Quotes from Charles Oakley

Back in our day and era, you had to have your potential and be ready to play right away. Everybody was talented.

It's been so overwhelming, the people in New York. That's why they call New York, New York - because they care about things and know real situations. My love for the fans, it's mouth-dropping.

I like Chicago. I've visited Chicago before and have family here.

You can't play Around the World in the NBA, you've gotta go to the basket.

A gentleman pays his debt within a week or two.

People hate to go out to eat with me because they know I'm going to send it back. Like, I'm trying to order simple. But don't blame me if you bring out the wrong stuff.

Potential is like a summer crop. If it don't rain, it don't grow.

If you're picky, you have to learn about cooking.

Every superstar in this league, if you don't go through adversity, if you try to duck and dodge it, it's gonna damper your team.

I'm not a high jumper, but you don't see guys intimidating me or posting me up.

My thing was, if somebody talks about you this and that, you got to go prove them wrong.

I just don't like when you preach one thing and do something else.

You can't just score more points than last year without playing defense.

There's been a thing with Detroit and the Bulls ever since I've been in the league.

A lot of guys do the pretty things. Dunking, tattoos, earrings, sagging jeans. That's the league now. They have athletic ability, but they don't know the game.

I'm all about having a good time and respecting my teammates.

I don't like 7-footers shooting threes, it's a disrespect to the game for me.

I ask everybody, who's the best between Magic and LeBron? Everyone says Michael's greatest. But, OK, well, we'll give him his props. But LeBron is a better athlete, and he can do more than Michael on the basketball court.

The guys who beat me didn't get 1,000 rebounds. I did. It's not my fault the other guys didn't play as many games.

Do me a favor and don't make me out to be no hero.

I'm a trendsetter. I'm a leader, not a follower.

My thing is, when Barkley played basketball, he didn't practice, he wasn't a leader, he wasn't this or that, he just had natural talent so he got chosen to the Dream Team, All Star team because he had the talent and he was the franchise player on the team.

Just because there's glass on the road don't mean there's been an accident.

Chicago was a good place for me. Maybe New York will be better.