"It's cheating" - Charles Barkley makes his opinion crystal clear on superteams
Charles Barkley has been one of the biggest critics of superteams and has repeatedly criticized Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant for joining them.
On Friday, Barkley appeared on “The Mark Jackson Show” to discuss basketball. When asked which star he would have wanted to play alongside, The Chuckster responded with a rant about superteams:
“I hate superteams, because you’re cheating. If they had told me back in my day they were gonna hold it [no championship] against me, I would’ve played with Michael Jordan or Bird and Magic. If you’re gonna say, I didn’t win, let me know that — not after the fact. We could have teamed up and won.”
While Barkley acknowledges Durant’s greatness, the Hall of Famer remains unimpressed by KD’s two championships with the Golden State Warriors. Barkley is convinced Durant would not have won those titles without joining forces with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Durant isn’t the only superstar Barkley — and basketball fans — have blasted for chasing championships with superteams. LeBron James faced heavy criticism when he decided to take his talents to South Beach to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
James eventually silenced his critics, capturing his first NBA championship in 2012 after eight title-less seasons, and bagging one more while with the Heat in 2013. However, his crowning achievement came in 2016 when he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a historic comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors and claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Charles Barkley, notably, never won an NBA championship. His closest opportunity came in the 1993 NBA Finals, where his Phoenix Suns lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. He was the Suns’ best player but was overshadowed by Jordan in the series.
Charles Barkley played with star-studded teams early and late in his career
When Charles Barkley entered the NBA in 1984, the Philadelphia 76ers had a stacked roster. They had Moses Malone, who was third in the MVP race that season, Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney and Maurice Cheeks. They lost to the Boston Celtics, the eventual champions, 4-1 in the Eastern Conference finals.
The following season, the 76ers remained a conference powerhouse. They still had Malone, Irving, Jones, Cheeks and added Bob McAdoo to the roster. Philadelphia lost in seven games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the East semis.
After his stint in Phoenix, Charles Barkley joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in Houston for a last chance at a championship. In Barkley’s third year with the Rockets, Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen also joined them. The aging roster lost 3-1 in the first round to the LA Lakers.