Bad news for Charles Oakley -- the ex-NBA star just lost his perfect excuse for skipping the lousy Knicks games ... 'cause Oak's ban from Madison Square Garden has officially been lifted.
As we previously reported, the Knicks legend's lawsuit against his old team and James Dolan was dismissed earlier this week ... which initially stemmed from his public ejection from a game in 2017.
Of course, Oak was literally dragged out of the arena by several guards .