“MJ always said ‘you was born the wrong time’” - Charles Oakley on repeatedly meeting Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs
Trying to win an NBA Finals during the 90s might have been one of the hardest things to do because of one man, Michael Jordan. Charles Oakley had to face that fact while being on the New York Knicks, and despite having a great team, New York could not get past the Chicago Bulls, and Jordan let him know it.
Oakley recently wrote a book titled “The Last Enforcer: Outrageous Stories From the Life and Times of One of the NBA's Fiercest Competitors. “ In the book he talks about his NBA career, in which he got to know Jordan very well. Before Oakley joined one of Jordan’s biggest rivals in the Eastern Conference, they would play three seasons together on the Bulls.
With Oakley’s book now out, the NBA legend frequently does media tours and goes on NBA podcasts in a promotional effort. One of his appearances was on the “ALL THE SMOKE” podcast with two other former NBA players, co-hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. Barnes asked Oakley about running into the Bulls in the playoffs, and Oakley responded by recalling what Jordan seemed to tell him time and time again, that the former was simply born at the "wrong time."
“We ran into them a lot, it was just one of the thing. MJ always said, you was born the wrong time.”
The Bulls and Knicks would meet in the playoffs six times from 1989-96, with the Bulls winning all but one series in 1994. In that '94 series, Michael Jordan had already retired from basketball to play baseball. Oakley was on the Knicks for the first five series, missing the final series due to being on another team.
25 years ago today, Michael Jordan dropped 51 PTS on the Knicks after coach Jeff Van Gundy called MJ a "con man," saying he befriends other NBA players to gain a competitive advantage.
Phil Jackson: "It was probably a tactical mistake to attack Michael" https://t.co/ZssZuUbpQj
Unfortunately for the likes of Oakley and Patrick Ewing, one of the best Knicks ever, their time in the Eastern Conference coincided with Jordan's dominance of the 90s. Ewing and Oakley had to run into arguably the best player in NBA history in almost every postseason.
Michael Jordan's crazy command over the NBA in the 90s
Michael Jordan pretty much owned the NBA in the 90s, going to six NBA finals and winning all six. Jordan and the Bulls won two three-peats, the first of which occured from1991-93 and then again from 1996-98.
The Houston Rockets would win two NBA Finals(1994-95) during the time Jordan tested out his career in baseball. Fast-forward to 1998, after Jordan's second three-peat in Chicago, he was 34 years old with the majority of the Bulls' core having left, signaling the end of a dynasty. One could understand how it would have simply been too difficult for him to go on and win the final two seasons of the the decade.
Michael Jordan went to the playoffs 13 times
Avg 30+ PTS in 12 of them
Scored 50+ PTS 8 times
Scored less than 15 PTS 0 times
Went to the Finals 6 times
Won a championship 6 times
Never played a GM7 in those 6
#mjmondays
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During his prime years. Jordan seemingly put a cap on the NBA, especially teams in the East, making it almost impossible for any franchise except the Bulls to go to the NBA Finals. His dominance was so absolute that one imagines it must still sting a little for those NBA greats who played during the 90s. As they could never reach the NBA’s mountain top, all because of one man.