The Last Enforcer

Outrageous Stories From the Life and Times of One of the NBA's Fiercest Competitors

Charles Oakley, Frank Isola, Frank Isola

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9781982175665
• Print ISBN:
  9781982175658
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies

In this “incredible read on some incredible days and nights in the old association” (Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN senior NBA insider) Charles Oakley—one of the toughest and most loyal players in NBA history—tells 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 weren’t 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 you’d 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.

“I can’t remember every rebound I grabbed but I do have a story—the true story—of just about every punch and slap on my resume,” he says.

In The Last Enforcer, Oakley shares one incredible story after the next—all in his signature “unflinchingly tough, honest, and ultimately endearing” (Harvey Araton, New York Times bestselling author) style—about his life in the paint and beyond, fighting for rebounds and respect. You’ll 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. You’ll feel like you were on the court, in the room, can’t believe what you just saw, and need to tell everyone you know about it.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Chapter 1: Knocking Out a Jackass
• Chapter 2: Welcome to the League
• Chapter 3: Basketball Junkie
• Chapter 4: Protecting MJ
• Chapter 5: The Bomb Squad
• Chapter 6: The Price of Being Late
• Chapter 7: Life with Riley
• Chapter 8: High-Stakes Basketball
• Chapter 9: Reno to Houston
• Chapter 10: “They Will Choke”
• Chapter 11: Going Hollywood
• Chapter 12: New York Time’s Up
• Chapter 13: Barkley and His Big Mouth
• Chapter 14: Five Minutes for Fighting
• Chapter 15: The Reason They Called Me Oak Tree
• Chapter 16: The Last Waltz
• Chapter 17: Two Kings
• Chapter 18: The Owner
• Chapter 19: Say His Name
• Chapter 20: The Blood of a Legend
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Index
• Copyright