'They Really Have Welcomed Me': NBA Legend Turned OKC Thunder Television Analyst

He’s an NBA legend and he’s with the Thunder, but not on the court, this legend has traded his sneakers for top-dollar suits.

He was selected in the first round of the 1984 NBA. A draft class is considered by many as one of the best drafts ever.

“Sam Perkins, you know some really good people, Chris Mullin, there were some great guys, John Stockton got drafted behind me,” said NBA legend and Thunder television broadcaster, Michael Cage.

The draft included players like Akeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley and one name that would eventually be considered the greatest of all time.

“I mean everybody knows Michael Jordan, but there were a lot of really terrific players in that draft besides who we know as Jordan,” said Cage.

For Cage, it was the day that his life would change.

“When I got the call from the NBA that day in that draft in 1984, it really represented a change, it said alright, you’ve gotten to the next level,” said Cage.

At that next level, Cage put in the work to be one of the top players in the league.

“You don’t have to be great; you’ve just got to be good at one thing, and that one thing for me was rebounding,” said Cage.

Rebounding is what he did. He became one of the top rebounders in the league and even led the league in the 87-88 season averaging thirteen rebounds per game.

“Instead of me trying to go and be an all-star, score a lot of points, pass the ball, get a lot of rebounds, all that other kind of stuff, I focused on one thing, and I knew it was a need and a necessity,” said Cage.

With the success came the nicknames.

“Mr. Windex, because I could get up on the glass so high that I could wipe it, rebounding you know, so they called me Windex,” said Cage.

Then there was the nickname, John Shaft, after the movie character.

“This was my early days, don’t hold it against me, I liked to wear leather, okay, I wore a lot of leather. I had black, red, white, brown, you name it, I had every color,” said Cage.

He was also the inspiration behind another pretty famous movie character.

“Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Coming to America,” said Cage.

“We want to talk to you about the character in Coming to America, because it was the big inspiration from your hair,” said Cage.

After fifteen years in the league, and a short stint as a coach, Michael decided to try his hand as a broadcaster.

“I got a call from the Thunder, and they said 'Hey, we would like to have you out for an interview,' and I said 'Awe this is great',” said Cage.

Now in his tenth season with the Thunder, he is now a full-time resident and proud to be an Oklahoman.

“They have really welcomed me into their group and taught me how to live in Oklahoma City,” said Cage.

Equally just as proud to be part of the Thunder organization.

“There’s a lot of wonderful people that work here, they believe in what they are doing, and they go out into the community and do a lot of different things,” said Cage.

He’s transitioned that competitive attitude from the court to the broadcast booth.

“I go hard man. You go hard or you go home,” said Cage.

Cage has been with the Thunder through the entire rebuild and as a former player, he says to watch out for this year’s team, they are all extremely close and are definitely going to do big things.