Charles Oakley Quotes

I always try to treat people with respect and I just don’t know. I got three assault cases for no reason.

I’m in New York every two weeks. I don’t have to ring a bell when I come to the city. I just do what I’m supposed to do when I’m in the city. I don’t shy away.

You can’t play Around the World in the NBA, you’ve gotta go to the basket.

Don’t say, ‘I don’t want to do this, because, whatever.’ Don’t give up on something. You got to work hard.

Every headline in the paper, I don’t write them. My story’s inside the paper, not the headline.

I don’t play mind games.

I’m a veteran. I understand the game. I can control a game. I understand systems. I can play several positions.

My thing was I had attitude every night. No matter who I played, who I went against, what team, you’ve got to have an attitude.

I’m all about having a good time and respecting my teammates.

I’m like a toll booth. Sooner or later, you have to come to me.

Every superstar in this league, if you don’t go through adversity, if you try to duck and dodge it, it’s gonna damper your team.

Chicago was a good place for me. Maybe New York will be better.

Back in our day and era, you had to have your potential and be ready to play right away. Everybody was talented.

When you walk out here with the Bobcats logo, stand for something. Not wearing your hat to the back, sagging jeans. Be a professional, that’s how I present myself to them.

The guys who beat me didn’t get 1,000 rebounds. I did. It’s not my fault the other guys didn’t play as many games.

I’m a trendsetter. I’m a leader, not a follower.

Do me a favor and don’t make me out to be no hero.

Coming from the inner city of Cleveland and growing up you never expected a street to be named after you or anything. It’s a special honor.

I still can’t believe I’m even in the NBA. Me? Hah.

I like Chicago. I’ve visited Chicago before and have family here.

We had guys come out of high school, Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, but all these guys could play.

One guy can’t make a team better.

My thing is, when Barkley played basketball, he didn’t practice, he wasn’t a leader, he wasn’t this or that, he just had natural talent so he got chosen to the Dream Team, All Star team because he had the talent and he was the franchise player on the team.

I’m not a troublemaker. People say, ‘You got into a lot of incidents.’ Yeah, but it was on the basketball floor.

I ask everybody, who’s the best between Magic and LeBron? Everyone says Michael’s greatest. But, OK, well, we’ll give him his props. But LeBron is a better athlete, and he can do more than Michael on the basketball court.

Every team has a main guy.

I just want to let the fans know I don’t hate the Knicks. I love the Knicks.

There’s always someone who wants to make you look bad.

I was in New York, I went to a Yankees game and I called and said, ‘Can I get tickets to the Knicks game?’ They said, ‘We can’t get you tickets no more to the Knicks game.’… They had tickets, but they said they didn’t have no tickets for me.

I want to do what’s best for the team, always.

I love New York, gave my whole heart.

They told me many times throughout my career to bite my tongue and I told them my tongue’s been bleeding since I was born.

Just because there’s glass on the road don’t mean there’s been an accident.

I just don’t like when you preach one thing and do something else.

In the old days Michael Jordan and Larry Bird worked for everything they got. They worked hard on their game.

Some things don’t just walk away. A dog got a broken leg, he ain’t just going to walk away. He going to try to get himself together.

If you see a man kiss me, I better be in my casket.

People hate to go out to eat with me because they know I’m going to send it back. Like, I’m trying to order simple. But don’t blame me if you bring out the wrong stuff.

You can’t say, ‘You’re a scorer, you score. You rebound, you rebound.’ Basketball is more than that. Basketball is knowing the next step, knowing the next play, knowing how to make things happen.

I’m always willing to work stuff out, because I’m that type of guy.

In Chicago, they wanted Michael to do his thing and me to be just rebound. I’m more than a rebounder.

When I first got into this league, I knew a lot. But I made myself better by listening and working hard.

I don’t just hop in the car. I have destinations. I drive to relax. I’ll be gone for two weeks, hit four or five major cities. I don’t like being nowhere for more than two or three days. I just go. I don’t have a schedule.

I’m not the kind of guy you threaten.

If you’re picky, you have to learn about cooking.

You put in what you get out. If you don’t put time into your game, you’re not going to get better.

You can’t throw a hook on the side of the road and expect to catch a fish in the grass.

I just tried to go out there and play with attitude, doing what I was supposed to do and knowing my role on the team. Doing what my team expected me to do every night, not just once a week. It was all about work and I was just a tough guy who would knock somebody down.

I guess I’m going to have to go Google myself and see why people think I shouldn’t be coaching.

I shoot five or six times, go out and play defense and make sure everything is clicking. I’m like a transmission in a car. You can’t see me, but I make the car go.