Playing career

Early years

Oakley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Virginia Union University.

NBA career

Chicago Bulls (1985-1988)

Oakley was drafted with the 9th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but his draft rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls. Oakley provided another scoring option and steady offensive and defensive performances to an up-and-coming Bulls squad led by Michael Jordan. He also assumed the role of the team "cop" whose duty primarily was to protect young Jordan against cheap shots and roughhousing tactics of opposing players. Oakley earned All-Rookie Team honors in 1986.

New York Knicks (1988-1998)

With the drafting and development of Horace Grant, the Bulls traded Oakley to the New York Knicks for 7'1" center Bill Cartwright. Oakley eventually became a part of the core which the Knicks built around, which also featured Patrick Ewing, John Starks, and point guard Mark Jackson. During the Knicks' 1994 season, which included a record 25 playoff games, Oakley started every regular season and playoff game for a record 107 starts in a single season. During his tenure with the Knicks, Oakley was primarily known as a defensive specialist.

Toronto Raptors (1998-2001)

In 1998, Oakley was traded by New York to the Toronto Raptors for blossoming star Marcus Camby. For the Raptors, he provided a veteran presence to a young team that included Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.

Return to Chicago (2001-2002)

In 2001, Oakley was traded by the Toronto Raptors with a 2002 2nd-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for Brian Skinner. This was his second tenure with the Bulls. Starting 36 of his 57 played games, he averaged 3.8 points per game, 6 rebounds per game, and 2 assists per game.

Washington Wizards (2002-2003)

In 2002, Oakley signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards. He was reunited with former teammate Michael Jordan. Oakley played 42 games during the 2002-03 season, averaging 1.8 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game.

Houston Rockets (2004)

The 2003-04 season was Oakley's last. On March 18, 2004, Oakley signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Houston Rockets. Oakley only played 7 games, in which he averaged 1.3 points per game, 0.7 rebounds per game, and 0.3 assists per game. At the end of the season, Oakley retired from the NBA.

Career highlights

• He placed in the top ten in rebounds per game five times between 1987 and 1994 (second in 1987 and 1988). In all but one of these seasons he played the full complement of 82 games.
• Due to his durability he actually placed in the top ten in total rebounds 6 times and led the league in total rebounds twice (1987 and 1988).
• In 1994, he became an NBA All-Star and was chosen to the league's All-Defense 1st team.

Rumors of a return to the NBA

As recently as 2007, it was publicized that Oakley, at age 44, wanted to make an NBA comeback. He claimed Dallas, Miami, Cleveland and New York were interested but said he would "not back cheap". Oakley currently ranks 18th all-time in NBA games played with 1,282 games, and 21st all-time in career rebounds with 12,205 rebounds.

Post-playing career

On December 26, 2010, Oakley was hired as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats under then-head coach Paul Silas.

He left that position on December 1, 2011 after experiencing health issues with back pain during the 2010-11 season.

Oakley turned his passion toward the kitchen. In 2008, he hosted his own unique cooking show, Cafe Oakley. His specialty: healthy options with savory and delicious flavors, notably; turkey burgers. He went on to open Red, The Steakhouse in Cleveland and another location in South Beach, Miami, FL.

Oakley has displayed his culinary skills on several cooking competition shows, including Chopped Tournament of Stars on the Food Network, in 2014.

In 2013, Oakley and famed game developer Robert Alexander co-founded a free sweepstakes app, Kizzang® Sweepstakes, available on Web, Facebook, iTunes, and Google Play. The app offers free cash and other prizes through its daily slot tournaments, scratch cards, sports contests, and sweepstakes. The Oak in the Kitchen slot game and scratch card both feature Oakley as a chef building and serving burgers. Kizzang Sweepstakes garnered media attention in March 2013 with its $7.7 Million College Basketball Bracket Challenge™, and again in 2016 when Kizzang partnered with Sports Illustrated® to present the $25,000,000 College Basketball Bracket Challenge™.

Charles Oakley was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in honor of his 19-year professional basketball career. The induction ceremony was held on April 30, 2016.

