Amazon.ca:Customer reviews: The Last Enforcer: Outrageous Stories From the Life and Times of One of the NBA's Fiercest Competitors

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From Canada

Cody

Good book!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 19, 2022

Insightful and honest memoir. Well written too!

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From other countries

Rick Shaq Goldstein

ALL THE FIGHTS I’VE HAD- SOMEONE STARTS IT-I END IT- I FIGHT LIKE A MAN*THAT’S THE WAY I WAS RAISED

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 3, 2022

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Charles Oakley’s life story is told… exactly as he played… no holds barred… no one is immune. Just like his elbows and fists snapped out at any given moment… at any given opponent… or teammate… so does his words. Not only lightning bolts of inside truth about opponents and teammates… but even his best friends aren’t immune from “Big-Oaks” critique. You want a great example… look at the one and only Michael Jordan… one of Oakley’s best friends.

Despite starting his career as not only Jordan’s teammate… but also becoming his protector… Oakley without hesitation states for the world to read… exactly what my son and I would always yell out at the screen with indignation… (the following are my son and my lifetime of words… through Oakley’s actual quotes!)… “THE WHOLE THING SEEMED RIGGED. I WOULD TELL MICHAEL, “YOU TRAVEL ALL THE TIME AND IT NEVER GETS CALLED. WE’RE PLAYING SIX AGAINST FIVE.” (chorus from my son and I… AMEN BROTHER!)… “HE GOT THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT FROM THE OFFICIALS, WHICH WAS B.S.. HE SHOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN EVERY CALL!” (AMEN BROTHER!)…”ALL THE BASKETBALL ANALYSTS WOULD SAY THAT ONE OF THE BIG WEAKNESSES WITH OUR TEAM WAS THAT NO ONE COULD SCORE (on the Bulls) BESIDES MICHAEL. MY THING WAS “HOW ARE WE GOING TO SCORE IF THERE ARE NO PLAYS RUN FOR THE REST OF US?” (AMEN BROTHER!)

Now that I’ve got the attention of every true old-school basketball fan and player… let’s go back to the beginning and move forward. Oakley from Cleveland… spent much of his formative years with his Grandfather in Alabama while his Mother worked to be able to afford a house and a better life in Cleveland. His role model for his entire life on and off the court was his hardworking and honorable Grandfather… Julius Moss. In fact “Big-Oak” dedicates his book to him… eloquently stating: “To my Grandfather Julius Moss, who believed in hard work, and being a man of your word.” (Another chorus from my son and me… AMEN BROTHER!)

The reader is then taken by the author’s strong hand through his college and pro career. The bulk of his career was with the New York Knicks… who became the most physically intimidating team (not by words… BUT BY ACTION!). As I touted from the start of my review… no one… and I mean no one… is spared from the tip of Oakley’s spear of truth. Though having nice words to say about longtime teammate Patrick Ewing… he also unflinchingly states: “THERE ARE "A" PLAYERS, "B" PLAYERS, AND "C" PLAYERS. MICHAEL IS AN "A" PLAYER. PATRICK IS A "B" PLAYER. WE NEVER HAD A TRUE "A" PLAYER ON THE KNICKS.” When Pat Riley became coach of the Knicks… it was a match made in heaven for Oakley… and many fans may be a little surprised how hard Oakley always worked… whether in practice or in games… it wasn’t just mouthing off and swinging elbows and fists… and personally as a lifetime Pat Riley fan (and I’m talking about as far back as when he was jumping at center for the University of Kentucky!)… Oak’s statement of what it was like playing for Riley… the following statement sent chills up my spine… “THAT’S PAT RILEY. HE WAS CONSTANTLY PUSHING US, MOTIVATING US, TESTING US, AND SENDING US SUBTLE AND NOT-SO-SUBTLE MESSAGES. I ALWAYS SAID THAT PLAYING FOR PAT RILEY WAS LIKE GOING FROM BEING A RESERVE IN THE MILITARY TO TRAINING TO BECOME A NAVY SEAL. IT WAS MY BOOT CAMP. AFTER A FEW DAYS OF PRACTICE WITH PAT RILEY YOU’RE LIKE, “SO THIS IS HOW THE BIG BOYS WORK.” I can’t think of any greater compliment for a coach!

From there… if you can believe it… the book gets better and better… from slapping Barkley across the face and having him run away… and “Mention my name to Barkley today and he’ll still go the other way.” He states “Laimbeer who was an A-hole”… “McHALE WAS LIKE KARL MALONE, BOTH OF THEM CRIED AND FLOPPED ALL THE TIME, EVEN IF THEY HAD GOOD MOVES.” There are 50-100 more of such classic quotes and comments… all the way to his recent run-ins with Knicks owner James Dolan… whose only claim to fame according to Oakley is… “All the Knicks have done with James Dolan is lose basketball games.”

I must also make sure to mention what a wonderful job co-author Frank Isola did. I have never previously read anything by Frank. I only knew of him as the periodic co-host of the TV program “Pardon The Interruption”. I always thought he was a shining light on that program whether he co-hosted with “Hubie Brown’s bald older brother who lives in an attic… and wears counterfeit off brand used Bear Bryant hats…. Or co-hosted with the other bald guy who wears two zip up shirts at the same time along with a coat… and has a “pocket-protector”… (he thinks he’s making a fashion statement… and he actually is… but not the kind he thinks he is!) and so off-putting… talks with his eyes closed half the time… making the viewing audience… hope someone comes on set and acts like it’s a Mafia funeral and sticks a needle in his leg to see if he’s really dead. So that’s the only experience I had with Frank Isola… until these written words… and I’m happy to say… he was just as intellectually stimulating and entertaining as he is on TV.

