"Magic Johnson would’ve had to wear the ‘Tragic Johnson’ reputation had he not come back to win 3 championships" - Chris Broussard says Kevin Durant will have to live with the asterisk surrounding his 2 championships
Kevin Durant firing back at Charles Barkley’s comments – after the Brooklyn Nets were eliminated in the playoffs – has ignited a debate about Durant’s legacy.
Chris Broussard of “First Things First” is in agreement with Charles Barkley’s criticism of the two-time NBA champion, saying that he still has a lot to prove.
Broussard cited a host of big-name superstars who have had to prove their mettle by winning a championship as a leader on their team. Magic Johnson winning at a young age with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not enough to give him superstar status. LeBron James was a regular in the finals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">NBA Finals, but it was only when he started winning by leading his team did he get his recognition.
"The asterisks are there bc KD was not the bus driver. Until he is & wins a championship, he's going to have to wear that. But there are situations where there are co-pilots — I'd say Steph & KD were the co-pilots of Golden State. He wasn't just a passenger." — @Chris_Broussard https://t.co/r6KBMMJWy4
Chris Broussard spoke about how Durant’s championships with the Golden State Warriors will have to be followed by a leader’s contribution for Brooklyn:
“The asterisks were there because he was not the ‘bus driver,’ alright. And until he is the bus driver somewhere as he is in Brooklyn and wins a championship, he’s going to have to wear that.
“Magic Johnson would have had to wear the ‘Tragic Johnson’ reputation, had he not come back and won three championships. LeBron would have had to wear the ‘Dallas in 2011’ reputation, had he not come back and won four championships.
“And KD, you know it’s not a bad rep to wear – you won two titles, you were Finals MVP. But don’t walk around like you were the bus driver on that team. You gotta go prove you can lead a team to it.”
However, Durant still has the edge against Barkley by virtue of winning the title twice – as opposed to Barkley failing to earn that honor. That is probably why Durant did not hold back when Barkley started talking about him falling short.
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Chris Broussard picked Barkley’s game style over Durant’s but also pointed out Barkley’s lack of a status-elevating trophy:
“The one thing KD has over him: He did win it with his super team.”
Kevin Durant was an important element in the Warriors’ success
Kevin Durant was highly criticized for taking the easy route to the title when he chose to join the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were already dominant with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson , and Durant’s addition made it almost unfair.
There were a lot of question marks around the distribution of offensive duties, but Curry and Durant were both necessary pieces in their championship campaigns. But Durant proved his grit in the playoffs, winning the Finals MVP in both his title years.
Until Kevin Durant has an opportunity to right this four-game wrong, I can no longer make the case he's The Best Player on the Planet.
While Chris Broussard mentioned that Durant still needs to lead a team, he gave him credit for being a co-pilot on the Warriors roster:
“People think there’s a bus driver and then there’s passengers, but there are also situations where there are co-pilots. And I will say that Kevin Durant and Steph Curry were the co-pilots of that Golden State team. He wasn’t just a passenger.”
The duo of Curry and Durant were dominant, along with shooting firepower from Thompson and the defensive prowess of Draymond Green. The Cleveland Cavaliers were their opponents in both the finals, losing 4-1 and 4-0 respectively.