WATCH: Charles Barkley gives heated response to Kevin Durant
Continuing the war of words between the NBA stars, Charles Barkley gave a heated response to the recent images posted by Kevin Durant about his career. Barkley opened the argument between the stars after stating that players who “ride the bus” and aren’t “bus drivers” aren’t the same type of champions in his eyes.
The criticism was levied at Durant as the Brooklyn Nets were swept in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Barkley stated that just because Durant had won two previous championships with the Golden State Warriors, it didn’t mean the same thing as it does now that he has less talent around him.
Durant took to his social media to strike back at Barkley, sharing pictures of Barkley standing alongside other Hall of Fame players during his time with the Houston Rockets. Durant’s response called out Barkley as a hypocrite for saying his championships with Golden State weren’t important.
Charles Barkley on Kevin Durant’s response
After showing the images that Durant shared on social media, Barkley attempted to clarify his statements — while taking another shot back at Durant and his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Listen man, I could put up stuff about him and Russell [Westbrook] and James [Harden] and Serge Ibaka,” said Barkley. “I said ‘wait a minute,’ I said ‘no.’ Listen, KD is a great player. Only point I was making [is], life is different when you’re driving the bus.”
Kenny Smith attempted to give his take on the argument, to a heated Barkley, about why he felt the “bus driver” comments were a poor choice of words. Smith stated that in his opinion, using “bus driver” as an insult gives people ammunition to devalue Barkley’s own legendary career. While Barkley never won an NBA championship in his career, people could use his own words against him.
Barkley adamantly denied that anyone who isn’t at that level has any place commenting, and that his response to Durant was between them.
“They’re not in the conversation,” said Barkley of fans who comment on the argument. “No they’re not. We’re not paying the internet any attention. They’re uninformed. When I’m in the room with the other Hall of Famers, I don’t get to sit at that table. That’s the way it is. Because they are champions.”