Personal life

In 2011, Oakley filed a lawsuit against the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, alleging a group assault by five security guards employed by the casino on May 28, 2010.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985-86	Chicago	77	30	23.0	.519	.000	.662	8.6	1.7	.9	.4	9.6
1986-87	Chicago	82	81	36.3	.445	.367	.686	13.1	3.6	1.0	.4	14.5
1987-88	Chicago	82	82	34.3	.483	.250	.727	13.0	3.0	.8	.3	12.4
1988-89	New York	82	82	31.8	.510	.250	.773	10.5	2.3	1.3	.2	12.9
1989-90	New York	61	61	36.0	.524	.000	.761	11.9	2.4	1.0	.3	14.6
1990-91	New York	76	74	36.0	.516	.000	.784	12.1	2.7	.8	.2	11.2
1991-92	New York	82	82	28.2	.522	.000	.735	8.5	1.6	.8	.2	6.2
1992-93	New York	82	82	27.2	.508	.000	.722	8.6	1.5	1.0	.2	6.9
1993-94	New York	82	82	35.8	.478	.000	.776	11.8	2.7	1.3	.2	11.8
1994-95	New York	50	49	31.3	.489	.250	.793	8.9	2.5	1.2	.1	10.1
1995-96	New York	53	51	33.5	.471	.269	.833	8.7	2.6	1.1	.3	11.4
1996-97	New York	80	80	35.9	.488	.263	.808	9.8	2.8	1.4	.3	10.8
1997-98	New York	79	79	34.6	.440	.000	.851	9.2	2.5	1.6	.3	9.0
1998-99	Toronto	50	50	32.9	.428	.200	.807	7.5	3.4	.9	.4	7.0
1999-2000	Toronto	80	80	30.4	.418	.341	.776	6.8	3.2	1.3	.6	6.9
2000-01	Toronto	78	77	35.5	.388	.224	.836	9.5	3.4	1.0	.6	9.6
2001-02	Chicago	57	26	34.3	.369	.167	.750	6.0	2.0	.9	.2	3.8
2002-03	Washington	42	1	12.2	.418	-	.824	2.5	1.0	.3	.1	1.8
2003-04	Houston	7	0	3.6	.333	-	.833	.7	.3	.0	.0	1.3
All-Star		1	0	11.0	.333	-	-	3.0	3.0	.0	.0	2.0
Career		1,282	1,159	31.4	.471	.253	.761	9.5	2.5	1.1	.3	9.7

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1986	Chicago	3	-	29.3	.524	-	.615	10.0	1.0	2.0	.7	10.0
1987	Chicago	3	-	43.0	.380	.500	.833	15.3	2.0	1.3	.3	20.0
1988	Chicago	10	-	37.3	.440	.000	.875	12.8	3.2	.6	.4	10.1
1989	New York	9	-	33.2	.479	.500	.667	11.2	1.2	1.3	.1	9.7
1990	New York	10	-	33.6	.512	1.000	.654	11.0	2.7	1.1	.2	12.1
1991	New York	3	3	33.3	.476	-	.500	10.3	1.0	.7	.3	7.7
1992	New York	12	12	29.5	.379	-	.741	9.0	.7	.7	.4	5.3
1993	New York	15	15	33.8	.481	-	.727	11.0	1.1	1.1	.1	11.1
1994	New York	25	25	39.7	.477	-	.775	11.7	2.4	1.4	.2	13.2
1995	New York	11	11	38.3	.450	.400	.824	8.5	3.7	1.7	.5	13.1
1996	New York	8	8	38.5	.500	.333	.694	8.6	1.8	1.0	.0	13.1
1997	New York	10	10	35.8	.442	.000	.759	8.8	1.6	2.2	.3	9.8
1998	New York	10	10	34.2	.408	-	.920	8.5	1.4	1.1	.2	8.1
2000	Toronto	3	3	36.7	.483	.286	.000	7.7	3.7	2.0	.3	10.0
2001	Toronto	12	12	32.6	.435	.375	.824	6.3	1.8	1.0	.6	9.3
Career		144	-	35.5	.459	.366	.755	10.0	2.0	1.2	.3	10.8

[ Source: Wikipedia ]