,282 games,[26] and 22nd all-time in career rebounds with 12,205 rebounds.[27]

Personal life

Back in 2011, Oakley filed a lawsuit against the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, alleging a group assault by five security guards employed by the casino on May 28, 2010.[28]

On July 30, 2016, Oakley married his wife Angela Reed.[29]

Madison Square Garden arrest

On February 8, 2017, Oakley was involved in an altercation at Madison Square Garden as the Knicks faced the visiting

MSG Networks, and refused to stop, an allegation he denies.[30] There were also accounts of him hitting a security guard in his face and shoving another guard before being dragged away from the game and handcuffed. He was charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and criminal trespassing. In a statement, the Knicks stated that Oakley "came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner. He was ejected and was then arrested by the New York City Police Department."[31]

In response, Oakley claimed that he sat down in his seat and he saw the Knicks owner James Dolan look at him and within four minutes he was being asked to leave the arena. He says that he didn't become combative until he was asked to leave for no apparent reason.[32] While admitting "I shouldn't have put my hands on anyone," Oakley disputed the Knicks' rendition of events in an interview with ESPN's The Undefeated, which reported that Oakley says he "never said a word to Dolan" and "was minding his own business when he was confronted by Madison Square Garden Security, who asked why he was sitting so close to Dolan before demanding that he leave the building."[33]

On February 13, 2017, NBA legend Michael Jordan and NBA commissioner Adam Silver met with both Dolan and Oakley at NBA headquarters. Oakley and Dolan both apologized for the fallout and both were currently negotiating a truce. "Both Mr. Oakley and Mr. Dolan were apologetic about the incident and subsequent comments, and their negative impact on the Knicks organization and the NBA," Silver said. The statement says Dolan hopes Oakley can return to MSG as his guest in the near future. On February 14, 2017, the ban from Madison Square Garden was lifted.[34] On September 12, 2017, it was reported that Oakley was filing a civil lawsuit over the incident.[35] As of February 2022, the suit was still in litigation, according to Oakley.[36]

Oakley later retorted on March 11, 2019, that Dolan is someone who tries to bully everyone because he has money and power as an owner of the Knicks, quoting that "it doesn't make sense."[37] He also admits he has very little reason to hold any reconciliation with Dolan, noting his relationship with the Knicks was frayed before the incident occurred (though he still bought himself tickets for Knicks games a few times each season before the incident), while also saying nothing was really resolved from his meeting with Adam Silver. Oakley further notes the incident caused a damaged relationship with the team, to the point where the possibility of his jersey being retired was in jeopardy. This all came out after Dolan threatened to ban a fan from the arena for yelling at him to "sell the team" a few days prior.[38]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1985–86
Chicago
 77 30 23.0 .519 .000 .662 8.6 1.7 .9 .4 9.6
1986–87
Chicago
 82 81 36.3 .445 .367 .686 13.1 3.6 1.0 .4 14.5
1987–88
Chicago
 82 82 34.3 .483 .250 .727 13.0 3.0 .8 .3 12.4
1988–89
New York
 82 82 31.8 .510 .250 .773 10.5 2.3 1.3 .2 12.9
1989–90
New York
 61 61 36.0 .524 .000 .761 11.9 2.4 1.0 .3 14.6
1990–91
New York
 76 74 36.0 .516 .000 .784 12.1 2.7 .8 .2 11.2
1991–92
New York
 82 82 28.2 .522 .000 .735 8.5 1.6 .8 .2 6.2
1992–93
New York
 82 82 27.2 .508 .000 .722 8.6 1.5 1.0 .2 6.9
1993–94
New York
 82 82 35.8 .478 .000 .776 11.8 2.7 1.3 .2 11.8
1994–95
New York
 50 49 31.3 .489 .250 .793 8.9 2.5 1.2 .1 10.1
1995–96
New York
 53 51 33.5 .471 .269 .833 8.7 2.6 1.1 .3 11.4
1996–97
New York
 80 80 35.9 .488 .263 .808 9.8 2.8 1.4 .3 10.8
1997–98
New York
 79 79 34.6 .440 .000 .851 9.2 2.5 1.6 .3 9.0
1998–99
Toronto
 50* 50* 32.9 .428 .200 .807 7.5 3.4 .9 .4 7.0
1999–00
Toronto
 80 80 30.4 .418 .341 .776 6.8 3.2 1.3 .6 6.9
2000–01
Toronto
 78 77 35.5 .388 .224 .836 9.5 3.4 1.0 .6 9.6
2001–02
Chicago
 57 26 24.3 .369 .167 .750 6.0 2.0 .9 .2 3.8
2002–03
Washington
 42 1 12.2 .418 – .824 2.5 1.0 .3 .1 1.8
2003–04
Houston
 7 0 3.6 .333 – .833 .7 .3 .0 .0 1.3
Career 1,282 1,159 31.4 .471 .253 .761 9.5 2.5 1.1 .3 9.7
All-Star 1 0 11.0 .333 – – 3.0 3.0 .0 .0 2.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1986
Chicago
 3 – 29.3 .524 – .615 10.0 1.0 2.0 .7 10.0
1987
Chicago
 3 – 43.0 .380 .500 .833 15.3 2.0 1.3 .3 20.0
1988
Chicago
 10 – 37.3 .440 .000 .875 12.8 3.2 .6 .4 10.1
1989
New York
 9 – 33.2 .479 .500 .667 11.2 1.2 1.3 .1 9.7
1990
New York
 10 – 33.6 .512 1.000 .654 11.0 2.7 1.1 .2 12.1
1991
New York
 3 3 33.3 .476 – .500 10.3 1.0 .7 .3 7.7
1992
New York
 12 12 29.5 .379 – .741 9.0 .7 .7 .4 5.3
1993
New York
 15 15 33.8 .481 – .727 11.0 1.1 1.1 .1 11.1
1994
New York
 25 25 39.7 .477 – .775 11.7 2.4 1.4 .2 13.2
1995
New York
 11 11 38.3 .450 .400 .824 8.5 3.7 1.7 .5 13.1
1996
New York
 8 8 38.5 .500 .333 .694 8.6 1.8 1.0 .0 13.1
1997
New York
 10 10 35.8 .442 .000 .759 8.8 1.6 2.2 .3 9.8
1998
New York
 10 10 34.2 .408 – .920 8.5 1.4 1.1 .2 8.1
2000
Toronto
 3 3 36.7 .483 .286 .000 7.7 3.7 2.0 .3 10.0
2001
Toronto
 12 12 32.6 .435 .375 .824 6.3 1.8 1.0 .6 9.3
Career 144 – 35.5 .459 .366 .755 10.0 2.0 1.2 .3 10.8

