Charles Oakley Joined the Washington Wizards in 2002 Just to Hang Out With Michael Jordan

On today's Pardon My Take... CHARLES OAKLEY! The former first round pick joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter on today's show to discuss his relationship with Madison Square Garden, the state of the New York Knicks, slapping Charles Barkley, and much more. 

Oakley told plenty of great stories throughout this nearly hour-long interview that the AWL's will love, no matter where you stand on the Knicks franchise. But this is one that stood one: in 2002, Charles Oakley's basketball career was winding down. Let's play some trivia: what did Oakley do next?

 A) Retire

B) Join a contender and go ring chasing

C) Join the Washington Wizards just to hang out with Michael Jordan

If you picked option C, congratulations! You are a winner. Let Charles Oakley explain the details of this story:

Mr. Commenter: What about later on in MJ's career? So, you end up teaming back up with him on the Wizards later on...

Charles Oakley: That was just for, you know, a ride through the park and ride on the boat...

Mr. Commenter: Get a paycheck...

Mr. Cat: (Laughing in the background)

Charles Oakley: You know, ride to the game with him, you know, ride on the plane with him. 

Mr. Commenter: Yeah, I remember when you signed with the Wizards, I was like, "They're signing Charles Oakley because MJ needs a buddy on the team. He needs somebody to have his back."

Charles Oakley: That's what they try to say: he brought me in so I can, you know, Kwame, this and that. It was a lot of stuff with the MJ and Kwame story, and they didn't want to pick him, and they picked him, and they didn't rally want him. So, you know, it was fun though, because the next year, his 40th birthday in DC, and I cooked twice for like 40 people, two nights in a row. 

What a great decision by Charles Oakley. It certainly can't hurt to follow the path of the one and only Michael Jordan, and when you are best friends with him (as Oakley confirmed during this interview), that just makes the decision that much easier. Go listen to today's podcast and interview for some more awesome Charles Oakley stories.