Getty LeBron James hugs Charles Oakley in Cleveland.
When LeBron James was a free agent in the summer of 2010, he met with the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers. The King wound up spurning the Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Clippers and Cavaliers to sign with the Heat, creating the Big Three with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Knicks fans were devastated after LeBron joined the Heat since they thought they had a real chance at seeing LBJ play at Madison Square Garden 41 times a year. However, they got excited again in the summer of 2014 when LeBron was a free agent for the second time in his career. Carmelo Anthony was on the Knicks, so many New York fans believed the forward could help recruit his best friend to the Big Apple.
It turns out, though, that LeBron will never play for the Knicks because of one person.
LeBron Told Charles Oakley He Won’t Play for Knicks Because of James Dolan
Charles Oakley played 727 games for the Knicks during his NBA career. He averaged 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds with the Knickerbockers and is first in franchise history in offensive rebounds, third in total rebounds and sixth in games played.
However, Oakley doesn’t have a relationship with the franchise he once played for. The man nicknamed “Oak Tree” has been critical of the organization ever since James Dolan became the majority governor in 1999. Dolan took major offense to several of Oakley’s claims, so much so that he didn’t shake Oak’s hand at All-Star Weekend in 2014 when the two were in the same room for the first time.
LeBron happened to be at the All-Star party Oakley and Dolan were at in New Orleans. When Oakley told the four-time Finals MVP what happened with Dolan, LeBron said, “This is why I’m never going to New York.”
Oakley wrote about the incident in his new book, The Last Enforcer.
“I didn’t do anything to this man,” Oakley wrote in his book, via Brad Botkin of CBS Sports. “What did I ever say that was so bad that he would ignore me like that? I wondered. Man, I wanted to hit him in the head. I walked back to LeBron and said, ‘This mother—er (Dolan) wouldn’t shake my hand.’ All LeBron said was: ‘This is why I’m never going to New York.'”
Knicks fans already despised Dolan before Oakley’s book came out. He has kicked people out of MSG for booing him and even had Oakley removed from a game during the 2016-17 season. It’s a shame that Dolan is such a polarizing majority governor, especially since LeBron loves to play at MSG and may have signed with the Knicks in 2014 or 2018 if Dolan wasn’t around.
MSG Is LeBron’s Favorite Place to Play
LeBron told reporters that MSG is his favorite place to play in 2020. That statement certainly had to hurt Knicks fans since the future Hall of Famer will never play for the Knickerbockers because of Dolan.
“Probably my favorite arena in the world to play as a visitor,” LeBron said during the 2019-20 season, via Yahoo. “Coming here understanding the history, the Mecca. … Being here in the bright lights, being here in the Garden. It’s my favorite place to come play. Absolutely special.”
LeBron has won four titles, four Finals MVPs and four regular-season MVPs since entering the NBA in 2003. Meanwhile, the Knicks have won only one playoff series since the Akron Hammer became a pro.