See also

References

  1. BIG3
    . Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Charles Oakley Bio". NBA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Charles Oakley Stats - Basketball-Reference.com". Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls Box Score, March 15, 1986". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  5. ^ "Year by Year All Rookie Teams". NBA. December 19, 2013. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  6. ^ Enoch Davy (February 9, 2017). "Analyzing the Charles Oakley Altercation". Lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Bob Sakamoto (February 9, 1986). "Jordan and His Bodyguard". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 26, 1987". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "Bill Cartwright traded to Bulls for Oakley". The New York Times. December 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks Box Score, June 1, 1994". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "1994 NBA Finals - Knicks vs. Rockets". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  12. ^ "New York Knicks at Charlotte Hornets Box Score, March 11, 1998". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  13. ^ "Every NBA team's greatest enforcer of all time". Msn.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  14. ^ "Knicks Part With Oakley to Get Toronto's Camby". The New York Times. December 19, 2013.
  15. ^ "Seattle SuperSonics at Toronto Raptors Box Score, January 7, 2001". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  16. ^ "Stein: Is coming out of retirement the new fad?". August 25, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "Bobcats Announce New Assistant Coaches". NBA. December 26, 2010. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012.
  18. ^ "Bobcats want Maggette to take up scoring slack". The Charlotte Observer. December 11, 2011. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
  19. ^ a b Taylor, Phil (January 24, 2000). "Vault: Tower of Power Ground-bound Raptors forward Charles Oakley made his name under the boards with his elbows and his heart. What goes on in his head is a mystery". Sports Illustrated.
  20. ^ Bragg, Chris (May 26, 2014). "Car-wash owners hit bumpy 'Road'". Crain's New York Business.
  21. ^ "After Years of Clearing Boards, Charles Oakley Takes to Buffing Cars". The New York Times. November 1, 2011.
  22. ^ Walters, John Walters (February 10, 2017). "Knick Owner James Dolan Fires His Security Chief in Wake of Charles Oakley Ejection". Newsweek.
  23. ^ Sarmento, Mario. "Red, The Steakhouse, attracts LeBron, D-Wade". ESPN. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  24. ^ "Charles Oakley Inducted into Virginia Sports Hall of Fame". vuusports.com. May 1, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  25. ^ "NBA All-Star Charles Oakley says 'it's a special honor' on street dedication". September 30, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  26. ^ "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Games | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  27. ^ "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Total Rebounds | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  28. ^ Green, Steve (May 13, 2011). "NBA's Charles Oakley sues Aria, security officers over alleged 'beatdown'". VegasInc. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  29. ^ IMDB. "Angela Reed IMDB". IMDB. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  30. ^ "Charles Oakley denies wrongdoing following ejection, arrest at Knicks game". CBSSports.com. February 9, 2017.
  31. ^ "Charles Oakley arrested at Madison Square Garden for altercation with security guard". Sports Illustrated. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  32. ^ Terranova, Justin (February 9, 2017). "Charles Oakley tells his side: 'More security kept coming at me'".
  33. ^ Wise, Mike (February 9, 2017). "Former New York Knick Charles Oakley recounts his side of the arrest at Madison Square Garden". Andscape.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  34. ^ "Oakley, Dolan discuss truce in meeting with Silver". ESPN.com. February 13, 2017.
  35. ^ "Oakley files suit against Dolan, MSG over tiff". ESPN.com. September 12, 2017.
  36. ^ Jones, Emmett (February 2, 2022). "Charles Oakley talks new book, case against Knicks and potentially fighting NBA legend". Fox News. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  37. ^ "Oakley calls Knicks owner a 'bully' for fan altercation". NBA.com.
  38. ^ "Knicks Owner James Dolan Bans Fan for Telling Him to Sell the Team". TMZ.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Oakley&oldid=1215883778"