With the Miami Heat and New York Knicks set to clash in Sunday’s conference semifinals, Charles Oakley can only miss being included in a bitter rivalry that began in the late ’90s. .
The retired muscle cageger remembered the Knicks-Heat confrontation as something like the match between the legends Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
“Hey you. There were a lot. It was like Ali and Joe Frazier. Thriller in Manila. In the game against Miami, there’s going to be a lot of contact. There’s been a fight, there’s been an all-out war,” Oakley said. Told. Said Jake Whitty of HoopsHype. “If we had Pat Riley, he would go against us.
The rivalry between the Knicks and the Heat has highlighted Pat Riley as their central figure. Riley, who coached the Knicks for four seasons from 1991 to 1995, controversially left the franchise to become the Heat’s team president and lead mentor.
Following Riley’s dubious career switch, New York and Miami continued to establish a difficult respect for themselves.
The two clubs met in the playoffs every year from 1997 to 2000, reaching the seventh leg in all four series. The Knicks and Heat split his four-series narrative, creating some notable moments and brawls in league history.
With the two teams looking to rekindle their rivalry this weekend, Oakley is now excited for a matchup featuring Jimmy Butler, Jalen Brunson, Bam Adebayo and Julius Randle.
“And now when I’m in Miami, they come up to me and say, ‘I loved it when you played the Heat when you were in New York. Given what Butler has done against Milwaukee, and New York hasn’t been in the playoffs for years, they’re going to love this series. ”
