The intense rivalry of Charles Barkley & Charles Oakley

The NBA has seen its fair share of rivalries. This includes team rivalries and even player rivalries. One of the most physical player rivalries of the 1990s belonged to Charles Barkley and Charles Oakley.

Both of these players were known to be brash and used physicality as a weapon in their gameplay. So, why are these two players, who have many similarities, intense rivals?

Before diving into why Barkley and Oakley don’t like each other, let’s first take a look at how these two players are eerily similar. For starters, both players share the first name of Charles.

Okay, that was an easy one. But if you dive deeper into their names you’ll discover two more similarities.

Both players’ last names end in “LEY” and their last names can be related to a tree. Yes, Bark in Barkley and of course, Oak in Oakley.

Yes, these are silly comparisons. But there is more. Both players have worn the number 34 throughout their careers. They also were known for their incredible rebounding ability.

Both players also share a connection to Michael Jordan. Barkley was famously close friends with Jordan until he publicly trashed MJ’s decisions as the Charlotte Hornets owner on his job at TNT.

Oakley, on the other hand, was and still is close friends with Jordan. Oakley joined the NBA in 1985 with Jordan on the Bulls and quickly he became known as MJ’s bodyguard.

Yes, both Oakley and Barkley were known to be physical players who would slam their opponents down, while also participating in a fight or two. Still, these comparisons did not make the two NBA players friends. In fact, the two being so similar is likely why their relationship is nonexistent.

Start of a rivalry

Let’s now rewind to discover how the two became bitter rivals and discuss how that relationship is still sour to this day. At the beginning, things seemed to be all good for the pair of Charles’.

Barkley even gave Oakley a huge compliment back in the 1980s, stating that “Oakley went after the ball like it’s raw meat.”

Despite this compliment from Barkley, the Round Mound of Rebound couldn’t help but throw a subtle jab as well. When it came to big men in the NBA during the ’80s and ’90s, rebounding was a serious issue.

Players truly took the job of grabbing the boards seriously, as was evident in Dennis Rodman.

Barkley took it seriously, as we’ve already mentioned his nickname, The Round Mound of Rebound, points to that basketball attribute. Oakley, of course, took rebounding seriously, as that and defense were the main parts of Oakley’s game.

Another player who gave everything he had to grabbing rebounds as a teammate of Barkley in the ’80s, a player who had the perfect nickname for this skill, known as The Chairman of the Boards, Moses Malone.

After a game between Barkley’s Philadelphia 76ers and Oakley’s Chicago Bulls, where Malone controlled the boards over Oakley, Barkley said, “Charles Oakley played great, but he ain’t no Moses.”

This led to Oakley wanting to prove he could destroy Barkley on the boards, and whenever the two met, you knew you were in for a rebounding masterclass. In their first matchup of the 1986-87 season, Barkley recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds while Oakley managed to score 16 points while grabbing 17 rebounds.

In their second matchup of the season, Barkley went off, scoring 40 and adding 21 boards. Meanwhile, Oakley scored 18 and grabbed 17 rebounds. This shows how hard the two competed against each other, but sometimes, their anger would get the best of both of them.

In an intense 1994 matchup between Barkley’s Phoenix Suns and Oakley’s New York Knicks, the two got tangled up under the basket after Oakley fouled Barkley on his field goal attempt.

After the two finally let go of each other, Oakley proceeded to slap Barkley’s hands, and Barkley responded with a slap on Oakley’s face. This, Oakley did not like, so he quickly threw a punch at Barkley’s face as the two were separated.