“I think I did rub off on Michael Jordan”: New York Knicks legend Charles Oakley believes the GOAT got his toughness from him

Michael Jordan is not only the best but he’s also some of the toughest basketball ever, and Charles Oakley believes he has something to do with it.

Charles Oakley was one of the toughest basketball players ever to play against in the 80s and 90s. The man was also famous by the name “Oak Tree” for his huge built and no-nonsense attitude, in his starting years in the NBA.

On or off the court, many basketball stars regretted whenever they picked up a fight with the 6’9, 250-pound forward. Since coming into the league as a 9th pick in the draft in 1985, just a season after Michael Jordan’s debut, Oakley used to play a protector role for the future 5x MVP, to save him from getting roughed up on the court.

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Although he was more than a decent scorer and a huge defensive presence himself, Charles just played an enforcer role for the Bulls and stood as the wall in front of Jordan. As it was the time around which the “Bad Boy” Pistons team used to bully and throw around the best players of every team they faced, even in the regular season.

They were not the only team who played rough at the time though. Most teams adapted to some of their tactics to protect themselves, but it became the part of how the game was played in the latter half of the 80s and early 90s. And Charles believes it’s him, from whom MJ learned how to toughen up and be that giant presence on the court and locker room.

“I think I did rub off on Michael Jordan”: Charles Oakley

Oakley’s stint with the Bulls was cut short in 1988 because the Bulls had Horace Grant, who they believed could do what Oakley was doing and more. He moved on to the New York Knicks to team up Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Mark Jackson, and Anthony Mason to form one of the best teams in New York for years to come.

But before leaving the Bulls, the writer of “The Last Enforcer” believes he taught MJ what it needed to be in the NBA in that time and had rubbed many of his skills onto the 6x Finals MVP. He talked about it when he joined the NFL legend, Shannon Sharpe, on his Fox Sports podcast Club Shay Shay. Give it a listen.

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