Former NBA player Charles Oakley’s reputation in the NBA was legendary. Some of the thug-nificant off court alleged incidents are even crazier. Oakley has never been known to hold his tongue so you know his recent radio interview with Jim Rome is absolutely full of quotables.
Oakley shared his thoughts on Kevin Garnett (he’s not a tough guy), Charles Barkley (he’s a coward AND a fraud) and OKC Thunder forward Kendrick Perkins.
On Kevin Garnett:
“Garnett left Minnesota and hollered and screamed and all that but hes not a tough guy,” Oakley said “He’s one of the weakest guys to ever play the game. He’s a complimentary player and went to Paul Pierce’s team and won a championship. I wouldn’t consider him a top 10 tough guy.”
On Charles Barkley:
“Barkley, for his size, was a good player but he’s a coward,” Oakley continued. “He was a good player for his size, but he wasn’t a leader and wasn’t a role model. Now he talks so bad about younger guys. I don’t respect that from him. He’s a fraud. He can criticize all the younger kids and if he got something to say, call them and talk to them before you just blast them. He’s wants to be funny, that whole TNT thing and all that, they’re like some clowns on that show.”
On Kendrick Perkins:
Kendrick Perkins is similar to K.G. in that all he does is holler and complain, and that the Thunder would win championships if he would just play basketball. Oakley added that Perk’s attitude is the reason he got dunked on by Blake Griffin.
Well, this is the second time in the last week that someone has referred to Inside the NBA as a source of comedic value. That’s interesting to me as I believe it’s the best basketball show around. There are occasionally a few sophomoric gags- more sense Shaq’s arrival- but I wonder if Oak ever considered being an analyst? That would probably be a whole other type of show.
I wonder what Chuck’s response will be.
Curtsy to Larry Brown Sports
