"Where would Chuck be without the big homies" - Kevin Durant hits back at Charles Barkley on social media for his "bus rider" comments
Kevin Durant retorted to Charles Barkley by uploading Instagram stories of his Houston Rockets superteam from the late 1990s. Barkley retired from the NBA without a championship and his last attempt to grab a ring was a massive failure.
Durant was recently swept in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs and the media hasn't been too kind to him. Of all the former players and media personalities who have criticized Durant, Barkley has been particularly harsh on him. Durant uploaded four pictures of Barkley's failed Rockets superteam and trolled him for being a "ring chaser after the latter called him a "bus rider". KD captioned the third picture, writing:
"Where would Chuck be without the big homies"
KD's throwing shade at Charles Barkley on IG. 👀 https://t.co/nl16BNhILy
During the tailend of his career, Charles Barkley joined forces with Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen to form the next superteam of the West. However, the four-year experiment was a huge failure and they never even made the NBA Finals. They lost in the conference finals in their first year together and then got swept in the first round for the next two years before not even making the playoffs in the final year.
On the popular sports show "Inside the NBA on TNT", Charles Barkley criticized Kevin Durant for failing to lead the Brooklyn Nets past the first round of the playoffs despite being the betting favorites to win the whole thing. He also recalled KD's championship season at Golden State and suggested that he was never the best player during those title runs. He said:
"He got MVP. He wasn't the best player (on the Warriors). Iguodala wasn't the best player, he got MVP."
Kenny Smith: "You don't think [Kevin Durant] was the best player on the Warriors?"
Charles Barkley: "No, I do not."
Kenny: "He was the best player."
Chuck: "He got MVP. He wasn't the best player. Iguodala wasn't the best player, he got MVP."
😳😳
https://t.co/LOjnZG2pT2
After losing to the Boston Celtics in four games, Kevin Durant joins the list of superstars who have been swept in the playoffs in their career. Three future Hall of Famers have never been swept in the playoffs - Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green and KD could have remained a part of that group. Now, many people on social media and sports television have been mocking Durant for leaving a stable Golden State Warriors organization for a dysfunctional Brooklyn Nets team.
The Warriors, on the other hand, are competing for a championship and are blowing the Denver Nuggets away in the first round. KD chose to leave the Dubs and has now lost eight of his last nine playoff games. Hence, even hardcore Kevin Durant fans are facing a tough time defending him.
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.
Kevin Durant gets trolled for leaving the Golden State Warriors and getting swept in the first round
Kevin Durant leaving the Bay Area for the Brooklyn Nets is one of the biggest "what-ifs" in basketball. The Golden State Warriors have one of the biggest fan bases in the sport whereas the Nets are considered the secondary team in their own city. The Warriors fans travel and fill out any road arena while even the Barclays Center doesn't cheer for its own team.
Moreover, Kevin Durant won two Finals MVPs during his championship runs with Steph Curry and co. but he isn't recognized as the best player on the team. Curry demanded more attention from the defense which led to Durant getting wide-open looks during crucial playoff games. During the 2018 NBA Finals, Curry got double-teamed 40+ times whereas Durant saw just two double-teams. Curry still outscored him for the entire series. Hence, many have started to doubt the legitimacy of his Finals MVP trophies as Curry was clearly the more important player on the Warriors.
After getting swept by the Celtics, analysts and fans have started criticizing KD for "ring chasing".
Charles Barkley was right, Kevin Durant wasn't the bus driver for the Warriors, otherwise he'd be able to drive another team to a championship.
https://t.co/Qc8If0SvLa
Fans are trolling Kevin Durant for leaving arguably the greatest team ever and being one of the best teammates in Steph Curry for James Harden and Kyrie Irving, who have both been unreliable lately. Irving was a part-time player for practically the whole season while Harden bolted for Philadelphia in dramatic fashion.
You could've had this, @KDTrey5 https://t.co/7iIHIoAgHY