NBA Tough Guy Lived Up To Image As A Coach By Threatening To Slap `Franchise' Player

Aug 17, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Killer 3s head coach Charles Oakley during the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Aug 17, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Killer 3s head coach Charles Oakley during the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Charles Oakley was one of the toughest players to ever play in the NBA.

He was never afraid to fight on the court. There are plenty of stories of him fighting off the court.

Former NBA player Stephen Jackson recently revealed a story on the All The Smoke podcast of Oakley even almost fighting during his days as a coach. After his career ended, Oakley became an assistant with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Oakley informed players they weren't allowed to wear headgear during warmups. Gerald Wallace refused to listen.

"So Oak told him before the game, `We're not doing none of that. We're going to look professional,"' Jackson said. "So Gerald did it. Gerald's our franchise player. He yank it off Gerald's neck and throw it at him like, `we ain't doing that. I told you we ain't doing that."'

Afterward, Wallace went further by putting it back on.

“Oak you are a coach now please don’t slap Gerald Wallace” 😂

Posted by DK Network on Monday, January 6, 2025

That's all it took to set off Oakley.


Jackson continued the story, "That prompted Oakley to say, `I'm a see you after the game. I told you not to do it. All right? Remember that.' The coaches are walking out and all you is Oak make a U-Turn and go right back in front of Gerald Wallace and say, `Now, didn't I say I was going to slap you? I stood up and said, `Oak, you are a coach now. Please don't slap Gerald Wallace.''

SON OF THREE-TIME ALL-STAR MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Peja Stojakovic was one of the most feared shooters during his NBA career.

Now, his son, Andrej, doing the same at the NCAA level. He is the nation's 14th-leading score at 20.1 points a game for the California Golden Bears. The 6-foot-7 Stojakovic's game is similar to his father because both are solid shooters. NBAdraftnet.com lists him as the No. 37 prospect for 2025.

The elder Stojakovic was part of the Sacramento Kings-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry in the late 1990s. He could never get the Kings past the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant Lakers. Stojakovic did finally get a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, helping them defeat the Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh Miami Heat.

He later returned to the Kings as assistant general manager.

— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) January 9, 2025


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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com