Retire Charles Oakley's number 34

Yeah I know, he played some with the Bulls and Raptors and he was on the Knicks for about 8 seasons or so but that guy was the heart and soul of the resurgence of the Knicks.

Ewing was the leader, no question about it but Oakley was always in the middle of everything grabbing mad boards and playing tenacious defense and that was what being a Knick in the 1990's was all about.

Only true die hard knick fans who would watch every game on MSG with Marv Albert, Al Troutwig and John Andriese can relate to what I am trying to say.

You will never be able to look up on basketball-reference.com why his number should get retired but if you watched every game he played from 1988 until he got traded for Camby you will know exactly what I am talking about.

David Lee has been the only solid player night in and night out with double doubles every night and he emulates what Oakley used to bring to the court.

i cant really see oak but Bernard King for sure. he deserves it.eace:

Agreed....These are the only two numbers that should be retired, but at this point I don't know if it'll happen...Do you realise it's been almost twenty years since Bernard played for us.....damn I feel old.

yeah i do. I see BK in the atl all the time what a nice guy. he is going to get a nice job when the nets moves to brooklyn. I will never forget the night he drop 50 on the celtics. I could see oak but if you retire oakleys number why not starks or allan houston? Thats why it will never ever happen.:2cents:

I definitely agree with you ETrain:agreed: ...I wanted to make the exact same thread to honor Oak, but never got around to it...He is by far by most favorite NBAer ever just because of his hard work, dedication, and leadership he meant to this team...Let us even say IT gets it done in the next couple of years and wins a title, I still can not identify with this team, with the exception of DLee and Marbs. I like David because he reminds me of Oak, just not as tuff (although that shiner he got made me reminisce about the good ole days when the game was physically played, not the showboating pussies we have to watch today). Just think tho, if Starks was not blocked by The Dream, this would not even be a topic because Oak and Starks numbers would be in the rafters right now. Now, for those who do not think Oak deserves, what makes Bernard deserve it? I would never question his talents and ability to score, but we were at best mediocre during his time here...He accomplished nothing but the 60 points I feel because we sucked. Oak came here after the King era and if Michael decided to play baseball, we would have at least two titles in the early 90s flanked by Ewing, Starks, and Oak.