Michael Jordan only had a few flaws in his game. Passing was first. The least arguable greatest basketball player of all time was not a willing passer.
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So, that was more a choice than a flaw because MJ would generally not pass the ball willingly. Nobody cared about it too much because the result was pretty mesmerizing almost all the time.
But that is for viewers. Imagine being his teammate, running back and forth full court, playing defense, and not being able to touch the ball in almost any possession when the game was close. It must be infuriating.
Well, that might be the reason why Charles Oakley would choose to play with LeBron James over His Fairness.
Charles Oakley admits he’d rather play with LeBron James than Michael Jordan
In a recent appearance on Kevin Garnett’s KG Certified, the former Bulls forward shared his opinion on whom he would like to play with among LeBron and MJ. For the Knicks legend, the choice was simple— the one who passes the ball more.
“Who you like playing with, Mike or LeBron?” KG asked. “LeBron,” said Oakley. “LeBron would pass me the ball.”
As most of us know, James isn’t just the NBA’s top-scorer of all time but also the 4th best assists-maker in the game of basketball.
The 38-year-old has always made the right play and played and made the game much more fun (not in terms of viewership). He never forced a shot if it wasn’t there and made a pass to an open guy instead.
The 19x All-Star has taught superstars of the current generation to pass and create more movement. MJ only knew one movement when the ball was with him. It was to score.
Oakley could have had championships if the Bulls didn’t get Horace Grant
The All-Star power forward was one of the toughest players in the game and was a defensive specialist who had more impact in the games than stat sheets showed.
The Bulls had their own Dennis Rodman much earlier when they drafted Oakley in 1985. But he stayed just for three years and left after the rookie season of Horace Grant.
He then joined the Knicks to play alongside Patrick Ewing and became an icon of the franchise, playing there for 10 years. Those are still the best days Knicks fans have had in 50 years.
Maybe if Oakley won a championship, this story would be entirely different.
