Charles Oakley has joined one of the biggest trends in the NBA in recent times, picking his favorite players of all time, dropping a couple of well-known names on his personal list. Joining The James Posey podcast, Oakley talked about his favorite players, just picking four instead of the five that most people do.
He played with Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls and of course, adding the widely considered GOAT was a must for him. He didn’t hesitate and drop MJ’s name there, adding three other all-time greats to round up an incredible group of legends (1:01:46).
“It’s MJ, Kareem, LeBron, and Wilt. You gotta have one of the centers in there,” Oakley said, via Basketball Network.
He also talked about comparisons between LeBron James and Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. These stars have very similar styles of play and fans often point out the similarities between Bron and Magic, the same with Bryant and his mentor, Michael Jordan.
“LeBron is better than Magic, and Mike was better than Kobe. And Kobe is better than Magic.”
Charles also talked about another player who some people consider the greatest of all time, Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, claiming that he’s not the GOAT just because he had 11 rings during his career.
“They say Bill Russell, but he averaged 18 points, and they say he is the GOAT because he has 11 rings. If LeBron never won a ring, he would still be in my top three. That is how much he meant to the players and the game. Every night, every year, every team he went to, he made them better. We need to stop with how many rings players got. Bill Russell got 11, and he is nowhere near the top 10 best players.”
Oakley has a very strong opinion about Russell and why he shouldn’t be considered the greatest to ever do it. These conversations are always controversial and this certainly wasn’t the exception. Charles made the case for his four favorite players while also dismissing Russell’s case for the GOAT title.
