Charles Oakley Explains Why He'd Prefer To Play With LeBron Than Michael Jordan

Shandel Richardson | Aug 29, 2024

Feb 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Lebron James and Michael Jordan on court during halftime during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Former NBA player Charles Oakley knows all about playing alongside Michael Jordan.

They were teammates for a couple years with the Chicago Bulls during the 1980s before he was traded to the New York Knicks. In their time together, Oakley learned something: Jordan is not a fan of passing the ball.

He then dropped some comments that added fire to Jordan-LeBron James greatest player debate.

"Anybody who got a son, watch LeBron," Oakley said on the Fadeaway Dunk podcast. "If you're open, he'll pass your son the ball. It ain't like some guys who'll look at you and then shoot it. They say LeBron ain't the guy who wants to take the big shot but it ain't about taking a big shot if somebody checking you. They always say Mike would take the shot, LeBron would pass the shot."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fire_Clips (@1flames_clips)

Oakley then said James, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, was a better teammate. He went far as saying he would rather play with James than Jordan.

Oakley said, "They asked me, who would I rather play with: LeBron or Mike? I say LeBron but Mike my best friend. Mike ain't passing me the ball. He don't care if I get a shot today or tomorrow."

It should be noted Oakley never said who was the better player. He just simply said James may have been a better teammate.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our coverage on Facebook

X: @BackInTheDayNBA