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harles Oakley rarely takes a day off. Raised in Cleveland by a family that exemplified hard work, Oakley, overlooked by Division I schools, grinded his way to stardom at Virginia Union. A top 10 pick in 1985 (in a draft stocked with similar hard-nosed players, Xavier McDaniel, Joe Dumars and Karl Malone), Oakley’s pro career lasted 19 years, where he was loved by teammates including Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing,1 and hated by opponents, especially power forwards who had to jostle with Oakley all night for rebounds and those who dared to venture into the paint for points who, more often than not, were met with the bruising Oak. His post-playing career has been marred by back injuries—Oakley had to leave the Bobcats as an assistant coach in 2011—but he’s working hard to get back his mojo and return to the sidelines. Though he’s been away from the game on the court for a while, Oakley doesn’t bite his tongue when it comes to the League today.
By McG #93
The Oa Spe
HOOP: In today’s game you see a lot of people at your position, almost what you would call a stretch forward, as opposed to someone like you who made their living down on the block, grabbing rebounds, getting physical. Do you think power forwards these days, while more versatile, are as important to the team? : They changed the position. You’re almost throwing out the small forward and making the power forward just forwards. You see more Europeans in the game who are just shooters. They just run and shoot, not going to the basket. That’s why they say a lot of players aren’t tough because they don’t put the ball on the floor. And that’s one reason why the U.S. team beat Spain [in the 2012 Olympic Games], because Spain didn’t have anybody who can create—the U.S. had more playmakers, like some teams like Miami.
Oakley
HOOP: Did you think Team USA would do as well with only really having Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler as real big men? : I didn’t know how they were going to do. You play against these guys all year. You know their strengths and weaknesses. We just have better athletes. Europeans have shooters. We’re slashers and dashers and jumpers, so that’s why we won the game, the creation of the guys who knew their skills.
Oakley
HOOP: You made your mark in the NBA as a rebounder who also possessed a good midrange shot, and one of the best now is Kevin Love. You’ve come out and praised Love and said in comparison to Blake Griffin you like Love more.2 : I like Love because of what he can do; how he got himself and lost weight, his body’s fine-tuned. He can shoot it, he can put it on the floor. Not a great jumper, but once he lost weight he’s a better jumper now. He got his mind right, his body right, got his game right, and understands that for him to be a successful player in this league, he had to do things to change the way he was when he first got in the League. So I show him the utmost respect.
Oakley
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