In this âincredible read on some incredible days and nights in the old associationâ (Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN senior NBA insider) Charles Oakleyâone of the toughest and most loyal players in NBA historyâtells his unfiltered stories about his basketball journey and his relationships with Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, James Dolan, Donald Trump, George Floyd, and many others.
If you ask a New York Knicks fan about Charles Oakley, you better prepare to hear the love and a favorite story or two. But his individual stats werenât remarkable, and while he helped power the Knicks to ten consecutive playoffs, he never won a championship. So why does he hold such a special place in the minds, hearts, and memories of NBA players and fans?
Because over the course of nineteen years in the league, Oakley was at the center of more unbelievable encounters than Forrest Gump, and nearly as many fights as Mike Tyson. He was the friend you wish you had, and the enemy you wish youâd never made. If any opposing player was crazy enough to start a fight with him, or God forbid one of his teammates, Oakley would end it.
âI canât remember every rebound I grabbed but I do have a storyâthe true storyâof just about every punch and slap on my resume,â he says.
In The Last Enforcer, Oakley shares one incredible story after the nextâall in his signature âunflinchingly tough, honest, and ultimately endearingâ (Harvey Araton, New York Times bestselling author) styleâabout his life in the paint and beyond, fighting for rebounds and respect. Youâll look back on the era of the 1990s NBA, when tough guys with rugged attitudes, unflinching loyalty, and hard-nosed work ethics were just as important as three-point sharpshooters. Youâll feel like you were on the court, in the room, canât believe what you just saw, and need to tell everyone you know about it.