A great book!

P.S. If you’re an old-school player/fan… and tired of today’s cream-puffs… and their giant contracts… and their despicable “load-management” wussy-ism” two quotes for the road while you break the land speed record to buy this book…”I THINK THAT 20 PERCENT OF TODAY’S GUYS WOULD BE TOUGH ENOUGH TO PLAY IN OUR ERA. MAYBE NOT EVEN THAT MANY.” (AMEN BROTHER!!)… and… “IN THE NBA THE MONEY GOT BIGGER AND THE GAME GOT WEAKER.” (AMEN BROTHER!)

11 people found this helpful

JC Davenport

OAK

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 7, 2022

Verified Purchase

We just called him "Oak." Didn't think of him as "The Enforcer" or the last anything. I lived in New York City in the late 80's and 90's and there was a big difference. 80's Knicks sucked. 80's NYC sucked too, but it was maybe getting better. Yeah the Knicks had Patrick. But that was it, still not worth watching or getting any hopes up. That changed in the late 80's and 90's. The Knicks were relevant. The team that was absent since the early 70's was now interesting, entertaining and they got our hopes up. Hope is a big deal. In the 90's the Knicks were in every game, and every season and though they painstakingly didn't win it all, they gave us hope, a lot of it. The USA had ridiculed NYC as the worst place in the country. It was earned. 10 years later we were the inspiration for Malcolm Gladwell's now classic book on revitalization - The Tipping Point. Disney was taking over once awful Times Square and making movies like Enchanted in Central Park. This was even before Marvel and Spiderman. New York was becoming cool.

Charles Oakley was the heart of the Knicks. I always wondered how he got so many rebounds and had so much success when he was never the biggest or tallest or most "talented" on the court. This book gives a lot of insight into his success, toughness and mental state that led to those rebounds, those wins and that decade.

In his life he battles the inner city, tough circumstances and of course racism, prejudice and injustice. And that's off the court. On the court he battles everyone not on his team. He keeps score. He loves his friends, hates his enemies and is loyal to a fault, but is ready for physical violence when someone breaks his code. He is honest. Says what he thinks without a filter because that's who he is. No wonder people were scared of him.

Then there's the whole James Dolan thing. There are qualifications/standards for being an NBA player. Isn't it about time there are qualifications/standards for being an NBA owner? The man had Oakley publicly put in handcuffs simply because he could. Then he tried to lynch Oakley's reputation and future, all for the sin of coming to a Knick game. I don't care if he's recently laid low. He's got to go.

Back to the book. It's entertaining and goes fast but it seems quickly written and overly focused on just the game, settling scores and most exciting stories. Where's the heart? Oh - it's in the Acknowledgements! Come on Oak, you owe us another book where you lighten up and talk about those people in your life and how you cooked and danced with the stars. I gave this two extra stars for being about NYC and the Knicks.

Thank you Oak for coming to NYC, even though you didn't want to. Thanks for putting in the work and your loyalty. NYC appreciates you. We love a fighter. I never met you, but one day in the 90's on the West side Highway driving south I was passed on the right by a black Cadillac with New York plates . . it was going fast and I got the feeling the driver didn't want to run me over, but was willing to if necessary. the plates said "OAKLEY."

One person found this helpful

kim Marcus Peeples

Tone...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 1, 2023

Verified Purchase

Just Starting To Read.... Very Good....

Abdul-Malik Ali

Great book read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2023

Verified Purchase

Great book read.

Charles Greenberg

Honest and straight forward

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 22, 2022

Verified Purchase

Charles used his tools…hard work, toughness and a never quit attitude to play at the highest level. He wasn’t the fastest or the highest jumper. He was tough and did not suffer fools.

Jim C

Not enough basketball stories

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

I’m an Oakley fan. When the Bulls drafted him - he looked at Bulls team stats and said “Michael Jordan will not lead the bulls in rebounding again.” As a rookie, he had several games where he pulled down more than 20 rebounds and MJ no longer was the bulls leading rebounder.

This book is at its best in the stories such as where Oaklay complains that the Knicks lost an advantage when the referees forced his teammate Xavier MAcdaniels to cut his fingernails in the post season for a playoff series. Really Charles? But the book needed more stories like that or how Tyrone Hills gambling debts starting affecting tram play and a coach had to tell him “pay up”.

Instead, the Oak talkstoo much about hanging with celebrities (dropping names) or telling about LeBron James - but the Oak is no longer playing so this part of the book is boring. One boring chapter details how the Oak was screwed by the Knicks idiot owner 20 years after his playing days are over. I think he was pissed he could not be the last enforcer to the Owner, and this chapter was uninspired. The last part of the book was not that interesting as a result.

A good autobiography needs to be more introspective or tell a bunch of entertaining stories, and this book did not hit the mark enough.

2 people found this helpful

Javier M. Smith

Cleveland Legend

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

I great trip to 90’s and memories of Bulls vs. the Knicks. Oak a hero in the Cleveland community and hearing his story was great to me as a fan. I just wish he played for my team and his hometown team the Cavs at some point. I love seeing legends storytelling. History!

Karen

Great read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2022

Verified Purchase

I really like they way Charles told his story

Jason A.

Good book for fans of the 90s NBA.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 23, 2022

Verified Purchase

Quick read, my only complaint is that it wasn't a little longer. Oakley doesn't pull any punches when discussing his tale of being one of the most feared NBA enforcers off all time. 90s Knick fans are in for a treat as Oakley gives his account on key moments during his tenure on the team as New York's battled against playoff rivals The Heat , Pacers and of course Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

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