The ‘GOAT debate’ is the epitome of barbershop talk and at times, this casual conversation has the tendency to turn violent. That’s what happened to John Salley when he was once asked to pick between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, leading to immediately being assaulted for his answer. The now 60-year-old Salley retold this epic story during a recent edition of the Crain & Company podcast.
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Salley was at the 2004 Kentucky Derby alongside some major celebrity names, including Dave Chapelle, Chris Tucker, Charles Oakley, and his old teammate, MJ. The four-time NBA champ said that Chapelle got in between him and Michael and asked him a very serious question. “Right here in front of your man, Kobe at 27 or Michael at 27?” Salley recalled Chapelle asking. After considering for a moment, Salley gave his answer.
“I put my hand on Michael’s shoulder and I said, ‘Money, at 27, young boy would give you the business,” stated Salley, who got a big laugh from the show hosts. However, he didn’t get to relish in the moment for long due to what happened next.
“Out of nowhere Oakley comes and punches me in my stomach and knocks all the air out of me,” he revealed. Salley had mentioned prior that he was purposefully avoiding Oakley at the Derby event out of fear that he would try and fight him.
Fortunately for Salley, Jordan was able to calm Oakley down. “You know Salley is just trying to be funny,” Jordan joked according to Salley. “MJ saved me. He saved me from getting a beatdown from Oakley.” He added that Chapelle claimed that he wished his famed Chapelle’s Show was still running to recreate the moment.
As much fun as Salley had revisiting this now iconic story, it did confirm Oakley’s reputation as someone who really enjoyed hitting people.
Oakley admitted to striking Charles Barkley at a player’s association meeting in the 90s
Charles Oakley cemented his name in basketball as an enforcer, on and off the court. The one-time All-Star wasn’t afraid to get into a scuffle, and would occasionally back it up with a vicious haymaker. This included the time he struck fellow legend Charles Barkley at a player’s association meeting in the 1990s.
The story was that Oakley punched Chuck square in the face, but that was determined to be a lie by Oakley himself. “I did, however, slap the s— out of him,” he confirmed in his 2022 biography, The Last Enforcer:
While Chuck may have dodged a real bullet, Salley was not so lucky. It’s probably important to be cautious of who you are around when choosing between The Black Mamba or MJ because you never know if Oakley will come from the shadows and put you in the ground.
