During a New York Knicks home game on Wednesday, Charles Oakley — who played on the team from 1988 to 1998 — engaged in a shoving match with security guards that eventually led to his arrest.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul all come to Charles Oakley’s defense
LeBron posted a photo on Instagram calling the former Knick a “legend.”
Later that night LeBron James came to the defense of Oakley, who is also from Northeast Ohio, via Instagram.
James posted the photo, shown below, along with the caption: “Mood!! #Legend”
Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade later took to Instagram to defend Oakley:
And Clippers point guard Chris Paul tweeted in defense of the long-time Knicks forward:
The only player missing from the Banana Boat crew? Carmelo Anthony.
Beyond the Ohio connection, there are a number of possible motivating factors behind James’ post.
For one, Oakley defended LeBron a couple weeks ago after Charles Barkley criticized the Cavaliers superstar for requesting more help.
Many reporters on the scene last night claimed that Oakley was arguing with Knicks owner James Dolan before security got involved.
If that’s true, Oakley’s comments may have resonated with the King, who is a close friend of Carmelo Anthony. Dolan is the one who hired Phil Jackson, after all — the man who is rumored to be trying to force the star out of New York.
James expressed his concern with Anthony’s situation in New York last week, saying “I just want the best for my friend no matter what it is ... I just want him to be happy.”
But beyond that, the two Cleveland natives appear to be pals. Here’s a photo Oakley posted on Twitter during the Cavaliers’ championship parade last year:
And in a November New York Times article, Oakley said he has cooked food at James’ house before: “We cool. Cooked at his house before. Everybody enjoyed the food.”
All things considered, it makes sense why LeBron came to Oakley’s defense. It will be interesting to see if LeBron chimes in if any more drama involving the Knicks surfaces.
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